text:
Saturday, November 8, 2014

Visa-friendly countries in Asia for Filipinos

Are you dreaming of your next trip abroad? If you are, we’re guessing one of the first things you’ll be checking out is whether the country you plan to visit requires a visa.

Securing a visa, or documentation showing you are authorized to enter the country for which it is issued, can get complicated at times. Requirements and costs vary with each country, and the whole process can involve a bit (or a lot) of waiting. Because of this, many Filipinos usually opt for visa-friendly destinations. According to Henley & Partners, a company that monitors global visa regulations, Philippine passport holders enjoy visa-free access to 58 countries. This was reported in their 2013 Visa Restrictions Index, which ranked countries based on their citizens’ travel freedom. The Philippines came in at number 69. Of the countries that allow Filipinos to enter with no visa or with a visa on arrival, a good chunk of them are in Asia. Leading the pack in this region are the nine other members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) with which the Philippines shares no-visa travel agreements.

So we’ll begin Skyscanner's three-part series on visa-friendly countries by first looking at some popular and emerging tourist destinations across Asia.

Read our second and third part of the series here: Visa friendly countries in the Americas for Filipinos and Visa-friendly countries in Africa and Oceania for Filipinos

1. Brunei

Brunei grants Filipinos visa-free access for 14 days. Take the opportunity to discover the cultural and environmental treasures of this oil-rich nation. Visit the majestic mosques and scenic water villages of its capital, Bandar Seri Begawan. And explore one of the most diverse and pristine rain forests on earth, found in the Ulu Temburong National Park.

Get cheap flights to Brunei

Brunei is a beautiful country laden with majestic mosques and scenic views.

2. Cambodia

Cambodia does not require visas for trips fewer than or up to 21 days. So nothing’s stopping you from seeing the iconic Angkor Wat up close, along with the other temple ruins of the Khmer empire. The nation’s capital, Phnom Penh, takes you on a bittersweet journey from Tuol Sleng, a museum chronicling the Khmer Rouge years, to the splendid architecture of the Royal Palace. For some sun, sand and sea, head for the beaches clustered in Sihanoukville.

Get cheap flights to Cambodia

Royal Palace at Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

3. Hong Kong

Hong Kong allows visa-free entry for trips not exceeding 14 days. Make the most out of your visit by catching the breathtaking harbor and skyline views, riding the historic Peak Tram and famous Star Ferry, and exploring the vibrant shopping scene—from the luxurious boutiques to the budget-friendly street markets. If you’re traveling with your kids, you might want to spend some time too at Hong Kong’s large world-class theme parks.

Get cheap flights to Hong Kong

Read more: 6 things to do in Hong Kong

The skyline of Hong Kong is still one of the most beautiful in the world.

4. India

India issues Philippine passport holders a 30-day visa upon arrival at the airports of Mumbai, New Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Thiruvananthapuram, Hyderabad, Kochi and Bangalore. This comes with a $60 fee per person. From there, you can go on to explore India’s majestic religious, historic and cultural attractions, experience the lively street markets and colorful festivals, or simply marvel at the Taj Mahal.

Get cheap flights to India

Visit India and discover the magnificent Taj Mahal along with its other beautiful destinations.

5. Indonesia

Visa-free travel to Indonesia covers 30 days. For a relaxing getaway, go straight to Bali and bask in its stunning white-sand beaches and fine resorts. Bali also features dense jungles, volcanic peaks and hot springs, in case you want to see more of the island. Then there’s Lombok, known for its gently rolling hills and great snorkeling and diving sites. Do note, however, that foreign nationals cannot visit the restricted areas of Maluku, Poso and Irian Jaya without special authorization.

Get cheap flights to Indonesia

Read more: 6 reasons to visit Bali, Indonesia

Pura Ulu Danau Lake temple bali

Pura Ulu Danau Lake temple bali

6. Israel

Filipinos do not need a visa to jet off to Israel, although the length of their stay should be within 90 days. A journey to Israel can bring you from haunting deserts, cliffs and caves to medieval bazaars, castle ruins and even surf-friendly beaches. Along with diverse attractions, the country now has an array of first-rate hotels, resorts and restaurants.

Travel advisory: Observe a high degree of caution when traveling to Israel in light of the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. Skyscanner advises against travel in the regions of Israel surrounding the Gaza Strip as it continues to be affected by the ongoing conflict. This advisory is issued at the time of publication of this article.

Get cheap flights to Israel

Israel's development through the years has paved the way for even more beautiful must-see spots in the country.

7. Laos

Laos offers visa-free privileges to those who plan to stay for 30 days, at the most. If you do get to visit this country, make room in your itinerary for its golden Buddhist stupas, centuries-old monasteries and French colonial towns. Ecotourism is big in Laos right now, so you can also go rock climbing, trekking, caving, kayaking, rafting or tubing.

Get cheap flights to Laos

The Buddha Park is a sculpture park located 25km southeast from Vientiane, Laos.

8. Malaysia

Filipinos can enjoy a no-visa stay in Malaysia for 30 days. Have fun touring the skyscrapers and colonial buildings in Kuala Lumpur and partying at the hip bars and cafes of Bangsar. Also visit Malaysia’s grand Buddhist temples and explore its ancient rainforests. Don’t forget to try out the hawker stands for a taste of the local favorites.

Get cheap flights to Malaysia

Read more: 5 Best places to stay in Malaysia

Kuala Lumpur is the capital and the largest city of Malaysia, view with water reflection.

9. Maldives

Filipinos can travel to Maldives without a getting a visa prior to arrival. On arrival to the island nation, a 30-day visa is issued. It is advisable to have a hotel reservation ready when travelling to this breath-taking destination in Asia. White sand beaches, warm weather and turquoise reefs make it an idyllic holiday. It is time to book your tickets now.

Get cheap flights to Maldives

Live the island life in the Maldives

10. Nepal

Known to be one of the world’s most adventurous destinations, Filipinos can avail the visa on arrival facility to visit Nepal, home to world’s largest mountain ranges. Visitors can enjoy the extravagance of the ornate palaces, well-crafted pagodas and monumental stupas in the Kathmandu valley or step into the pristine beauty of Pokhara, with its serene lakes and verdant gardens.  Filipinos’ get visas on arrival for 150 days and their passports must have at least 6 months validity on entry.

Get cheap flights to Nepal

Climb Mt Everest and be a legend forever

11. Myanmar (Burma)

Visa-free travel to Myanmar started in January 2014, for visits of up to 14 days. Although the country is just starting to open up to the world, a host of attractions already awaits tourists, from religious and ancient sites to nature trails and beaches. There’s also much to see and experience in its big cities, namely Yangon and Mandalay.

Get cheap flights to Myanmar

Ancient temple in Bagan, Myanmar after sunset.

12. Singapore

Singapore’s travel policy lets Filipinos visit visa-free for up to 30 days. The country has been drawing more and more tourists thanks in large part to recently added attractions such as Marina Bay Sands, Resorts World Sentosa and Gardens by the Bay. Of course, its diverse dining scene and upscale malls and hotels are still big crowd-pleasers.

Get cheap flights to Singapore

Read more: Things to do in Singapore that Pinoys love

merlion singapore

Merlion is Singapore's symbol located in Marina Bay

13. Sri Lanka

The visa travel arrangement between Sri Lanka and the Philippines allows for a maximum 30-day stay. If you’re looking for a destination that’s rich in cultural and natural wonders but is affordable and uncrowded, dare to venture into Sri Lanka. Small as it is, the country hosts eight UNESCO World Heritage sites, shelters oodles of elephants, and boasts of endless white beaches and world-class surf and dive spots.

Get cheap flights to Sri Lanka

Sunrise in the jungles of Sri Lanka

14. Thailand

Filipinos can fly to Thailand without a visa and visit for a maximum of 30 days. If you enter its borders by land (from Laos, Myanmar or Cambodia), you’re allowed a 15-day stay. Either way, you’re in for a treat. From opulent palaces, gleaning temples and ancient ruins to breathtaking beaches and unique culinary adventures, Thailand has much to offer.

Get cheap flights to Thailand

Read more: 6 Awesome Hangouts in Bangkok

The Temple of Ayuthaya in Thailand is just one of its many wonders.

15. Vietnam

Visa exemption rules in Vietnam permit trips of up to 21 days. During your visit, explore its booming cities, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh, and their colonial architecture. Royal tombs and pagodas and a historic port can be found in the central provinces. Vietnam also boasts stunning karst mountains and limestone islands, so try to catch a glimpse of those as well.

Get cheap flights to Vietnam

The Yen stream all the way Huong Pagoda in Hanoi, Vietnam.

