text:
This is my translation of Fotudeng's biography from the Jin Shu (Chapter 95 = On the Practitioners of Occult Arts). The full historical context, including the background stories of the Latter Zhao rulers Shi Le and Shi Hu, may be found in Taishi Ci 2.0's ZZTJ translations.
Fotudeng, whose original surname was Bo, was from India. He studied religion at a young age and became very proficient in the occult arts. In the 4th year of the Yongjia reign (AD 310), he came to live in Luoyang, and claimed to be over a hundred years old. He could nourish himself by breath alone, and could go for days without eating. He was an expert of incantations and could command spirits to his will. He had a hole on one side of his abdomen, which he normally kept stuffed up with a piece of cotton. Every night, as he read, he would remove the cotton, and light would emit from the hole and light up the entire room. And once, during a period of fasting, he went at daybreak to a creek. Pulling out his internal organs from the hole at the side of his abdomen, he washed them in the water. After he was finished, he put them back inside. In addition, he was able to predict good or bad fortune from the sound of a ringing bell. All his predictions came to pass.
When Luoyang fell into chaos, Fotudeng hid himself among the commoners, in order to observe the situation. At that time, Shi Le was encamped at Gebei and committed mass killings. Among the victims were many from Buddhist congregations. Fotudeng went to join the household of General Guo Heilue. Every time Guo Heilue followed Shi Le to battle, Fotudeng was able to predict whether the battle would be won or lost. Shi Le because curious and asked Guo Heilue, "I never thought you were particularly resourceful, but you managed to foresee the fortunes of each campaign. How is that so?" Guo Heilue replied, "General, the Heavens support your ventures and the spirits are on your side. There is a Buddhist monk of extraordinary intellect and skill. He said that you would come to conquer the Chinese heartland. I have honoured him as my teacher. Everything that I had told you before were his words." Shi Le thus summoned Fotudeng to test his arts. Fotudeng took a bowl, filled it with water, then lit up some incense and recited an invocation over it. Soon, a blue lotus grew inside the bowl, with colours so bright that it radiated like the sun. Thereupon, Shi Le believed in him.
Shi Le passed by Fangtou on his way back to Hebei from Gebei. The people of Fangtou planned to raid his camp by night. Fotudeng said to Guo Heilue, "Enemies will soon arrive. You should let your lord know." And it happened just as he predicted. Since the camp was prepared, it was not overtaken. Shi Le wanted to test Fotudeng further. One night, he sat in his tent in full armour, carrying a sabre. He then sent someone to tell Fotudeng, "We haven't been able to find the Grand General all night." The messenger came to Fotudeng, but, before he was able to say a word, Fotudeng demanded of him, "All is secure here, and there are no enemies. Why is he staying battle-ready at night?" This made Shi Le believe in Fotudeng even more
Later on, Shi Le, in a fit of anger, desired to kill all the monks, including Fotudeng. Fotudeng secretly went to hide in Guo Heilue's house. He told his disciples, "If the General's messenger comes and asks for me, say that you don't know where I went." When Shi Le's messenger arrived, he was unable to find Fotudeng, and thus he returned to report to Shi Le. Shi Le, stunned, said, "I had intended to do harm to Fotudeng, and so he's left me." He could not sleep all night, but kept thinking about seeing Fotudeng. Fotudeng, sensing that Shi Le had repented, went to visit him early the next morning. Shi Le asked him, "Where did you go last night?" Fotudeng replied, "Sir, you had angry thoughts yesterday, and so I took the liberty of avoiding you. But now you have changed your mind, and thus I dared to come." Shi Le broke out in laughter and said, "Reverend, you must be mistaken."
The source of the water feeding Xiangguo's moats were five li northwest of the city. It dried up all of a sudden. Shi Le asked Fotudeng how to make the water flow again. Fotudeng said, "Now, we must command the dragon to get us water." He took his disciple Fashou and a few others to the source of the original spring. Sitting on a folding chair and lighting benzoin incense, he spoke a few hundred words of incantation. He did so for three days. The water started trickling in. A little dragon, some five to six cun long, came with the water. All the monks rushed to go look. Not long after, a flood of water came, and the moats were completely filled.
Duan Mobo of the Xianbei marched to attack Shi Le with a huge force. Shi Le, frightened, asked Fotudeng what to do. Fotudeng said, "Yesterday, the bell-chimes of the temple said that you will capture Duan Mobo tomorrow at the time of the morning meal." Shi Le ascended the city walls to observe Duan Mobo's army, but to him it seemed an endless mass of people. He blanched at the sight and said, "How can we capture Duan Mobo if they look like this?" And so he sent Kui An to speak to Fotudeng again. Fotudeng told Kui An, "Duan Mobo has already been captured." Right at that moment, the troops lying in ambush north of the city sprung forth and chanced upon Duan Mobo himself. Thereupon, they captured him. Fotudeng advised Shi Le to release Duan Mobo and send him back to his own lands. Shi Le followed his advice, and thus was able to obtain Duan Mobo's support.
Liu Yao sent his younger cousin, Liu Yue, to attack Shi Le. Shi Le sent Shi Hu to meet him in battle. Liu Yao was defeated, and retreated to defend Shiliangwu. Shi Hu dug in to guard against him. Fotudeng, who was in Xiangguo at the time, suddenly sighed and said, "Poor Liu Yue!" His disciple Fazuo asked him what he meant by that. Fotudeng said, "Yesterday at the Hai hour (9-11 p.m.), Liu Yue was captured." And it was indeed as he said.
And then Liu Yao came in person to attack Luoyang. Shi Le wanted to go relieve the city. His subordinates all advised him against it. Shi Le visited Fotudeng to ask for his opinion. Fotudeng said, "The chimes at the top of the pagoda are saying, 'Xiuzhitileigang, pugugqutudang'. This is in the Jie language. Xiuzhi means army. Tileigang means to go out. Pugu is Liu Yue's title in their language. Qutudang means to capture. So, what they were saying is that, should we march forth, we would capture Liu Yao." Then, he commanded a young boy to bathe and fast for seven days. After that, Fotudeng mixed hemp oil and rouge in his own palm, and held his hand up to show the boy. From his palm emitted a brilliant glow. The boy exclaimed, "There is a great host, and among them is a man, tall and fair-skinned, and he has red strings tied about his forearms." Fotudeng said, "That would be Liu Yao." Shi Le was pleased at this, and so he went to Luoyang to fight Liu Yao, and captured him alive.
Shi Le claimed the title of "Heavenly Prince of the Zhao", and acted according to the rites pertaining to an emperor. He became even more reverent in his veneration of Fotudeng. At that time, Shi Cong was planning to rebel. Fotudeng advised Shi Le, "Green onions* are going to be infested with insects this year, which are harmful if eaten. You might order the people to avoid eating green onions." So Shi Le had it announced all throughout the land, that no one should eat green onions. Not long after, Shi Cong fled on his own accord. Because of that Shi Le held Fotudeng in even higher regard. He would consult with Fotudeng on everything before acting on it, and called him the "Great Monk".
(Note: The word for "green onion" is cong, a homophone of Shi Cong's name.)
Shi Le's favourite son, Shi Bin, died of a sudden illness. Right before the funeral, Shi Le sighed and said, "I had heard that, when the heir apparent of the lord of Guo died, Bian Que* was able to bring him back to life. I wonder if the same can be done now?" And so he sent someone to talk to Fotudeng. Fotudeng took a branch of willow, dipped it in water, sprinkled the water over Shi Bin and recited an incantation. Then, he held Shi Bin's hands and said, "Rise now!" And Shi Bin rose, and recovered from his illness. After that, Shi Le had most of his children raised in Fotudeng's temple.
(Note: Bian Que was a famed physician in the Spring and Autumn period.)
One day in the year when Shi Le was to die, the skies were calm and there was no wind. Yet, one chime on the top of the pagoda rang. Fotudeng said to those gathered about him, "The bell is saying that a grand personage will die within the year." And true enough, Shi Le died within the year.
Shi Hu took over as the ruler of Zhao and moved the capital city to Ye. He devoted himself to venerating Fotudeng, to an even greater extent than Shi Le did. He ordered for Fotudeng to be dressed in the finest silks and driven around in carved carriages. On court meeting days, when Fotudeng was brought to the palace hall, all below the rank of Regular Attendant would help him off the carriage, and the crown prince and the lords would help him into the hall. The master of ceremonies would announce "The Great Monk is here", and all those who were seated would rise, as a sign of respect for him. Shi Hu also ordered Li Nong, the Minister over the Masses, to go to Fotudeng in person to inquire about his health every day once in the morning and once in the evening; the crown prince and the lords would pay respect to him once every five days. There was none other who was accorded the same level of honour. When the monk Zhi Daolin was in the capital and found out that Fotudeng was consorting with the Shis, he remarked, "Lord Fotudeng must be taking Shi Hu to be a seagull*."
(Note: The seagull reference comes from a story in the Taoist classic Liezi. The story goes: "There was a man living by the seaside who loved seagulls,and would go out to the sea every day to play with them. Hundreds of seagulls will flock to him and frolic with him. His father said to him, 'I heard that seagulls like to play with you. Bring them here so I can play with them too.' The next day, when the man went to the sea, the seagulls would only circle in the air above him, but would come to him no more." The message of the story is that one may befriend wild things only by being pure in heart.)
Because of Fotudeng, many of the common people converted to Buddhism, and contributed to the building of temples. They raced to leave their families and take religious vows. However, many false adherents were mixed in with the true followers, causing many problems. Shi Hu issued an order for his ministers to discuss this. Wang Du, the Imperial Historical Secretary, memorialized, "The Buddha is a foreign god, and the people of the Chinese lands should not worship him. The religion was first spread in the Han dynasty, but only people of the Western Reaches were allowed to build temples in the capital city for worshipping in their fashion. The Han people were not allowed to take religious vows. Wei continued implementing Han laws, and followed the former rulings. Now, we should command that no one from Zhao should be allowed to go to the temples to burn incense and worship, so as to uphold our proper rites. Everyone from ministers down to office clerks should be forbidden from doing so, and those who violate this law should be charged with carrying out improper sacrificial rituals*. Citizens of Zhao who had joined a monastery should revert to their previous dress and occupation."
