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We have a Carhartt WIP website for customers in the US and Canada. Now offering domestic shipping and returns. Check it out.
"Too Dumb To Quit" will be shown at 21:30 in Gio's hometown Lodi, 45 Minutes south of Milano/ Italy. The premiere takes place in the Belgiardino park, where Gio and his friends have built a supernice 12m wide Miniramp, which will be lit up for an open session all night long. If that's not reason enough to motivate you, there will a music festival called "creature fest" with live bands too!
For more info, check:
See Gio in action:


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You think you found the house and the work is over.
Not so fast grasshopper. Who is going to assist you in the purchase? The nice agent that you met at the open house said they would help you? Really, do you want "help" or representation? You see, in the State of Maryland, that nice agent can not represent you and the seller. Maryland is one of the states where an agent (note agent, not broker) can only represent one side of the transaction. Please don't get confused with Dual Agency, that is an entirely different matter.
What's the big deal you say?
There is a very big difference between writing down terms that you dictate and explaining and guiding you through an offer. An agent representing the seller can not negotiate for you. An agent representing the seller can not legally suggest the terms of your offer. Those are the facts, period.
But that agent can take a cut in their commission you say. Sure they can, as a matter of fact, why not, they are not doing any work for you. They are not liable for any mistake you make. They weren't going to get the buyer's side anyway, so it is easy for them to smile and say no problem.
You weren't going to pay the buyer's agent commission either! It is offered through the terms set up by the MLS. It is part of the listing agreement, and the agent may offer to cut the price of the house and still keep the total commission. You will never know, they are not required to tell you and they certainly CAN NOT NEGOTIATE FOR YOU.
Seeing the world, collecting both sides now
The State of Maryland has a fund set up to cover the illegal behavior of agents. If they do not represent you, you will have little luck filing a complaint. The stack of paperwork you signed most likely included a document where you agreed to go forward on your own. Everyone in the industry is well aware that by the time you start signing paperwork, you are more inclined to just sign where indicated rather than read every line. The comforting words, "oh this is a standard form" or "everyone signs this", do not absolve you from responsibility for what the documents indicate. Within but a moment, you sign or initial and you have agreed that the agent sitting with you represents the other party.
Don't try this alone
There is a reason that buyer's agents will do searches, show you property and patiently explain the process. There is a reason that these agents assist you in the preparation of an offer and negotiate for you. Beyond the niceties of their passion for help others… that is what they are PAID to do.
I can not fathom why anyone attempting to accomplish one of life's most expensive ventures would do it on their own. There is not room in the blog world to go over every challenge your agent must face. There is no way I can share the hurdles you must accomplish. I do know that I do this for a living and I read the same internet advice and I read the same books that claim to make it easy and I promise you….there is nothing as valuable as experience.
If you are in the buying mode and you would like to have your own personal representative, we would welcome the opportunity to assist you. We do this for a living and our success depends on your happiness.
ReMax Realty Centre

subset: commoncrawl


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According to sources the iOS 9.3 Jailbreak has unfortunately been secured by Apple in the latest Beta 5. Sources say, Apple engineers have been working hard to secure iOS 9.3 and patch any open vulnerabilities to it's operating system and future updates to it's operating system.
It is unknown as to how Apple has found the hole to patch it's iOS up and whether sources are correct at this point in time, however ModMyi will let you know if there are any updates on this article.
iOS 9.3 Jailbreak has supposedly been in the works by the team at Pangu since the beta stages became available for iOS. Apple has been taking measures in making its devices and products virtually impenetrable by outside entities. This could certainly endanger the jaibreaking business as fans know it.
It appears that the long-awaited Apple iOS 9.2.1 jailbreak tool won't arrive any sooner. In fact, it might not arrive at all. With the Apple iOS 9.3 dawning upon users, there remains no indication of a jailbreak coming out.
A couple of months back, there were reports that Pangu was close to putting out the iOS 9.2.1 jailbreak. Unfortunately, the team encountered a setback that put them all the way back to square one. TaiG has been particularly mum about their project as well.
I guess we will just wait and see how everything pans out, what are your thoughts on this?
Original Source


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Authorities responded to the area near North Ventura Avenue and Villanova Road for an injury traffic collision around 10:50 p.m.
Melanie Hall-Mounsey of Oak View was driving southbound on Ventura Avenue with her two children when she veered into the northbound lanes and collided with a vehicle driven by Larry Menchel of Meiners Oaks.
Hall-Mounsey, her children, and Manchel all sustained injuries and were transported to Ventura County Medical Center.
Hall-Mounsey and one of her children suffered serious injuries. The other child and Manchel were listed in stable condition.
All lanes of traffic were shut down during the investigation but were shortly cleared.
Anyone with any information regarding the crash was urged to contact the Thousand Oaks Traffic Bureau at (805) 494-8271.


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"Great to see you Jordan!" calls a volunteer, as Jordan Moon sits down at his office cubicle at Sun Sounds of Arizona. "Yeah, good to see you too, Ben," he replies.
Moon is speaking metaphorically. Like many of the 49,000 people who use the statewide radio reading service, he is blind.
A senior at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism, Moon spends several hours a week as an intern in the marketing department of Sun Sounds. As one would expect, he performs the typical intern tasks – writing on-air promotions, feature stories, newsletter articles and press release for the state-wide radio reading service.
But Moon will tell you that this particular internship is one that has given him "great vision."
"Because of my internship, I can clearly see my future. I want to help people who are like me," he said.
And Moon has proven that he has the leadership potential and innate passion to make that goal a reality. In 2010 he co-founded Ability Counts Tempe, a disability awareness student group at ASU designed to promote social interactions between students with disabilities and the general ASU community.
Since Moon started his internship in January he has emphasized marketing Sun Sounds' radio reading service to a younger, more technology-savvy audience. While a majority of listeners are over 60 years old, and listen to Sun Sounds on a special radio, Moon demonstrates how a younger generation that is familiar with smartphone accessibility might use the service. On his smartphone Moon opens the free iBlink Radio app, touches the "radio reading service" menu item, and then touches "Sun Sounds of Arizona Tempe." Instantly, the live radio broadcast begins to play.
Sun Sounds of Arizona, a community service of Rio Salado College, serves people living with disabilities that make it difficult to read print. Volunteers read newspapers, magazines, and other periodicals aloud over the radio, internet and telephone. The organization promotes accessibility as one of its core values. Staff, volunteers, and student interns alike have equal access to resources. Moon and others with visual impairments use screen reading computer software for office productivity and internet access. The radio broadcast software that controls all on-air programming is screen-reader friendly. Staff and volunteers are alert for walkway obstructions or unmarked hazards that could trip a person with a visual impairment.
Internships at Sun Sounds expose students to many aspects of broadcasting, social service and education radio reading service, and it also serves the organization. "Part of what we do is to teach our colleagues that people with visual disabilities are not unlike the rest of us. They use smartphones, they download apps, and they say 'See you later' just like I do," says Heidi Capriotti, Marketing Coordinator at Sun Sounds.
Moon will graduate in May with majors in journalism and political science, and intends to pursue a law degree. During his college career Moon's articles have been published in the Arizona Republic, Arizona Capitol Times, Tucson Daily Star and ASU's State Press.
Moon is now in the process of looking for a job and is interested in many areas, including music, journalism, politics, law, teaching and public relations. "But whatever I do," he says, "I want to make sure that I do it in the same manner as the staff and volunteers at Sun Sounds – with care, professionalism and passion. Hard work for the sake of helping people is inspirational and I now see as my clear path."


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In a society that is increasingly tending towards renewable energy, we help you make smart investments for your apartment building, adapted to the electricity needs of the future.
A multi-unit building is often too expensive to operate today. With our smart energy solutions that adapt to the day's changing electricity consumption, your property will experience neither a deficit nor an surplus of energy. Just the right amount is key to an economically secure and environmentally friendly block of flats.
Together with integrated solar cells directly in the climate shell, an optimised electrical system can lower your operating costs, prepare the property for increased, future energy needs and help you contribute to a more environmentally conscious society.
Investment for the future
Integrated solar cells and smart energy solutions pay for themselves in many cases, leaving you with cheaper electricity and a higher property value.
An optimised energy flow
we can install energy solutions based on how your property consumes electricity during the day with accurate measurements and analyses.
Environmentally friendly process
whether you invest in a solar roof or façade, reduce your climate footprint with an installation for everything.