These are just some of the countries in Asia that allow visa-friendly stays for Philippine passport holders. Destinations in Europe and the Americas offering similar privileges will be featured in the second and third parts of this series.


Content-Type: application/http; msgtype=response

WARC-Identified-Payload-Type: text/html

WARC-Type: response

text:
Saturday, February 1, 2014

In the Nick of Time

     This was a rough month. I emptied my savings completely and rolled all the coins and deposited everything into checking so I could pay the bills. Not even one penny was left unaccounted for. I tallied up everything I had and then added up my bills. The bills were higher than the money available to pay them. I paid what was due first and saved the three that were due in the first week of February. These were important bills, electric, water, and gas. I had another check coming so they would be paid in time, but I would still be behind enough to have me worrying over the month to come.

     After all the worry, the phone call came. We had a year and a half of too many applications, a few false starts, and much careful living financially. However, now my husband is employed in another pizza restaurant! I'm excited! It's exactly what we needed and just when we needed it. Now for the long process of rebuilding.

  1. Congratulations! I am so very happy to hear your good news, and happy to have you back.

  2. I am so glad he got the job. It's too bad that this news had to come only at the bottom of your financial road, just in time.

  3. Thank goodness the phone came at the right time it seems. Hang in there. It does get better.

warcinfo:
robots: classic
hostname: ip-10-185-224-210.ec2.internal
software: Nutch 1.6 (CC)/CC WarcExport 1.0
isPartOf: CC-MAIN-2017-22
operator: Common Crawl Admin
description: Wide crawl of the web for May 2017
publisher: Common Crawl
format: WARC File Format 1.0
conformsTo: http://bibnum.bnf.fr/WARC/WARC_ISO_28500_version1_latestdraft.pdf


WARC-Truncated: length

text:
You are here

Helping People Living with Mental Illness Live Longer, Healthier Lives

Dr. Margarita Alegria

Margarita Alegría, Ph.D., is the director of the Center for Multicultural Mental Health Research (CMMHR) at Cambridge Health Alliance and Harvard Medical School, and a professor of psychology in the Department of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Alegría is currently the Principal (PI) or co-Principal Investigator of two National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded research studies: International Latino Research Partnership; and Effects of Social Context, Culture and Minority Status on Depression and Anxiety. She is a PI of a Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) project, Effectiveness of DECIDE in Patient-Provider Communication, Therapeutic Alliance & Care Continuation. Dr. Alegría has published extensively in the behavioral science field with over 200 papers, editorials, intervention training manuals, and several book chapters, on topics such as improvement of health care services delivery for diverse racial and ethnic populations, conceptual and methodological issues with multicultural populations, and ways to bring the community’s perspective into the design and implementation of health services. As an acknowledgement of her contributions and dedication to her field, Dr. Alegría has been widely recognized and cited. In 2003, she was awarded the Mental Health Section Award of American Public Health Association; the Health Disparities Innovation Award from the National Institute of Minority Health and Health Disparities, 2008; the Carl Taube Award from APHA, 2008; the Simon Bolivar Award from the American Psychiatric Association, 2009; Harold Amos Award from the Harvard Medical School, 2011, and the Award of Excellence from the National Hispanic Science Network on Drug Abuse, 2011. In October 2011, she was elected as a member of the Institute of Medicine, and in 2013, selected as El Planeta’s (Massachusetts’s largest circulating Spanish-language newspaper) Powemeter 100 most influential people for the Hispanic community in Massachusetts.


text:
ICD-10 Diagnosis Code S38.01

Crushing injury of penis

Diagnosis Code S38.01

ICD-10: S38.01
Short Description: Crushing injury of penis
Long Description: Crushing injury of penis
This is the 2017 version of the ICD-10-CM diagnosis code S38.01

Not Valid for Submission
The code S38.01 is a "header" and not valid for submission for HIPAA-covered transactions.

Code Classification
  • Injury, poisoning and certain other consequences of external causes (S00–T98)
    • Injuries to the abdomen, lower back, lumbar spine, pelvis and external genitals (S30-S39)
      • Crush inj & traum amp of abd,low back, pelv & extrn genitals (S38)

Information for Patients

Penis Disorders

Also called: Penile disorders

Problems with the penis can cause pain and affect a man's sexual function and fertility. Penis disorders include

  • Erectile dysfunction - inability to get or keep an erection
  • Priapism - a painful erection that does not go away
  • Peyronie's disease - bending of the penis during an erection due to a hard lump called a plaque
  • Balanitis - inflammation of the skin covering the head of the penis, most often in men and boys who have not been circumcised
  • Penile cancer - a rare form of cancer, highly curable when caught early

  • Balanitis
  • Cancer - penis
  • Curvature of the penis
  • Epididymitis
  • Epispadias
  • Erythroplasia of Queyrat
  • Hypospadias
  • Hypospadias repair
  • Hypospadias repair - discharge
  • Paraphimosis
  • Penis pain

[Read More]

Wounds and Injuries

Also called: Traumatic injuries

An injury is damage to your body. It is a general term that refers to harm caused by accidents, falls, hits, weapons, and more. In the U.S., millions of people injure themselves every year. These injuries range from minor to life-threatening. Injuries can happen at work or play, indoors or outdoors, driving a car, or walking across the street.

Wounds are injuries that break the skin or other body tissues. They include cuts, scrapes, scratches, and punctured skin. They often happen because of an accident, but surgery, sutures, and stitches also cause wounds. Minor wounds usually aren't serious, but it is important to clean them. Serious and infected wounds may require first aid followed by a visit to your doctor. You should also seek attention if the wound is deep, you cannot close it yourself, you cannot stop the bleeding or get the dirt out, or it does not heal.

Other common types of injuries include

  • Animal bites
  • Bruises
  • Burns
  • Dislocations
  • Electrical injuries
  • Fractures
  • Sprains and strains

  • Bleeding
  • Crush injury
  • Cuts and puncture wounds
  • Electrical injury
  • Gunshot wounds -- aftercare
  • How wounds heal
  • Human bites -- self-care
  • Laceration - sutures or staples - at home
  • Lacerations - liquid bandage
  • Surgical wound care
  • Surgical wound infection - treatment
  • Wet to dry dressing changes
  • Wound care centers

[Read More]
Previous Code
Previous Code S38.002S
Next Code
S38.01XA Next Code


text:
Ice Hockey Wiki

Stadio del Ghiaccio Gianmario Scola

55,596pages on
this wiki
Add New Page
Talk0 Share
Stadio del Ghiaccio Gianmario Scola
Location Canazei , Flag of Italy Italy
Operator ------------------
Tenants Sportiva Hockey Club Fassa
Capacity 3,500 for Ice hockey

Stadio del Ghiaccio Gianmario Scola is an indoor sporting arena in Canazei, Italy. The capacity of the arena is 3,500 spectators. It is the home arena of the Sportiva Hockey Club Fassa ice hockey team of the Serie A ice hockey league.

External linksEdit

Ad blocker interference detected!

Wikia is a free-to-use site that makes money from advertising. We have a modified experience for viewers using ad blockers

Wikia is not accessible if you’ve made further modifications. Remove the custom ad blocker rule(s) and the page will load as expected.


text:
The Glory Has Departed

Norma Boeckler, Artist in Residence

Bethany Lutheran Worship on

May 25, Ascension Day Holy Communion,
7 PM Centray Daylight Time
NT Greek Lessons - Thursdays, 7 PM.

Saved worship files and Greek lessons are at the live worship link.

which works as too.

Luther's Sermons, Lenker Series
Book of Concord Selections
Bente's Historical Introductions,
and Martin Chemnitz Press Books

Saturday, June 20, 2015

A Jesuit in the Vatican - Not a Franciscan.
Misdirection of the Eyes Has Worked Marvelously Well Among Lutherans

The Holy Spirit is saying to Francis, - "Be quiet!"

When people comment on Pope Francis' latest actions and words, they falsely assert he is a Franciscan. That is a good example of misdirection of the eyes, which magicians use successfully. If someone looks in the wrong direction for a moment, the sleight of hand is missed.

Francis is a Jesuit, and he is named after the founder of the Jesuits - Francis Xavier. But he said he chose the name Francis in honor of St. Francis, patron saint of the poor. Aww.

So when people complain about the Leftist radicalism of the pope, I simply say, "He is a Jesuit." That order has always gravitated toward power, secular power. No other order is more corrupt in every possible way. Like the secret hazing ritual at Mequon, the Jesuit order was banished and banned for a short time, only to be brought back.

All Lutherans should pay attention to the papacy, the most powerful crime family in the world. The Vatican approach is so successful that the American synods have adopted the same tactics. If a few key power centers are controlled, everything else falls in line.