(Note: "Carrying out improper sacrificial rituals" was a grave transgression, including offences such as performing official sacrifices to the wrong deities, or at the wrong times, or with the wrong rituals.)
Most of the officials of the court agreed with Wang Du. However, because of Fotudeng, Shi Hu issued an edict saying, "I was born on the frontier, and by fortune alone I came to rule over the Chinese lands. In matters of worship, we should follow our original customs. The Buddha is a god from the frontier lands, and thus it is right for us to worship him as well. If the tribes or the people of Zhao find pleasure in becoming Buddhists, let them do so."
At one point Fotudeng was staying in the temple in Yecheng. His disciples were spread throughout the land. Once, he sent his disciple Fachang to go north to Xiangguo. It happened that another disciple of his, Fazuo (different from the previously-mentioned Fazuo), was returning from Xiangguo. They ran into each other by the city walls of Liangji. They parked their carriages next to each other and conversed through the night, bringing up their master at times. In the morning, they each went on his way. As soon as Fazuo arrived before Fotudeng, Fotudeng chuckled at him and said, "Were you and Fachang gossiping about your master in your carriages last night?" Fazuo, stunned, became shame-faced. Thereafter, everyone in the state would say to each other, "Think no thoughts unkind--the Monk can read your mind". And no one would dare to blow his nose or spit in the direction of wherever Fotudeng was.
Shi Sui, Shi Hu's crown prince, had two sons, whom he kept in Xiangguo. Fotudeng said to Shi Sui, "The little one has just gotten ill. You should check up on him." So Shi Sui immediately sent a messenger to go look. Indeed, the boy was already ill. The Imperial Physician Yin Teng and a foreign monk said they could cure him. Fotudeng said to his disciple Faya, "Even if the saints were to come, they could not cure this illness; let alone people like them!" Three days later, indeed, the child died.
Later on, when Shi Sui plotted rebellion, he said to his attendant, "The Monk has uncanny powers. He may leak my plot. When he comes tomorrow, we must get rid of him." Fotudeng was in the habit of paying respects to Shi Hu at every full moon. He said to his disciple Senghui, "Last night, a heavenly being called out to me, telling me, 'If you go to the palace tomorrow, do not stop by anyone's house.' If I end up stopping by anywhere, you must prevent me from doing so." Normally, when Fotudeng went to the palace, he would stop by at Shi Sui's residence. Knowing that Fotudeng was on his way to the palace, he waited a long time on the way to meet Fotudeng. When Fotudeng was about to walk up to the South Terrace with Shi Sui, Senghui tugged on his robe. Fotudeng said, "I have some other business and cannot stay here." He rose again before sitting for long. Shi Sui pleaded with him to stay longer, but could not stop him from leaving. And thus Shi Sui's plan failed. When Fotudeng returned to the temple, he sighed and said, "The crown prince is planning trouble, and his schemes are already taking shape."
Later on, Guo Heilue led a force to conquer the Mountain Qiang people north of Chang'an, but fell into a Qiang ambush. At that time, Fotudeng was sitting in a hall, and suddenly his expression turned sorrowful, and he said, "Lord Guo is in jeopardy." Thereupon he chanted, "All monks, offer your prayers." Fotudeng himself also offered prayers. A while later, he said, "If he leaves by the southeast path, he will live; otherwise, he will be lost." Then he continued to pray. And some moments later, he said, "He has escaped." More than a month later, Guo Heilue returned. He said that after he had fallen into the Qiang's trap, he fled southeastward, and ran into one of his subordinates. The subordinate gave his own horse to Guo Heilue, saying, "Lord, take this horse, and I will ride on yours. Let us leave it to fate whether we will be delivered." Thanks to the subordinate's horse, Guo Heilue was able to escape. When they worked out the time of the events, it was exactly when Fotudeng was offering his prayers.
At one time, there was a great drought. Shi Hu sent his crown prince to the Fukou, west of Linzhang, to pray for rain. He prayed for a long time, but the rain did not fall. And so Shi Hu ordered Fotudeng to go himself. Immediately, two white dragons descended upon the temple, and on the same day torrential rains poured over an area of thousands of li.
At another time, Fotudeng sent a disciple to go to the Western Reaches to buy incense. Later on, after the disciple had been on his way, Fotudeng told the other disciples, "I read from my palm that the one whom I sent to buy incense was robbed somewhere, and is on the verge of death." And so they lit incense and prayed for him, and saved him from afar. When that disciple returned later, he reported that he encountered robbers on a certain day in a certain place, and while they were just about to kill him, they suddenly caught the scent of incense. The robbers, for no apparent reason, panicked and said, "People are here to save him!" And thus they abandoned him and fled.
On another occasion, someone obtained a giant softshell turtle from the Yellow River, which had never been known to produce those creatures. He brought the turtle to Shi Hu. When Fotudeng saw it, he remarked, "It won't be long before Huan Wen enters the Yellow River!" Huan Wen's style name was Yuanzi*, and it did come pass as Fotudeng predicted.
(Note: The word for "giant softshell turtle" is yuan, a homophone of Huan Wen's style name. This seems to be a prediction of Huan Wen's attempt in sailing into the Yellow River by way of the canal, in AD 369.)
Once, Shi Hu had a dream when napping, in which a flock of sheep came from the northeast bearing fish. When he woke up, he went to talk to Fotudeng. Fotudeng said, "That is a bad omen. The Xianbei* may come to rule the Central Plains!" And his prediction came true.
(Note: The Chinese character for "xian", as in "Xianbei", is a combination of the graphs for "fish" and "sheep".)
Another time, Fotudeng and Shi Hu went up the central terrace. Suddenly, Fotudeng exclaimed, "Trouble, trouble! There is a fire in Youzhou!" And so he took some wine in his mouth, and sprayed it in that direction. A while later, he smiled and said, "It has been saved." Shi Hu sent someone to check on Youzhou. There, they reported that fire arose from all gates on that day, but a black cloud rolled in from the southwest, and released a sudden rain that put out the fire. There was a whiff of alcohol in the rain.
Shi Xuan planned to murder Shi Tao. Shi Xuan arrived first at the temple and sat with Fotudeng. One solitary bell was ringing at the top of the pagoda. Fotudeng said, "Do you understand what the bell is saying? It says, 'The barb is brazen.'" Shi Xuan, flustered, said, "What is that supposed to mean?" Fotudeng prevaricated, saying, "I, a barbarian, became a monk, but instead of keeping my silence in a hermitage in the hills, I am living in comfort and luxury. Is that not brazen of me?" When Shi Tao arrived a while later, Fotudeng stared at him for a long time. Perturbed, Shi Tao asked Fotudeng why he was staring at him. Fotudeng replied, "I thought it strange that, lord, you stink of blood, and so I looked to see what it was."
Shi Hu dreamt of a dragon flying southwest and descending from the sky. The next morning, he asked Fotudeng about it. Fotudeng said, "The calamity is about to begin. It would be advisable to keep peace between father and sons, and be very careful." Shi Hu led Fotudeng to the eastern pavilion, and, together with his queen, Lady Du, pressed him for more details. Fotudeng said, "There is an evil-doer by your side. Before ten days are over, blood will flow, west of the stupa and east of this hall. Be careful and do not go east." The queen said, "This monk must be senile! How could there be evil-doers in the palace?" Fotudeng then changed his tone and said, "Everything that your six senses perceive is an evil-doer. The old may be senile, but may the young be not confused." After that, he would only speak in parables, and not explain what he meant.
Two days later, Shi Xuan indeed had someone murder Shi Tao in the Buddhist temple. He then planned to murder Shi Hu when Shi Hu attended the mourning; but, due to Fotudeng's forewarning, Shi Hu was unharmed. When Shi Xuan was arrested, Fotudeng admonished Shi Hu and said, "They are both Your Majesty's own sons. Why create tragedy upon tragedy? If Your Majesty could subdue your anger and show him clemency, your state will last sixty years or more. But if you will execute him, Shi Xuan will become a comet of ill fortune, crossing into the domain of the Ye Palace." Shi Hu did not heed him. Over a month later, a possessed horse, whose mane and tail bore marks of burning, galloped in through the Zhongyang Gate and out through the Xianyang Gate. It headed towards the Eastern Palace, but could not enter there, and so it went northeastward. And then suddenly it disappeared. When he heard about this, Fotudeng sighed and said, "The disaster is upon us!" Shi Hu was feasting his ministers in the front hall of the Taiwu Palace. Fotudeng chanted, "O Palace! O Palace! A forest shall grown from this thorn, and all our clothes shall be torn.". Shi Hu ordered someone to dig up the rock at the front of of the palace, and there they found a thorn growing. Ran Min's nickname was Jinu, or "thorn-slave".
(Note: Ran Min, an ethnic Han general in Zhao's service, overthrew the Shi clan in AD 350 and committed genocide against the Shis' ethnic group, the Jies.)
Soon after Shi Hu had completed the building of the Taiwu Palace, all the paintings of ancient sages, loyal ministers, filial sons, martyrs, and chaste women turned non-Chinese in appearance. Ten or so days later, their heads all shrank into their shoulders, leaving only their hats and topknots showing slightly. Shi Hu was greatly offended by that, but he kept it to himself. Fotudeng looked at the paintings, wept, and went to build a grave for himself by a tree-lined road west of Ye. After that, he returned to the temple, and said to himself, "Do we have three more years?" He then answered himself, "No." He asked again, "Do we have two years? One year? A hundred days? A month?" And he answered himself, "No." And he fell silent. Later, he said to his disciple Fazuo (the first one), "In the Wushen year (AD 348), the seeds of turmoil will sprout, and in the Jiyou year (AD 349) the Shi clan will meet its downfall. I will give up my spirit before they descend into chaos." He died in the temple in the palace of Ye.
Later on, a Buddhist monk coming from Yongzhou claimed that he saw Fotudeng go west through the passes. Shi Hu dug open Fotudeng's grave, but found only a rock and no body. Disgusted, Shi Hu said, "The rock signifies myself. He buried me and went away. This means I will die soon." He became ill after that, and in the next year, he died. Zhao fell into great chaos.
(Note: Shi Hu's surname, "shi", means "rock".)