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Core Curriculum
Goals for the Liberal Arts Core Curriculum
St. Catherine University is committed to the liberal arts as the broad base of learning and to the pursuit of excellence for its students. It offers academic curricular and co-curricular programs in an atmosphere that stimulates you to pursue a full and meaningful life and provides opportunities, both intellectual and personal, for you to develop leadership abilities, spiritual values, and responsible commitments to society.
Along with the depth of knowledge provided by your chosen major at St. Catherine, you will have opportunities to acquire broad knowledge in a variety of disciplines to serve as a foundation for a lifelong process of learning. The University has identified seven themes of a St. Catherine education encompassing the knowledge, skills, and attitudes that it seeks to develop in its graduates.
Based on the University's commitment to women, the liberal arts, and the Catholic traditions of intellectual inquiry and social teaching, an education at St. Catherine University emphasizes:
Leadership and Collaboration: The ability to lead and influence for ethical and responsible action and for systemic change; the ability to work well with others, especially in joint intellectual effort.
Ethics and Social Justice: The ability to apply ethical standards to judge individual and collective actions; the development of attitudes and behaviors that reflect integrity, honesty, compassion, and justice in one's personal and professional life.
Diversity and Global Perspectives: The ability to understand and analyze the impact of diversity and systems of power and privilege on the individual and society; the ability to decipher and honor multiple and global perspectives in creating mutual understanding; the ability to imagine and take action toward justice.
Critical and Creative Inquiry: The ability to gather, analyze and critically evaluate information to develop reasonable arguments, sound judgments, and effective solutions. This ability is founded on a broad knowledge of the achievements of human creativity and of the variety of disciplinary approaches for exploring truths.
Discipline-Based Competence: The ability to demonstrate in-depth knowledge, values and skills in at least one major field of study and to relate disciplinary approaches to those of other fields. (Applies to all degree programs except the associate of arts liberal arts and sciences degree program.)
Effective Communication in a Variety of Modes: The ability to read, write, speak, view and listen effectively; the ability to present information in a clear and engaging manner.
Purposeful Life-long Learning: The ability to continue personal and professional development based on ongoing self-assessment, feedback from others, and new learning.


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If you're shopping for group health insurance for your company the first or second time around, it can be hard to make a confident choice. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) has changed the group health insurance market considerably. Choosing the right plan is important to your employees and may even offer a competitive edge when hiring.
There are a few things about buying group health insurance in today's marketplace that you might not have considered. Factor these tips into your buying process, and you'll be on your way to getting a plan that will serve you and your employees well for years to come.
The main oversight: Ruling out HSA-qualified plans
First and second-time group health insurance buyers often miss the opportunity to buy a health savings account (HSA)-qualified high-deductible health plan (HDHP). Let's go over these plans so you can better understand why they are worth considering.
Health Savings Accounts
HSAs are individually-owned, tax-advantaged accounts that can be used to pay for current or future health care expenses. Like a retirement account, the funds can be kept as cash or invested into mutual funds. The account holder (i.e., the employee) can contribute to the account, as can any other person or entity, including the employer.
HSAs have a triple tax advantage:
- Contributions made via payroll deduction are pre-tax if made through an employer-sponsored cafeteria plan, therefore reducing taxable income.
- Earnings to an HSA from interest and investments are tax-free.
- Distributions from an HSA to pay for qualified medical expenses are tax-free.
An HSA is not the same as a flexible spending account (FSA), which is an employer-sponsored plan and requires employees to use or lose their contributions each year. Instead, HSA money belongs to the employee and remains in the account until used. Since the HSA is owned by the employee, it is not affected by a termination of employment, and unused amounts roll over from year to year. To open an HSA, your employees must be enrolled in a qualified HDHP (note that some HDHPs are not qualified).
High-deductible health plans
HDHPs are health insurance plans with lower premiums and higher deductibles and out-of-pocket maximums than traditional health plans. Yet, many first-time group health insurance buyers shy away from these plans and opt to offer a low-deductible plan because it minimizes out-of-pocket costs for their employees.
However, after three to five years of offering health insurance benefits, employers often end up moving to a high-deductible plan coupled with an HSA. Several factors may explain this progression:
- After a few years, employers have had time to understand how their plan works and may become more comfortable with employees assuming greater risk in the size of the deductible and out-of-pocket maximum, since the HDHP will still provide protection from catastrophic claims.
- They realize that preventive care is still covered by HDHPs at 100 percent, and is not subject to a deductible.
- Their employees' health care spending has been minimal, and they realize employees could be saving on premiums and building a nest egg for future use with an HSA.
- Health care cost transparency is increasing; employees can more easily choose between providers for the best value and treatment option.
These reasons may also explain why HSA-qualified HDHPs are the fastest-growing health plans on the market.
HDHPs are a great option for companies with a younger demographic that typically don't access health care very often. In addition, employer contributions to an HSA can keep out-of-pocket costs reasonable for employees.
For example, imagine the total premium for employee-only coverage under a traditional, rich group health plan is $600 per month per employee, and your company pays the full amount.
Let's say that, on average, your employees only visit the doctor once or twice a year. Moving to an HDHP would cut the total premium amount to $400 per month, per employee. But say you also elected to contribute $50 per month to each employee's HSA. So altogether, you spend $450 per month, per employee.
As an employer, you would save $150 per month, per employee. Your employees would be able to use the HSA contributions for qualified expenses not covered by the plan, resulting in lower out-of-pocket costs. They would also benefit from the HSA tax advantages mentioned earlier.
In addition to saving you money, HDHPs can help your employees become more cost-conscious in choosing health care. The higher deductible encourages them to pay more attention to how much their medical services may cost and often leads to lower spending on prescription drugs and outpatient care.
Other common surprises
There are a few other things that might catch you off-guard when shopping for group health insurance, especially in the era of the ACA. Don't be surprised if:
- More detailed data is required to get a quote. Prior to the ACA, rates were calculated based on age ranges. All you had to do was provide the approximate age of your employees, and voila, you could get an accurate health insurance quote.
Now, rates are calculated more specifically by age, so exact date of birth is needed. This means you will have to provide the date of birth of all your employees, their spouses and dependents to get an accurate quote.
- The network doesn't include your old doctor or hospital. Look closely at the network of doctors and hospitals that are provided by any plan you're considering. Many plans are reducing the size of their networks as a way to control insurance costs. Your employees may become upset when they discover their favorite doctor is now "out of network" under your new plan.
- Your prescription is classified as a high-tiered drug. Health insurers classify prescription drugs into tiers based on its cost, price compared to similar drugs, and the availability of generic versions or over-the-counter alternatives. The higher the tier, the more your employees will pay when filling a prescription. These are usually brand-name drugs without a generic equivalent.
Compare drug tiers among the insurers you're considering to get an idea of how costs might be different for employees filling prescriptions.
- There's a separate drug deductible. Many health plans now have a separate prescription drug deductible. Like the general deductible, a drug deductible represents the amount of prescription drug expenses your employees would have to pay out-of-pocket annually before the plan pays prescription drug benefits.
- Pediatric dental and vision requirements aren't what you thought. ACA-compliant health plans require pediatric dental and vision coverage. However, ACA provisions require very limited coverage. Look closely at what's included and make sure the coverage is sufficient for your workforce.
Offering group health insurance to your employees is no simple task. What if you didn't have to go it alone? To learn more, get your free e-book, A Step-by-Step Guide to HR Outsourcing.


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All posts by Trevor
Get Your Moneys Worth From Mobile Website Design
Posted on January 23, 2013Mobile website design was considered a somewhat arcane art for quite a while, mostly because smartphones were so new and nobody knew quite what the mobile market was going to be like. But we've had a
Why You Should Never Tackle Adwords Without PPC Management
Posted on December 23, 2012Google Adwords is a massive minefield of things that you can do wrong and, because of those mistakes, easily waste a ton of cash. PPC management services developed specifically to fight this waste,
Press Release Services: Relevant To Small Business Marketing?
Posted on November 23, 2012I'd wager that the vast majority of small business owners firmly believe that there's very little that goes on in their neck of the woods that's news-worthy. They'd never consider using a press
Blog Posting As A Means of Communication
Posted on October 23, 2012There are a lot of reasons that your business should engage in regular blog posting. SEO companies will tell you in great detail about the benefits of regular internal backlink building and how it
What It Means to Have A List Targeted Email Marketing for Anyone
Posted on September 23, 2012If you have a website and a desire to make money, you should be engaging in targeted email marketing -- it's that simple. Every single major corporation in the country (and most of the medium-sized
Small Business SEO And The Power of A Positive Opinion
Posted on August 23, 2012The world's market is becoming more and more digital these days, and if you don't have your own rest top on the information superhighway, you're missing out. But it's not as easy as just throwing up
Is Local Internet Marketing Ever A Bad Idea?
Posted on July 23, 2012If you have a small business that has a website (and if you don't, you really should), you should be talking to your SEO company (and if you don't have one, you really should) about Local Internet
Which is More Affordable: SEO Done Local or SEO From Over There?
Posted on June 23, 2012Let me be the first to admit that this is a tricky question to answer. Like with most things in real life, there are exceptions to every rule. But by and large, the answer (to many people's surprise)
Penguin — What Does It Mean For Your Website's SEO?
Posted on May 23, 2012For the last year or so, the Internet has been a-twitter (no pun intended) about Google's Panda update and how it smacked down content mills and other low-quality sites. Well, you could be forgiven
The Might and Magic of Article Writing and Distribution
Posted on May 16, 2012Article writing and distribution has kind of been given a bad rap in the past few years. It all started when some genius invented a tactic called 'BUM marketing', wherein people started writing