I talk to Lutherans who wonder how they could be so out of sync with their own synods. I explain how their synods were stolen from them, issue by issue, while no one was looking. This works, because everyone will re-elect Mark Schroeder, Matt Harrison, and Pope John the Malefactor.

  • They took away the traditional text of the New Testament, but I said nothing, because I still had the King James Version.
  • They took away the KJV, but I said nothing, because everything seemed to be the same, and they told us how outdated the language was.
  • They took away justification by faith, but I said nothing, because they kept saying they still believed in justification by faith - they were "protecting the Gospel" with justification without faith.
  • They took away The Lutheran Hymnal, but I said nothing, because it used the outmoded KJV texts and old hymns - not a single Fanny Crosby song. Now the same groups have three hymnals instead of one.
  • They took away the liturgy, hymns, and creeds, but I said nothing, because they did this for better outreach.
  • They tore out the pipe organ, but I said nothing, because we had electronic keyboards that could reproduce the pipe organ sound, the Hawaiian guitar, and anything else, even the sound of a choir, which we longer could gather.
  • They took away the Lutheran name, but I said nothing, because they told me Luther did not like the name, and it was blocking our outreach to the unchurched
  • They took away "church," and I said nothing, because they told me The CORE, Illumine, and GracePoint were better marketing tools, so we could establish a brand and appeal to the unchurched who did not like the word "church."
  • Finally, they took me away, because I kept wondering what happened to church where I was baptized and confirmed, and married.
Step by Step - Just Like the Song - "And Now I Know We'll Always Be in Love"

Hint for Mequon graduates -
Ichabod means the glory has departed.


text:
Minidoka, ID Profile: Facts, Map & Data

Minidoka Local Links & Resources:
Hotels | Resources | ALL Minidoka Content

Also See: Minidoka, ID ZIP Codes & ZIP Code Maps | Local Area Photos

Minidoka, Idaho - Basic Facts

The City of Minidoka had a population of 113 as of July 1, 2016. Minidoka ranks in the upper quartile for Diversity Index when compared to the other cities, towns and Census Designated Places (CDPs) in Idaho. See peer rankings below.

The primary coordinate point for Minidoka is located at latitude 42.754 and longitude -113.49 in Minidoka County. The formal boundaries for the City of Minidoka (see map below) encompass a land area of 0.1 sq. miles and a water area of 0 sq. miles. Minidoka County is in the Mountain time zone (GMT -7). The elevation is 4,281 feet.

The City of Minidoka (GNIS ID: 2411121) has a C1 Census Class Code which indicates an active incorporated place that does not serve as a county subdivision equivalent. It also has a Functional Status Code of "A" which identifies an active government providing primary general-purpose functions.

Idaho is one of 20 states where Census County Divisions (CCDs) are used for statistical tracking of subdivisions within each county. The City of Minidoka is located within Minidoka Division of Minidoka County.

Beneath the boundary map are tables with Minidoka population, income and housing data, five-year growth projections and peer comparisons for key demographic data. The estimates are for July 1, 2016.

Neighborhood Data

Address Based Hyperlocal Data Input an address and get data & demographics for the pertinent census block group (CBG), a searchable map and a customized directory. The CBG is the smallest geographical unit used by the Census Bureau for reporting certain data.

City of Minidoka, ID Boundary Map

Also See: BIG Map | Driving Directions | ID Congressional Districts
Boundary Maps: Minidoka Division | Minidoka County | Idaho Counties

Search the map for:

Minidoka, ID Data & Demographics (As of July 1, 2016)

Total Population 113
Population in Households 110
Population in Familes 98
Population in Group Qrtrs 3
Population Density1 1,076
Diversity Index2 76

Total Households 31
Average Household Size 3.55
Family Households 27
Average Family Size 4

Total Housing Units 44 (100%)
Owner Occupied HU 18 (40.9%)
Renter Occupied HU 13 (29.5%)
Vacant Housing Units 13 (29.5%)
Median Home Value $116,667
Average Home Value $141,667

Median Household Income $31,263
Average Household Income $45,072
Per Capita Income $11,918
  (Compound Annual Growth Rates)

2010-2015 2015-2020
Population 0.14% 0.18%
Households 0.53% 0.0%
Families -0.58% 0.0%
Median Household Income   2.9%
Per Capita Income   2.25%
1) Population Density = Total Population per square mile.
2) The Diversity Index is a scale of 0 to 100 that represents the likelyhood that two persons, chosen at random from the same area, belong to different race or ethnic groups. If an area's entire population belongs to one race AND one ethnic group, then the area has zero diversity. An area's diversity index increases to 100 when the population is evenly divided into two or more race/ethnic groups.
Based on Census 2010 counts, the Diversity Index for the United States was 60.6 and it is expected to increase to 64.8 by July 1, 2018.

Minidoka, ID - Peer Comparisons by Rank and Percentile

The table below compares Minidoka to the other 227 incorporated cities, towns and CDPs in Idaho by rank and percentile using July 1, 2016 data. The location Ranked # 1 has the highest value. A location that ranks higher than 75% of its peers would be in the 75th percentile of the peer group.

Variable Description Rank Percentile
Total Population # 203 11th
Population Density1 # 96 58th
Diversity Index2 # 8 97th
Median Household Income # 214 6th
Per Capita Income # 226 1st

Additional comparisons and rankings can be made with a VERY EASY TO USE Idaho Census Data Comparison Tool.

Idaho Research Tools

Idaho Census Data Comparison Tool

Compare Idaho Census Data
Highest or Lowest:


text:
Thursday, 13 August 2015

Postcard from Lisbon 5

One final scuffed, bent and well-travelled postcard comes through your letterbox, long after I've returned home.  Perhaps you're away on vacation yourself, and it falls into a pile of bills and junk mail.  Perhaps this reminds you of the opening sequence of Wim Wenders' film Lisbon Story.

So, no trip abroad would be complete without some shots of mysterious wall markings.  There are few things I like better than walking along a cobbled backstreet in a foreign city, waiting to be stopped in my tracks by some cosmic message concealed in plain sight.

My holiday companions enjoy this stop-start style of progress rather less, especially when the cosmos is being particularly chatty...  Which, in Lisbon, it was (I mean, that last one...  It is a clumsy guitar, isn't it?). But I do appreciate that waiting around for the family fool to finish admiring yet another set of random splats, scratches, and splashes of light is tedious, not to say intensely aggravating, so I try to restrain myself.  But, hold that thought, cosmos-in-Lisbon, I'll be back...

Ever since -- quite fairly -- being tagged as one who habitually makes "horizonless" pictures, I've consciously been looking up more.  Like any good shape-shifting contrarian, I don't like to be known quite so well as that.  It's especially rewarding to look up in places where everyone else is looking straight ahead or down.  In this case, a roofline in Lisbon's picturesque Alfama district (where I suspect the Tourist Office is responsible for maintaining the photogenic quantities of colourful washing hanging out on lines), and a view of the "25th April" suspension bridge passing some 200 feet above an outdoor restaurant table in the LX Factory compound.

But, in the interests of memory and conviviality, I have also been making a conscious effort, these days, actually to record the places we've been, seen, and stayed, something I have conspicuously failed to do in the past.  In the end, that's what holidays snaps are for, after all.  Although I doubt I will ever succumb to the modern vice of photographing my food on a restaurant table and sharing it on Facebook before tucking in.

Bridge?  Oh, that bridge...

Kent Wiley said...

What's that thing at the bottom of the bridge pic? We don't have them in the US, could you tilt down a tad so I can see it better please? This photo of the gangway off the side of the bridge beckons to me to come climb up there and see the view. Some day I'll go back to Lisbon.

Pretty cool "vacation snaps".

Mike C. said...

To the best of my memory it's a recycling bin (on this side of the street). One big advantage of small sensor cameras -- huge depth of field...

To get a sense of the scale, the red bit slung under the bridge is a railway mainline, and the top surface a six-lane motorway.


text:
Saturday, 20 May 2017

The Clava Cairns

Not far from Culloden is a remarkable place. The cairns at Balnuaran of Clava are simply one of the most evocative prehistoric sites I have ever visited. The impression is rather like walking onto the film-set for some tale of swords-and-sorcery like The Lord of the Rings. The large chambered burial cairns are almost too perfectly preserved, the standing stones surrounding each cairn uncannily picturesque, and the setting and atmosphere thick with a wary watchfulness. In this open-air cathedral to something just out of memory, thickly cushioned underfoot with moss, it almost comes as a surprise that no linen-shrouded body lies within each chamber, surrounded by rich but untouchable grave-goods. Or, less romantically, that a film-crew and actors are not taking a lunch break among the trees.