text:
mysql client and add a user, etc.
It has always annoyed me that these procedures are perfect candidates for automation, but that we do not have the necessary interfaces to manipulate an entire installation of MySQL servers.
If there were an interface with a relatively small set of primitives—re-directing servers, bringing servers down, add a line to the configuration file, etc.—it would be possible to create pre-canned procedures that can just be executed.
To that end, I started writing on a library that would provide an interface like this. Although more familiar with Perl, Python was picked for this project, since it seems to be widely used by many database administrators (it's just a feeling I have, I have no figures to support it) and just to have a cool name on the library, we call it MySQL Replicant and it is (of course) available at Launchpad.
So what do we want to achieve with having a library like this? Well... the goal is to to provide an generic interface to complete installations and thereby make administration of large installations easy.
By providing such an interface, it will allow description of procedures in an executable format, namely as Python scripts.
In addition to making it easy to implement common tasks for experienced database administrators, it also promotes sharing by providing a way to write complete scripts for solving common problems. Having a pool of such scripts makes it easier for newcomers to get up and running.
The basic idea is that you create a model of the installation on a computer and then manipulate the model. When doing these manipulations, the appropriate commands—either as SQL commands to a running server or shell commands to the host where the server is running—will then be sent to the servers in the installation to configure them correctly.
So, to take small example, how does the code for re-directing a bunch of servers to a master look?
import mysqlrep, my_servers for slave in my_server.slaves: mysqlrep.change_master(slave, my_servers.master)In this case, the installation is defined in a separate file and is imported as a Python module. Right now, the interface for specifying a topology is quite rough, but this is going to change.
from mysqlrep import Server, User, Linux servers = [Server(server_id=1, host="server1.example.com", sql_user=User("mysql_replicant", "xyzzy"), ssh_user=User("mysql_replicant"), machine=Linux()), Server(server_id=2, host="server2.example.com", sql_user=User("mysql_replicant", "xyzzy"), ssh_user=User("mysql_replicant"), machine=Linux()), Server(server_id=3, host="server3.example.com", sql_user=User("mysql_replicant", "xyzzy"), ssh_user=User("mysql_replicant"), machine=Linux()), Server(server_id=4, host="server4.example.com", sql_user=User("mysql_replicant", "xyzzy"), ssh_user=User("mysql_replicant"), machine=Linux())] master = servers[0] slaves = servers[1:]Here, the
Server class represents a server and to be able
to do it's job, it is necessary to have one MySQL account on the
server and one shell account on the host machine. Right now, it is
also necessary to specify the server ID, but the plan is to just
require the host, port, socket, SQL account name, and SSH account
information. The remaining information can then be fetched from the
configuration file of the server. Each server have a small set of
primitives on top of which everything else is built:
Server.sql(SQL command)
- Execute the SQL command and return a result set.
Server.ssh(command list)
- Execute the command given by the command list return an iterator to the result output.
- Start the server
- Stop the server.
change_master(slave, master, position=None)
- Change the master of
slaveto be
masterand start replicating from
- Fetch the master position of
server, which is the position where the last executed statement ends in the binary log.
- Fetch the slave position of
server, which is the position where the last executed event ends.
- Flush all tables on
serverand lock the database for read.
- Unlock a previously locked database.
from mysqlrep import flush_and_lock_database, fetch_master_position from subprocess import call flush_and_lock_database(master) position = fetch_master_position(master) master.ssh("tar Pzcf " + backup_name + " /usr/var/mysql") unlock_database(master) call(["scp", source.host + ":" + backup_name, slave.host + ":."]) slave.stop() slave.ssh("tar Pzxf " + backup_name + " /usr/var/mysql") slave.start() start_replication(slave)What do you think? Would this be a valuable project to pursue? Here are some links related to this post:

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Posted by Editor on 02/10/12
Canada is in a tight race with Argentina to qualify a second spot for men's BMX at the 2012 Olympic Games.
BMX riders Tory Nyhaug of Coquitlam, BC, and Jim Brown of Airdrie, Alberta, will be competing for Canada at the 2012 UCI BMX Continental Championships this weekend in Oldsmar, Florida.
Canada is hoping to score big at this event, which could help secure a second spot for Canada at the 2012 Olympic Games in London. Canada is currently ranked in ninth spot with 1409 points, and is only seven points behind the eighth spot in the World ranking, trailing Argentina. The top eight countries in the UCI World Rankings are allocated two spots at the Olympic Games.
The event, also dubbed the USA BMX Gator Nationals, starts on Friday with practices and ends on Sunday. The PRO-UCI (Class 3) races will be held on Saturday February 11th, and starts at 11:30 am ET. A UCI (Class 4) race is scheduled for Sunday, February 12th.
|Return to Canadian Cyclist homepage | Back to Top


text:
I was reading Ancestry Anne's Top Ten Rules for Growing Your Family Tree Posted by Ancestry Anne on October 4, 2013 in Ask Ancestry Anne, Family History Month
I was wondering how her 10 rules would apply to the Family Tree Maker Program. What can I do, in my database to help me grow my file.
NOTE: This isn't a "How To" blog post. I have in the past made blog posts on "how to" do the steps on what will be described here, and will continue to do that
- Enter what you know.
Down the left column you select Enter What you know. To the right, you enter your Name, Sex, Date and Place of Birth. And you can add your Father's Name and Mother's Name.
The next thing to do is to Name the Tree. This will become the File Name of your Family File. Just an observation about file names. Keep them short and simple. I have learned that it is very helpful to include the Version Number of Family Tree Maker as part of the filename. Why? If I have to recover from a Back Up, I know what Version of the program that created the file.
You may notice that there is another tab in the above screen capture, it says Current Tree. The file name of that tree, in my case is Master2014-1207. It has the version and build number as part of the file name. Not necessary, but it has been helpful to me.
I have other files, Byberry2014, Nicholas2014, to name a few. I didn't add the build number, because I don't work on them as much.
The file name should be meaningful for you.
Ancestry Ann didn't talk about this, but I will. When you get to the next screen, which would be into the People Workspace, you want to put Citations for each item you enter. If you are starting from scratch, I recommend that you lean how to use the Template Feature. There have been many blog posts on this blog about how to do that. It's complicated, but so worthwhile when you do.
- Prep your tree for hints.
This is in the People Workspace, Tree View. You will see that 6 people have Shaky Leaves. Don't be discouraged if they just don't immediately appear, but they will. These people are in the 1700's so there are more records available online, but these Hints will be worth looking at in the future. To be clear, looking at, does not mean do anything with that hint, but look at the hints.
The more information that you enter into FTM2014 (and other versions) more search criteria is sent to Ancestry.com for its search engines to find records for us. The data that is important are Names, Dates, and Places. The screens in Family Tree Maker help with a more important piece of information, Relationships.
That doesn't mean that you enter everything that you KNOW about the person when you start, that can some later, but Names, Dates, and Places help the search engine. The Birth, Marriage, and Death FACTs are very helpful in this step. As the first step said, Enter What You Know, especially in this area, for those Birth, Marriage, and Death Facts.
- Apply the "does this make sense" test?
In that earlier screen, I want to look at those Shaky Leaves. I let my mouse / cursor hover over that Shaky Leaf and you will see that 5 Ancestry hints have been found, but what are they? Are are they about this Thomas Ridgway, Jr.
Clicking on the link, will take you to the Web Search Workspace. If you just clicked on the Web Search Workspace, not following the Hint, you would be on the normal search screen. But this feature, following the hints, has already done the searching for you and has results for you.
There is a lot of information on this screen, but lets see what is here. This is the first glance at "does this make sense"
In the lower LEFT is data from your FTM2014 file. Not everything but enough that you can compare what is from Ancestry, and what is in your file. The 5 Hints (in this example) are from Ancestry.com. Selecting each one will populate the Lower RIGHT screen with the information from Ancestry. The first test is to look at those two fields at the bottom of the screen.
You can look at the record / hint from this screen.
Selecting that first hint shows us this
Looks like my person. I can see the name and dates are correct. BUT, I am NOT going to do anything further at this point. I could Merge what is on Ancestry into my file, or if this hint wasn't my person, I could mark that record as Ignore. No action at this point will keep that Hint for me.
But I want to look down that list of 5 hints, because I saw the words View Image
The first hint didn't have an image. That screen capture was all that it was going to provide, but this hint has an image. I clicked on that link and saw this.
This is an Abstract of wills and has Thomas Ridgway listed. That's my person. BUT Is is?
- Go slow.
- View the image.
At top of this FTM2014 window is a Mini-Navigation bar. To the Right of Thomas' name is a downward pointing arrow, that by clicking on that will bring down a list of their children.
As you can tell, three of those children are listed in that Abstract. I want that information. Looking in my database that Caleb Carr, Son-In-Law helped confirm Ann Ridgway's sister Sarah's marriage.
- Not everything on the internet is true.
I am a contributor to the Find-A-Grave website. On that website, I can create a list of My Cemeteries. As I visit or search for "my people" on that website, I add that Cemetery to my list. From the Web Search Workspace I see a list of my favorite websites.
I have blogged about how to add to your list. In this example, I want to look at the Find-A-Grave website and my list of cemeteries. In the Hints, earlier, was an Ancestry.com Hint for Thomas on Find-A-Grave. I have blogged about how to do that, but I want to go directly from FTM2014 to that Cemetery on the Find-A-Grave website.
I scrolled down the list and can click on that link, from within FTM2014, and visit that website.
But Ancestry Anne's step is absolutely true. After I have gathered as much information that I can, online, I find that I am much better prepared for a visit to a Repository that has the information I need or want. I have blogged about a visit to a Library (Repository) with out taking a computer. I have first looked at the Repository's website, understand the "rules of the house", see what THEY have Online, and what they DON'T have online. The report I create will help me concentrate on what records I want to look at when I get there.
- Start by gathering all the census records.
A friend of mine had a road block for her Step-Grandmother. When she looked at this Census Record, she only looked at those people with her SURNAME. But when I looked at it, I looked at the HOUSEHOLD.
What I saw, looking at the Image of the census record, was a Step Relationship between the Head of Household, Ancestry's new Viewer, high lighted the household. When I looked at the household and the road block went down. The Step Children had the Head of Households 2nd wife's Married Name.
- Bigger is not better.
But there were "family stories" that someone was also a descendent of Capt John Worthington. So I have researched those other descendents, found some stories to be true, others not so true. Because I can travel to those places where they lived, I have done so. A couple of hours on the road to see a Civil War Battlefield that was in a relatives back yard, is a very meaningful experience.
I am not interested in having that file grow to 50,000 people or more. I have learned this hobby is more than Names and Dates.
- Family is important.
The best example, for me, was my Great Grandfather, Samuel. He came from a long line of Quakers, living in Philadelphia, and for no apparent reason shows up in the Kansas Territory on a farm. Why? Oh, the Civil War was approaching, he wanted to leave Pennsylvania, and because of his Quaker beliefs "left town". But, what did he do? Joined the 11th Cav. Kansas and was off to the Civil War. He had a farm there, and with his wife, had a bunch of kids, some born in this house. That is my Great-Grandmother in the picture.
It's reported that my Grandfather was one of them. After both parents died, the youngest three children, my grandfather being one of them, were sent by train back to the Philadelphia Area, to be picked up from family in New Jersey. My grandfather went on to become a farmer, working for others, then purchasing his own farm where my Dad farmed, and I worked on as a very young lad. The family story of "farmers" doesn't stop there. My daughter works on a farm,
and goes to her markets
Not quite the same as my Dad's younger sister and a farm stand "by the road"
and my house backs up to a farm.
- Be focused.
But what Ancestry Anne didn't say ...
- And have fun
Copyright © 2013 by H R Worthington