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Christine Janikowski has one word to describe her old bathroom: shocking. "Wow, I'll bet that color really woke up the previous owners in the morning," she says of the room, which was electric blue when she and her husband, Patrick, bought their house on Mercer Island near Seattle. Christine saw the potential, however, and her bathroom has gone from shocking to spa-like. "Now it's very calm," she says. "The natural slate gives it a serene look."
Using earth-friendly materials made remodeling the bathroom a pleasure, Christine says. "We didn't have to be bothered by any outgasing from paint or carpet. Living in a healthy home with no noxious fumes is a great joy."
The Challenges: Finding sustainable materials often can be a headache, but Christine and Patrick had Seattle's Environmental Home Center resources in their back yard. "If you don't have a place like this, finding all the products would take an incredible amount of research," Christine says. "I really appreciated all their educational materials and specs."
The Joys: "Having a contractor who actually got into this whole thing was great," Christine says. "He went to the Environmental Home Center and got information on the products I picked. He was very supportive about using green materials and working with us. He had never done anything like this before."
The Compromises: Finding eco-friendly cabinets. "I did look into wheatboard cabinets, but we were told their longevity isn't very good," Christine says. "That was a bit of a disappointment." The couple had a local cabinetmaker craft laminate-wood cabinets instead.
Our Favorite Features: The cool, maroon Richlite countertops, which pick up the slate's purple hues. Also, we love the stylish, Italian wall-mounted Saturno faucets from Lacava.
The good stuff
Countertops: Richlite, a natural fiber composite made from renewable and recycled resources, doesn't outgas and generates no hazardous waste when manufactured.
Sink: The Caroma sink is shallower than the standard bowl, so it takes less water to fill.
Toilet: The Caroma dual-flush toilet lets users choose less or more water as needed.
Flooring, backsplash and tub surround: Natural slate
Paint: No-VOC American Pride paint (in white vermouth) keeps indoor air free of harmful chemicals and odors.


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The background of your desktop is the image or color that appears behind all of the icons and windows on your desktop. Fedora comes with a good number of backgrounds to choose from. Some are photos or graphic artwork that can take the the entire desktop to display and others are patterns that can be repeated to produce a wallpaper repeating effect.
Figure 21: The KDE Background Control Module allows you to select many types and variations of backgrounds for your Linux desktop.
The KDE Background Control Module allows you to select many types and variations of backgrounds for your Linux desktop. You can choose from many available pictures and wallpapers, solid colors and various blended colors graduated in several different patterns.
To choose a picture or wallpaper, be sure that the Picture radio button is selected in the Background box. The drop-down selection box will display a list of available pictures and background patterns from which you can choose.
The folder icon to the right of the selection box allows you to browse the file system including your home directory and its subdirectories for other patterns and pictures. If you want to use a picture of your family or pet or city, click on the folder icon and locate the picture you want to make your background and select it.
Figure 22: After selecting the Water image, the KDE Background Control Module determines from the small size of the image file that this image should be tiled to create a repeating wallpaper effect.
In the Options box you can choose whether the picture you chose will be scaled to fit the entire desktop as is shown in Figure 10, or whether it will be repeated. If the picture you chose is a wallpaper pattern you will want to choose the Tiled option to cause the image to repeat. In most cases the Background Control Module is smart enough to determine that a small image should be tiled to produce the wallpaper effect and will change that setting automatically for you.
Downloading New Wallpaper
If you are connected to the Internet, the Get New Wallpapers button opens a link to the KDE web site so you can easily download new background images.
The Get New Wallpapers window, as shown in Figure 23, displays a list of the wallpaper images available from www.KDE-Look.org. In Fedora Core 4 and earlier, this window is called Get Hot New Stuff. There are three tabs at the top of the window that allow you to view the available images by the ratings given them by users like yourself, the images that have the most downloads, and the most recent images. In general, you will find that the three lists contain many of the same images, but there always a few that appear in only one or two lists.
Figure 23: Downloading background images to use as wallpaper from the KDE-Look.org web site. It doesn't get any easier than this.
These lists are limited in size to ensure a reasonably short download time for the lists on dial-up connections. There are many more images available than appear in these lists. If you want to search for some of the more obscure ones, you can use your browser and go directly to www.kde-look.org to search among the thousands that are there.
Note: All of the images downloaded using either of these methods are only available to you on this computer. Other users on this same computer will not have access to these images. If it is desirable to make the images you have downloaded available to other users on the same Linux computer, they can either download the images themselves – but that would unnecessarily use additional disk space – or you can contact your system administrator (root) to move the images to a location from which all users can access them.


text: MUSIC: Cobhams Asuquo – Everyday ft. Sound Sultan & Bez May 30, 2018 Capelove Music, Naija Music 0 Cobhams Asuquo discharges 'Ordinary' including Sound Sultan and Bez. Honor winning artist and maker, Cobhams Asuquo puts forth a social expression with his sarcastic new tune entitled 'Regular' including Sound Sultan and Bez. 'Ordinary' which takes shots at Nigerian pioneers is unintentionally on May 29, a day put aside to recognize Nigeria's Democracy Day. The melody is propelled by the nearby Maxim that says, "each day is for the hoodlum and one day is for the proprietor." The new tune is the most recent board in an accumulation that follows-up on past singles by the artist, for example, 'One Hit' and 'Relentless.' In his most recent Instagram post on his handle @cobhamsasuquo, here's the means by which he catches his dream; "Ordinary" is an account of threes that draws a few parallels with the Nigerian State. It's an account of three companions who sought after a superior life, an account of double-crossing, and a story that addresses how there should come a period when individuals become weary of existing conditions. It features the risks of being a smug people and addresses the need to bring one's future into one's own particular hands rather than abandoning it in the hands of the individuals who might misuse it. I observe this to be genuine particularly on this day – Democracy Day, when we are helped to remember our young popular government and the amount we have experienced as a people to get to where we are presently. As we plan to cast our votes one year from now and choose our future, "Ordinary" approaches us to dismiss carelessness and accomplish something. It is time we leave that space of taking things as they seem to be, and get to that point where sidon look is never again satisfactory. It doesn't bode well that the persevering Nigerian youth should keep on slaving without end with almost no certification of a future. I wish that we would perceive and practice our energy to pick with the goal that we can shape our aggregate future into that which we want. Uncommon on account of my siblings Sound Sultan and Bez, exceptional and faithful performers in their own correct who loaned their voices to this tune. "Ordinary" is a tune for the general population. "Ordinary" is a melody for you. DOWNLOAD MP3 Get A Professional Artwork Graphic Design Now (Here) DOWNLOAD: Mr Lile - Mummy Anyi Loading... READ ALSO DOWNLOAD MP3: Sugarboy – Kowope Share this:Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)Click to share on Google+ (Opens in new window)Like this:Like Loading... Related BezCobhams AsuquoEverydaySound Sultan


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The DNArails Genomics Platform is a cloud-based genomics computing platform which fulfills a comprehensive range of human genome analysis requirements, including sequencing quality, mutation impact, and categorization of mutations based on default or customized guidelines. The platform provides simplified data management and analytical sequencing data to gain meaningful insights into biomedicine through visualization and user-friendly interface.
- Sample Management & 3 Analysis Models
- Annotation with over 50 Latest Databases
- One Analysis Produces over 20 Useful Charts
- Exceptional Performance of Dr. Score to Predict the Pathogenic Degree of Variants
- Establish Private Databases & Reports
- Global Collaboration and Data Sharing
DNArails Genomics Platform will dramatically enhance the efficiency of biomedical research. Start with uploading VCF file and explore your science journey.
For more details about DNArails Genomics Platform, please learn from our documentation or DNArails official website.