Of course, some of this is stage-setting. In the 1870s, the site's owner regarded these Bronze Age burial cairns as Druidic Temples, and enhanced the site by planting a grove of trees around it. As at Culloden, the Victorians were great interpretive "improvers" of historic sites. It's also not impossible that some of the features have been tinkered with or repurposed: they are 4,000 years old, after all. Certainly, the archaeologists regard the stone rings enclosing each tomb as a later feature, perhaps acting as an insulating, apotropaic barrier, perhaps serving some more mundane purpose. But such tombs are a feature of the Moray Firth region, and their authenticity is unquestionable; I have rarely felt the presence of the distant past so tantalisingly close at hand.

amolitor said...

Does it not freeze in that region? Below freezing temperatures and even the slightest moisture tends toward moving rocks and so forth about.

Which suggests heroic foundation work, routine maintenance, or both.

Martin said...

You're whetting my appetite for Scotland, Mike. Haven't stayed there for any length of time since the mid 70s. Most of those memories remain vivid.

Mike C. said...

Or, of course, the immaculate, gravity-defying drystone work of the Fair Folk. One should never discount elves as an explanation. See:

And I haven't even mentioned the ten element mega-breafast at Highland Industrial Supplies on Sunday morning...


text:
Warped idobi Radio returns this summer

By | May 12, 2015 at 4:03 PM

idobi Radio is teaming up with the Vans Warped Tour for the second year running to bring you Warped idobi Radio. Warming up on June 8—12 and 15—19 with a series of exclusive pre-interviews with featured artists and behind-the-scenes teams, Warped idobi Radio will officially kick off on June 22nd and air through August 2nd.

Prepare for eight weeks of special features and exclusive programming that is “just like being there.”

Beginning June 8th, tune in each Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 4pm ET on the idobi Radio player, or through our iOS and Android app to hear all things Warped!


text:
How do I view this video?
To view this video you need to sign-in or create a new account if you don't already have one.
Break Like a Pro / Chad Netherland / Video Library > The Misconceptions of Breaking Video Length: 2min. 23sec.

This video stresses three key points to remember when breaking tougher items such as concrete or ice, followed by a brief explanation about the misconceptions of breaking.

Video Transcript
Chad Netherland
Chad Netherland
Give Us Feedback
Find A Course
Ask The Instructor
Give Us Feedback
Store Front
Open Blackbelt World Championships


WARC-Identified-Payload-Type: application/xhtml+xml

text:
What are Aphrodisiacs? A Culinary Guide to Feeling Sexy

February 3, 2017

The word “aphrodisiac” comes from the name of the Greek goddess of beauty and love, Aphrodite. Aphrodisiacs are any substances that increase libido when consumed. They do not address fertility issues or sexual dysfunction directly like certain little blue pills you may have heard of.

On the contrary, a meal created using aphrodisiac ingredients is a delicious feast created to contribute to awakening sexual desire and increasing attraction between two people. Combine the right timing and romantic atmosphere, and anyone can experience the power of aphrodisiacs in their own home any time they want.

Their legacy extends back through history. Emperors and kings used to eat oysters and raw eggs with ginseng root tincture before venturing to the marital bed.

Nowadays, potent and romantic aphrodisiac dinners are available to each of us. Thanks to our modern understanding of the chemical composition of traditional ingredients, such as amino acids, vitamins, and trace elements, we now know exactly how they increase sexual activity naturally for both men and women.

Male Aphrodisiacs

Male aphrodisiacs increase not only sexual desire, but also a man’s physical capabilities. They contribute to a feeling of increased male self-esteem, attractiveness, and functionality of the genitals.

There is an ancient oriental proverb that states “There is no better natural aphrodisiac for man than a beautiful woman.” The proverb is wise, but in reality things can be a bit more complex.

Due to stress and age, an attractive beauty might not be enough to arouse a man’s desires throughout his life. This is where aphrodisiacs come to the rescue, restoring the vitality to a man he may have been longing for since his youth.

There are three major types of aphrodisiacs for men: mineral, vegetable, and animal. For example, zinc is the most important trace element for the male body. It increases libido and male sex hormones. Seminal fluid can contain up to 2 milligrams per milliliter, and it can also be found in the prostate. Zinc plays a crucial role in the process of spermatogenesis and overall prostate function.

Zinc is a trace element which is required for sperm production. It also takes part in the metabolism of vitamin E, and is involved in the synthesis of various hormones, such as testosterone, insulin, and growth hormones. It also contributes to 500 different biochemical reactions in the human body.

Furthermore, zinc reduces the amount of aromatase enzyme in the male body. This molecule actually takes testosterone and turns it into the female sex hormone, estrogen. Zinc improves the efficiency of the signals sent by the pituitary gland to the testicles. This increases the amount of testosterone produced, as well as the effectiveness of the internal state of the testicles. This helps invigorate the sperm’s endurance, effectively turning them into long distance swimmers. Just one or two oysters a day are enough to replenish the body's daily 15mg requirement of zinc in men.

Yohimbe is a medicine based on a substance extracted from the bark of the African Yohimbe tree. It improves blood flow to the genitals and increases sexual sensitivity. In addition, Yohimbe stimulates nerve centers of the brain that control sexuality. It leads to a sharp increase in receptor sensitivity, leaving fear and uncertainty behind. However, it doesn’t have the same effect for people with low blood pressure. Yohimbe is purely a male aphrodisiac.

Impaza is a homeopathic medicine created from purified antibodies. It increases blood circulation to the genitals, which extends and enhances erections. If you take this medicine for a long time, the libido returns to normal and sexual satisfaction increases significantly.

Hippocampus Coronatus is a medicine consisting of seahorse extract, ginseng root extract, and kidney tea. It helps alleviate impotence, improves sexual stamina and libido, and intensifies orgasms.

Of all the aphrodisiac mediums, tonics affect men most slowly and gently - toning the entire body and contributing to the acceleration of the metabolic process. Tonics commonly contain extracts of ginseng root, Eleutherococcus, Aralia Manchu, and vitamins and trace elements.

Nuts and seeds are also aphrodisiacs because they contain a high amount of vitamin E. In India, roasted sesame seeds are a traditional remedy for decreased potency when mixed with honey. People in Russia and the Ukraine mix walnuts with honey and take one dessert spoon 30 minutes after a meal to prepare them for a romantic encounter.
Additionally, spices like vanilla, rosemary, sesame seeds, cardamom, curry, ginger, cumin, and cloves are all effective aphrodisiacs for men.

Female Aphrodisiacs
In some ways, aphrodisiacs affect women quite differently than men. In other ways, they can be very similar. Among herbal female aphrodisiacs, wormwood and ginseng stand out above the rest. They can be bought at pharmacies in the form of dried powders, tinctures, or capsules.

Ginkgo Biloba is rapidly gaining popularity among women too. This plant extract is commonly used to improve memory, but it also has sexually stimulating properties. Relaxing the blood vessel walls, it increases blood flow to the organs, especially the genitals. Thus, it increases sensitivity and, as a result, libido.

As with men, vanilla is a powerful sexual plant for women. Vanilla creates a feeling of comfort and peace, encouraging a sense of safety for a lot of women. If you are planning slow and exciting sex, you definitely should add a pinch of vanilla to your dessert or to a drink.

Aloe Vera produces amino acids that stimulate blood flow to women’s genitals. Juice from the leaves can be mixed with honey, and a single teaspoon daily of this mixture can be enough for most women. Aloe juice improves the rush of blood to the pelvic organs, enhancing sexual desire. The juice also contains antibodies and T-cells, and is capable of restoring libido after surgery or injury.

About the Author
Olga Petrenko grew up in Ukraine, where she learned to appreciate traditional Eastern European hospitality and homemaking. As an adult, she studied the chemistry of foods, both local and foreign, for their unique effects on the human body and mind. Combining her food science studies with her love for helping others achieve greater intimacy, she poured the next 10 years of her life into creating the recipes contained in the aphrodisiac cookbook, Intimacy On The Plate: 200+ Aphrodisiac Recipes to Spice Up Your Love Life at Home Tonight.

Check out Foodista - Polls on LockerDome on LockerDome

Want more from Foodista? Sign up below!


text:
Friday, October 30, 2009

In Honor of Mischief Night and Halloween

In honor of Mischief Night, and Halloween, I want to pass on two very good blogs to help you get in the spirit of things, pardon the pun.

One is a brilliant blog on Zombies,  which is like getting a daily Zombie a day.  They are drawn on an ipod, and just make you smile. Here is one. I personally love this blog, and find it great to see first thing in the am, with my morning cup of coffee.

I really think Zombies are cooler than Vampires.

The other site is about Martians. Yes, Martians! I am happy to say I live near where the Martians landed  71 years ago. This blog has been in existence since 2004, and it's fun that someone has so much to say about the "Night that panicked America".