text:
Moviebox allows you to watch movies online on iPhone or iPad
Movies Box is an app that allows watching full-length, uncut Hollywood movies in HD quality. MoviesBox concentrates on carefully chosen movies organized in people's favorite genres – like action & adventure, animation, Comedy, documentary, drama, family and kids, foreign, horror, music & performing arts, mystery and suspense, romance and many other topics movies
Moviebox is an application for iOS that allows you to watch movies online. In order to install it, have a little tough, but it's worth it!
Torrents remains the most convenient way to watch movies and TV series. For PC ways to download and watch torrents online a lot. For example, Popcorn Time or best torrent trackers well known in the Internet. It turns out that for iOS, too, have decision — Moviebox. This app, which works on the principle Popcorn Time and watch movies online.
Applications for obvious reasons not in the App Store, and in order to install it, have to make several actions:
- To change the date on your device (Settings → General → date and time) on 16 September.
- Visit this link, enter the password "1234" or "moviebox"and download the app Moviebox.
- To confirm the installation from unknown source.
After that the application will be installed in the same way as if you downloaded it from the App Store. Moviebox in several categories: movies, series and music videos. At the top of the list displays the new and most downloaded releases.
Many movies and TV series are in different voice and quality you can select depending on your connection. When choosing the lowest quality playback starts almost immediately. Have the ability to include subtitles, but you will need to register on the website OpenSubtitles.
At the bottom of the screen of the application has a small advertising banner that retracts when you view. Minuses Moviebox I could not find. Application perfectly performs its task and allows you to browse torrents on your iPhone or iPad. Before, this could not even dream.
Download MovieBox
Download MovieBox for PC
If you want to use Moviebox on PC, then you need the Android emulator BLUESTACKS.
What you need to do to view Moviebox on PC:
- To begin, download and install the emulator. You can download it here
- Next, download the AKP file app Moviebox on PC
- Install the Android emulator on your PC and after full installation, open the downloaded file in advance Moviebox with BLUESTACKS
In General, the standard procedure for installing applications for phones and tablets on the PC
Can also see the analogue of the SHOWBOX app. The SHOWBOX application is quite interesting and popular to this day. It can also be installed on the PC for watching movies. SHOWBOX FOR PC
The website with the selection of the most popular apps for watching movies


text:
Bread Baking Babes make Sukkar bi Tahin.
Sukkar bi Tahin
Here's my savory …garbanzo filled swirls and sweet Tahini paranthas
As soon it was approaching the middle of the month, I was frantically searching for bread baking babes….what are they baking this month, I hope I don't miss it……….I did not 😉 . I made 2 batches at least and mix and match here and there ;-). This month's host babe was Natashya of Living in the Kitchen with Puppies.
The recipe she chose is for Beirut Tahini Swirls, Sukkar bi Tahin. It is a cross between a flatbread and a yeasted pastry, only mildly sweet. It is street food in Beirut, and very addictive!
"Beirut has a lot of good food at every level, from fancy restaurants to local eateries, from home cooking to quality market shopping. And for a curbside snacker like me, it's paradise. There are sesame-covered flatbreads, grilled meats, and sweet and not so sweet cookies; there's always something nearby to eat." "These tahini swirls, called sukkar bi tahin in Arabic, are flattened flaky rounds flavored with tahini and sugar, not too sweet, not too strong tasting. Serve them warm or at room temperature-they're just right either way."
Alford and Duguid, Home Baking .
The recipe:
Sukkar bi Tahin – Beirut Tahini Swirls
Home Baking, The Artful Mix of Flour and Tradition Around the World
Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid
Makes 6 golden brown, flaky textured coiled rounds, about 6 inches wide, filled with sesame paste and sugar.
- 1/2 tsp. active dry yeast
- 1 cup lukewarm water
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- about 1/2 cup all purpose flour for dusting
- 2 tsp sugar
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 3/4 cup tahini
- 3/4 cup sugar
Garbanzo Bean Filling
- 1/2 cup Garbanzo beans soaked for at least 4 hours and boiled…mashed lightly
- 4 sun dried tomatoes soaked in water and drained
- 1/2 cup Tahini
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1/4 Cilantro chopped
- 1 Tbsp. lemon juice
- salt to taste
In a medium bowl, dissolve the yeast in the lukewarm water.
Stir in one cup of the flour, then add the sugar and oil and stir in.
Incorporate a second cup of flour, then turn the dough out onto a well floured surface and knead for 5 minutes, or until smooth.
Cover the dough with plastic wrap and let rise for 2 to 3 hours, until doubled in volume.
Meanwhile, place a baking stone or unglazed quarry tiles, if you have them, (or a baking sheet) on the middle oven rack and preheat the oven to 375 F.
Mix together the tahini and sugar and stir until smooth. Set aside.
Cut the dough into 6 equal pieces.
Work with 3 at a time, keeping the others covered.
Flatten each out on a lightly floured surface, then roll each out to a rectangle about 5 inches by 10 inches.
Spread the top surface with 2 1/2 tablespoons of the filling mixture, spreading it almost to the edges.
Roll up the rectangle from a long side into a cylinder, which will stretch as you roll to about 20 inches long.
Anchor one end and coil the bread around itself, then tuck the end in.
Flatten with the palm of your hand, then set aside, covered, while you fill and shape the other 2 rectangles.
Return to the first coil and roll out gently with a rolling pin.
Roll the other 2 out a little and then return to the first one and roll it out a little more thinly, and so on, until you have rolled each to a round about 6 to 7 inches in diameter.
A little filling may leak out—don't worry, just leave it.
I brushed the top with a wee bit of oil and sprinkled some sesame seeds before baking. (optional)
Place the breads on the hot baking stone or tiles (or baking sheet) and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until golden brown and flaky.
Transfer to a rack to cool.
Shape and bake the remaining 3 pieces of dough.
Serve warm or at room temperature.
*Tahini is a paste of ground sesame seeds. It can be found in health food stores, Middle Eastern markets and some grocery stores. It is a common ingredient in hummus, and is gaining in popularity in most parts of the world. It must be refrigerated after opening.
Natashya says: "The swirls should end up like puffy pita. If they are very thin they will be crispy, if they are not rolled enough, they will puff up like cinnamon rolls. We are striving for a flatbread pastry that puffs a little. Try them a couple of times, experiment. They are fun to bake." You bet they are ……I had a ton of fun……as usual 😉 .
I used half whole wheat flour and half all purpose flour for sweet tahini filling ones and all whole wheat flour for the savory garbanzo beans ones. Original recipe uses all purpose flour only.
Left: 1/2 whole wheat with 1/2 all purpose flour dough Right: Whole wheat flour dough
We have risen..the 1/2-1/2 dough was a little behind, but it did catch on
Dough cut in 6 pieces ..sweet tahini filling behind
1 piece rolled
Filled up
Rolled up again
Ready to be baked
Sukkar bi Tahin
Had some leftover sweet tahini filling…..what did I do with that
Made sweet paranthas of course…..dough details here and here
Filled up and closed
rolled …
On the griddle…ready to be turned and oiled
The other side…..
Quick , delicious sweet treat…….kids will thank you…..this tastes best warm, will harden as it cools cause the flour cover is thin….does not taste bad even then 😉
You bet I enjoy taking pictures and posting huge ones on the blog 😉 . I dare say I loved making these. Thank you Natashya and Bread Baking Babes.