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Siemens continues to be a dominant force in the PLM market. Since our last update on Siemens PLM, their vision to support product innovation, product development, engineering, and production has continued to expand from an already broad suite of capabilities. It's time to acknowledge that they've gone beyond the traditional boundaries of "PLM" to a more
Dassault Systèmes Strategy 2017+
Dassault Systèmes continues to make significant progress on the 3DExperience vision they laid out 5 years ago. This strategy has seen them transform from a software vendor offering distinct solutions for a variety of functional areas to a company that leads with a strong business transformation message backed up by a platform of solutions. I dropped
Dassault Systèmes Vision 2016+
Dassault Systèmes is successfully transforming their business beyond PLM to become a platform provider. To be more precise, they are becoming a "business innovation platform company." Our recent discussions show that they're making significant progress on the 3DEXPERIENCE vision they laid out in 2012, and have been able to transform their business more than I originally suspected when the vision
Siemens PLM Vision 2015+
In addition to being a major industrial manufacturer in their own right, Siemens PLM has a rich history in the engineering software industry. Today, they continue to drive their PLM agenda forward while taking greater advantage of the synergies available from being a part of a global manufacturer with offerings including manufacturing automation equipment, manufacturing operations management (MOM)
Dassault Systèmes PLM Vision 2015+
Dassault Systèmes is an innovator in the PLM industry. DS continues to push the boundaries and scope of engineering software from CAD (CATIA) to Digital Manufacturing (DELMIA) to Simulation (SIMULIA) to PLM (ENOVIA) and well beyond the limits of traditional PLM. DS has strong engineering roots but they are becoming increasingly involved in a larger scope of
Dassault Systèmes PLM Vision 2014+
Dassault Systèmes is one of the top 3 PLM players and has been for quite some time. DS has one of the broadest PLM footprints around spanning conceptual design, industrial design, engineering, simulation, manufacturing engineering, product communications, and more. DS is taking a unique approach to expanding their business and has arguably moved beyond the core


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especially all you hate-filled, anti-Muslim, anti-immigrant, white-bigotedTrump-loving racist assholes.
Sunday, September 11, 2016
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My crap -- not your crap. It might be political, social, or personal. If you don't like it, leave. Comment if you want. I might reply or I might not, but I do read them.
You are a Peace Patroller, also known as an anti-war liberal or neo-hippie. You believe in putting an end to American imperial conquest, stopping wars that have already been lost, and supporting our troops by bringing them home.
Take the quiz at www.FightConservatives.com


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Motorola Opus One was a mere leaked device till now, but now we've found out that this Android iDEN phone will be available via Sprint Nextel. The source of the info is YouTube user jay84305, who "borrowed" the unreleased handset off the streets of Florida. He posted a couple of vids on YouTube, showing the phone's features, but sadly they were removed.
What we've found out from this unusual source, talking in slang English and claiming he took the phone from the street after some guy from Motorola or Sprint dropped it, is that the handset runs Android 1.5 OS and sports the name "p1_opusone" under the battery cover. This phone could also reach Boost Mobile, not only Nextel.
It's very possible that Android 2.0 or 2.1 will make it to the iDEN Android phone, depending on when it's released.
[via intomobile]


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This snickerdoodle scrub smells so amazingly delicious! Go ahead and make a double batch, you won't regret it.
Winter has me on a sugar scrub kick. My skin gets so dry when it's really cold outside! And I love how a sugar scrub gently exfoliates while moisturizing.
I got the idea for this scrub while filling diffusers one day. I wanted a yummy, cozy scent and went for vanilla essential oil combined with cinnamon essential oil. And it smelled so amazing, I wanted to find another way to use this combo! And a scrub is the perfect way!
Good To Know:
- Not all essential oils are created equal. Be sure you are using 100% pure essential oils from a brand you trust. I like Plant Therapy .
- Extra virgin (regular) coconut oil is solid below 76 degrees F., but fractionated coconut oil stays liquid. You can use either, but I prefer fractionated coconut oil because it's more consistent and has a longer shelf life.
- Some people experience sensitivity to coconut oil. Good alternatives are sweet almond oil and grapeseed oil.
- Be careful in the tub and shower. Oil based bath products can make your bathtub slippery.
- Vanilla essential oil and cinnamon essential oil are both VERY potent. I don't recommend using more than a couple drops in this recipe.
Snickerdoodle Body Scrub
This sugar scrub is the perfect sweet treat for your skin.
- 1/2 cup sugar
- fractionated coconut oil
- 1-2 drops vanilla essential oil
- 2-3 drops cinnamon essential oil
Place the sugar in a small bowl.
Starting with 2 tablespoons coconut oil, add to sugar and mix completely. Add and mix additional coconut oil, a little at a time, until the desired consistency is achieved. I like body scrubs to have the consistency of damp, but not wet, sand.
Once you have the desired consistency, add your essential oils and mix well.
This doesn't contain any preservatives, so treat your skin by using this generously!
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- 2019 Book Bingo (free printable!)


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Triple Treat
Monday, May 20 2013 @ 03:29 am EDT
Contributed by: dgrosvold
Views: 3,172
|The image shows the configuration of Mercury, Venus, and Jupiter in the western sky just after sunset on May 26, 2013. Insets show the relative size appearance of the planets on that date.
Click image for larger view
On May 25th, Mercury will pass within 1.4° of Venus, then two days later Mercury comes within 2.4° of Jupiter, and finally on the 28th, Jupiter and Venus approach within 1° of one another. If it werent for the slight orbital tilt of our solar systems planetary orbits, these conjunctions would all be occultations instead. During the nights of May 26th-27th, all three planets are visible immediately after sunset within the same 3° field of view, with the triple conjunction peaking in a triangular shape on the 26th. (For scale, the full Moon subtends about 1/2°.) The three planets appear close together for a few days more, making a line in the sky on the 30th/31st.
How does this happen? Mercury and Venus race around the Sun far faster than Earth, with Mercury completing more than four revolutions around the Sun for each one that Earth makes. At the same time, Jupiter is far slower, taking 12 years to orbit just once around the Sun. Jupiters been high in the sky during the early parts of the night, but steadily lowers throughout May as Earth continues to move away from it, approaching its maximum distance from Earth. Mercury and Venus, meanwhile, begin to move out from behind the Sun during May: Venus at the beginning of the month and Mercury in the middle.
Thus, during this triple conjunction, all three planets will be on the far side of the Sun, something that happens just 25% of the time in triple conjunctions involving Mercury and Venus! If you telescopically resolve these planets into disks, youll see our inner worlds in a nearly-full gibbous phase. Jupiter will appear largest in terms of angular diameter, followed by Venus and lastly by Mercury. Just a year ago, during its now-famous transit, Venus took up more than a full arc-minute in the sky; during this conjunction, it will just one-sixth that angular size and less than a third the apparent diameter of Jupiter. Nevertheless, Venus will still be more than six times as bright as Jupiter during this time, outshining all night-sky objects other than the Moon. Closer conjunctions of two naked-eye planets are frequent, but getting three or more like this happens just once or twice per decade, so dont miss your chance to see it.
And speaking of occultations, The Space Place has a great kid-friendly explanation of the Venus transit and solar eclipses of 2012 at spaceplace.nasa.gov/venus-transit.
Dr. Ethan Siegel, a theoretical astrophysicist, is a professor at the University of Portland (OR) and Lewis & Clark College.