(Monument at Grovers Mills, NJ, where the Martians landed in 1938.)

Lastly, if you never heard the Orson Welles  here is a link to hear the broadcast in it's entirety.

I cannot help but wonder what a Zombie and a Martian would do if they got together.

Have a great Halloween, Stay Safe, and enjoy.

Thursday, October 29, 2009

Always look on the bright side of life

 I woke up early this morning, shaking off a dream I had about one of my best friends in the universe. Someone I have not seen since1998, but is still one of my dearest friends.  I was dreaming we were in his white Skoda, and his cell rang. His ring tone was at that time "Always look on the bright side of life".

I remember one night we were together, and it was raining and we were up all night talking. Just talking.  We were talking about our best days in life, and the worst. I told him about the first time I tried to kill myself- and he couldn't understand that. He just couldn't fathom why someone would want to go that route.

It's not that he wasn't familiar with it. Being in criminal justice, he has seen more than his fair share of suicides and sudden death. He told me about seeing the bodies of children dead, and one suicide victim that stayed with him for years. A young guy, a Uni student,  who was dumped over Spring Break, and hung himself. He wasn't found for several days later, with a note in his jeans pocket. While his partner cut the poor guy down, the body landed on my friend who was holding him. Liquids gushed on him, and for the few seconds it took for the body to be moved off my friend, he lay there staring at dead brown eyes, that haunted him for months afterwards as he slept.

"What girl was worth that?" he said.  I could see. He couldn't.

Maybe it's lucky he couldn't see, because he stepped through life which gave him mostly lemons for a decade. A relationship he wasn't happy in, a career he got bored with, his best friend and partner fell off the wagon after years of sobriety, and attempted suicide, ending up in hospital for several months to recover.  He told me if I was feeling sad, to go see "Toy Story". Watch "South Park" or "The Simpsons". Be a child. Have dessert first.  You never know when you get called to a domestic dispute and find a husband and wife, and one of them murdered their toddler. You never know when you get called into a situation and don't come out of it alive. He was working one day several years ago, when a fellow cop in that district was gunned down and they all heard the 999 call.

And when you get off work, you smell the sky and breathe and realize you are alive.

"Susan, why cannot you just be like that? Why do you have to analyze everything? Why does your brain constantly move too fast, even in the throws of passion you are multitasking!"

I don't know my friend. I don't know. That's the 64,000 dollar question. I just don't know.

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Thank You Psych Central

Psych Central posted their "Best Bipolar Blogs" of 2009 today. I am honored and gobsmacked to be an Honorable Mention, for the second year in a row.

 Some great blogs this year!

Thank You Psych Central!

Friday, October 23, 2009

Even Famous People Can Get the Blues

From yesterday's New York Daily News-

Hulk Hogan came "damn close" to killing himself after downing a cocktail of Xanax and rum, but an unexpected phone call saved his life.

In his new tell-ll book "My Life Outside the Ring", the notorious wrestler turned reality TV star admits he hit rock bottom after his divorce from his ex wife Linda, even reaching for a gun and putting his finger on the trigger. Fortunately, a phone call from his "Gladiators" co star Laila Ali, who noticed that Hogan was looking distracted earlier at work, prevented him from ending his life.

It doesn't matter who you are, rich or poor , famous or not, we all get like that and the important thing to know is the feeling does pass. Listen to Elton John's song "Someone saved my life tonight", It does happen.  Good luck to Mr. Hogan.

ETA: Blogger is really acting up right now....

Thursday, October 22, 2009

Repost- Talking Baseball

In honor of the Phils getting into the world series, some childhood memories of seeing the Phils play at Veteran Stadium.

What does the final game of the 1980 World Series have in common with the final game of the 2008 World Series? It was the only time in my father's life, where he, a die hard Yankee fan, wanted the Phillies to win the World Series.

My father grew up in Brooklyn. And like all pre-teen boys, he lived to play baseball. Baseball was his passion. When he wasn't playing, he was with his friends at Ebbets field watching the Brooklyn Dodgers, or the Polo grounds. It was a treat when his mother, the woman I was named after, took him to a game at Yankee stadium when school was out. Dad rooted for the Dodgers and the Yankees, and to this day, will tell you what he was doing when Bobby Thompson fired the shot heard around the world.

He played ball every waking moment as a boy, stopping only for a stretch when he was drafted into service during WW II. When he came back home, he settled down in NJ and played locally on a softball team, as pitcher. He was so good, that in the early 50s, he was approached by the local Negro league, as a reverse Jackie Robinson, to be the first white player on their team. Dad was humbled and accepted the post of pitcher for this team as well.

Eventually dad met mom, they got married, and had a nice two bedroom house with a back yard in the suburbs of NJ. My mom, a Brooklyn girl, was thrilled to have a back yard to garden. She has, and still has, a green thumb, as does my father.

But you can take the boy off the baseball diamond, you cannot take baseball out of the boy. My father became my father, and from the moment his girls were old enough, he bought us mitts, bats, (painted pink) and taught us how to throw and pitch softballs. My sister excelled at this, it was more difficult for me. But the time with my father was priceless, since dad often worked such long hours, time with him was wonderful. If he wasn't playing with his girls, he was sitting on "his" chair, watching the Yankees on WPIX. I use to crawl up and sit on his lap, smelling his Old Spice as I would watch the game with him. I had to be perfectly still and not move until commercials, but it was lovely.

When the girls got a bit older, a client at my dad's laboratory, had season tickets for the Phillies at Veteran Stadium. My father would go 5 or 6 times a year with the whole family; mom, and the two girls. It was a treat. Dad was at his element, first bundling the entire family in one of those monsterous Pontiacs with white walls he use to drive. My father was a Pontiac man.

We would get to Veteran's stadium early, so dad could see the players practice. He would get a score card, and mom would have one too. Dad taught mom how to fill out a score card when they were dating. Dad would point out the players to us, like the King entertaining his court. One time we saw Willie Mays warming up. Dad walked down to the fence with my sister, watching in awe. Mays saw dad and my sister, waving to him, and (this is a true story) picked up a baseball to throw at my sister to catch. Dad caught it, whipped out a pen, and asked Mays to sign it. Mays came over and said something like "I don't like signing autographs, but my sister was way too cute and he signed his name and handed her the ball.

In Junior High my father was down sized and lost access to the games. There were no more live ball games until I went to college and would drive out to Yankee stadium with a friend.

But in my Freshman year in college, dad was not only following his beloved Yankees, he was closely watching the Phils. Maybe because their line up was so fantastic, Pete Rose, Mike Schmidt, Tug McGraw. I had gone to bed early that night they won the World Series, the dorm was quiet, and I had spent the evening studying. The next thing I knew i was in the fountain in front of the dorm. Seems like the guys were so excited (and drunk) that the Phils won, they went into the all girls dorm and raided it, dumping every girl they could find in the fountain. I had gone to bed that night as my wont, in a t shirt and panties. I woke up in the fountain, soaking wet, and when i raised up, one of the Frat boys, drunk as a skunk, said " First prize wet T shirt" and handed me a medal.

Those were the days. I will let Terry Cashman take it from here.

Well, now it's the 80's, And Brett is the greatest, And Bobby Bonds can play for everyone. Rose is at the Vet, And Rusty again is a Met, And the great Alexander is pitchin' again in Washington.
Baseball. Fast foward to 2008. Phils are once again in the World Series. Rose still isn't in the Hall of Fame. Veteran's stadium is long gone, but the Phils are once again great, and the fans- let's put it this way. No other city has fans as devoted as Philadelphia, whether it's the Eagles or the Phils. As I start to write this, some high school boys are in my apartment complex parking lot setting up fireworks. They weren't even conceived when the Phils won in 80. The players, from that year, are ensconced in Cooperstown. The players of today will be there soon. And these boys, someday, will take their sons and daughters to the game and tell them what they were doing the last time the Phils won the Series. And have a drink and reminisce. Like I do when ever I hear about the players from the time I came of age in the 80s.

I'm talkin' baseball! Like Reggie, Quisenberry. Talkin' baseball! Carew and Gaylord Perry, Seaver, Garvey, Schmidt and Vida Blue, If Cooperstown is calling, it's no fluke. They'll be with Willie, Mickey, and the Duke.

For Liz and Anthony and Pete - Go Phillies

I am not a Phils fan. I am a Yankee fan. But  the Phils are my third favorite team, after the Mets. So in honor of my friends who are Phillies fans, a little something while they become unbearable to live with while their beloved team plays in the world series. Yes, it's 5 am. Yes, some idiots outside my apartment have been up celebrating and making way too much noise all night to sleep. ;-(

Go Phillies!