text:
1951 Chevy Coupe - A Recurring Dream
Jeff Romig's Trip Down Nostalgia Lane
Ever wonder what it means when you dream about driving or owning cars? We're not talking about the typical daydream of cruising in an open roadster down the coastline while your boss drones on with his extended speech about synergy, but rather the dreams that visit you in the middle of the night while you are in the deepest throws of REM.
Some say if your dreams involve driving, then the vehicle is really an expression of how you are moving through life. Recurring dreams sometimes happen when there is something in your life that is unresolved, and it's your mind telling you to work it out. We're not sure what experts would say if you dream about blown small-blocks or open cockpits, but like Sigmund Freud once said: Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.
For some, a past memory is a hard thing to let go. At almost 50 years old, Jeff Romig, from Three Rivers, Michigan, can easily recall the day in 1973 when Larry Romig, a cousin, offered him his '51 Chevy. Larry had originally bought the car in Colorado Springs for $300 upon his return from Vietnam in April 1968. Although the '51 arrived hooked to a chain and dragged by another car, Larry thought it a good starting point for 15-year-old Jeff.
Over the next summer, Jeff used his $600 in savings to restore the once-green coupe and get it on the road. The work included giving the 216 straight-six engine a valve job and other engine work while he banged on the exterior in his high school auto shop class. He got a local body shop to let him do the sanding on the car before it was painted bright red, and the interior was finished off with new door panels, carpet, and seat covers from J.C. Whitney.
A true hot rodder's car is never truly finished, and Jeff's still needed some work (the driver's door would open by itself on hard righthand turns), but it got him by and he drove it his entire senior year in high school (while dating the woman who would later become his wife). As with most newlyweds, garage space and life in general sometimes override the need for a hot rod in the garage, so Jeff sold his ride, and regretted it for years.
Jeff got on with his life and created a successful career with Eaton Corporation (he's currently a vice president and general manager of the supercharger and performance products division of the company's automotive group), and began to dream of having another '51 Chevy, though this one would have a few minor adjustments.
Jeff found his current ride a couple of years ago in Southern California (painted the same green as the one he'd been given in 1951!) and soon had it back at his house awaiting its transformation from a doddering old cruiser into a cool red rod. Now with a job that comes with a high level of responsibility and requirements of time, Jeff entrusted the rebuild of his Chevy to Classic Automotive Restoration Specialists (C.A.R.S.) in Belews Creek, North Carolina. If the C.A.R.S. name sounds familiar, it might be because of the new reproduction '69 Camaros they assemble that are produced in conjunction with Hot Rod magazine (with all brand-new parts, including a freshly stamped '69 Camaro sheetmetal body).
But beyond its foray into building new/old Camaros, C.A.R.S. is also an expert restoration and hot rod-building facility. Sheetmetal fabrication is the company's specialty, but assembly, trim repair, paint, and upholstery are all facets of the business, so taking on Jeff's coupe was not a problem for the crew.
The stock 115-inch Chevy chassis was retained, but boxed and then updated with Eaton Aeroquip braided lines, a Moser Engineering 12-bolt (4.88:1) with an Eaton Posi, and a Mustang II front suspension from Fatman Fabrications. The IFS uses tubular A-arms and stainless coilovers while the rear was built using leaves that were lowered 2 inches from stock by Eaton Detroit Spring. All four corners come with SSBC Elite disc brakes as well as Boyd Coddington wheels (17x8 and 18x9) wrapped in Pirelli PZero Rosso tires (235/45ZR17, 255/55ZR18).
Jeff's day job as a VP at Eaton Corporation means he knows a thing or two about engine performance, so it should be no surprise to learn his small-block is a gearhead's dream come true. Wegner Motorsports started the assembly of the V-8 with an aluminum LS2 block (with six-bolt, cross-bolt mains), a 4340 steel crank, 6.100-inch rods, and 4-inch aluminum pistons for a total displacement of 366 cubes. WAR Max-Motion 6 CNC heads, set up with a 2.00/1.55-inch valve combo, dual COMP Cams springs, and 1.7:1 ratio rockers are fed by an Eaton/Magnuson supercharger system with exhaust exiting through a pair of Tri-Y headers from Wegner Motorsports and stainless steel Flowmaster mufflers. A Keisler T56 Viper six-speed trans helps get the beast down the road in short order. The engine and trans combine for a rating of 578 hp at 10.68:1 compression, and is good for 565 lb-ft of torque.
The coupe's body is about as straight and perfect as you'd expect from a high-quality body restoration company, and C.A.R.S. added a Bitchin' Products smooth firewall, tubbed rear wheelwells, and a one-piece '51 Olds windshield (the original Chevy windshield was a two-piece) before the crew covered their work with a DuPont Chroma Premier Honda Milano Red, which is about as red as you can get!
A trip to the in-house upholstery shop was next, and C.A.R.S. covered the Rod Doors split-bench front and rear seats with a granite-colored Ultraleather while using a two-tone smoke combo on the door panels and in the trunk. The dash has been smoothed out in preparation for the whiteface Auto Meter Phantom gauges (with red backlighting), and a boost gauge for the supercharger was installed in the pod on top of the dash where the car's clock used to be. A Vintage Air cooling system was also installed, as were power windows and a Kenwood stereo system (with Infinity speakers) that all work with the help of an American Autowire Highway 22 wiring system. To finish off the interior, a polished aluminum Flaming River Elegant Waterfall steering wheel was mated to one of the company's polished-aluminum steering columns.
Soon Jeff was able to take his ride out on the open road, and he's never been happier. Being such a hot rod enthusiast, he knows he's lucky to have a job where he gets to mix his work with pleasure, and his Chevy is an extension of those good times. The '51 has picked up a few awards since being completed, but the real reward for Jeff is being able to live his dream, and you don't need a psychologist to tell you what that means to him!


text:
I Aint Neva Scared: Man Starts Swinging On Paramedic!
Koco reports "A metro man attacks a paramedic after Britton Road was closed because of an accident. "
Please click the "Report" button below if the video on this page is not working properly.
Comments will only be displayed by verified emails. No Spamming or Racism.


text:
Don't Make the Last Out
Gary Carter has left us, but the footprint he left on our national pastime remains as big and strong as he was during his 19-year career.
When I was 7 years old I watched Game 6 of the 1986 World Series. That one game had a huge impact on me, my imagination and why I eventually became the baseball-lovin-monster I am today.
It was the first time I'd ever witnessed "a miracle", the first time I really understood you need 27 outs to win a baseball game and the first time I realized that there is no substitute for hard work.
Years later, as a teenager, I recall hearing Gary Carter tell his version of what took place in Flushing that night, that during his at-bat that started the astonishing go-ahead rally his only thought to himself was "Don't make the last out."
That resonated with me.
Don't make the last out.
Don't ever give up.
Don't give any effort but your best.
Rest in peace, Number 8.


text:
While marriage proposal stories each have their own nuances, they are all pretty much the same. Justin Harrel of Oklahoma, however, definitely broke the mold when it came to how a man pops the question. Wanted in two different counties, Justin made sure that he would get down on one knee (in a manner of speaking) before being carted off to the big house. According to Yahoo News,he asked the arresting officer for a bit more time because he had something more he wanted to do:
"I advised Justin that he was under arrest and directed him to turn around and place his hands behind his back," the officer wrote in his police report. "Justin said, 'Steve, let's talk about this. Give me five minutes.'"
When the officer took him into custody, Harrel explained that he was about to propose to his girlfriend. He asked if he could go ahead with the proposal.
s The officer allowed Harrel to complete the marriage proposal, and Harrel's girlfriend eventually said yes. Harrel then asked the officer to get the engagement ring from his coat pocket and give it to her.
The officer handed the ring to the girlfriend.