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WEEK 6: "How Does God Guide Us?"
I arrive at the church slightly earlier than usual and am surprised to find everyone already in their seats. It's good to see that everyone is keen to attend. I'm really enjoying the sessions and it looks like everyone else is, too. Fantastic.
I sit chatting to Lady Three, who I find to be a really warm person, and it isn't long before she's telling me of her weekly jaunts into the local town centre on Friday evenings. She doesn't go to town to sample the fine beers and wines that the assortment of bars and clubs have on offer, but she does stand outside those bars and clubs… equipped with her Bible. She tells me that other members of a Christian group join her and, as Friday night becomes Saturday morning, they wait for the young revellers to exit the clubs. As the wobbling, pie-eyed youths spill from the bars Lady Three and her entourage stop some of them and ask if they know of the saving grace of Jesus Christ. They ask some of them if they would like to be prayed for, and to others they offer Bible verses.
They're a very brave bunch. I'll give them that.
She tells me that one member of the group is a particularly gifted chap who is "very good at choosing people to speak to who turn out to have ailments". This gentlemen then prays with these people in the hope that Jesus will cure them on the spot.
Lady Three is noticeably excited as she tells me of their most recent foray into the town centre. She begins, "Last weekend we got to see something amazing! He [the gifted chap] actually picked someone out who had a fractured collarbone. He went up to the young lad and asked "Do you have any faith in God?" and the boy replied "No". So my friend asked him, "Do you have any reason for not having faith in God?" and the boy replied, "BECAUSE YOU CAN'T PROVE IT!" So my friend asked the lad about his arm, because he had it in a sling, and he told us that he'd fractured it by falling off of a motorbike. My friend asked, "Can we pray for you? Because we believe that Christ heals" so we prayed for the boy and moments later he could lift his arm up!"
I must say, there were a couple of points that sprung immediately to mind. The first was that I wasn't aware that a fractured arm stops you from lifting it upwards. Why would that seem so astonishing? And the second point that sprang to mind was to do with the "gift" that this Christian chap supposedly had. Lady Three had said earlier that he was gifted in that he was, " very good at choosing people to speak to who turn out to have ailments". And the first example she gives in support of that is to tell me that he stopped a young lad who had his arm in a sling. Some gift! Stevie Wonder could have spotted that ailment, I'm sure.
Lady Three continues, "The boy took off his sling for a moment but then put it back on. We asked him why he was putting it back on and he replied, "Because my mum wont believe me""
I reach for my glass of cold water that sits on the table beside me and as I do so I catch the eye of the pastor who nods at me and says, "I've got a word for you". By this he means that God has given him a 'word of knowledge' about me. I'm quite excited at the thought. I wonder what God could have told the pastor? Has he told him something really specific about me, something that only I could know? I can't wait.
As the rest of the group chat I have a moment to think about this supposed 'word of knowledge'. I must admit that I'm curious as to why God didn't just tell me himself. But I don't want to get in front of myself, maybe I'm in for a surprise? The pastor says that he'll tell me all about it after tonight's DVD presentation has finished. I'm looking forward to that!
The DVD begins to play. Tonight's session is called, "How Does God Guide us?"…
Gumbel starts by asking, "Who will God guide?" and then offers an immediate answer to this question by stating, "He'll guide those who are willing to do what he wants".
Nice start.
Gumbel then tells us that we should all have a similar attitude to that of Mary, the mother of Jesus, who was willing and grateful to be "the Lord's servant". I must admit that Mary's attitude was indeed remarkable considering that an invisible ghost, by means of magic, had just impregnated her.
Gumbel informs us that we don't have to be special in order for God to use us for something. He then lists the names of a number of misfits from the Bible who God used in various ways.
He then asks, "So how does God guide us? How does this relationship work?"
"We've got 5 main ways we're going to look at tonight". says Gumbel.
The 1st of these is:
Gumbel begins, "In the Bible the general will of God for all of us is revealed". He continues, "He's spoken about marriage, family life, work, money, children and all kinds of things. We know for example that marriage is for life". Gumbel goes on to tell us that we shouldn't commit adultery, because the Bible commands that we shouldn't. We should also pay our taxes each year, because the Bible commands that we should. For these important matters the Bible is our guide.
God can use the Bible to guide us as we read it. "Sometimes he [God] will bring to light a particular verse as we're reading". says Gumbel.
The presentation continues and he offers us an example from his own experience of how God pointed him toward a certain passage in the Bible. Gumbel picks up the tale, "I'd been practising as a lawyer for some years [but] I sensed that God was calling us to ordination in the Church of England. Pippa [his wife] and I went off for a weekend together to pray. During this weekend I wrote down all the ways in which God had been guiding us. And the first thing that I wrote down was the ways in which he had guided us through the Bible, and there were fifteen different occasions where we had sensed God speaking to us through this book. One of them was through a verse in Romans 10 which says this, 'How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?' I wondered whether that was God calling me".
What does he mean by that last sentence? Why isn't he sure that God has communicated with him? Why the uncertainty? If God communicates with people why are they always left saying things like, "I THINK that God is telling me such and such"? Why do they only "think" that he is telling them something? Does he have trouble making himself clear? Why are his methods of communication so vague? I have to say that this kind of thing smacks of wishful thinking.
The 2nd way in which we know that God is guiding us is:
Gumbel tells us that we learn in the New Testament that the apostle Paul was led by the Holy Spirit.
Gumbel then talks about how we get to know people's voices and how we can recognise certain people by their voices. He adds that his wife, Pippa, recognises his voice because she knows him so well. In the same way that we come to recognise human voices we can also come to recognise the voice of the Holy Spirit, claims Gumbel. This is all part and parcel of our developing relationship with the Holy Spirit.
We are then told that the Holy Spirit leads us in a number of different ways. Gumbel offers us an example, "First of all God speaks to us when we pray". He continues, "Prayer is a two-way conversation. It's not just a question of us pouring out our requests to God and then going off without ever listening, because he may want to speak to us when we pray".
He then gives us an illustration to show how silly it would be for us to simply pour out our feelings then walk away before a response could be offered. Gumbel says that none of us would go to see our doctor and simply reel off a list of ailments that were troubling us and then walk out of the room before the doctor had chance to offer some medical advice. It would be ludicrous to do something like that, suggests Gumbel. Similarly it would be just as silly, when praying to God, to reel off a number of problems and then end the prayer before God could supply you with an answer. We must understand that God guides us through prayer.
We can also tell when God is guiding us if we have, for example, "a good thought" such as "maybe I ought to ring that person" or "maybe I ought to write a letter to that person" . All these nice thoughts emanate from God, claims Gumbel.
The Holy Spirit can guide us in more unusual ways, such as, "prophecy or visions or pictures or angels" or even "in dreams".
Gumbel admits that, "Guidance is a very difficult thing," but thankfully "there are various tests" that we can perform. "St John says, 'Test the spirits to see whether they're from God'". Now that sounds interesting. I'll have to raise that particular point in our discussion after the presentation. If we can test these things then maybe we as a group can devise a way in which we can demonstrate God's involvement in earthly life. I do hope so.
Gumbel then gives us some examples of how we can test that an idea emanates from the Holy Spirit. We should ask ourselves, "Is it in line with the Bible? Does it promote love? God is love, so if it's not a loving idea then it wont come from God"
I must say that I found that sort of "test" to be very disappointing. Is that really how we are to test if an idea in our heads has come from God? How weak is that?
Do we sit and ponder, "Errr… I'm not sure if God is communicating with me…so… errr… let me think… errr… yes, this is a decent idea that I have in my head and it involves love so it must have come from God, therefore God was communicating with me".
My goodness.
The 3rd way in which we know that God is guiding us is:
Gumbel starts by stating, "God has given every human being a conscience" which is "like a very sharp knife that can be blunted if it's misused and ignored. But if it's used in the right way it can become more sharp. God has also given us minds to think and reason".
He continues, "In the big decisions [in life] common sense is very important". He then gives us an example of how we should use common sense when confronted with a big decision, such as to who we should marry, "Paul warns us of the danger of marrying someone who is not a Christian" and that "if we're a Christian we should look to marry a person whose faith we respect". It's all "common sense" says Gumbel.
The 4th way in which we know that God is guiding us is:
Gumbel begins, "The word 'Saints' is used in the New Testament to mean 'all Christians', in other words the church". He then offers us a Bible verse:
[Proverbs 12:15] "The way of a fool seems right to him, but a wise man listens to advice."
Make of that what you will because that is all he offers in support of point #4.
The 5th way in which we know that God is guiding us is:
Or to put it another way, "The providence of God" says Gumbel
He then paraphrases Psalm 37:5 "Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will act."
Gumbel explains that particular verse, "What he means is this: if we're faced with a difficult decision, as all of us are from time to time, we can go to the Lord and say, 'Lord, I don't know which direction to go. I don't know whether this decision is right or whether it's not'". By doing this we are committing ourselves to the Lord. We are putting our trust in him. Gunbel continues, "His [God's] promise is this… he WILL act. God can shut doors or he can open doors". and then adds, "But we have to be willing to say [to God], 'I trust you with this'".
