text:
WATCH: Joe Biden Consoles Meghan McCain Over Father's Cancer On 'The View'
Appearing for an interview on "The View" Wednesday, former Vice President Joe Biden comforted Meghan McCain after the panelist and daughter of Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) became emotional while discussing her father's brain cancer diagnosis.
McCain's father was diagnosed earlier this year with the same cancer that killed Biden's son Beau Biden in 2015.
The former Vide President appeared on "The View" to promote his new memoir, "Promise Me, Dad," which focuses on his late son, who served as Delaware's attorney general.
"I couldn't get through your book, I tried," McCain said, tearing up. "I think about Beau almost every day, and I was told that this doesn't get easier."
Biden, a longtime friend of McCain, moved from his spot at the other end of the table to sit beside McCain and take her hand while he spoke about his close friendship with her father and Beau Biden's admiration for the senator, whom he first met as a young man.
"One of the things that gave Beau courage … was John," Biden said. "Your dad took care of my Beau .. became friends with Beau. Beau talked about your dad's courage. Not about illness, but about his courage."
Biden, who has devoted time since leaving office to helping cancer research, also brought up several medical breakthroughs and ongoing projects that he said should give "hope" to anyone who faces this particular diagnosis.
"There's a lot of hope there," Biden said. "And if anybody can make it, [it's] your dad."
Watch the video below:
In emotional moment on @TheView, Joe Biden consoles Meghan McCain, whose father was diagnosed with same cancer Biden's late son Beau had. "There is hope. And if anybody can make it, your dad [can]." pic.twitter.com/m986NrFa1J
— Evan McMurry (@evanmcmurry) December 13, 2017


text:
Roger Pearson looks at a decision in which a woman was granted relierf from forfeiture due to the peculiar circumstances of her case. A Court of Appeal decision in July gave new guidance on the law of forfeiture. It indicates that even if a criminal act has been involved there can be relief from forfeiture if the circumstances are exceptional.
The latest case to focus on this area of law was unique. But the final majority decision of the Court of Appeal, while given in what are probably one-off circumstances, undoubtedly gives further general guidance on the way the courts should approach forfeiture and the granting of relief from it.
The case centred on a suicide pact involving a couple living in Preston. They were engaged and had bought a home together. However, the woman fell under suspicion of false accounting in her job as an administration controller at Blackpool's Savoy Hotel, was accused of fraud and faced the threat of a jail sentence.
As a result of this she told her fiance she intended to commit suicide. He said that he would take his own life because he could not face living without her. Initially, they attempted, unsuccessfully, to kill themselves by inhaling car exhaust fumes.
The following morning they made two attempts to hang themselves. The man died on the second attempt.
The woman then cut her throat and wrists and jumped from a window, but survived. As the survivor, she became entitled to £17,000 – the value of a half share in the home – and was also the beneficiary of an insurance policy taken out by her fiance.
But her fiance's father, as administrator of his son's estate, brought proceedings under the Forfeiture Act 1982 in which he sought to prevent her from receiving the insurance money.
In December 1995 Judge Howarth, at Preston District Registry, upheld that move. But in the Court of Appeal, Lords Justice Phillips and Hirst, with Lord Justice Mummery dissenting, overturned the decision.
Lord Justice Phillips said he considered the woman was more deserving of sympathy than punishment, although she had been guilty of criminal complicity in the suicide of her fiance.
Christopher Metcalfe, senior partner at Eastbourne firm Hart Reade, acted for the woman, along with Christopher Bean from the same firm. The case was argued in court by counsel Nigel Thomas of 11 Stone Buildings.
Metcalfe says the Appeal Court decision backed the view he had taken from the outset. "My first reaction was that the parties involved would accept my client's right to receive the value of the insurance policy," he says. "I was surprised when the matter became contested."
He adds: "I always considered that morally and legally right was on her side. I felt that the nature of this woman's conduct altered the normal approach to forfeiture matters."
Of the court's decision he says: "I think the message at the end of the day was that the Appeal Court did not feel she was criminally to blame. It drew a distinction between someone who has gone out in a rage and killed someone and what happened here.
"In doing this they made it clear that while the wider principle of the forfeiture rule was that a person could not benefit from their own criminal act, not every criminal offence would bring that principle into play."
Metcalfe concludes: "This was an important distinction and one that will undoubtedly be of assistance in some future forfeiture cases."

subset: commoncrawl


text: Monthly Archive:: May 2016 Concrete Pools Sydney Fencing Designed Out Of Creativity And Practicality Posted in Business by verda wingham Congratulations on your decision to consider a swimming pool. Now comes either the hard or fun part, depending on your nature. There are a variety of pools from which to choose at Design Pools, and many safety Read More The Host Of Safety Features In Ford's F250 Posted in Automotive by verda wingham Everyone wants the safest car or truck possible, without having to pay extra for these safety features. If you're considering the Ford F250 series of vehicle, you're in for a treat, as it comes standard with many Read More Organic Juice Cleanse: Lose Weight & Cleanse Your Body with Green Juices Posted in Food by verda wingham Nowadays, people are swapping their fizzy drinks and cups of coffee for green juices. Why, you ask? Well, for some, it may appear a trend but for most, it is a way of life. Think about it Read More Office Space For Rent – Understanding Blend and Extend Office Leases Posted in Business by verda wingham Are you fretting about finding an office space for rent because you are still paying the lease on the building you are currently using? If so, a blend and extend leasing term might appeal to you. A Read More Party Hire – Consider Theme Planning Without The Stress With A Party Planner Posted in Business by verda wingham Everyone loves a party, especially when they just show up and enjoy themselves. However, for the host or hostess, it's a job that can be stressful and tiring. Whether it's a birthday party or a wedding, you Read More


text:
Related links
Related links can be added or removed manually through Content Tagger. To do this, you can click on the Edit a page link at the top and enter the base path of the content item you need to edit. You will then see a section titled Related content items where you can edit the links.
If a request comes in a from a content designer to edit the related links of a page, you can send them to Content Tagger so they can edit the links themselves.
Since July 2019, related links on GOV.UK have been supplemented by links generated through an automated machine learning pipeline. The first job in this pipeline uses data on how pages are linked together (the structural network) and analytics from users' behaviour on the site (the functional network) to create a set of most relevant related links for a subset of pages.
Once these links have been created, a second job ingests the links via the Publishing API to be shown to users navigating the site.
The code for the process of generating and ingesting related links can be found in the govuk-related-links-recommender repository on GitHub.
When we show the new related links
Machine learning generated related links are created exclusively for Whitehall content, with a number of measures in place to ensure that we always show manually curated links set by publishers.
- Related links are only generated for a number of content types, with exclusions in place for content that should not be linked from, linked to, or both. These exclusions can be found at https://github.com/alphagov/govuk-related-links-recommender/tree/master/src/config.
- Generated related links are stored within the
suggested_ordered_related_itemsproperty of a content item, while all existing and manually curated links continue to be stored within the
- If links exist with
ordered_related_itemsfor a content item, we do not show generated related links.
- Requests need to have the header
Govuk-Use-Recommended-Related-Linksheader set to
Truein order to show suggested related links - this is set by the CDN for all requests.
Concourse pipeline details
Related links are generated and ingested via the following jobs, which are defined in the govuk-related-links pipeline on Concourse.
This job runs the process to generate new related links for a subset of pages on GOV.UK, via the
provision-generation-machine and
run_link_generation scripts, which in turn triggers the Python script
The related links generated from this process are stored in an S3 environment-specific
govuk-related-links bucket.
Currently, this job is scheduled to run once every three weeks via a
time resource attached to the production
run-generation-production step.
This job runs the process of ingesting related links via the Publishing API.
Links are retrieved from the environment-specific S3 bucket mentioned previously and then fed (in batches) to the Publishing API. There is a 20 minute delay between batches. Exclusions are applied during this stage from a
related_link_exclusions.json file which is available in S3; for these links, we obtain the respective content ids and use them to remove any suggested links that may exist for the current batch of links being ingested.
Currently, this job is triggered manually after reviewing a spreadsheet of the generated related links; it will be scheduled to run automatically by the end of September 2019.
Rolling back Links
Should we ever need to roll back any suggested related links, there are a number of ways we can do this.
Links for individual pages
To rollback suggested related links for an individual page (to show the original related links), use the Run rake task job on Jenkins with the following parameters set:
TARGET_APPLICATION: publishing-api
MACHINE_CLASS: publishing_api
RAKE_TASK: content:reset_related_links_for_pages['CONTENT_ID'], where
CONTENT_ID is the content id of the page to remove suggested links from
Links for certain document types
To exclude a document type or page from having links generated to it, from it, or both, update the exclusions in the GitHub repository. Note: this will take effect from the next time the related links generation process is run, and will not affect current links.
Suspending all suggested related links
To immediately and temporarily stop showing all suggested related links (for example, if a problem has led to bad links being generated for a large percentage of content / high traffic content), you will need to update the CDN to set the
Govuk-Use-Recommended-Related-Links header to
False and then deploy the CDN for
vhost: www.
The root cause of the problem should be investigated and a new set of related links generated and ingested through the pipeline, if possible. Should the fix not be immediate, we might consider re-ingesting an older batch of related links from S3.