text:
Café Rouge was Launched in Richmond, London, in 1989 by Karen Jones and Roger Myres, foodies on a mission to recreate real French food and wine in a Parisienne bistro style setting. Today we continue to recreate core classics like Steak Frites, Poulet Breton, Moules and Confit de Canard as well as croques, salads and baguettes available to enjoy… with a gorgeous glass of French wine.
1. Valid everyday from 12pm; not valid Bank Holidays, Valentine's Day and Mother's Day.
2. Local exclusions may apply, please check booking links for availability.
3. Parties can use multiple vouchers.
4. Must be 16 or older.
5. Eat-in only. Excludes click and collect, takeaway and delivery orders.
6. Valid for A la carte menu only.
7. Normal licensing laws apply.
8. Café Rouge maintains the right to withdraw this or any promotion at any time without notice.
9. Not valid in conjunction with any other promotion, offer, set menu, breakfast menu, afternoon tea, dining cards, DDS card or Tesco Clubcard vouchers.
10. Not valid at Center Parcs or at Rapide by Café Rouge Euston. Other date restrictions apply, including some sites and event days where the site is close to a sports or music venue.
11. Please note that some restaurants are excluded due to a sport/entertainment event taking place.
Queens Court
Milton KeynesMK9 3ESU.K.
Don't forget to mention your Dine Card.
|5 star
|4 star
|3 star
|2 star
|1 star


text:
Hollow Ivory
Rumor has it that President Obama, no doubt because it is always a warm and fuzzy subject, will feature education prominently in his upcoming State of the Union address. If so, he will almost certainly stress his goal of having the United States lead the world in the percentage of its citizens with a college degree by 2020.
Unfortunately, doing what feels good often isn't the same as doing what's smart.
Today, we get more evidence that simplistic, rhetoric‐driven education policymaking — more degrees equals more learning equals economic bonanza! — is ultimately counterproductive. It turns out, students generally learn very little in at least their first couple years of college, and many learn little over four years.
According to Inside Higher Ed, that's the main story of a new book being released today, Academically Adrift: Limited Learning on College Campuses. IHE says the book reports that "45 percent of students 'did not demonstrate any significant improvement in learning' during the first two years of college" and 36 percent " 'did not demonstrate any significant improvement in learning' over four years."
But if students haven't been nose‐to‐the‐grindstone learning, what have they been doing?
Think of just about every television show or movie you've ever seen about college, and you'll have your answer: They've been focusing on havin' fun, or what Ivory Tower officials euphemistically call "student engagement." And they've been doing it with hundreds-of‐billions of taxpayer dollars annually.
Now, all of this needs be taken with a grain of salt. The measure of learning used in the book was the Collegiate Learning Assessment, a test that according to IHE "is designed to measure gains in critical thinking, analytic reasoning and other 'higher level' skills." Such fuzzy outcomes are notoriously difficult to pin down and aren't necessarily major areas of concern for pupils studying, say, biology or engineering. It's also worth noting that results varied significantly both between schools and within schools, so the findings are not at all universally applicable.
That said, the findings are a very troubling addition to the already mammoth heap of evidence that government pushes higher education way too much, not too little. But don't expect to hear that in next week's State of the Union. It is decidedly not warm and fuzzy, and that's all that seems to matter in education policymaking.


text:
If you want to bring aromatherapy into your life every day, you don't have to spend hundreds of dollars for expensive sessions or consultants. Candles are a wonderful way to bring aromatherapy into your life. Quality scented candles are especially good for this, as manufacturers of these candles often use natural fragrances and scents – just like your favorite aromatherapy oils.
Aromatherapy Desires
There are many advantages to using candles for your aromatherapy needs:
1) It's less messy. Toying with small vials of aromatherapy oils often leads to spills and frustrations. With luxury scented candles, there's no problem with mess. You can just light a candle and start breathing in the rich scent as your worries melt away.
2) It's easy. Lighting a candle is much easier than trying to combine different aromatherapy oils. If you need more than one scent, you can simply light a few candles. It literally only takes seconds.
3) There are so many candles to try. Candle manufacturers make an endless array of luxurious scents, including wonderful scent combinations that can help soothe you and entrance you. For example, if you want to invigorate yourself with a citrus scent, the Baroness von Neumann Fete Candle combines scents of navel orange, Seychelles cinnamon, Zanzibar clove, Norwegian pine, Indonesian patchouli, and amberwood for an incredible scent sensation.
4) Candles are portable. You can easily pack your candles into your luggage when traveling and can bring them with you to your lake house, home, or anywhere else you may need to unwind.
5) Candles engage all your senses. Aromatherapy oils work by scent, but luxury candles deliver a dose of beauty, fragrance, and light. You can light them by a bath for a complete experience in de-stressing and pampering. You can even meditate with luxury scented candles to enjoy even more powerful benefits. For example, light the beautiful Agraria Balsam Crystal Petite Candle to create a beautiful soft light and to surround yourself with notes of balsam, Californian redwood, French sage, and white flowers. The American Society of Perfumers selected this candle as the Best Home Fragrance of the Year in 2005, and the beautiful glow of the candle, the stunning glass jar, and the scent will pamper your every sense.
6) The makers of luxury candles now offer an array of products to help you surround yourself with the fragrances of your choice. Diptyque room sprays, for example, can be used on any type of fabric, including pillows and curtains. A few squirts are all it takes to transform any room into a wonderful haven of scent. Diptyque room sprays are also very portable, so they are perfect for your trips to the cottage or for traveling (when you might need to freshen up that hotel room).


text:
4BETTER OR WORSE- The week in review
Most gaping maw of a deficit: Albemarle's fiscal year shortfall grows from $4.9 million to $7.2 million. Brandon Shulleeta reports on the supes December 3 meeting for the Daily Progress.
Worst news for county residents: A real estate tax hike looks likely.
Best news for county residents: Decals are history, and that should save the county $15K, but the press release failed to suggest how you get those things off your windshield.
Latest guy to try to pick up a cop pretending to be a child: UVA Law School employee Douglas Emory Loyd, 61, is arrested December 3 in Stafford County and charged with three counts of attempted indecent liberties with a child and three counts of use of electronic communications device to solicit a juvenile. The Cav Daily has the story.
Most B&E arrests: Four teens are arrested December 3, and Albemarle police say they're connected to numerous residential larcenies over the past few weeks. Charged are Barracks Road resident Martin Becerra, 18, with two counts breaking and entering and two counts grand larceny; Alison Moss, 18, of Glen Allen, and Orangedale Avenue resident Dzulzada Anita Fific, 19, both charged with one B&E and one grand larceny, and a 17-year-old male also has been arrested. Authorities say there could be more charges.
Worst driving: Nelson resident Helen J. Ward, 47, allegedly sideswipes a car and then crashes head-on into a Mitsubishi on Route 53 around 5:30pm December 5, sending a woman and a 9-year-old to the hospital with internal injuries, according to police. Ward was driving on a revoked license and is charged with a DUI.
Worst shooting: Kenneth Wayne Haney, 41, is fatally shot in the chest by another hunter December 6 in Greene County.
Worst place to cop a smoke: UVA Medical Center announces it will be smoke-free, even outdoors, by October 1, 2009.
Best manhole fire: Flames erupt in the eastbound lane of McCormick Road December 3 from a cover near Clark Hall, the Cav Daily reports. Authorities speculate someone may have dropped something though the grate to the tunnel below.
Best UVA panel discussion: "What's Wrong with the War on Drugs?" is sponsored by civil libertarians December 2 and includes UVA Law Professor Richard Bonnie, National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws attorney David Downes, and Region Ten executive director Robert Johnson, according to WINA.
Best news for lesbian moms: The U.S. Supreme Court lets stand a Virginia decision that gives civil-union haven Vermont jurisdiction in a long-running child custody case between Janet Jenkins and Lisa Miller. Miller gave birth to the couple's child, but moved to Virginia and refused to allow Jenkins visitation after it was ordered by Vermont.
Least surprising stats: New U.S. Census numbers show that almost half of Charlottesville renters pay 35 percent or more of their household income on rent, Rachana Dixit reports in the DP. The recommended rule of thumb is 30 percent.
Biggest tag game: Alpha Tau Omega fraternity tries to break the Guinness world record and raise money for the UVA children's hospital. The December 5 game falls short of the 250 people needed for record breaking, but draws 140 people and raises around $700, according to Aaron Lee in the DP.
Warmest, cuddliest story: Three-year-old Jaylynn Thorpe wanders away from his babysitter's house December 5 in Halifax County and is missing one night as temperatures drop to 17 degrees, the New York Daily News reports. The next afternoon, Jaylynn is found– alive and well thanks to the two family puppies snuggled against him.