Gumbel then gives us an account of a circumstantial sign. He tells us the story of two of his friends, a young man and a young lady, who were going out with each other. They'd become Christians and after a little soul searching they decided that it was for the best that they split from each other temporarily. During this time they would leave it in God's hands to show them whether or not they should stay together. After a week of being apart from each other, and after a series of chance occurrences, they happened upon one another in the street. They ran towards each other and met in a loving embrace. The young man later wrote about this episode, "Meeting like that was a chance in a million, and we took it as a sign from God". Gumbel then tells us that they've since been happily married for nearly thirty years.
Isn't this what anyone else would call a "coincidence"?
Gumbel ends his presentation with a prayer. The pastor switches off the DVD and switches on the lights…
"I liked that! It was my favourite so far" says the pastor. The Christians are in full agreement. I must admit that I enjoyed it too.
The pastor talks about similar relationship difficulties to those of the young couple. He solemnly admits that his own marriage once went through some really rough times, and that such difficulties arose because "God was calling me to the ministry but I kept fighting it".
Why did he keep fighting it? Didn't he trust God or something? What's all that about?
As a group we chat for a few moments about certain relationship difficulties. It's not long before there's a pause in the action. The pastor looks around the room to see if anyone has any questions. There are none forthcoming so I offer something:
Me: "Early in his presentation Gumbel gave us an example of someone sitting in the doctor's surgery reeling off his problems without waiting for a response from the doctor. He gave this as an analogy to us praying to God without waiting for a reply, leaving God to ask, "Don't you want to hear what I have to say?" Well in a way I'm sitting in the doctor's surgery now but I'm actually hanging about for a response. But I'm not getting one. If God doesn't want to speak to me personally he can speak to me through one of you, I don't mind"
Pastor: "Can I share with you what I felt God say to me today?"
Me: "Of course."
Pastor: "I was praying this morning and I was also reading the Bible. I read these two verses and I just felt God say to me, "That's for Steve"".
Me: "Ok"
Pastor: "It's from Luke chapter 19 verses 41 and 42. "As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it and said, "If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes". I hope you don't mind me being personal here but there are two sets of eyes: there's Jesus' eyes and there's your eyes. I really sensed that God was weeping over you, Steve. That's the passion that Jesus has for you. There is something inside of you that's wondering what all this [life, the universe and everything] is about".
Me: "Yes, you're right. I'm interested in the 'big' questions"
Pastor: "Jesus is longing that you'll know peace, but at the moment it's hidden from your eyes. It's interesting that you say that you're here waiting for God to respond to you because I felt, and this is entirely up to you, but I felt that God wanted us to pray for your eyes, your spiritual eyes, to be opened. I think that God sees your heart and he knows you want answers, but I felt him say to me that you're blind."
Me: "Do you think that God sees me as hard-hearted perhaps?"
Pastor: "I don't think you're hard-hearted, Steve. I see you as a very gentle person, a very thoughtful person and a very caring person. I think "hard-hearted" would be the last phrase I'd use to describe you. But your blindness is, and I don't want to sound rude here, but your blindness is an illness that can only be healed by Jesus. In the Bible Jesus said, "I've come to give sight to the blind," and he meant that both physically and spiritually. And Jesus went around laying hands on people and they received their sight both physically and spiritually"
Me: "Thanks. However I must ask that if it is true that God is weeping over me and he knows I have a good heart, why does he contact you to tell you to read a bible verse to me? Why does he contact you to tell you to tell me that he's weeping over me? Why doesn't he come to me and tell me that?"
Pastor: "I think he has"
Me: "But I'm not aware of that"
Pastor: "Maybe not but…well… I can only offer to you what I've heard God say to me"
Me: "Yes, but why didn't he just say it to me, though? Wouldn't it have been easier, and a lot more persuasive, if he had cut out the middle man?"
Pastor: "In the last six months [the long-standing male member] has shared things with me, which were about me, which he felt were from God. Now, I could have said, "God, why didn't you tell me that directly?" but I didn't because I feel that [the long-standing male member] has, after listening to God and on my behalf, brought the words that he'd had for me straight from God. That gives me a real thrill to think that God is THAT interested in me! I feel that I'm more likely to succumb to wishful thinking, whereas [the long-standing male member] has no agenda."
In other words he could merely be imagining that God was speaking to him, whereas the long-standing male member is an unbiased source so whatever comes from him must be legit. But I must ask, why couldn't he be guilty of wishful thinking too?
Isn't it incredibly revealing, though, that he admits to being prone to wishful thinking? Maybe he's revealed more here than he would have liked.
The conversation is getting a bit heavy now as the pastor has tears in his eyes because he is so passionate about the fact that God communicates with him. I try to lighten the tone:
Me: "What if [the long-standing male member] came up to you and said, "I've just heard from God, and I felt that he was telling me to tell you that you must give me a couple of thousand pounds per month, paid directly into my bank account"
The group laughs. The pastor then responds by telling me that such a message couldn't possibly have come from God because it doesn't fit with scripture.
Anyway, after that minor diversion I get back on track by asking:
Me: "Why are such things so vague, though? We are after all talking about a God who is everywhere, knows everything and can do anything, but the only way I can get to know if he exists is if you come up to me and say, "Steve, I think that God has told me to read this Bible verse to you".
Pastor: "Well it's more than that. I felt as though he asked me to ask you if you'd be willing to be prayed for. And for your eyes to be opened."
Me: "I have no problem with anyone wanting to pray for me."
Pastor: "That's fantastic. So tonight before you go, and with your permission, I'd like to do that"
Me: "Of course you can"
Things are getting interesting now!
These sessions are getting better by the week. It would appear that by the end of the evening I'm going to be surrounded by a mob of salivating Christians, who will be trying to will the power of the Holy Spirit into my doubt-riddled soul. I sit and listen to the rest of them chat as I try to imagine what is going to happen to me later on.
The conversation jumps swiftly from one topic to the next, and I'm quite content to sit quietly, that is until "punishment", "discipline" and "hell" enter the discussion. The pastor explains to us that he has to discipline his own children but he does so because he loves them, and that it's for their own good in the long run. He likens this to God sending non-Christians to hell.
Pastor: "God's punishment is a discipline that comes out of his love. Just as my love for my children expresses itself both in abundance and in strict discipline at times."
Me: "I don't doubt that we need to have some sort of discipline in the world, but torturing someone is a different matter. When [my fellow sceptic] and I die we are, supposedly, going to get tortured for an eternity"
Long-Standing Male Member: "Yes, but that torture is self-inflicted"
Me: "Didn't you say the other week that my doubts were justified?"
Long-Standing Male Member: "Yes… errr… yes… but when God speaks to you it depends how much of an argument you put forward to God. You say you're genuinely searching so God will genuinely break through, because if we draw close to God he'll draw close to us"
Me: "The thing is, though, according to your belief, if I were to have a heart attack now and die I'd be spending an eternity in a lake of flames, even though I'd genuinely looked for God, but never heard from him or stumbled across any evidence for his existence"
Long-Standing Male Member: "If you don't have a relationship with Jesus, where you've surrendered your life to Jesus, that is what will happen, yes"
It astonishes me how Christians can say things like that and not even flinch at the thought. The threats of eternal torture roll effortlessly off the tongue. They are quick to tell us how much their God loves us all, but are just as quick to tell us that he created an eternal pit of flames in which to torture those of us who do not reciprocate his love. Isn't this just absolutely bizarre?
The pastor supports what the long-standing male member has just told me. He agrees that I'm doomed to (and deserving of) being sent to a place of eternal torture "because that's been your choice".
My choice? I don't think so. We'll come to that in a moment.
I ask them about this supposedly loving God who tortures his children for an eternity:
Me: "If your children had been naughty would you discipline them by holding their hands over a hot flame for a few seconds?"
Pastor: "No"
Me: "What about holding their hands over the flame for ten seconds, then? What about a minute, an hour, a day? How about a zillion years? How about even longer without any chance of them ever being able to pull their hands away?"
Lady Three: [Long pause] "But what if they threw themselves in the fire?"
Me: "But I'm not throwing myself in any fire"
Lady Three: "Maybe on a spiritual level you might be. The Bible says we were created to have a relationship with God, to have a two-way communication with him"
Me: "But God isn't communicating with me"
Lady Three: "You can't have communication with God without having a faith that he's there"
Me: "I've had faith that he was there. I'm a former believer. And I can honestly say that I've never heard from God"
Lady Three: "What made you believe back then?"
Me: "I was raised that way. I didn't know any different. I suppose if I'd have been raised in Pakistan I'd have been a Muslim"
Pastor: "I always think of it like we're walking towards a cliff. God doesn't push us over that cliff. All the time God is saying, "Look at the cross. My son died for you. Look at the cross. You don't need to go over that cliff!""
Me: "But I genuinely do not see the cross or the cliff, despite being told that they're there, and despite me looking for them for many years"
Long-Standing Male Member: "That's because you're like a blind person walking without a guide towards the cliff edge"