text:
Realizing that Manty is probably in the area and
that he sent his family to Rebelton, it is decided that they travel
there to find out if he has been there in search of his family.
They set out with their guide the mysterious, cloaked elf of
Moonstraddle's acquaintance.
Ksirb Emitae, Male patriarch elven
vampire lord wizard 21/archmage 5/elven high mage 10
A druid circle
Alric Talorcan, Male human cleric of Visaria 2
Char MacStride, Female human wizard 2
Hurley, Male halfling bard 2
Moonstraddle, Female satyr duskblade 1
After obliterating a company of orcs with the
assistance of Ksirb Emitae, the group finds a secure place to spend
the night. They sleep very deeply and Hurley, Char and Alric awake
to the bright suns shining down on them through the canopy of the
Tacked to a nearby tree is a note from Moonstraddle indicating that
she fears that the elven vampire is a danger to the group and the
area and has decided to draw it into the wilderness. She has taken
the masterwork chain shirt recovered from one of the orcs, but left
her masterwork studded leather and 300 gp.
The characters travel what is left of the day
following the edge of the crater. Shortly after crossing the
unmaintained Zuomystos Road that once left Walton's Thieves'
Quarter, the group sets up camp for the night.
They are closely watched by a Druids' Circle throughout the night
and are confronted by them as they pack up to keep traveling. The
Circle advises them to take the Zuomystos Road out of Tanglewood
and travel north around the forest until they reach the old King's
Road to Rebelton.
After two more days travel, the group arrives in Rebelton. Hurley
contacts the halfling community there and informs them that Zenda
had been killed in Troll's Bridge. This prompts a raucous "wake"
in her honor.
During this wake, ghouls wander into the ally behind the tavern
where the event is taking place.
The ghouls are chased off before they can do any
harm, but it is obvious that they must be hunted down. They
apparently have taken up residence in the local graveyard. A small
mausoleum is their current lair.
CE Medium undead
Init +2; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Listen +2, Spot
hp 13 (2 HD)
Resist turn resistance +2
Fort +0, Ref +2, Will +5
Melee bite +2 (1d6+1 plus paralysis) and 2 claws +0/+0 (1d3
plus paralysis)
Base Atk +1; Grp +2
Atk Options ghoul fever
SQ undead traits
Feats Multiattack
Skills Balance +6, Climb +5, Hide +6, Jump +5, Move
Silently +6, Spot +7
Treasure oil paint portrait (1,500 gp), carved bone
statuette (90 gp), gold bracer (1,000 gp), 100 pp
An afflicted humanoid who dies of ghoul fever rises as a ghoul at
the next midnight. A humanoid who becomes a ghoul in this way
retains none of the abilities it possessed in life. It is not
under the control of any other ghouls, but it hungers for the
flesh of the living and behaves like a normal ghoul in all
respects. A humanoid of 4 Hit Dice or more rises as a ghast, not a
Paralysis (Ex) Those hit by a ghoul's bite or claw attack
must succeed on a DC 12 Fortitude save or be paralyzed for 1d4+1
rounds. Elves have immunity to this paralysis. The save DC is
The ghouls are destroyed with some surprise
assistance. Alora Talorcan, Alric's sister, has been looking for
members of her family that may have survived the fall of Walton.
She has traveled to Rebelton from Hamlet Arcana. The ghouls are
two of her companions who died from ghoul fever after being
attacked by a ghoul since leaving The Castle of the Canyon
Also, once the halflings recover from their hangovers, Hurley gets
all kinds of stories about Manty's latest visit to Rebelton. The
general consensus is that he was making his way to Troll's Bridge,
but before he left there was a strange storm that hit the east side
of town where he was staying and there was no sign of him after
Sign in|Recent Site Activity|Report Abuse|Print Page|Powered By Google Sites


text:
|« Back to calendar
|« Previous Event | Next Event »
Arrive at 10:45 am on the day of recital. All students must be signed in at the desk outside of dressing room before entering. Sign your child in, enter the dressing room, and check in with a volunteer wearing a badge. They will direct you where to put your things. No student will be allowed to leave the dressing room during rehearsal or recital unless signed out by an adult.
To ensure safety, do not take your child out of the dressing room during rehearsal & the show if at all possible. Volunteers are focused on costume changes, line up and safety. After curtain call, they'll bring the students back to their dressing room for pick up. Thank you in an advance for your cooperation.


text:
Beatrice Virginia Cloud of West Lampeter Township, Pa., passed away at age 94 on Dec. 31, 2014. She was the widow of the late Rev. Adolphe Glen Cloud, whom she… Read more
Joining Bishop Peggy Johnson on another global journey next week, this time to India, will be other bishops, led by Bishop Sudarshana Devadhar of the New England Conference, and a… Read more
Members and supporters of Mid-Town Parish UMC, Philadelphia, gathered Dec. 6 to celebrate the groundbreaking for construction of the church's new worship facility. The Rev. Anita Powell, Central District Superintendent,… Read more
The EPA Conference Urban Commission has engaged two part-time, short-term consultants to help plot its course and set in motion a comprehensive strategy for urban ministry. Maurice Simmons, a three-year… Read more
Amid local and national protests against frequent police killings of unarmed black citizens and grand jury decisions to not indict the officers involved, hundreds turned out recently for a… Read more
For many children, Christmas is the highlight of the year. But there are families who lack the abilities or resources to provide the ideal Christmas celebration. The EPA Conference Cabinet recently… Read more
About 40 of "those singing Methodists" formed a musical "flash mob" that brought much-needed cheer to a Philadelphia street corner last Thursday night, Dec. 11. They sang Christmas carols and… Read more
We are proud to announce the release of the third issue of THE PRESS, young adult newsletter! In this issue you will discover your true value, recover from the past,… Read more
Around the Indian Ocean – in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, India, Myanmar, Malaysia, the Maldives and even far-away Somalia – the Dec. 26, 2004, earthquake and tsunami left more than… Read more
After traveling millions of miles to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ on every inhabited continent in the world, the Rev. H. Eddie Fox has retired after 25 years as… Read more


text:
LONDON (CBS.MW) - European shares moved higher Monday but gains were capped by Deutsche Boerse, which is seeking to buy the London Stock Exchange in a $2.6 billion deal.
The benchmark German DAX Xetra 30 index (1876534) inched up 0.6 percent at 4,197.88, while the French CAC 40 index (1804546) also added 0.6 percent at 3,790.59.
Deutsche Boerse (581005) shares dropped 4.8 percent at 42.38 euros after the London Stock Exchange (LSE) rejected the approach from its German rival. The Boerse's proposed offer set a 23 percent premium to the LSE's close on Friday.
The Boerse said it accepted an invitation for further talks "to demonstrate to the London Stock Exchange the full benefits of its proposal and its belief that such proposal can be successfully implemented."
Merrill Lynch downgraded Deutsche Boerse (581005) to neutral from buy, saying the proposed offer "seems like a full one, especially as customers may well use the proposed merger to negotiate further price reductions."
Merrill said it doesn't expect a bidding war to develop given the scale of the initial bid. Yet the broker said it sees a risk that the Boerse will overpay for the LSE, and that "significant management time will be taken up with the bid."
Broker comment impacts
Meanwhile, European Aeronautic Defense & Space Co. (EADS) (005730) shares were almost 4 percent lower after Goldman Sachs downgraded the company to in-line from outperform, citing cost concerns over programs such as the A380.
The broker said that the glitches could be due to management distraction caused by the current battle at the head of the company for the French CEO position. Goldman said that the key priority for the company should be "the restoration of management (and shareholder) unity and focus."
In addition, the broker said: "A380's first flight, likely in early February, remains a key catalyst. In our view, Airbus needs to adhere to this date given the higher-than-expected program costs." EADS owns 80 percent of Airbus Industries.
Vivendi Universal
Deutsche Bank said it believes that Vivendi has overpaid for the French soccer rights and will struggle to recover all the incremental costs. The broker also noted that the deal should not really hurt rival TPS and will not force it to the negotiating table near term "to consummate a merger of the satellite platforms."
German utility company E.on
Deutsche Bank downgraded German carmaker Volkswagen (766400) to sell from hold, saying the earnings profile of the group "continues to look sluggish." The broker said: "We assume that tougher market conditions will force Volkswagen to pass on more of its cost savings in 2005 than we originally thought." Deutsche Bank cut its price target on the carmaker to 28 euros from 32 euros and said stronger competition should also be expected from China. Volkswagen shares were 0.4 percent higher.
Stocks in focus
Independent French television company TF1 (005490) added 2 percent after Bertrand Meheut, chairman of Vivendi's French pay-television broadcaster Canal Plus, said he backed the idea of a merger between CanalSatellite and rival TPS, according to a report in the Financial Times newspaper.
TF1 co-owns TPS along with M6-Metropole TV, which gained 3.2 percent at 20.55 euros.
Bayer (575200)
Insurance companies La Mondiale and Aegon (30176) said Monday that Aegon will increase its stake in La Mondiale's La Mondiale Participations unit to 35 percent from 20 percent via a capital increase. Aegon shares were 1.1 percent higher Monday.


text:
Piloting new solution for communication among palliative care stakeholders
Sonera is part of the multinational Telia Company. The development of health care services is centralized in the Sonera Healthcare business unit. With its partners, Sonera Healthcare is developing health care solutions for the public sector, businesses and consumers. Sonera has launched a pilot which is developing a new operating model and a supporting digital communications tool to support home care for the elderly. This solution facilitates confidential and real-time communication between the home care staff, clients and their families. The pilot project examines how a new type of approach can improve care and customer satisfaction.
Target markets: Scandinavia and the Baltics
Business Architect Jouni Joona on testing at OuluHealth Labs
What did you want to test?
We wanted to test the Sonera Vihko solution's operations in the palliative care process within several different professional groups (nurses, oncologists, anaesthesiologists, social workers, etc.).
Why test in a practical environment?
We wanted to test how Sonera Vihko as a tool can be used in a real work environment. In addition, we wanted to get feedback from users of the tool for further development.
Why did you make use of OuluHealth's test environment?
We got proof that our idea for the communication model and the appropriate solutions in a challenging, multi-organizational environment were correct. The deployment of new practices requires determined management of change and active practical implementation.
What about the future?
The plan is to expand into new operating environments in collaboration with customers and users.
Oulu CityLab:
Jaana Kokko
Technology Specialist, Welfare Services, City of Oulu
Tel: +358 44 703 4030
E-mail: email@example.com
OYS TestLab:
Timo Alalääkkölä,
Project Manager, Oulu University Hospital
Tel. +358 40 561 4390
E-mail: email@example.com


text:
Files in the Dataset have been checked for format consistency, and merged into a single, integrated, downloadable file.Download Entire Dataset Submit Data For This Cruise How to Cite Dataset
Bottle sum and CTD files for this cruise have been located. All files have been WOCE reformatted. I have generated exchange files and netCDF files as well as station track images. I have also generated xml and html index pages and created an html contact information page for the Chief Scientist. (exchange files have not been JOA test at this time, due to JOA installation glitch on remote system) NOTE that the tables indicate Keneko as the Chief Scientist, however the doc file for this cruise lists Fushimi, therefore Fushimi has been used in all index.htm references. This should be corrected in the database or confirmed and corrected in files if Fushimi is incorrect. This cruise should link to the tables the next time the tables are generated.
I am pleased to inform you that the PIs and participants of the one-time and repeat cruises conducted by the Japan Meteorological Agency's vessels agreed to change most of the data status to public.
We put the data for repeat hydrography for PR02 [137E] (EXPOCODE: 49RY9401/1) as 9401pr02.zip and one time hydrography for P24 [south-east of Kyushu] (EXPOCODE: 49RY9511/2) as 9511p24.zip today. These file include -.sum, -.sea and -.ctd files. 9401pr02.zip also includes ry9401.txt as cruise report. P9 data (EXPOCODE 49RY9407/1 and 49RY9407/2) are now going to brush up and evaluate. We will send these files in the near future.