ETA: According to Stuff on My Cat, this cat's name is Joey. I wonder if they named it after Joey Vento.

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Best Gift Ever- Repost

In honor of my 2nd blogoversary, I would like to take a page from the book of Bitter Animator, and re post a post. This is my most favorite post I think from this last year. Amazing how doing something small can make you feel so good even though you never did it to get anything out of it.

Life and gifts don't get better than this. Sometimes the best gifts in life are free- or are the cost of a first cent stamp.

Two years ago I worked on a suicide hotline. I cannot go into any more details than that.

I was on the phone one night- around twilight- with a very very suicidal man- who not only had a gun in his hand and was clicking the chambers, but he was very very very drunk.

I spent a long time talking to him, and when the call was over I went out in the pitch black night, no stars, overcast clouds blocking them. I bummed a cigarette, and a lighter, sat down on a bench and cried.

Fast forward to present day. I got a phone call from my former supervisor, and made a commitment to start again on the hotline in the fall, after completing 35 hours of class work this summer. Then she said she got a letter from someone I talked to eons ago, and wanted to mail it to me.

The letter arrived Monday. It had beautiful penmanship, but poor spelling. It went in kind, "thank you for helping me save my life that night, and the few things you have taught me have saved me again when life got that bad. Fortunately, it never got that bad again. I am working now, joined a church and dating a lovely woman.

I wrote this poem for you. I hope you like it and again, thank you.

"There is a rose in the garden
A Beauty with thorns adminst her leaves
If one desires to pick her
He must ask his hands to bleed"

You know, he says I saved his life, but he may have also saved mine.

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Interesting:Antidepressant Sales Rise as Depression Falls

This goodie from the Neuroskeptic blog-
Antidepressant sales are rising in most Western countries, and they have been for at least a decade. Recently, we learned that the proportion of Americans taking antidepressants in any given year nearly doubled from 1996 to 2005.
The authors examined medical records from 1.7 million British patients in primary care (General Practice, i.e. family doctors.) They found that antidepressant sales rose strongly between 1993 and 2005, not because more people are taking these drugs, but entirely because of an increase in the duration of treatment amongst the antidepressant users. It's not that more people are taking them, it's that people are taking them for longer.

In fact, the number of people being diagnosed with depression and prescribed antidepressants has actually fallen over time. The rate of diagnosed depression remained steady from 1993 to about 2001, and then fell markedly, by about a third, up to 2005. This trend was seen in both men and women, but there were age differences. In 18-30 year olds, there was a gradual increase in diagnoses before the decrease. (Note that these graphs show the number of people getting their first ever diagnosis of depression in each year.)

More here. Worth a read. (Sorry for the colors and what not, blogger is acting up again!)

It's My Second Anniversary

I never thought when, two years ago today, I started this blog, that;

1. Anyone would read it.

2. The people who read it actually liked it.

Two years, I am humbled by the people I have met through this blog, and who have added me to their readers, blogrolls,  and Facebook. I admit, I am still a relative newbie, and the blog is a living thing, still evolving. I still don't know where I am going with this, but I thank you for being with me on this marvelous journey.

Monday, October 19, 2009

I cannot resist not posting this.  I think it applies to most of us....From Non Breaking Space blog.

measuring yourself
by shallow expectations
diminishes you

More here.

Hello It's Me

Hello it's me.  I've thought about this blog entry for a long long time.....
(Apologies to Todd Rundgren).

I am finding it hard to write the last few days. My brain is swarming with ideas, and I write and I write and I write. But I cannot end these pieces.  Hence, they cannot be posted.

It doesn't help that it's almost time for the World Series- a stupid title, since it only involves the USA, and not the rest of the world- and I have to watch the Yankees. It's like in my blood. Must. Watch. Yankees.

I still have my cold, I have had for most of the month of September- low grade temperature, 100- 101 daily, but over the weekend it grew to 101-102, with the same cough I cannot get rid of,  lots of phegm, etc. etc.  I have been mobile though, but this weekend, the cold came back with a vengeance.Saw the doc this morning, another round of antibiotics, this time it's the 4 round in 7 weeks,  and a warning for bed rest and drink lots of fluids.

And a cautionary comment about my white blood count is probably going through the roof.

Called the blood doc when I got home, and yes, it seems that my white blood count is going through the roof again. Must come in next week for a blood draw,  and we will see from there about another bone marrow biopsy.

When it rains it pours.

So I am still here, going to take to my bed, and read, which is a treat, and snuggle with the kitty. Work on an application for a Psychiatric Guide Dog. And sleep sleep sleep since the antibiotics make me sleepy.  All that's missing is a Snuggie, and a cup of hot chocolate.

Friday, October 16, 2009

Having huge problems with blog template

Please bear with me. I went to update one thing and lost almost everything in my template including blogrolls, pictures, and cannot make things move from one part of the blog to another.

It is most frustrating and I don't know what to do. I am so sorry that it looks very plain and horrible right now.

Any help with new blogger would be appreciated.

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

the drowned and the saved

Blame Sleeping Beauty.  Fall asleep for 100 years, handsome prince wakes you up, and you live happily ever after.

Oh yes. The prince doesn't mind you have morning breath.

Damn you Walt Disney, for making these princesses- who show you need a man to be happy. Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, Cinderella....

Let's throw Bettleheim out the window on this- is there something wrong that the Mouse taught several generations of women that they NEED a man in their lives to be complete?

After all, like the Virginia Slims advert, we've come a long way baby. In my grandmother's generation, women didn't work. And if they did, they were teachers, librarians, or nurses, or typists. Phone operators from the 40s .Women weren't doctors. They married them. Women didn't start going to med schools til the 50s and 60s. Women didn't become lawyers til then either, lets face it, women didn't really go to college at all until the 50s or 60s. And if they did, many of them were female only. And even then college was treated as a joke, a place to get a MRS degree.

I had a Professor for the Pre-Raphalities, and something she said stuck with me all these years. She had gone to an Ivy college- i don't recall which one- and mentioned that her roomate told her once- as she was homebound with 3 children under 5 'At least I studied Shakespeare once. I think of King Lear when I am cleaning the floor'.

Does that mean her children will grow up to be Regan, Goneril, and Cordelia? Or was she thinking it was sharper than a serpent's tooth to have children? Or was her life not what she thought it would be as she was cleaning the floor. Was that all there is? Wet diapers, runny noses, bruised knees, nightmares, and the satisfaction of knowing that despite that- she created something no one else has, three human beings who could grow up to be anything and everything they want?

I will be damned if I know. I thought my raison d'etre was to have children since I have a womb and ovaries. I am learning now, maybe there is more to do besides passing on my DNA to the next generation.  Biologically, I have some years left before that door closes, but lets face it- it's closed now. Now is the time to figure out how to rebuild dreams, go on with writing, which as always been a dream and a reason to get out of bed, and just continue. Like Faulkner's brilliant last sentence in "Sound and Fury"  "Dilsey preserved". I have to preserver too.  (I just hope this entry isn't full of Sound and Fury, signifying nothing, and I am an idiot, though I wouldn't mind being a bit more like Benjy).

Some home truths about the new heath care plan

Fellow New Jerseyean and blogger, Anthony has a very good take on the new health  care proposal after reading Time magazine. According to Anthony,
Who'd-a thunk big insurance companies would raise rates? Would you guess that, regardless of healthcare reform or none that rates would rise? I would. When is the last time your healthcare provider called and told you, "Hey - you know what? We're charging too much and we're going to pass the savings on to you." If that ever happened, you'd die from heart failure. Then you'd really need the insurance. What do you think the odds are that our rates will increase whether we get reform or not? Even money is a start. I think our federal government is about to find out who is really wearing the pants in this relationship.
According to Time-

Just two days before Tuesday's scheduled vote on the Senate Finance Committee's health bill, a report warning that the bill would result in sizable hikes in insurance premiums was released, and then widely panned as a flawed analysis of cherry-picked information. White House officials said they felt "misled" by the insurers, who they claimed gave no notice that they were about to release the study. And health-policy analysts fired out press releases all day Monday debunking various points made in the study, authored by consultants PriceWaterhouse Coopers, including its assertion that between 2010 and 2019 the Senate Finance Committee bill would cause the typical family health-insurance policy to rise $20,700more than if no reforms at all were enacted.

The article is worth reading and can be found here

Monday, October 12, 2009

Agoraphobia rules

I didn't realize it's been five days since I last posted.  Just trying to move files from one computer (Mac running Snow Leopard) to another one (Mac running Panther/Tiger to OS 9) and another computer, now almost dead that was running something between OS 7.5 and 8.1. Once that is done, I can turn my 22 year old mac into a fish tank!