Me: "If I'm blind then I'm not choosing to throw myself off of a cliff that I don't even know is there!"
Again, I'm dumbfounded at the way these Christians attempt to defend their beliefs. Much of it is childish. Some of it is just plain absurd. It's as though they have never questioned these beliefs in the past, and have never even heard anyone else question them either. So now that someone IS questioning them (i.e. me) they panic and leap to the first thing that comes into their heads.
The long-standing male member then suggests that maybe God is communicating to me by nudging me towards attending the Alpha Course every week (I seem to remember that someone else suggested this in an earlier session too). I pose a similar question back at him:
Me: "And when I talk to Muslims maybe it is Allah who is guiding me towards them?"
Long-Standing Male Member: "And that's the choice you have to make. How do you know that God is not telling you things through us?"
Me: "I don't."
Long-Standing Male Member: "Well I'm saying to you that God IS telling you things through us"
Me: "But I'd just have to take your word for that"
Long-Standing Male Member: "Yes"
Me: "But why would I take your word for it about your God, rather than the word of a Muslim, Sikh or Hindu about their gods?"
There's a momentary pause before the pastor interjects by changing the subject. In a previous session I had told the group that Christianity was not original in having a godman sent to earth. One of the names I'd mentioned was Krishna, a Hindu deity. Krishna was an earthly manifestation of the Hindu god Vishnu, and he is still worshipped today. The pastor wants to pull me up on the topic of Krishna.
The pastor cannot understand how anyone could seriously believe in Krishna due to the fact that he "went around killing people and took sixteen thousand wives!"
The Christians in the group erupt into fits of hysterical laughter, and it doesn't stop for almost a full minute. It's as though someone has just told the greatest joke in the history of the universe.
They obviously find it ludicrous to believe in a god who kills humans. Yet they believe in the Christian God, the most notorious killer of all. Remember, this is the very same God who slaughtered the entire world's population barring Noah and seven members of his family. And this is the same God who slaughters people on almost every page of the Old Testament.
They obviously find it ludicrous, too, to believe in a god who marries many women. Yet they believe in the Christian God who impregnates a young virgin without so much as asking her permission.
It blows my mind how can they laugh at one set of beliefs whilst holding firmly to a similar (or even sillier) set of beliefs themselves. It really is remarkable.
At this point Lady Two, who has been quiet for almost the duration of the evening so far, turns to me and asks:
Lady Two: "Have you repented? Do you feel the need to repent before a Holy God?"
Me: "No, not really"
Lady Two: "Do you think your life is ok?"
Me: "Yes I do"
Lady Two: "Before a Holy God? Say the Bible is true, do you think that everything in your life is as good as you can get it to please a Holy God?"
Me: "If the Bible is true then no, my life wouldn't be pleasing to him because I'm not a Christian. I'd have to make myself a Christian, pretty sharpish I'd imagine"
Lady Two: "You know that night when I prayed for 100% faith?…"
Oh dear. We're only 25 seconds into the conversation and already she wants to present her testimony again. The exact same testimony that she's given at almost every session so far. "I never thought anyone could have 100% faith"… "God filled me with his Holy Spirit"… "It was complete POWER"… "Tears rolled down my face"… "The Bible sank into my chest"… "God had revealed himself to me, a nobody"…
You get the picture.
Her testimony lasts for about eight minutes before the pastor interrupts to state that now is a good time to pray for me. I'm quite excited at the thought. I'm just hoping, though, that it's not going to be embarrassing. In my head I picture the scene from the film "The Exorcist" where the priest is attempting an exorcism on the demon-possessed young girl, dousing her with Holy Water as she squeals and vomits as her head spins around 360 degrees. I'm hoping it's going to be a milder experience for me!
The pastor suggests that after he has finished with me I should go home and "read the Bible afresh so that God can speak directly to you through his word". The long-standing male member adds, "Part of my love for God is to read the Bible. And as I read the Bible I sense God speaking to me, sometimes very consciously, to the point of tears".
The pastor asks, "Can I pray for you? I'd like to lay my hands on you because Jesus did that". I respond with a "No problem".
He walks towards me and rubs his hands together as if to warm them up. I smile and say to him with a wink, "Be gentle with me".
He puts one hand on the top of my head, holds his other hand in the air, closes his eyes and then begins his prayer:
Pastor: "Father God I just want to thank you for your word. God I want to thank you for Steve. I just want to thank you Lord that you do weep over Steve and that your eyes, Lord, are full of tears. I just want to thank you for Steve's heart, Lord. He's earnestly seeking you, Lord, and I want to thank you for the honesty and integrity with which he speaks to us. I praise and bless you for that, Lord. I lay my hands on him now just as Christ laid hands on the blind, and I want to pray in Christ's name Jesus, Lord, that you will open his spiritual eyes that he may receive all he longs for. And Lord please make him be certain about the things of which he currently has no certainty. Open his eyes I pray. As he reads the Bible from this day onwards he'll find you speaking to him and showing him the way. I ask this in Jesus' name. Amen"
He stands quietly for a moment, with his eyes closed and his hand firmly gripping my head. He's in the zone. I look around the room and the other Christians have their arms aloft. Some have their eyes closed and are rocking back and forth in their chairs, mumbling inaudible prayers to God.
A few seconds later the pastor lets go and thanks me for allowing that to happen. I tell him that it's no problem. I look around the room again and the Christians seem quite moved by the experience. Ladies Two and Three have tears in their eyes. I'd say that they're hopeful, if not certain, that I'm on my way to becoming a Christian now that I've made that first step.
The room remains quiet; everyone sits motionless as all eyes are focused on me. I sit still in my chair, taking in the moment. I wonder, do I have to say something at this point? Is this the point where I'm expected to start speaking in tongues or throwing myself on the floor, body convulsing from the power of the Holy Spirit? I don't know. I don't feel any different. Maybe it'll come later.
The group remain with their arms aloft, as they take turns to mutter thanks to Jesus. The long-standing male member gives his thanks more audibly than the rest, "I want to thank you Lord for being an amazing God. Even though I might find it difficult to understand that Steve can't see you, Lord, I pray that you help him to see you and understand you. Lord I pray that you'll touch his heart, and I thank you, father, for promising to draw close to them who draw close to you. Lord, I give Steve into your hands and I pray that over the next week you will speak to him and that Steve will sense your powers and your presence. Lord, you know exactly how Steve thinks, and I pray that you will reveal yourself to him. This I ask in Jesus' name. Amen"
His prayer is met by a chorus of amen's from the group. Everyone smiles. The room is buzzing. The atmosphere is similar to that of an operating theatre after a surgeon has performed a difficult but life-saving operation on a patient. Success is in the air.
Or is it?
We all pack up our things and put on our coats and jackets. Tonight's session has come to a close. There's some hearty backslapping and a few excited handshakes. They all wish me well for the week ahead and I thank them for a fascinating and thoroughly enjoyable evening.
This could be a momentous week in my life. God could be revealing himself to me sometime between now and the next session. It's kind of exciting.
God, the ball is in your court…
10 Comments »
Hi Stephen,
After reading your last couple of posts, it sounds like you probably will not get your questions answered by this group of Christians, no matter how sincere and friendly they are. While they can demonstrate the passion, dedication, and joy that Christians have, they will not be able to remove the roadblocks in your mind which keep you from the Christian faith. Even if your heart wanted to believe, your head would not let you. I think you need to resolve the road blocks in your mind before your heart will let you believe. So what are the major road blocks in your mind?
Think back to the time of Columbus, while he could not prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that the earth was round he did have enough circumstantial evidence to make the case that it was very likely. Once he had enough evidence he bet his life on it, took a leap of faith and sailed to America.
I think that is the same burden of proof you should use towards Christianity. You should gather as much circumstantial evidence to determine whether Christianity makes sense and is plausible. At that point you can decide whether you want to exercise reasonable faith or not. But until you tackle those issues in your mind, no experience or prayer is going to get you to a point where can make that leap of faith. The chasm in your mind is just too great to allow you to make that leap. So what are the major issues you want to tackle?
Comment by Frank W. | October 14, 2008
I totally agree with Frank. You're issuing a challenge to God when God is already pouring out himself to you. It's you that needs to open up and realise that.
God is like the sun, beaming down on you. You construct sunglasses, sunshades, tents, buildings, high rise towers…
layer upon layer so that you don't have to face the truth as it's glaringly obviously presented.
That's the whole message of the Bible. I'm astounded that you really don't get that. It's pure logic.
Comment by m0rk | October 16, 2008
I also agree with Frank that ultimately it comes down to YOU and the necessity for some sort of leap of faith. 'It' probably won't happen without it but once you are on the other side…
The others in your group (at least some of them) sound like they have a genuine relationship with and/ or experience of God and really cannot understand what is holding you back. Me explaining my own relationship with God will not help you either.
Just to ask you something about this passage:
"Me: "I've had faith that he was there. I'm a former believer. And I can honestly say that I've never heard from God"
Lady Three: "What made you believe back then?"
Me: "I was raised that way. I didn't know any different. I suppose if I'd have been raised in Pakistan I'd have been a Muslim"
Question: Did you really have faith? Were you really a believer? Just because you were 'raised that way' does NOT give you faith/ belief. I was also 'raised that way' but many years later still had to make my own leap of faith.