text: This tactical spike comes from Black Aces Tactical and replaces that boring old tube knob look with a tactical spike. Great way to finish off that custom Mossberg look.Spike is made from the same anodized aluminum the Black Aces Tactical rail is made from. This spike is 1" long and comes with the needed set screw to attach to the magcap.Comes with spike and set screw, magcap not included. Requires the removal of the sling point on the forend knob.Fits: Mossberg 500, 590, Maverick 88, & Shockwave. This fits both 12 and 20 gauge shotguns. This may fit other Mossberg shotguns that use the same magazine cap as the listed models.Buy 2 or more and get 10% off at checkout!


text:
If you have already taken the window seat in an airplane, you may have noticed a small hole in the glass, and probably wondered what it was for.
The windows in an aircraft consist of (at least) one outer and inner pane (much like double glazed windows). The little hole, of about 2 mm in diameter, which we can see, is only in the window's inner pane, and therefore not connected to the outside of the aircraft.
The inner pane, called a decorative porthole, is itself protected on the passenger side by a transparent plastic sheet for safety reasons. The inner and outer panes are made of acrylic, (polymethyl methacrylate or PMMA), according to data from the French aircraft window manufacturer, Saint-Gobain.
The small hole, or breather hole, helps to equalize the air pressure and temperature between the two panes and those in the cabin. A pressure difference would weaken the inner pane, and a temperature difference could cause fogging up, or condensation, inside the window.
Our camera and mike recorded your answers at an airport that are, on the whole, not entirely wrong.


text:
I promise you that the persecution will be swift and that you will be protected.
For I now bequeath the Seal of My Love and Protection.
With this you will escape the notice of those who will cause hardship in your countries.
My Seal is My Promise of Salvation. My Power will surge through you with this Seal and no harm will come to you.
This is a miracle, children, and only those who bow before Me, their Lord and Creator of all things, as little children with love in their hearts for Me, can be blessed with this Divine Gift. Seal of the Living God Message
Crucifix was designed under the direction of Our Lord.
The promises accorded to The Seal of the Living God Crucifix:
This Crucifix has been assigned by God to provide great blessings,
including strength, courage, perseverance and resilience for Crusade of
Prayer Groups around the world.
You can order this crucifix at www.christogifts.com


text:
Apesar do nome esta flor é originária da Índia.
Nome cientifico: Thumbergia Mysorensis.
It looks like rainy flowers!
What a beautiful and interesting looking group of dangling flowers.
Love the shot. The flowers are so lovely.
Pink Serendipity
gorgeous clock vine!
Very exotic. So beautiful.
Very beautiful flowers!
What a pretty and unusual vine. The flowers are beautiful. Thanks for sharing, Happy Weekend!
I have never seen anything like this! It is so beautiful!! Thank you for showing the two photos, so we can see what it looks like both from a distance, and up close!
Fantastic images!
Beautiful photos.
Regards and best wishes


text:
The Parkroom, The Centre for Outdoor Activity and Community Hub (COACH) French Weir Park, French Weir Avenue, Taunton, Somerset, TA1 1AW
Please enter the building using the door at the top of the ramp, then enter the building** and come upstairs to The Parkroom, using either the staircase or the lift. There's of buggy parking next to the staircase or alternatively you can bring your pram upstairs via the lift.
**There is a code required to enter the building, this will appear in your confirmation message, upon booking a class
Classes at this venue: Wednesday


text:
I see a lot of great sprites on this forum, made by lots of different members.
Why not share our approach to how we make these sprites, animations and what not?
I want to encourage every spriter to share their methods, tools, styles and sources to help and teach others.
Also feel free to ask for help with your sprites, like questions on how to approach certain specific styles, animations or what not.
Please do keep in mind that this is not the Art Thread, you can showcase your finished sprites there, not here. This topic is purely for technique sharing.
Requesting specific tutorials is allowed, who knows you might get your answers. You're also free to leave small tips and tricks.
Some tips on posting your techniques/methods:
- Give your tutorial or technique a title that tells us what you'll be covering.
- It'd be greatly appreciated if you could put your technique/method in a tutorial-style layout for others.
- Images help explain things a lot better.
- When you're sharing a tool or program it'd help to leave a link.
- Try to make it easy to read for others.
- Some sprites could be too small to be clear, so double check if the image you posted isn't too small.
Quick Links:
Here I'll post links to the posts in this topic with good tutorials (not small tips) in them.
If I haven't added one and you'd like to see it here for convenience, don't be afraid to PM me.
- No links yet -
Here is a list of what people would like to see tutorialized for them.
If you have a request you can either post it here or PM me about it and I'll add it to the list.
- Jorichi's Request: "How to create a luscious and plant-rich tileset, using foregrounds and backgrounds as well"
- Jorichi's Request: "How to create good looking dirt blocks and stones/rocks (emphasis on it's shading/creating depth, making it feel less blocky)."
Do not forget to respect the work of the spriters that post their methods here. Don't use their content without permission in any case.
Well with that all said and done, I'll start with my animation method to get things started (boob-physics not included).


text:
Father and Son / Daughter Shirts - Items tagged as "Gun"
View all air force al pachino al pacino assistant to the regional manager baby shower baseball birthday gift black tee shirt block blue boy bro combo set brothers child chip off the old block combo shirt creeper dad dad and baby shirt daddy daughter did we just become best friends dr jones drinking buddies father and daughter shirt set father and son father and son shirt set father daughter father son father son combo fathers day fathers day gift first fathers day gift for dad gift for mom gift idea girl goose gun indiana jones infant lone star lone star state mafia matching matching shirt set maverick mavrick men mens tee shirt mens tshirt mommy an dme mommy and me mothers day old school onesie pillow red tee shirt regional manager sandlot scarface shirt shirt set short round short sleeve smalls son of a gun step brothers tee tex texas the office the sandlot toddler top gun tshirt yep you're killin me you're killin' me smalls you're killing me you're my boy you're my boy blue your killing me smalls youre killing me smalls yup
- 2 shirts funny Big TEX Little TEX™ Texas Father Son shirts FREE Shipping! from $29.95
- 2 shirts GUN Son of a GUN | Father Son Matching Shirts | Father Son combo from $29.95
- 2 shirts | Father Son Matching Shirts | Say HELLO to my little friend | Fathers Day Gift | New Baby | Daddy and Me | scarface FREE Shipping! from $29.95


text:
What's an ictus?
Having titled this blog "The Ictus", I hereby post an explanation of this subject in an off-the-top-of-my-head sort of fashion.
From my Latin Dictionary: Ictus, us, m. : stroke, blow, hit; cut; sting, bite; wound; range; (musical or metrical) beat. In conducting, the word ictus refers the part of your gesture that touches an imaginary horizontal plane (as if you were beating time on an invisible table).
Side note: quoth Bilbo Baggins to his sword, after killing the spider: "Dabo tibi nomen, et vocabo te Ictus."
In the middle ages, the conducting of chant is thought to have been done in such a way as to show, not a metrical beat, but the shapes of the different groupings of notes. The musical notation used to write down the chant did not show actual pitches, but instead consisted of various signs representing these conducting gestures. (Side note: the study of these signs as found in old manuscripts or modern editions such as the Graduale Triplex is today known as semiology.) The monks of the day memorized all their music, thus all the choirmaster needed to do was to consult the manuscripts with the notation to refresh their memories on details which would likely require particular attention. The rhythm of chant at this time was free and very nuanced, partially out of concern for the distinct pronunciation of the texts.
Thing went along this way with schola members memorizing the whole Graduale until c. 1000, when Guido d'Arezzo invented the system of solfege, and with it the musical staff. This allowed the accurate notation of melodies, in such a way that for the first time one could look at a page of music and sing it without previously having learned the melody by heart. The disadvantage of the revolutionary new system was that it conveyed less of the old rhythmic nuanced style.
In the late middle ages, the reigning pope asked Palestrina and some other Italians to produce a revised edition of the chant books. Whatever committee that eventually got around to producing the new "Ratisbon" editions changed the melodies quite a bit to bring them in alignment with the current "correct" musical practices. At this point, chant had gotten to be quite metrical, with different shaped notes having certain time values. See an example book here.
Around 1850, there was discovered a manuscript which was basically a rosetta stone having old pre-staff notation with solfege written in underneath. This set off a bunch of scholars on trying to restore Gregorian chant melodies to their older, uncorrupted forms. Leading this revival were the monks of St. Pierre de Solesmes, France.
Side note: Dom-this and Dom-that abound at Solesmes. I think the way it goes is:
Dom Gueranger (1805-1875): refounds or revives the monastery
Dom Pothier (1835-1923: Vatican Graduale
Dom Mocquereau (1849-1930): Solesmes rhythmic method, with ictus, arsis, thesis, etc.
Dom Gajard (?): continues Mocquereau's work
Dom Cardine (1905-1988): Semiology
The important result of all this new scholarship was that after 1903 when Pius X published his motu proprio Tra le sollecitudini and got the chant revival going officially, a committee was set up to hurry up and publish a Vatican Edition of the Graduale. Although this committee consisted of a number of the leading chant scholars of the day, their collaboration gradually (pun) become strained, leaving Dom Pothier to pretty much finish things up the way he liked. The Vatican Edition was published in 1908.
Finally, enter Dom Mocquereau. He had edited the first Liber Usualis in 1896, and developed a practical rhythmic method informed by his extensive study of old manuscripts. This rhythmic method utilized signs such as the ictus, horizontal episema, and punctum morae (dot). With the addition of Mocquereau's rhythmic signs to the Vatican Graduale, presto: we at last arrive at chant editions adorned with the ictus, such as we generally find them today. The advantage of Dom Mocquereau's system is that it provides a consistent interpretation of chant, whereas the unmarked Vatican Edition allowed considerable flexibility of interpretation. This uniformity enabled chant to be taught easily to anyone interested, thus it became very widespread. Download the Liber 1961 here.
A Summary of Mocquereau's theory:
Every note-head gets one pulse, except for ones with the dot (or punctum morae, if you prefer) which get two pulses. Notes with "expression" such as those under a horizontal episema (like a dash) get just a tiny bit stretched.
Logically, a stream of pulses can be counted as groups of two or of three. The ictus just marks where you count one. However, the ictus is only marked in certain places. The unmarked ictus(es) can be deduced by four rules, as seen below in Fig. 1.
My experience with the ictus:
When I first came across these rules, being somewhat an excitable chap, I immediately began to mark any introit that we were going to sing with this ictus, according to these rules. Knowing where this ictus was enabled me to conduct myself by making a circular motion with one hand, touching the good old imaginary table at every ictic note. The interesting thing was, after a few weeks of this it became unnecessary to bother to mark up my scores any more, because I had acquired the knack of doing it on the run. (At least on pieces which I had run over once or twice to get the notes down – may I mention here that the ictus/counting thing is really most useful after one is able to sight read fairly well.)
Sometime after I had become fluent in the ictus, I finally discovered this handbook of Gregorian Chironomy and got into the arsis/thesis and that sort of conducting, which is the whole point of having an ictus at all.
The ictus and semiology:
Now, the question is: what should I think of this ictus-y stuff given that newer methods don't bother with it? Semiology really doesn't use it at all.
Here are some random thoughts:
- The Mocquereau-style method of doing chant is what got me to the point where I could come up with an intelligent interpretation of any chant, including ones I had never heard, in a short amount of time.
- There is a clear method for the conductor to follow.
- It helps to achieve smoothness and shaping.
- The counting does produce a consistent rhythm.
- It also gave me a good default mode.
- Semiological nuances can be added onto this basic starting point.
- The ictus can be a reminder of things which are indicated in the semiology.
- Perhaps the ictus is best disregarded in syllabic chants, because it is completely independent of the word accent (known as the textual ictus, as opposed to the musical ictus we have been discussing).
Thus far an explanation of the ictus, its place within the history of chant, its usefulness, how to place it, how I learned to use it, and some points for consideration.
Maria permalink
That was really very informative! Now how on earth do you explain how to sing the ictus? I have read only contradictory explanations. At best I have read it is a sort of landing, at worst it is neither a qualitative change nor a stress nor a lengthening. At its funniest it has been described as an imperceptible emphasis.