 Also got a very bad patch of depression which transformed into agoraphobia, I haven't left the apartment since Friday, just afraid to. I need to somehow- I need to get food!  I want to walk to see the leaves turn. I just cannot open the door to do it.

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Moment of Truth - My First Post

I recently posted I just had my 13th AA anniversary. I dedicated my coin to Mary, who helps keep me sober by her blog. I am very proud of this piece and am dedicating it to her as well.....

The room was dimly lit, smelling of stale cigarette smoke and burnt coffee.  Twenty-some people were there, sitting on folding chairs, or the overstuffed navy blue couch.  Almost everyone was drinking black coffee from Styrofoam cups, with their legs crossed, listening intently to the speaker.  During the talk, a couple of people went to the coffee maker for refills, or grabbed stale powered donuts, so hard they had to be dipped in the coffee to be rendered edible.

I was sitting on the floor, legs crossed, Indian style.  The shag carpeting felt comfortable under my bottom, and was enjoying listening to the speaker. When he was finished, everyone clapped and someone else started talking. After several more speakers, it was my turn. I cleared my throat and looked nervously around the room. The words were coming out faster than I could think. "Hi, my name is Susan, and I am an alcoholic."

I am an alcoholic. I haven't had a drink since September 26, 1996. My last drink, ice tea and grain alcohol was the day before. This is something that I never thought about until I was reading a book on bipolar where the author stated that 60 percent of all people with bipolar have had a problem with substance dependency. My drinking  was different.  I wasn't drinking to control my moods, I was drinking because I was hell bent on destroying myself.  They say that alcohol is a depressant, but I can tell you when I drank, it was for the initial buzz of euphoria and sense of well being. I loved the way it made my insides melt. What I didn't like was the sad feeling that always came out after the first initial numbness.

Every alcoholic has a story. I had my first drink in college, the first weekend away from home. My roommate and I crashed a frat party.  This was the fall of 1980 and I had just turned 18 that weekend. Animal House was out the previous year, and every frat on campus was having a toga party. We went to one of the frats, thinking we were all grown up. I recall when I got there, I didn't want a beer. Someone handed me a cup of purple Kool Aid, and I found a couch inside and sat down and drank. Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon", was on the stereo, and I just recall that the album never sounded so good.

Guys kept refilling my glass, asking me "You're a freshman?". Finally the inevitable happened, my bladder was full. I tried to make it upstairs to the bathroom, but there was an incredible line. Instead my roommate found me and we left the party, walking back to our dorm cross campus. I recall I could barely walk, and neither could she. And I couldn't stop thinking when I fell on the ground "The lunatic is on the grass".

When we got back to the dorm, I signed in, and it became clear to my
RA that I was drunk, very drunk. I couldn't understand that, I had no beer, just grape Kool Aide. Roommate and I somehow collapsed into bed, and I recall the bed spinning. Then I got sick. Exorcist sick. I ended up in the infirmary. The next day the nurse told me I was drinking grape Kool Aide with grain alcohol in it. All I knew is I felt sick, hung over and ashamed.  I vowed never to drink again.

And I really didn't. Oh yes, I might have had a beer in the Rathskeller with my friends between classes but one was always my limit. Somehow, I must have sensed my birth family had a long line of alcoholics and I knew not to drink.

Fast forward to 1996.  I had come back from California a year before, broke. I had the misfortune of letting a friend's sister stay with me when her apartment was being fixed from the Northridge Quake.  No one told me she had a coke habit, and I had never met anyone who did drugs before. In the two months that she lived with me, she totalled my car, then totalled the rental car. She figured out my ATM number, went into my checking and savings accounts and wiped them both dry, stole my furniture, and my jewelry  and pawned it. I lost almost 40,000 that went up her nose before I realized what she had done and and at that point called the police and they involuntarily put her in rehab. And with no money left, no furniture, I had no choice but to move back home with mom and dad.

It wasn't a good situation. I found a job at a bookstore and moved out into an apartment. It wasn't a nice apartment, it was in the states capital, but it was mine and it was better than nothing. I remember my upstairs neighbor was a prostitute and my doorbell would ring at weird hours by drunken Johns  at the wrong door.

The downstairs neighbor sold pot, but the police stayed away because he never sold to minors. Another neighbor was constantly getting into trouble for beating his wife.

I didn't like working in that bookstore. I love books, and own close to a thousand in my own personal library. But this was a mega bookstore. I had worked in a mom and pop one ten years earlier for a few years, which I loved. But this was different, there was less emphasis on the customer and more on just selling books. They guy I was seeing was really disliked by my parents, and much to my chagrin, my father told him he would give him money to stop dating me. Of course, he took it.

I am sure this was done in my best interests, but I felt like I was a failure. One day a friend from the bookstore came over with a bottle of red wine as a housewarming gift. We drank the bottle and the next morning when I woke up, I wanted more. I went to work and on the way home, stopped at a licquor store and bought a bottle of the same vintage, and drank that in the evening. I did this every night for a week. And I discovered something. By the end of the week,I wasn't getting buzzed on the wine. Instead I was drinking vodka, pouring it in the wine to get drunk faster. I knew it was wrong, but I didn't care. I figured I didn't have the courage to kill myself outright, so I might as well drink myself to death. Besides, some of the best writers were alcoholics, Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Fitzgerald and Steinbeck. A  genius that no one understood. My muse was telling me it was romantic to be drunk like them.

The only problem was what I was writing at this time was absolute crap. Alcohol might have made Faulkner or Hemingway more creative, but it was having the opposite affect on me. But I loved the warm feeling I would get when I drank, how the walls around me dissolved, melted and I became one with the universe.

In two short months I was a full blown alcoholic. I was drinking very every night, first pouring vodka in my wine coolers to get drunk, and when that didn't work anymore I graduated to wine and vodka. When that no longer worked I was pouring grain alcohol in my wine to get buzzed faster.

That would make me wake up in the morning with the shakes, and I needed an eye-opener. So I would have a glass of wine by itself. I didn't care, I figured I would be dead in six months. I figured I had nothing to live for, after all, I was persona non grata in my family. I had no boyfriend, I mean what kind of boyfriend would choose money over me? My self esteem was out the window, and I felt like shit. The alcohol bloated me up by thirty pounds and I was the heaviest I had ever been in my life.But I couldn't stop, every night I would take a bottle of Stoli I left in the fridge, pour a huge drink and watch British comedies on VHS tape. I knew I shouldn't be doing it. At the time I had an idea I was bipolar, but wouldn't acknowledge it. I had been diagnosed as bipolar 10 years earlier when I had my first hospitalization when I crashed and burned at the end of Grad school and would up first in the hospital for 2 days from the suicide attempt, and then a month in the other hospital.

All I knew now that my moods were going from manic- days without sleeping, to suicidal despair where I would try to top myself off with a drink and Asprin. One time I fell asleep , tripped over a bottle, broke it and wound up with glass embedded in my kneecap. Cute. Blood all over the carpet. I didn't care, I laughed when I saw the blood red streaks melt into the off white color. For months I had glass embedded in my skin.

And one day came when I woke up covered in vomit from head to toe, shaking so badly the bed was actually moving. I knew I had to stop. After all, didn't Janis Joplin die when she vomited in her sleep? Maybe something woke up that day inside of me and I knew I needed help. I had to stop. Something primal in my  brain told me the next time this happened I would be dead like Janis. And suddenly, I didn't want to die anymore.

I cleaned myself up, did the laundry. I felt awful. I was shaking,m but poured the rest of the booze down the drain. And went to my first AA meeting that day.

I realized that was what stopped me. I didn't want to die. I got sober, which was one of the hardest things I ever did. But I wanted to live. I didn't want to be a drunken writer. All of a sudden Hemingway and Fitzgerald as the troubled dipsomaniacs with the tortured souls wasn't appealing. Ray Carver got dry. I could do it too.  i didn't stay with AA but did it myself, substituting a Snapple for every time I wanted a drink.

So 60 percent of people with bipolar have a lifetime substance dependency problem. Maybe in my case it was just from a feeling of pain of being different, feeling different from everyone else, feeling like a failure because I felt like I was the only living person on the planet. I was in so much emotional pain back then I didn't know how to cope. I've learned sincethen to make closure with a lot of the issues I had back then. I have also learned that yes, I am bipolar. I have grown to accept it, and by accepting it work on my recovery. The only way I could get better, to start healing was to accept it. Whether it's alcohol or bipolar. It's something I still have issues with, dealing with, understanding and accepting. Even now. There are days where I wish I was normal and didn't have to take any meds, thinking there is nothing wrong with me. And I feel great until I go manic or depressed. Now I know I have to take my meds daily. Now I know my birth family comes from a long line of Irish alcoholics, my genes didn't escape that. I know if I have one drink, I die. Simple as that. I don't want to die, not now. I still have a lot more living to do.