Comment by Anthony | October 29, 2008
Frank said, "Think back to the time of Columbus, while he could not prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that the earth was round he did have enough circumstantial evidence to make the case that it was very likely. Once he had enough evidence he bet his life on it, took a leap of faith and sailed to America."
Really? I thought it had been pretty well established that the Earth was spherical (or close to) and Columbus argued that it was small enough for Asia to be reachable. He was wrong, but the good news for him was another continent was close enough. I guess sometimes you can be rewarded by dumb faith. (Take a look at a globe some time, imagine a world without the Americas, and think about how spectacularly wrong Columbus was.)
Comment by pough | November 18, 2008
"Lady Three: [Long pause] "But what if they threw themselves in the fire?"
Me: "But I'm not throwing myself in any fire"
I think that was the wrong reply.
You used the analogy of punishing a child by holding their hand to a fire. This woman tried to justify the doctrine of hell by taking your analogy to the point of the child throwing himself into the fire.
Your response should have been "as a 'loving parent' I would pull my child back from the fire by whatever means necessary.
And if, my child wanted to choose a death (and/or eternal torture) through fire rather than take what I was "offering", I would seriously reevaluate my priorities and methods of persuasion.
Comment by Pimientita | November 21, 2008
"Pastor: "Father God I just want to thank you for your word. God I want to thank you for Steve. I just want to thank you Lord that you do weep over Steve and that your eyes, Lord, are full of tears. I just want to thank you for Steve's heart, Lord. He's earnestly seeking you, Lord, and I want to thank you for the honesty and integrity with which he speaks to us. I praise and bless you for that, Lord. I lay my hands on him now just as Christ laid hands on the blind, and I want to pray in Christ's name Jesus, Lord, that you will open his spiritual eyes that he may receive all he longs for. And Lord please make him be certain about the things of which he currently has no certainty. Open his eyes I pray. As he reads the Bible from this day onwards he'll find you speaking to him and showing him the way. I ask this in Jesus' name. Amen""
I attended an evangelical church with a friend of mine in my early teens (one of the few times as a secularly raised child I had attended any service) and I remember someone praying over me and having to fight the urge to laugh the whole time, but at that age I almost wanted to succumb to the pressure of conversion (and it was strong…most of my travel softball team went to a school where they were asked on a daily basis if they were "saved" …scary shit).
I didn't and I still laugh when I think about the earnestness of the people speaking those words. As a small child I used to spend the early sunday mornings before my parents woke up making fun of the religious programs. I thought it was another form of entertainment like saturday morning cartoons.
It's just sad to me now. Adults reduced to puddles for something that doesn't, but they want badly to, exist.
Comment by Pimientita | November 21, 2008
I'm really enjoying reading through these reviews, and I wish I could have commented while you were still writing them!
"The pastor supports what the long-standing male member has just told me. He agrees that I'm doomed to (and deserving of) being sent to a place of eternal torture "because that's been your choice"."
You've often asked the group how they would respond to similar claims made by Mulsims, Hindus and Sikhs, and I really wonder what they would have said if you'd used a similar argument here. Say they died tomorrow and discovered that actually Islam was true, and that they were going to be punished with eternity in hell for choosing to reject it. Would they feel that was fair and just?
Comment by ekcol | October 15, 2009
"Say they died tomorrow and discovered that actually Islam was true, and that they were going to be punished with eternity in hell for choosing to reject it. Would they feel that was fair and just?"
Did they even choose to reject it? What if the real god was the one of some religion they've never heard of? There are so many weird made-up claims that people have come up with over the years that it is simply not possible to examine them all in detail to determine that they are, indeed, as nonsensical as they appear at first glance.
That's where the whole "burden of proof" thing comes in handy.
Comment by Valhar2000 | October 5, 2010
Some of the comments here are unbelievable. I feel I should reiterate: if I made a claim that there was an asteroid made of jam that spoke French, then it would be hard to disprove with any certainty. But no one would believe me, and they would have no reason to believe me- the "roadblocks" of logic and reason state that the above is not possible. Therefore the onus would be on ME to prove it.
It seems that the "roadblocks" in Stephen's mind, therefore, are logic and reason, which is a ridiculous thing to ask him to let go of.
The human brain is designed (possibly by God) to figure out logic puzzles. I.e. fire is hot, therefore if I touch fire I will feel pain, so I won't do it. Transposing this, the hypothetical situation would read: I have asked God to show himself to me or provide concrete evidence of His existence. He has not done so, therefore he does not exist, therefore I do not keep my mind open to the possibility of a God existing.
Comment by Andy | May 15, 2011
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- WEEK 11: "How Can I Make The Most Of The Rest Of My Life?"
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text:
American multi-billionaire Tom Perkins can't seem to avoid controversy lately. Whether he's comparing himself to a Holocaust victim, calling for mass disenfranchisement, or even just writing erotica, the headlines are sure to follow.
While his views and actions are so bad they're almost comical, it's also serious business. Consider Perkins a case study into the mind of an inordinately wealthy man. Examining his out-of-touch perspective makes it clear how much money can warp a mind and disassociate him from how the rest of the world lives.
1. He Wants Rich People to Have More Votes
Hey, you know what's wrong with American democracy? Wealthy people don't have enough influence over the system! That's the position of Perkins, at any rate. When asked how he would "change the world" at a symposium, Perkins suggested that not only should rich people be entitled to have more votes, but that Americans who don't pay taxes shouldn't get to vote at all. (Presumably, the tax dodging "people" — better known as corporations — that he admires would get an exemption.)
There's nothing like calling for the disenfranchisement of nearly half the country to show genuine concern for equity and the political system. Whatever happened to the good old days when rich people just bought politicians to exert undue influence instead?
2. He Compares Contempt for the 1% to the Holocaust
It's time to add Perkins to the growing list of rich jerks who throw a fit when you don't love them enough. In an op-ed letter for the Wall Street Journal, Perkins bemoans the 99%'s hostility toward the 1%, calling it a "progressive war." In fact, he actually makes the analogy that the 1% in the United States are treated like Jewish people were in Nazi Germany.
With awful comparisons like that, there's no wonder that he feels resentment from the lower and middle classes. Though Perkins ultimately delivered a non-apology apology for his statement, he insisted that the "parallel holds" and reiterated the "danger" of having animosity toward the rich.
3. He's Guilty of Both Showing Off and Involuntary Manslaughter
Cheekily, Perkins once said he had plenty of money to donate to charity, but that he'd rather spend it on the world's largest boat. Subsequently, he spent $130 million on a giant luxury yacht. Along the boat, he included maritime flags that spelled out – no joke – "Rarely does one have the privilege to witness vulgar ostentation on such a grand scale." Passing seafarers probably got a kick out of that one, but if they were smart, they didn't pass too closely.
His love of boats and boasting got him into trouble when he had an accident at sea that killed a fellow sailor. France charged him with involuntarily manslaughter, and despite finding him guilty, only punished him with a "suspended" sentence and a $10,000 fine. $10 grand doesn't even amount to a slap on the wrist for someone who drops $130 million on a yacht.
4. He Writes Smut
At the encouragement of his ex-wife Danielle Steel (yes, that Danielle Steel), Perkins published a book called "Sex and the Single Zillionaire." Perkins wrote the erotic fiction based loosely on his real life experience. The Wall Street Journal excerpted a passage describing the novel's protagonists: "They were obviously father and son, with the same tall, athletic build. They were so handsome that they could have made money modeling, if anyone could afford to hire them. The aura of money seemed to float around them."
The arrogance really shines through there, huh? I'm not even going to try to recount any of the many bizarre sex scenes… and if the Amazon reviews of the book are any indication, I'm doing you a favor.
It's important that the rest of the country acknowledge money's transformative property on the 1%'s worldview:
- When the majority of Congress is comprised of millionaires, our representatives have little sense of how most of America actually lives.
- When Citizens United allows the rich to make unlimited campaign donations, the rich's influence has little concern for the interest of the less fortunate.
- When the wealthiest individuals hog all of the world's resources and still feel like the victims, we can't expect them to grow a conscience and help solve inequality.
The time for a 99% revolution is here. I can only imagine what analogy Perkins would make when things actually didn't go his way for once!


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Networking: Tips for "Working a Room"
by Sarah Wilkinson, Class of '17 It's natural to feel nervous about walking into a room full of strangers at a networking event. It takes courage. Keep in mind, however, that employers and other attendees may feel as nervous as you. If you focus on making other people feel comfortable, you'll forget about your own […]Continue reading


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This snippet shows you how to use haproxy to restrict certain URLs to certain IP addresses. For example, to make sure your admin interface can only be accessed from your company IP address.
This snippet was tested on haproxy 1.5.
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This example restricts access to the
/admin/ and
/helpdesk URL's. It only allows access from the IP addresses
126.96.36.199 and
22.214.171.124. Any other IP addresses will get the standard haproxy 403 forbidden error. 继续阅读