text:
Super easy healthy quinoa salad with roast carrots, feta cheese and fresh herbs. A delicious healthy side dish that goes well with any summer dinner.
What is quinoa?
Quinoa (pronounced keen-wah) is actually a seed! A protein packed little seed that's super easy to cook and makes a great healthy alternative to pasta or rice. Quinoa has a slight nutty taste and it's easy to flavour up and use in recipes.
How do you cook quinoa?
Well it's actually really simple!
- First rinse it well under cold running water.
- Add it to a pan with double the quantity of water – I add a pinch of sea salt flakes too
- Bring to the boil then simmer with the lid on for around 15-20 minutes (check the packet as some types do take longer)
- The quinoa is done once the liquid is absorbed and the little seeds tender.
- Drain using a sieve – it's too fine for a colander.
How to make quinoa taste good
Okay I won't lie – plain boiled quinoa is bland and pretty tasteless – you really need to flavour it up to make it good to eat.
So add lots of fresh herbs, maybe spices, mix in a good dressing and stir through tasty salad extras.
Of course… you could always cheat and cut out the faff of cooking it – just pick up a couple of sachets of the microwave quinoa – it cooks in minutes and they're all pre-flavoured.
How to make quinoa salad
Cook the quinoa – let it cool then toss through your salad ingredients and tasty bits – so easy!
Healthy, tasty quinoa salad
- 1 cup of dried quinoa
- pinch of sea salt
- 4 large carrots - scrubbed and sliced
- 1 tbs olive oil
- drizzle of honey
- 200g feta cheese - cut into cubes
- 2 handfuls of fresh herbs - I used flat leaf parsley, coriander and basil
- Salad dressing of your choice - I used simple Italian style
- lemon wedges to serve
- Cook the quinoa as per the packet instructions - place on one side to cool once cooked
- Heat the oven to 200C
- Toss the carrot slices in the olive oil and honey - season with salt and black pepper to taste.
- Roast on a baking tray in the oven for around 20 minutes or until cooked
- Once cooked - assemble the salad - gently stir together the quinoa, carrots, feta and herbs pour over the quantity of dressing you like and fluff up the quinoa salad just using a fork.
- Serve with lemon wedges
Flavour up your quinoa salad your way
- Try adding roast peppers, courgettes or aubergines.
- Switch the feta cheese for grilled halloumi
- Add some spice with pinch of red chilli flakes or freshly chopped chillies
- Add some chorizo, bacon or prawns
- Skip the Italian dressing and pick a different one to suit


text:
The Mental Health & Wellbeing Summit is the only event of its kind in Ireland and has established itself as one of the most important events of the year to attend to obtain genuine, practical information and education on coping with and managing mental health.
The Summit attracts attendees from all sectors including the public, corporate, sporting, educational and medical.
This Summit has something for everyone! Information is delivered in a light hearted and digestible manner giving practical advice which can be taken away and used in every day life.


text:
Phone is dead due to charging cable burnt
I put my iPhone on charging in car USB socket through original charging cable while it was having 16% charging and the car charging USB socket was bit loose. After few minutes it slightly burnt the cable near power connector and phone shuts down. After that phone is not getting ON neither its getting charged and dead. what issue it could be? and how it could get on or repair?
Cette question est-elle utile ?


text:
Featuring A-Trak, Nick Catchdubs, Dave 1 & P-Thugg of Chromeo, Boys Noize, Been Trill, Chippy Nonstop, Roofeo, The Knocks, Action Bronson, ASAP Rocky, ASAP Mob, World's Fair, Just Blaze, Armand Van Helden, Duck Sauce, Killer Mike, El-P, Danny Brown and more!
Tag Archives: Boys Noize
Electric Zoo at Randall's Island on August 30, 2013 [Part 2]
Featuring Martin Solveig, Kill the Noise, Jack Beats, Caroline Polachek, Dog Blood, Skrillex, Boys Noize, Baauer and more!
Electric Zoo at Randall's Island on August 30, 2013 [Part 1]
Featuring M Machine, Uz, Skream, Boys Noize, Skrillex, Jack Beats, Alvin Risk, Alesso, Flux Pavilion and more!
DAILY STREAM: Dog Blood, Clockwork Remixes, and Valentino Khan! August 8, 2013 Edition!
Every day we receive a gazillion and one audio tunes and we can't possibly feature them all … but it wouldn't be fair to deprive your ears of their magic!


text:
23 Oct 2018 15:08
Another circumstance wherever factors can get sticky is when your ex-partner information bankruptcy and you don't. The collectors of jointly held accounts that your spouse submitted individual bankruptcy on will appear knocking on your doorway for payment.and at some point could push you into filing personal bankruptcy (if you haven't previously) regardless if the money owed that the partner submitted on have been in the http://Manuel88v4708.wikidot.Com/ decree.Until now, you know about advised and worry u ncontested divorce. Even you additionally mght acquired the south beach front diet strategy was of how a divorce forms the hungry in just a petition way. On the other hand there is a slight distinction in the operating many of our uncontested divorce. There are quite a few specialists who pressure you to know more component in regards to the divorce scenario. You want not started off to your on the web online video for signing any paperwork or papers. The simplistic research will definitely be you stage inside the divorce procedure. Following completing the divorce paperwork 1 could effortlessly perceive about filling the directions on getting the asset. We'll deal with receiving an assurance of money back and dividing the asset in equal share.Are you getting difficulties in your relationship? Do you feel like you are at the stop of your rope and do not know wherever to turn? If you want to preserve your marriage, it is fantastic that you are having methods to find remedies to halt divorce. Here are some fantastic options to support help save your relationship and halt http://Manuel88v4708.wikidot.Com/.Most likely not. But for individuals that assume that on the web divorce is not authorized, all you are doing is eradicating the lawyer. You nevertheless need to have to file for divorce and do all the items that an lawyer would do. You will just be doing all the legwork for yourself. Your divorce sorts will be the same as the kinds you will get from your lawyer. The matter that will seriously bake your noodle is that the on the internet divorce vendors use the similar pc applications most lawyers use to draft all your kinds.divorce papers In this farmhouse, Ed Sherman met his consumers. He would give legal solutions and assistance in exchange for whatever his clientele could manage. Whilst all this was going on, he was also imagining of approaches to make the authorized method much more helpful and helpful, specially to the basic community.On New Years Working day 2008, in Irving, TX, two Muslim ladies, Amina Said, eighteen, and her sister Sarah, 17, have been allegedly shot to death by their father Yaser, in an evident "honor killing." Amina had been acknowledged to Texas A&M College, and was organizing to turn into a doctor.Most most likely not. But for people that think that online divorce is not legal, all you are doing is eliminating the legal professional. You nevertheless require to file for divorce and do all the issues that an attorney would do. You will just be doing all the legwork for your self. Your divorce forms will be the very same as the types you will get from your attorney. The thing that will actually bake your noodle is that the on the web divorce companies use the identical computer system plans most attorneys use to draft all your varieties.A subsequent result of this is the increased demand from customers for the companies of drug legal professionals and narcotics attorneys. If you come across on your own becoming charged or investigated with any drug offense - possession, use or even offering - the initially factor you really should do is find a great drug lawyer. He will be the a single to protect you and your legal rights and maintain you out from guiding the bars.Serving divorce papers is generally dealt with by your community Sheriff. There are also private corporations that cope with this for you as very well. These businesses perform high-quality, in particular when you are doing an On the net Divorce. You can discover them by carrying out a Google lookup on serving divorce papers. This will give you a listing of divorce support processors. A divorce provider processor will observe the very same processes your nearby Sheriff Office follows and will offer the courtroom with the needed evidence the paperwork was served to the defendant.When you notify negative items about the other parent to a baby, the intent is egocentric. It is quite unfair for the youngster to listen to the stigma of the other mum or dad's ranting about how negative his father or mom is. Depart the kids out of it. They don't will need to see the divorce papers, hear detrimental opinions from every parent about sinful acts and so on. And finally, it is very unreasonable to permit them choose which aspect to take on. This will only heighten their panic.Remember what put a smile on your faces and created you chuckle collectively. My wife and I eventually found the movie we watched on our very first day. It was not Close to divorce papers as good as we remembered but it designed us assume back in time to much more difficulties free days.