text:
Last March, I sat in on a seminar at the International Health, Racquet and Sportsclub Association (IHRSA) conference that detailed the beginning stages of a process to set standards for health clubs, which could lead to third-party health club certification. I was disappointed that only about 10 people attended the session. The lack of interest told me that people either weren't aware of the seminar or didn't care about the issue.
But they should care. Whether or not you are a for-profit, nonprofit, corporate or hospital-based facility, and whether or not you agree with the idea of fitness facilities being certified, the fact is that this initiative is being developed, so you need to educate yourself about it — and ensure your voice is being heard.
NSF International, a group that develops standards for various industries, currently is developing the standards for health clubs. Several industry organizations are involved in the effort, including IHRSA and the American College of Sports Medicine, which has printed three editions of the "Health/Fitness Facility Standards and Guidelines." These guidelines are the basis of the NSF standards.
Through Nov. 23, the current draft of the standards is open for comment by anyone in the industry at http://standards.nsf.org/apps/group_public/document.php?document_id=6159&wg_abbrev=jchffs. You will be able to comment on later drafts as well.
Of the 57 comments on the NSF site I viewed late last month, the majority opposed the standards. And the majority of the opposition came from small clubs — in particular Anytime Fitness club operators — who all mentioned (in what appeared to be a form letter) that the requirement for facilities to have at least one staff member on the premises at all times would make their key-card model too expensive to operate.
However, the standards are so much more than that requirement. These standards cover a variety of topics, including pre-activity screening, risk management and emergency policies, public access to automated external defibrillators, competency criteria for staff, and facility operating practices. The draft also includes proposed checklists for each area in the standards.
And although many people in the industry expect only a small number of the 35,000 clubs in the country to seek the voluntary certification (and probably a larger portion of higher-end clubs will do so, considering an as-yet-undetermined cost will be associated with the certification), offering standards and a certification could go a long way in offering more legitimacy to the fitness industry — not just for the general public, but also for legislators and the medical community. The support of these groups is vital to passage of any sort of legislation that could offer more reimbursement options and tax benefits for club memberships and help increase doctor referrals of patients to health clubs.
So before these standards are put in place, I urge you to get online, read through the document (it is 34 pages long but worth the read) and voice your general opinion about the standards or give specific recommendations for changes. You'll have no reason for complaining later if you don't make your voice heard now.
Please note that future drafts of the standards also will be open for public comment. We'll continue to cover this story in our magazine and online, so stay tuned.


text:
Relationships with
Photo Credit: Joanne Woodward's picture is courtesy of Wikipedia. Photographic illustrations of Joanne Woodward are copyright © by their respective holders. The images are published with permission or as allowed by the copyright law's fair use or quotation provisions. If any copyright holder objects to an image being included, please notify us and it will be removed immediately.
Disclaimer: This information about Joanne Woodward is derived from astrological interpretation of Joanne Woodward's date, time, and place of birth.


text: People in New York are talking about Operations, the workwear-inspired contemporary American brand, once again, not just because a second store will open in the Meatpacking district this September, but also because of a clandestine collaboration with Levi's. Operations for Levi's Strauss & Co., a capsule collection of six men's styles and eight women's styles, debuts on Aug. 21 at Levi's stores across the US and Operation stores in Manhattan, and features snappy pieces such as a blazer inspired by Oxford Uni profs with oversized front pockets to an Edwardian-inspired riding blazer for the girls. You could call them precious, but designers Matteo Gottardi, Michael Leen and Johannes Mahmood have given the pieces their own signature utilitarian stamp using fabrics such as Italian wool tweed, Japanese cotton moleskin and twill. Two styles for men and two for women will be exclusive to four NYC Levi Strauss stores.


text: Russia coach Vladimir Kuzyutkin: "I'm not totally pleased with the quality of our game today. Today's game was more about mental toughness than technical skill. We didn't really change our overall strategy, and that's why we won. (On the final against Brazil) "Like the last 10 games, we will stick with our tactics and go for the victory. We just have to stay focused on the game tomorrow."Russia captain Tatiana Kosheleva: "We did our best. It was a hard match. The USA were a strong team but we followed our coach's strategies, and that's the reason why we won.(On the youthfulness of the team) "The fact we are young doesn't really mean that much. Young players are more emotional, and have more energy and desire to win. We have just won the match, so that's all we can think of. For the match tomorrow, we will think about that tomorrow. I have been emotional on the court, and I always try to give my positive energy to the team. I'm developing all the time not only in this tournament."USA coach Hugh McCutcheon: "They were better than us today. From our end, I thought we tried to implement some plans and systems, but at the end of the day, the Russian team is quite physical, and they can do some things that other teams in the world cannot. We struggled to stop them, but we couldn't. We learned lessons from today. We will come back tomorrow and try to do the best we can. The main difference in the second set was that our serving was more effective and we were able to get the Russians out of their system. As the match progressed, the reception of the Russian team improved, and their ability to side out was increased."USA player Destinee Hooker: "It was a well-fought match. Both teams played really hard and did their best but in the end, we lost. I was really sorry about that. Coming into the tournament, we came in with different strategies. Playing Russia today we changed it all around. We fought so hard today, I'm proud to be an American playing on this team. We have a lot of young players, including me, and we all need to develop. I feel that four years from now we'll be ready. I think we're still thinking about this match today, and we aren't thinking about tomorrow. We are just going to stay focused and get back to the drawing board and come out strong tomorrow."


text:
Geezer Butler Says Black Sabbath's Current Trek 'Will Probably Be the Last Tour'
Black Sabbath have been on a massive high this year, releasing the comeback album '13,' which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard album charts, while embarking on an insanely anticipated North American tour. Sabbath bassist Geezer Butler has performed phenomenally throughout the entire tour, but in a new interview, Butler reveals that the tour will likely be his last.
Black Sabbath's reunion ran into some unexpected speed bumps fairly quickly after the Nov. 11, 2011 announcement of the band's return. Guitarist Tony Iommi's cancer diagnosis and drummer Bill Ward's failed contract negotiations held up Sabbath's touring plans for an entire year, but the iconic heavy metal outfit has emerged triumphant. '13' gave Sabbath their first U.S. No. 1 charting album in the band's history before Black Sabbath's highly successful North American tour began on July 25.
Despite Black Sabbath's monumental achievements, Butler reveals to the Chicago Sun-Times that his time in the band may be coming to an end. "I've always said as long as I can play, as long as I can do it to a good level, then I'll keep doing it, because I still really enjoy playing," says Butler. "I'll know when the day comes I can't do this anymore, can't play to my usual standards. That's when I won't go out anymore. I won't do that to me self. But at the moment, I just love playing with the band. It probably will be the last time, will probably be the last tour. But I want to go out on a high. The band is playing really well at the moment."
"I don't know. I just got a feeling," Geezer adds after being asked why. "It's getting tough, it really is. I can't lie about that. I'm old now. It really is tough going on every night. You wake up next day, all the pains you never had before. I don't want to go onstage for the sake of the money. You have to have a lot pride in yourself, and I honestly think I'm coming to the end of the top of my job."
Black Sabbath still have a handful of North American tour dates left, so if you're a mega-fan or even just curious about the group, make sure you catch them while they're still around! We were lucky enough to catch Sabbath at their Aug. 4 show in New Jersey. Check out our recap + photo gallery from that gig here.


text:
You've probably seen Steven Spielberg's epoch-shifting 1975 blockbuster Jaws, and if you grew up playing games, you've probably played a video game based on the film. But you probably haven't played a video game version quite like this.
The new, free browser game Jaws: The Text Adventure takes classic scenes from the film and cleverly repurposes them to give players a new perspective on a classic. The game was created by indie developer Matt Round, and... well... it might make you hungry.
(Via Joystiq)