text:
by Jen Comeau
It's a Thursday evening. A balmy breeze moves through the church where rows of folks are gathered, eager to learn about a writer's life and the inspiration for a novel, or to experience the way a poem settles into them, or to watch with fascination the building of a stone wall.
Union Church's Summer Speaker Series provided all those things for our devoted attendees. We experienced Andre Dubus III's charming and funny insights, and heard a poignant love letter from father to son; we were captivated by stories Jessica Shattuck told us, about what her grandmother experienced as an everyday German in World War II; we were moved by how Wesley McNair captured us northern New Englanders so eloquently in his poems; and utterly entranced by Kevin Gardner's dexterous stone wall-building as he spoke about his interesting life.
Church, through the seemingly limitless hard work of so many, has given audiences moments like these for 18 years. Please extend your gratitude to committee members when you see them.
All proceeds from the Summer Speaker Series go to fund the mission outreach projects of Union Church. In 2019 we reached and exceeded our goal of raising $10,000 for this purpose.
In late September, some of the many people behind these accomplishments gathered at Rogers Pond in Kennebunk for a celebration picnic.
Our planning for the 2020 series begins in October, and we are looking forward to arranging for another good year.


text:
OMG!! 11 Year Old Boy Charged With Murder For Throwing Baby Into A Well In Lagos
An 11-year-old boy has been remanded in a Special Correction Centre for boys by an Ebute Meta Chief Magistrates' Court in Lagos yesterday, for allegedly throwing a one-year-old baby into well.
The boy had been charged with murder by the police
The Chief Magistrate, Adeola Adedayo, who gave the order, adjourned the case until March 6, for the DPP's advice.
Earlier, the police prosecutor, Chinalu Uwadione, an Inspector, told the court the defendant had committed the offence on February 13, at about 4:00 p.m., at No. 6, Afolabi close, Ojo.
He alleged that the defendant had thrown a one-year-old baby boy into a well while carrying him around. The offence, the prosecutor noted, contravened the provisions of Section 224 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.


text:
Day Six - September 8, 1997
Grand Forks, North Dakota - Ashland, Wisconsin
346 miles -- 6:15 driving time
OK everybody, repeat after me. The correct pronunciation of 'Minnesota' is 'Minne-SOH-ta', as in a small carbonated beverage. MinneSOHta. MinneSOHTA. It's not as if anyone would give you a hard time for pronouncing it like a non-native. The only people nicer than people from MinneSOHta are people from Latteland.
A special note to all of you who have sent anecdotes and antidotes pertaining to insects - there are no insect stories today. Thanks for all of the suggestions about how to deal with them, including changing brands of bike.
We arise at 5:30am in Grand Forks, home to major flooding last year. Remember the scenes on TV? They're still rebuilding the downtown area from the damage. We perform the morning loading ritual and realize that we are going to be riding in fog today.
Several episodes ago, when we rode in the rain, I came to the conclusion that my rain gear strategy was flawed - I put it on too late (after already getting wet) and took it off too early (before conditions have really cleared up. Now any fifth-grader can tell you that fog is actually a cloud on the ground (oh DUH) but somehow my elementary education slipped right out of my bug-splattered head (whoops, I promised no bug reports) and I don't put on my rain boots or gloves. So we're riding in 100% humidity without any actual raindrops, and I'm getting as wet as if we were being sprayed with a hose. Sigh. Here's what it looks like to ride before sunrise in the fog:
It's not bad riding. I decide that the worst part of riding wet is when your hands are wet. I can put up with just about everything else, but wet hands makes it miserable. I remedy this later in the day.
The fog has lifted, and we stop for breakfast in Bemidji at the MaidRite Cafe (since 1926!), home of Paul Bunyan and Babe (not the pig, the ox). Mark has scored another win with his restaurant selection. This is a place we never would have found by accident. It's in the back part of a gas station, conveniently across the street from statues of Paul and Babe. This is classic Americana:
We order breakfast and enjoy a group of elderly Jerks at the counter who clearly gather here on a regular, perhaps daily basis. They're wagering and yelling and hooting and carrying on like they've been coming here since the place opened (1926!), and I'd be willing to bet that they have. Allow me to clarify for those of you new to these musings that 'Jerk' is a term of respect. Mark and I are on a JerkQuest, specifically seeking JerkFest '97 on the shores of Lake Michigan. So when I say someone is a Jerk, I mean that sincerely.
One of the guys on the far side of the counter is wearing a hat that says 'Bemidji Airlines' (yeah, right). Now Mark is a pilot, and he suddenly develops this deep, consuming passion to own this hat. So as we finish breakfast, he ambles over to the gentleman with the cap and inquires as to where he might find such a specimen for himself.
I won't divulge the details, but Mark leaves Bemidji with a hat advertising a non-existent business.
We have a daily contest going now. We count how many people come up and ask us about the bikes. People that express an affinity for Harley Davidson motorcycles, made in America since 1903, score a point for me. Those favoring Mark's brand of motorcycle score a point for him. By the time we leave the MaidRite Cafe, the score is 1-0, Greg's favor, with one no-score event, a guy who owned a BMW.
We walk across the street to enjoy Paul and Babe, and ask the BMW dude to take our picture at this historic site.
By Deer River, the temperature is over 75 degrees, rapidly approaching 80 degrees, so it's time for the ritual shedding of the 'stich suits. Mark points out that when we do this each day, there is a chorus of zippers and snaps as we disengage from these really excellent pieces of protective clothing.
Grand Rapids Minnesota, as you probably already knew, is the home of Judy Garland and "The World's Largest Collection of Judy Garland Memorabilia", at least according to the sign. It has everything from her first crib to photos of early performances as part of the Gumm Sisters, a family vaudeville group. A copy of her costume from The Wizard of Oz is here too, right down to the ruby slippers. In front of the building is a section of Yellow Brick Road, dedicated by surviving munchkins. Due to technical glitch, we bring you a photo of Mark and Greg in front of a large fish. Don't ask.
There are basically five things that we stop for during our trek. 1)Fuel 2)Food 3)Pit stops 4)Sleep 5)Pictures of water towers. Mark scores an impressive three of five in Floodwood MN, when we stop for fuel, a pit stop *and* he is perfectly positioned to take a shot of the town's water tower, labeled "Floodwood - Catfish Capital".
The afternoon riding is pretty great. Here's a typical scene of Highway 2 in Minnesota:
And here's a shot of Mark approaching in my rear-view mirror. If you look closely, you can see my Sony digital camera in the upper right corner of the mirror. It has turned out to be very easy to shoot from the bike - I just keep it strapped around my neck and in a jacket pocket.
I have made many references to our Aerostich riding suits, and as we draw closer to Duluth we realize that we are approaching the factory where they were made. We stop to check on their address, and it turns out that we are only a mile away. We stop in to look at the factory and buy some cool Aerostich stuff (like we have any room to carry more stuff). I buy a new pair of really genuinely honestly waterproof riding gloves, we both get shirts, and Mark buys a hat, now that he has a new mission with hats. We take a shot in the factory just to record the moment. Pretty cool, eh Dave?
At this point, Mark insisted on taking a shot of me on my Harley Davidson Road King, since most of the photos have been taken by me of Mark. I am happy to comply.
Darby Williams gave me some advice about clothes when I was planning my inventory. He said "just a pair of jeans, and two t-shirts. Throw 'em away when they've served their purpose." Darby, you were right.
Tonight we are staying at the Hotel Chequamegon ("shuh-WAH-muh-gun") in Ashland, It's a century-old Victorian until a 1955 fire destroyed the original structure, but it was reconstructed authentically. It's a very nice hotel and we had a nice dinner here after a walk around downtown Ashland.
Tomorrow, we land in Michigan, staying overnight in Mackinaw, leaving only one more leg before arriving at JerkFest '97. We allowed one extra day on the way out for unforeseen problems with weather or the bikes. Since we haven't needed it, our plan is to lay up for a day and tour Mackinaw Island in northern Michigan. JerkFest starts Thursday, with JerkMaster Carl officiating this year.
Until tomorrow,


text:
We had a customer who suggested a cordura-leather EDC pouch for himself. At Garrison Packs, nothing excites us better than some out of the box ideas and suggestions…especially from customers and users. It took us a bit of time to track down leather suppliers here in Malaysia but eventually we manage to score some good bits. We choose the softer leather and our master sewer Ben spent a few good nights trying them out. Well, all his hard work is definitely worth a shout.
The cordura-leather combination gives a more subtle yet classic look to our products. While cordura fabrics retains its super tough characteristics, the leather touch kinda gives it that tone-down look. To quote a customer…"you guys just made mil-spec evergreen".
While we are happy with the progress of our cordura-leather EDC pouch so far, we will likely take more time to refine designs, test capabilities and identify areas that may need fine tuning. Our main concern at the moment is a constant and reliable supply of quality leather for our workshop. The machines at our workshop has no issues coping with the thicker leather and we expect the new machines we have ordered will make work even easier.
We have posted some of these pictures on our Garrison Packs Facebook page and has garnered quite a big interest. At this stage, our cordura-leather pouches will only be available at OGM store in Shah Alam. Once we have sorted out issues on material supplies, we hope to extend out more designs and offer them at several other retail locations. And of course, we will be accepting custom, 'made to your sketch' versions of cordura-leather EDC pouches or bags in good time.
If you are interested to find out more about our cordura-leather EDC pouches, you can write to us via our Contact Us page. Alternatively, look us up on Facebook and send us a message there.


text:
Next up for serial entrepreneur? At 60, not retirement!
24 Nov
I was recently featured in the Globe and Mail Second Careers series that looks at people who are making major career changes after 50 – workers who are staying relevant and thriving in today's job market. This story is part … Read More »


text:
It's been a while since I've added to my series on the lessons I learned from my spine surgery. Part of the reason is because my recovery has been so time-consuming. The other part is that it ran smack-dab into my busy Spring speaking schedule, leaving me precious little time to write about anything outside of presentations and PowerPoints.
To refresh your memory (and mine, for that matter): In Part I, I wrote about the need for humility and silence. In Part II, I wrote about the gift I discovered through my sister-in-law's breast cancer diagnosis, and in Part III, I wrote about isolation and the value of friendship.
Today I'm pausing the rest of my work to write about the setbacks I've experienced post-surgery. I think this might be the most important part of all the series, as we all face setbacks in our lives. Sometimes we know how to handle them; sometimes we're clueless.
I was clueless.
For the most part, I'm still clueless, although every once in a while I pick up on a hint from God.
The chronology and dates aren't all that important, but I'm going to try my best to relay the main points of what's happened in the past four-and-a-half months.
In terms of healing the incision, everything looked great until I got about a month out of surgery. Then, I sprang a leak. I'll spare you the icky parts, but suffice to say that I'd developed a seroma – pocket of fluid – under the incision that didn't become evident until then. According to the PA, seromas happen in about 5% of patients who have any kind of surgery. God chose me to rank among the lucky five percent. In most cases, the fluid is re-absorbed by the body and the pocket fills in on its own. I wasn't one of the "most cases." My seroma was extensive, deep, and stubborn.
The surgeon tried his best to help things along – even meeting my husband and I at his office on Christmas Eve when things had suddenly taken a turn for the worse. Within a couple of weeks, it became apparent that I needed stronger measures for healing and so I was referred to a wound clinic for treatment. The wound specialist's conclusion was that the only way to get me healed was for me to undergo negative-pressure wound therapy, more commonly known as a wound vac. It's a portable machine that was bandaged to my back 24/7. The negative pressure kept the wound clean and instigated rapid healing. The wound doc figured it would take 3, 4, maybe 5 weeks of the wound vac to get me healed. I started on the vac January 11.
I had a terrible time reconciling myself to the need for a wound vac. I was supposed to have been all healed and back on the road by then! The bandaging needed to be changed twice-weekly at the wound clinic, which meant limitations and cancellations, including a promised visit to see my daughter and her family out-of-state during the Christmas season. That was crushing for me.
Trying to make the best of it, I decided to name my wound vac Marty. If we were going to spend so much time together, then we might as well be on a first-name basis. Plus, giving the thing a goofy name made it less threatening when folks gawked or asked about it. And they did plenty of gawking. On top of that, Marty was noisy, making whirring and gurgling sounds and frequently what the user manual called a "burp." That was not a burp! The amazing resemblence to human flatulence made for some truly embarrassing moments, especial during the quiet parts of holy Mass.
Eventually, I learned to laugh it off. The temptation to point to my husband every time Marty "burped" in public was awfully hard to resist.
Deep inside, though, I was losing hope. The progress was slow, stretching on for weeks with one step forward and two steps backward the whole way. The weeks went by and I struggled to be optimistic. I was hurt, confused, and defeated. It felt as though God was playing games with me. He wasn't, but it sure felt like it.
During the first part of February, the healing slowed way, way down. I blamed myself, convinced that it was something I was – or wasn't – doing that was causing the problem. In actuality, we discovered that Marty had been malfunctioning. For how long, we have no idea. It didn't become evident until February 15 when he stopped functioning entirely and I ended up in the ER one Sunday because the wound became putrid. The ER doc got me cleaned up and rebandaged. Thanks be to God there was no infection! An urgent call to the wound vac company got us an expedited delivery of Marty II. Marty II was defective! Another urgent call to the wound vac company brought us Marty III. Marty III worked, but we'd lost five days of valuable therapy time and who knows how many more before we noticed the malfunction.
By March 9, it was time to say goodbye to Marty III and proceed with less-invasive treatment. This included cooking up (literally) a low-concentration bleach mixture to soak the bandages in before application. We were back to twice-daily bandage changes. Everything had to be sterilized and the wound washed out with special soap and washcloths before applying the bandage each time.
I think my husband deserves a vacation and an honorary nursing degree for the perfect care he's given me these past months!
This new bandaging therapy has been quite effective, and the wound is closing at a rapid pace. Unless there's another setback, I should be as good as new in a couple of weeks or so. For the first time, I'm allowing myself to feel a smidgeon of optimism – always with hesitation and expectation that something could go wrong at any moment. All of the setbacks have made me gun shy, so to speak, of expecting too much from this ordeal.
With all of this, God has proven to me that he's in charge. Period.
But that's about as far as I've gotten in trying to figure out this mystery. I have a clue, though. When we first found the seroma, one of our parish priests anointed me and urged me to meditate on the story of Jesus curing the blind man at Bethsaida (see Mk 8:22-26). The first time Jesus healed him, he could see, but not clearly. It took a second healing from our Lord for the man to finally see clearly. "Some healings have to happen in layers," the priest told me. I believe that's true of my own healing – it has to happen in layers and the layers have not all been peeled away yet for me to see clearly.
I'm between layers now. I think I've identified some of them, but not all. I've been praying to our Lord and his Mother to reveal them to me so that I can see clearly. Until then, I have to trust and wait patiently.


text:
A first of its kind session in North East India which was attended by enthusiastic BJYM members. Technology and Social Media made it possible to arrange an interaction of this proportion even in rural regions too! The conference was attended by BJYM National President IT Poonam Mahajan via video conferencing. This interaction is sure to leave a huge impact in places where it was earlier difficult to travel and arrange meets, in terms of communication.
Location: Guwahati, Assam
Event date: Nov 15 , 2017


text:
From antique to colored, Master Glass has created custom mirrors in every style you can think of. In addition to mirrors, we also create glass shelves, tub enclosures and more. Contact our office to speak with our dedicated three-man team about your ideas for a glass project.
From rectangular full-length mirrors to framed, circle wall mirrors, the sky is the limit when it comes to creating your custom mirror. With so many options to choose from, you can feel confident that matching your mirror to your design scheme will be no problem at all.
Master Glass always takes the maximum safety precautions when completing glass projects. We will ensure that the mirror glass, which can be heavy and fragile, is secure and adequately supported. Give us a call today to learn more about our mirror installation process.
Bathroom vanity mirrors
Beveled edge mirrors
Framed mirrors
Full length door mirrors
Plexiglas mirrors
Tinted mirrors
Antique Mirrors
Because Master Glass never uses subcontractors, you won't have to worry about strangers entering and working within your home. All work is completed by our dedicated three-man team.
Schedule an appointment to discuss your glass needs today.
In addition to being a necessity in every home, mirrors can also serve as works of art! Allow Master Glass to design you a beautiful custom mirror for your residential or commercial property.


text:
For the first time, the U.S. military established a permanent base in Israel this week, according to Israeli military officials. But after the statements of the military officials were made public, the U.S. government denied that such a base was being built.
Previously, the U.S. had supported the Israeli military with weapons, money and training. Now, a contingent of U.S. forces will directly assist the Israeli military in its occupation of the Palestinian people, and its imposition of martial law upon them.
The U.S. military has long been involved with and supportive of the Israeli military, but past joint military operations have been more covert.
In addition, the base will house a missile detection and defense system as part of the Iron Dome battalion that was inaugurated in Israel this week.
An Israeli military official called the base 'Äúa joint Israeli and American effort to sustain and enhance our defensive capabilities.'ÄĚ Brig.-Gen. Zvika Haimovich, head of the Aerial Defense Division, told Israeli reporters Monday, 'ÄúThis is the first time that we have an American flag flying in an [Israeli military] base'ÄĚ, adding that it, 'Äúrepresents the long-standing partnership, the strategic commitment between the armies and the militaries of our countries, and adds another layer to the security of the State of Israel in defending [against] the threats of rocket or missile fire.'ÄĚ
The U.S. soldiers stationed there will be under the direction of the Israeli military 'Äď in a first for the U.S. military, which generally does not take orders from foreign militaries.
Hours after the first media reports came out about the establishment of the U.S. military base, the U.S. government issued a statement that the construction would not be a 'Äúbase'ÄĚ but instead a 'Äúfacility'ÄĚ.


text:
Yvonne Siyeni – Lusaka Water & Sewerage Company
Interview with a leader in water and sanitation in Zambia
Read more profiles of women in WASH:
Its important to prioritise the needs of women in the development of services:
"I have been able to design and roll out water and sanitation services to meet the needs of women by engaging them at every stage to get their views throughout the service chain. We ensure that we engage them in the selection of sites for infrastructure development and design especially kiosks.
"We also involve them in the management of the services as they are more responsible, for example engaging them as kiosk attendants. We also use them to mobilise the community since they are change agents and influential foot soldiers."
But much more needs to be done in Lusaka's peri-urban areas, Yvonne believes.
"The provision of services should embrace the step-up approach where communal water points or kiosks should be a basic service and provision of individual connections as the ultimate," says Yvonne.
"A case in point is what has happened in one of the illegal settlement in Lusaka called Misisi Compound. This compound was legalised two years ago, and is a highly densely populated area with poor housing units which are not well planned or laid out."
"The area is also prone to flooding and over the years has been an epicentre for water borne related disease outbreak especially Cholera. However, as a Peri-urban Unit with support from WSUP and Wasser fur Wasser, we implemented a water supply improvement project which was completed in March 2017."
"Through this project we extended a network of 18km using high-density polyethylene pipes, and constructed 45 kiosks. As a result, this year we have not recorded cholera cases from Misisi which has been a great achievement."
WSUP's work with the Lusaka Water & Sewerage Company has been funded by:
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, The Coca-Cola Africa Foundation, Comic Relief, Mulago Foundation, Skoll Foundation, The Stone Family Foundation, the UK Department for International Development (DFID), USAID, and Wasser für Wasser.


text:
Vikings & Golf UIL
In the coming weeks on the 14-15th, Boys Golf will have their annual UIL Golf Meet at not only a regional level but a state level as well. Making Caleb Hicks the only competitor for Lamar this year.
"His success has been unparalleled in my golf coaching experience at Lamar. I've never had a player go to state two times." Said coach Garry Webb. "To my knowledge he's the only player in the history of Lamar to go to state two times."
The competition, held at Legacy Hill Golf Club in Georgetown will more than likely be a 36-hole tournament taking place throughout the coming school weeks. Of which, Caleb is set to participate.
"I hope that he can medal at state," Said Webb. "It's a validation of the work we try to do to get kids better. For Caleb it's definitely a reflection of his talent, how hard he's worked, and a real tribute to his dad's legacy."
However, regardless of the results, Caleb has already brought pride to the Viking name through his work alone. And through it all, it's sure to only grow.


text:
Draven: Eden
Coming from the U.K Draven are a band that released their debut album Eden in 2009 they have come on to the scene with more ingenuity and better songs that a lot of bands have ever had. They have been shown by critics as being part of the southern rock scene, but this isn't completely true as they exhibit more hallmarks of a British rock band than of any of their American counterparts. The album is a concept based on 'Paradise Lost' with all the tracks linking but not fully so they can be enjoyed on their own merit. Opener Blitz has a funky but heavy vibe that leads into the second track Itchy Finger which sounds like part of a heavy metal western. The title track has a sprawling powerful sound that gives it the kudos of being one of the best tracks on the album. Draven mix styles effortlessly on this album linking, country, blues, heavy rock and alternative metal to create a very professional album. That said the production is by Kevin 'Caveman' Shirley who produces Maiden and has produced Zeppelin and Metallica so it is immediately given an air of professionalism by his superb production. For a lesser band this would 'make' their album, in Draven's case it just adds to the overall sound as even with a lesser producer these songs would still be excellent. Draven then are a band that defy genres and do it well. Worth seeking out! 8/10
Yargos: To Be Or Not To Be
Yargos are a strange mix of modern progressive metal a la Theater, Threshold etc., classic progressive rock a la Yes; Gentle Giant etc. while also using electronics and then mixing it all together. They are hard to describe and sound unlike many other bands that are classed under the progressive banner, too heavy for pastoral proggers but possibly too lightweight for heavy fans. The band is made up of guitarist and multi-instrumentalist Wieland "Wielo" Hofmeister, keyboardist and drummer Ossy Pfeiffer and former Threshold vocalist Andrew 'Mac' McDermott they are backed by ex-Running Wild (see Pirate Metal) bassist Peter Pichl, guitarist Andreas "Andigitarre" Kienitz and female singer (and Ossy's wife) Anca Graterol. the band then all comes from prog or power metal backgrounds but despite the heavy backing this music has more in common with the classic 70's style prog bands. McDermott's voice suits this type of music better than it did Threshold's (although he was in a Blaze Bayley situation with Damian Wilson the bands original singer being the fans favourite) he uses real passion over Hofmeister's and Pfeiffers' compositions. The tracks are all solid with the playing being virtuoso on all accounts, Mac's vocals take the front with Anca's mainly being for backing, although she does share lead with Mac on the Summer Tree #1. Despite this being a 'prog' record none of the songs are longer than 7 minutes but still include the time changes and instrumentation that are synonymous with the genre. This then is progressive music. They are a hard band to access but once your there a rewarding one to listen to. 7/10
Magic Kingdom: Metallic Tragedy
No this is not a Disney metal album (no matter how good that would be) Magic Kingdom are a neo-classical/speed/power metal band from Belgium. Like with many of the bands of this ilk they have one focus in this case like so many others it is Guitarist Dushan Petrossi who is following the likes of Tony McAlpine And Yngwie Malmsteen in the virtuoso stakes. This is heavy and fast metal played to perfection, with solos galore. A true air guitarists dream. Petrossi also take the tried and tested route of adding classical nuances to his playing so to come across as more than just a guitar player. However the album itself is a joy to hear no matter how 'Spinal Tap' (Violin scene anyone?) its creator comes across. All blast beats and shredding with a large lunged vocalist screaming over the top. This is dumb and silly but ever so entertaining. The final and title track of the album adds a small difference in that it is a mini metal opera with various vocalists playing different parts. The Concept was expanded on the next album Symphony Of War with the second part of this 'opus' taking up the entire second disc. This is dumb fun for anyone who enjoys any of the genres I have mentioned before. Air Guitars at the ready. 7/10
Glyder: Playground For Life
Glyder come from the Emerald Isle and with that comes the assumption that they sound like Thin Lizzy and in some respects they do, but not totally. Led by guitarist Bat Kincade Playground For Life is their second and most accomplished album. Opening with the very bluesy Gambler's Blues Glyder immediately show themselves to be accomplished musicians. They have big heavy riffs and a lot of power, third song Puppet Queen is the most Lizzyesque of the album with vocalist/bassist Tony Cullen doing his best Phil Lynott impression. The rest of the album mixes these hard rock flavours together with a strong sense of modern playing to create a great rock album replete with two lighter wavers in For Your Skin and Sleeping Gun. Worth checking out if you are a Lizzy fan and also if you're a fan of good rock music. 8/10
Yargos: http://youtu.be/J01G8x4J9q0
Draven: http://youtu.be/1zRkBFXWKus
Magic Kingdom: http://youtu.be/uI5zHA1RS90
Glyder: http://youtu.be/RJe8ojCbm4U


text:
Basics about flying schools
What does it take to learn how to fly? A good school, time and money. Time is important as you cannot fly a jet thousands of feet from the ground with a day' straining, you need to practice until you become confident and good at flying. You need money to pay for your tuition and extra requirements like extra flying lessons from private instructors. When it comes to the flying school in Bristol, the course, equipment available, the instructors, what previous students say about the school, and even the location of the school all determine which school to choose.
The license – Your purpose for the training determines the best license for you. Recreational plot license has a lot of limitations which include;
* You cannot fly a distance longer than 50 nautical miles from your origin
* You are only allowed to carry a maximum of one passenger
* You cannot fly an aircraft at night and,
* You have a limit of the aircraft horsepower that you can fly.
A private pilot license allows you to fly night and day, carry many passengers, and gives you freedom to fly anywhere without boundaries and limitations.
Choosing a school – Ensure the school you choose has courses that are accredited by the Federal Aviation Administration and it employs certified instructors. It is also important that you train in a school which uses modern equipment and has simulators. When you choose such a flying school in Bristol, you can be sure that you will be ready to fly after the course.
Flying – It takes time to learn how to fly but the amount of time taken is determined by the purpose of your training. To earn a recreational license, you take less time than the people who want a private pilot license. In order to attain a license, you need to pass a practical flying test, a written test and a certification test.
Do you want to train with the professionals? Talk to us at Devon and Somerset Flight Training today.
Automatic Gates Are the Perfect Security Solution for Homes Tips for HIAB Hire


text: If you want to know anything just ask! I love staying active, living in the moment, and meeting people. I am interested in backpacking, camping, minimalism, triathlon, writing, enjoying time with friends and a glass of wine-to name a few. Last visit: Visible to members only! Sign Up 100% FREE to Get In Touch Join Free Now


text:
I republish / post this every year on the 28th of August because my mother died on August 28, 1994. It always puts me in a reflective mood.
I am at that age where I spend moments throughout the day contemplating life and death. I am not consumed with the idea, but certainly the older I get the more aware I am that time is running out. I am now in my 50s.
All thinking and feeling adults at some point ask themselves that difficult question: "What will happen to me when I die?" If you're religious or spiritual, more than likely your beliefs answered this question before you even posed it.
Anyone who's known me more than half an hour knows that I am an atheist. So, what does it mean to be an atheist? It simply means that I don't believe in God, god, G*D, Allah or multiple gods. It doesn't mean I lack a moral compass, as some have accused me of; it just means I don't believe there's an entity out there who is at the helm.
Before I go any further with this, it's important that you know I respect whatever it is that you believe, as I ask you do the same with me.
Usually when I "inform" people that I am an atheist, I get all sorts of reactions:
- "I feel sorry for you; your soul is going to hell!"
- "Are you a wiccan?"
- "What do you mean you don't believe in God? Of course you do!"
- "Well then how do you explain all of this (points to the skies above, the earth below, the mountains, the sun and beauty that surrounds us), and what do you think will happen to you when you die?"
Those are all great questions. Well, I don't think I am going to hell, mainly because I don't believe in hell, or heaven for that matter. But the others, yeah, they have merit. For the record, I am not a Wiccan, and I think Wiccans would be offended at the notion that they don't believe in something larger than themselves. It's just not the same something that God-fearing people believe.
So what happens to us when we die? That question has been asked as long as people have been alive. In fact, it's my belief that religions—all of them—were invented to answer tough questions, and you gotta admit, this is the toughest of them all.
To answer this question, I could have Googled it, but I decided to ask some of my friends what they believe. I may be an atheist, but I pride myself on having an eclectic group of people in my life. After I finish sharing their beliefs, I will share what I believe and then a story with you.
Death According to Judaism
José Portuando-Denbar of Boston, Massachusetts was raised Catholic. Several years ago he converted to Judaism. He explained to me that Jews take no official position on what happens after death because there are different forms of Judaism. There are reformed Jews, observant Jews, conservative Jews and Orthodox Jews.
What they all have in common are the rituals that take place from the moment death is imminent until burial (which, by Jewish law, must take place within 24 hours) and beyond in the period of mourning when loved ones are sitting shiva. Again, more attention is paid to the rituals of those left behind than to discussing an afterlife.
Death According to Christianity
A neighbor of mine is an Evangelical Pentecostal. Her beliefs about death are very similar to the way I was raised: "Salvation first, if you have lived a Christian life you will go to Heaven. If no salvation through accepting Jesus as your Savior, Hell."
Daniel Brantley of Tennessee is a Presbyterian. He shared this about death: "Jesus is God's son, was born of a virgin, lived the life we couldn't live and died the death we rightly deserved—all in order to bridge the gap between man and God. All have sinned (gone against God's will—both in omission and commission—and deserve God's wrath. Only through belief in Jesus can this fate be avoided."
Death According to Islam
I found incredible similarity between what Muslims and Christians believe. Tariq Aziz of New York, New York quoted from the Quran 34:3-5: But those who disbelieve say, "The Hour (i.e. the Day of Judgment) will not come to us." Say, "Yes, by my Lord, it will surely come to you. [God is] the Knower of the unseen." Not absent from Him is an atom's weight within the heavens or within the earth or [what is] smaller than that or greater, except that it is in a clear register—that He may reward those who believe and do righteous deeds. Those will have forgiveness and noble provision. But those who strive against Our verses [seeking] to cause failure (i.e. to undermine their credibility)—for them will be a painful punishment of foul nature.
Death According to Hinduism
As I did with Christianity, I asked two Hindus what they believe happens when we die. Chandresh Trivedi (who lives in Singapore and India and is Indian) said the following: "We believe that our souls will migrate to another state depending on how we handle the soul in this lifetime. It will migrate to another body and so on until we obtain "moksha"—or the liberation/freedom of the soul from the cycle of birth/death/re-birth."
One of my friends was happy to contribute, but asked that her name be withheld. She believes the following: "Hinduism has many paths, one of rituals, one of knowledge, one of karma (what you do/how you live). I focus more on karma and less on rituals except where it's important to family.
"After death the soul lives on and either is freed into nirvana because it's evolved to the extent possible (rare), or it's reincarnated into its avatar (next form as another human being) and born into circumstances that allow it to continue to learn and evolve based on its karma.
"I don't know what will happen but I believe anything is possible, and I believe we hold onto beliefs that give us comfort and a purpose in life. I believe heaven and hell can be metaphors for nirvana or reincarnation, but nothing is that simple. It all depends on that balance between our circumstances and our choices, which drive our destiny (kismet)."
Death According to Buddhism
Ronnie Cusmano of upstate New York believes the following: "Buddhists believe death is the end of life for the body that one spirit currently inhabits. Attachment is the driving force behind impending rebirth. Consider an 'Enlightened Being' whose efforts and practice would release their spirit from the need of 'attachment'. The remainder of all sentient beings who have yet to attain enlightenment remain in the natural process of birth, old age, sickness and death. A cycle of remaining attached to new bodies, new lives. Accumulated karma, the result of accumulated positive and negative actions, cause and effect, determine where we will be reborn. So, life doesn't end, it moves on, in different forms based on inherited Karma. Because of this we should not fear death."
If you see similarity between Hinduism and Buddhism it's because Buddha was raised Hindu. Although attempts were made to shield him from death, aging and other forms of human suffering, once Buddha witnessed it for himself, he set out on a quest to understand suffering. I am over simplifying things, of course, but we call the answers he obtained following his answer-seeking "enlightenment."
Death According to Sarah—an atheist
So I have told you a lot about what others believe and nothing about what I believe. The me who believes in science tells me that the stories in the Bible, the Quran and the Torah should be taken with a grain of salt. After all, they were written by human beings who in the absence of logic and science came up with their own answers.
I believe that people have been struggling to answer this and other difficult questions for as long as we have been walking the earth. We used to believe the world was flat and that the sun revolved around the earth. Science debunks both these theories and numerous others that at one time were considered Truths.
Although I was raised a Christian, when I was 13 I came to a crossroads in my life. My father was Catholic and my mother was an Episcopalian. I went to parochial school and I served as an acolyte in my church. At one point I had seriously considered going to divinity school and becoming a priest. Despite being raised to believe in God, I was stuck on one concept, which ultimately drove me away from Christianity. "He who so believeth in me shall have everlasting life."
I was taught there is a heaven and a hell and those who don't believe in God and Jesus Christ are going to hell. I have always been a very sensitive person. I must still be because the thought that those who don't believe in God will go to this very hot and fiery place upsets me. The God I was raised to believe in is benevolent, and He wouldn't damn someone to hell for all of eternity just because he or she didn't believe in Him. I believed (and still believe) this is people's interpretation of His thoughts.
I did as all wandering souls do. I read and I explored what others believed. To me it seemed that there was very little difference between belief systems. I had come to the conclusion that we do as other life forms do: we live, we die, we decompose and then we become one with the earth. I actually take great comfort in believing this as it means that in death I become a part of something bigger than I was in life. I was fine believing this until something happened.
This one event has left a question mark over my head for more than two decades. I still don't believe what I was raised to believe, but I also am not completely sold on the ashes to ashes, dust to dust concept either.
So what happened?
I was 27 years old when my mother died suddenly of aneurysm. We were in different parts of the world at the time of her sudden death—she and my father had retired to the South of France six years earlier and I was living by myself in an apartment in the Morningside Heights section of Manhattan.
Although separated by thousands of miles, I was with her the moment she died.
It was the wee hours of Saturday morning, August 28, 1994. I was subletting a completely furnished apartment from a man who is an opera singer. He'd landed a six-month long tour through Europe performing in Der Rosenkavalier.
Working as a personal assistant for a family in the West Village, I was in the latest installment of reinventing myself. This time I was trying my hand at becoming a writer again. I was in my minimalist stage of life. I owned very little: 18 boxes of books (all stacked in the second bedroom of my 3-bedroom sublet), my clothes, my cat and my hand-me-down IBM computer (thanks to my big brother who had recently upgraded). This time I was attempting the impossible: a novel whose protagonist is a serial killer who meets his victims through the Personal Ads of his local newspaper. The title, Come Prowl With Me, was the only thing worth reading about this manuscript.
Stuck on page 28 for the last month and a half, it's 1:57 in the morning. I am wide awake, thanks to a strong cup of café con leche courtesy of the Puerto Rican Bakery down the street. Sitting in an antique wooden chair with casters (his, not mine), one minute I was staring at the computer screen, and the next I was yanked away from the desk with great force. The bedroom was small and I couldn't go but so far. The chair bounced off the bed and suddenly I was head over feet. As I landed on the floor, I begin screaming in agony. "Oh My God! My umbilical cord is ripping! I have to call my mother!"
I remained on the floor for several minutes; I was cold and clammy. I reached for the phone and called my parents' number in France. It rang and rang and rang. I knew what had happened. In my heart of hearts I knew my mother was gone. I also knew she was never coming back.
I have never known what to make of all that. I do know that the police confirmed that my mother died at approximately 8:00 in the morning (France time, which is six hours ahead of the east coast—thus making it 2:00 in the morning for me). Although they pronounced her dead at 9:03, they arrived to my parents' house and, based on the physical evidence, concluded she had probably been dead about an hour. I have concluded that I was with her as she was dying and on her way someplace else. The problem is, I have never been able to explain where that someplace else is or why I was with her during her transition. And quite frankly, I am not in a hurry to find out.


text:
To usher in Fall, I decided to make a Vegetable Lasagna that called for a mixture of kale, zucchini, yellow squash and roasted red peppers, and decided to use squash in lieu of actual pasta. The first time I made it it tasted great, but it was a bit too watery. So the second time around I made sure to cook the tomato vegetable mixture longer and drain it before using. Voila! Perfectly moist– but not watery– lasagna.
This is the perfect dish to bring to your family Thanksgiving potluck. Even better, prep and assemble everything beforehand, arrive early to the party and pop the pan in the oven so that it'll be ready by the time the guests arrive.
Vegetable Lasagna
Prep Time2 hrs
Cook Time1 hr 10 mins
Total Time3 hrs 10 mins
Servings: 10
Calories: 221kcal
- 2 yellow squash
- 2 zucchini
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium onion diced
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 bunch organic kale chopped
- 1 15oz jar roasted red peppers diced
- 1 28oz jar crushed red tomatoes
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt more to taste
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper more to taste
- ¼ cup parsley fresh, chopped
- ⅛ cup basil fresh, chopped
- 2 15oz package part skim ricotta cheese
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- ½ cup parmesan romano cheese plus more for sprinkling
- 4 cups mozzarella cheese shredded
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly grease a 9x13-inch baking pan with olive oil.
- Cut both yellow squash and 1 zucchini in half. Cut each halve lengthwise into ¼-inch slices. Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add sliced squash and cook until tender, about 2 to 4 minutes. Drain completely, pat dry and set aside.
- Small dice the remaining zucchini. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onions and garlic and cook for a minute. Add diced zucchini and kale and sauté for 2 minutes. Pour in tomatoes, sugar, salt and pepper. Stir to combine and let simmer for 20 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in chopped parsley and basil. Taste and add salt/pepper as needed. Pour mixture into a small holed colander and let drain. You want to make sure any excess water is removed.
- In a separate bowl, whisk the ricotta, eggs, parmesan cheese, salt and pepper.
- To assemble, spread a little of the tomato sauce in the prepared pan. Arrange one layer of squash in the pan. Spread one-third of the ricotta mixture on top. Top the ricotta mixture with one-third of the mozzarella. Spoon a little less than one-third of the tomato mixture over the mozzarella.
- Repeat the layering two more times, ending with a large helping of vegetable sauce and a sprinkling of mozzarella and parmesan romano.
- Loosely cover the lasagna with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil and continue baking for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to stand for 10 minutes before cutting into squares and serving.
Calories: 221kcal | Carbohydrates: 7g | Protein: 14g | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Cholesterol: 75mg | Sodium: 723mg | Potassium: 340mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 1990IU | Vitamin C: 32.5mg | Calcium: 328mg | Iron: 1mg


text:
Man Murdered in South Berkeley
An 18-year-old man was murdered last night on the 1300 block of 67th Street, according to Berkeley police.
Around 11:30 p.m., the Berkeley Police Department received calls of shots fired in the area. Officers responding to the scene found the 18-year-old in the rear yard of a residence, suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. He was pronounced dead at the scene by Berkeley Fire Department paramedics.
The murder was Berkeley's second of the year.
The shooting rattled residents of Southwest Berkeley.
"It's a damn shame," said Shay, a dreadlocked young man standing with two friends on the corner of 67th and Mabel, a short distance from the crime scene. Berkeley police would not release the name of the deceased or any information about the cause of the incident.
Another area resident named Calvin said he was lying awake in bed when he heard several gunshots fired. However, he did not see the incident, choosing to take cover instead. "I grew up in West Oakland," Calvin said. "When you hear shots, you don't go looking out the window."
Detectives are asking for the community's help with this investigation. Anyone who may have any information regarding this crime is urged to call the BPD Homicide Detail at 981-5741 (office) or 981-5900 (non-emergency dispatch line). Callers who wish to remain anonymous are asked to call the Bay Area Crime Stoppers Tip Line at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).


text:
Experience the Arboretum in a new way--take a free guided tour with a knowledgeable volunteer docent. Tour topics range from Highlights and History to Landscape for Learning and special themes on Olmsted, Arboretum collections, and more. For more information and possible cancellations due to weather, call the Visitor Center at 617 384-5209. Tours last around 90 minutes, and are geared toward adults. There is no need to register.
Tour Schedule:
The general free tour season runs from April 16 through October 30, 2016. We offer tours Saturdays at 10:30am, and Sundays at 1:00pm. Additional 10:30am weekday tours are offered on Mondays and Thursdays, late April through June, September and October, except holidays.
Check our calendar for guided theme tours and other specific dates.
These tours are intended for individuals. For a tour tailored to your group, please request a private group tour.