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Sleep Glorious Sleep

Several days of positive energy, brain clear. Some domestic chores done, but then, as always, crash. Last two days in bed, wanting to sleep, and sleep doesn't come. Reading some old books on European royalty I found in the back of my bookshelf.

I think my moods have reverted back to the way they were in Junior High and High School- medium to low functioning, and petrified to be around people. Lying in bed for hours at night watching the moon move as the earth rotates through my bedroom window. Wanting to sleep, being so bone tired it doesn't come. Cursing to someone unseen for some Zzz's. Unlike High School- I don't have the energy to cook, if I do find myself in the kitchen, it's to grab a handful of cold cereal, or a piece of fruit.  I put fresh water and kibble in the cat bowls...and back to bed, turning on the bedside radio to a talk station, and stare at the ceiling. Eyes briming with unshed tears.

Which brings me to my family - who think I am doing this on purpose. I think not. Outside my apartment window, I can hear the children playing, the Seniors walking, or outside at my neighbors patio, drinking ice tea or lemonade and chatting about their grandchildren.  I can hear the sound of the commuters waiting at the bus stop as they wait for the bus to collect them and take them into the city. I long to go with them, spend a day walking around in the city, even just being able to pluck up the courage to get dressed, get in the car and get to Target where I can buy some much needed underwear.  Staying at home because you are too panicked to go outside- not having any energy to change your clothes, or do basic hygiene like showering, yes, this is living. This is great. The depression - this last bout has severed all my friendship ties. I just cannot even find energy to talk on the phone, the writing, one if not the only raison d'etre in my life, is labored if and when it comes.

I have spent the last hour and a half on this piece. I am beyond tired, and want to lie down in bed again. The cat will lie next to me, and maybe, just maybe when I wake up, I will feel energetic again. If i don't I shudder to think of the alternative.

Sunday, October 4, 2009

Blues Buster - One more incredible cute fix from the NY lottery-bunnies!

Their newest commercial, which premired on October 4, is way too cute as well, and it's all bunnies.

I really shouldn't be posting so many cute fixes, it really does take away from the professionalism of the blog...'s so cute, and these ads do cure the blues.....
Related Posts with Thumbnails


text:
Bioshock 2 Preview

Written by igcompany on Sunday, 01 November 2009 08:45.

Bioshock 2 Box

Set aproximately 10 years after the events of the original BIOSHOCK, the halls of rapture once again echo with sins of the past. Along the Atlantic coastline, a monster has been snatching little girls and bringing them back to the undersea city of rapture. You are the very first Big Daddy as you travel through the decrepit and beautiful fallen city, chasing an unseen foe in search of answers and your own survival.

Multiplayer in Bioshock 2 provides a rich prequel experience that expands the award winning Bioshock gameplay. Set during the fall of rapture, players assume the role of a plasmid test subject in the underwater city that was first explored in the original Bioshock. Players will need to use all the elements of the game's toolset to survive as the full depth of the Bioshock experience is refined and transformed into a unique multiplayer experience that can only be found in rapture.

Step back into the unforgettable world of rapture in Bioshock 2, the next installment in the franchise that has won more than 50 game of the year awards and has sold more than 2.5 million units worldwide. Developed by 2k Marin, 2K Australia and Digital Extremes, Bioshock 2 provides players with the perfect blend of explosive first person shooter combat, compelling storytelling and intense multiplayer to form one of 2009's most highly anticipated titles.

Single Player Features:

  • Evolution of the genetically enchanced shooter: Innovative advances bring new depth and dimension to each encounter. New elements, such as the ability to dual-wield weapons and plasmids, allow players to create exciting combinations of punishment
  • Return to rapture: Set approximately 10 years after the events of the original Bioshock, the story continues with an epic, more intense journey through one of the most captivating and terrifying fictional worlds ever created
  • You are the Big Daddy: Take control of Bioshock's signature and iconic symbol with the original Prototype Big Daddy, and experience the power and raw strenght of rapture's most feared denizens as you battle powerful new enemies
  • Continuation of the award-winning narrative: New and unique storytelling devices serve as the vechicle for the continuation of one gaming's most acclaimed storylines

Multiplayer Features:

  • Genetically enchanced multiplayer - Earn experience points during gameplay to earn access to new weapons, plasmids and tonics that can be used to create hundreds of different combinations, allowing players to develop a unique character that caters to their playing style.
  • Experience rapture's civil war - Players will step into the shoes of rapture citizens and take direct part in the civil war that tore rapture apart.
  • See rapture before the fall - Experience rapture before it was reclaimed by the Ocean and engage in combat over iconic environments in locations such as Kashmir restaurant and Mercury suites, all of wich have been reworked from the ground up for multiplayer.
  • FPS veterans add their touch to the multiplayer experience - Digital Extremes brings more than 10 years of first person shooter experience including development of award-winning entries in the Unreal and Unreal Tournament Franchise.

Bioshock 2 will be released on february 9 2010 on PC, Xbox 360 and Playstation 3.

Online Discount at Game Stop

Written by Sylvia on Friday, 23 October 2009 00:13.

Well, Game Stop has done something very considerate for their online shoppers. They put out a new discount, "Free shipping on orders more than $25". How kind of them. Much is appreciated. Though there is a form of a "catch" to this. The free shipping applies for yes orders over $25, but also they must be shipped in the "5 to 10 day shipping and processing" section. Very well then its still free. In fact the other day I was considering to buy a Nintendo Ds Lite for about $130. Well anyway that is just a bit of an extra something to brighten up your day I suppose. Here is a link to the the exact webpage where you read even more about the discount. This is only available for online shopppers.

Command & Conquer 4: Tiberian Twilight Preview

Written by igcompany on Sunday, 18 October 2009 08:35.

In the year 2062, humanity found itself on the brink of extinction. Tiberium, the mysterious, alien crystalline structure that infested Earth for decades and caused years of relentless conflict between the Global Defense Initiative (GDI) and the Brotherhood of Nod, was close to rendering the planet uninhabitable. In the midst of this crisis, Kane, Nod’s prophetic leader, emerged from seclusion to deliver GDI the message that he had developed a system that could control Tiberium and harness its power. But he could not build this “Tiberium Control Network” without GDI’s cooperation. Thus, the two opposing factions—GDI and Nod—found themselves in a desperate and unlikely alliance to stop Tiberium from extinguishing mankind.

Now, after 15 years, the network is nearly complete. Tiberium is under strict control and our revitalized planet is on the cusp of a new age of prosperity and progress. It is only now that the world’s citizens begin to seriously ponder why Kane chose to help, and what he will want in return. These questions and more lead to the dramatic final act of the Tiberium saga.

Global Agenda Preview

Written by igcompany on Sunday, 18 October 2009 07:36.

Global Agenda

GLOBAL AGENDA is a fast-paced action MMO using Unreal® Engine 3 set in Earth's near future, a spy-fi world of advanced technology and player-driven conflict.

In the wake of severe global disaster, the political face of 22nd century earth has changed and player-created factions scheme against each other for power. Traditional full-scale wars a thing of the past, factions must rely on covert agencies, teams of elite special operatives able to seize and defend key facilities. The future of humanity is their battleground, where knowledge is power, technology is a race, and everyone has an agenda.

The players control the world of Global Agenda, forging alliances with their peers and executing lightning strikes against their enemies. They determine which factions to aid and which to oppose, while the only thing that stands in their way is other agencies.

  • Develop your agent - Create, extensively customize, and improve your agent character over the course of your career, complimenting your FPS skills with RPG-style progression and high-tech gear.
  • Advance your agency - Join a player-created agency, compete in technology races for advanced equipment, and capture critical locations to increase your influence in the world.
  • Compete in fast-paced PvP combat - Work with your allies to gather reconnaissance data, then raid or capture enemy-controlled facilities during objective-based missions. Equip yourself from a powerful array of weapons, armor, and strategic devices like triggered explosives, deployable turrets, stealth suits, holographic decoys, and remote control robots.
  • Experience a dynamic, player-driven world - Agency leaders navigate through a global conflict of other player-run groups, striving to reach their goals first. Territory, resources, technology, and influence are all valuable commodities, with agencies engaging in politics, intrigue, and outright deception to control them.

Global Agenda Gameplay Trailer:

Divinity II - Ego Draconis Preview

Written by igcompany on Friday, 16 October 2009 13:38.

Divinity II - Ego Draconis brings you back to Rivellon, a timeless world of awe and magic, torn and scarred by successions of apocalyptic wars. Ever since the Great War ended, the Order of the Dragon Slayers has had eyes only for their number one enemy: the Dragon Knights who killed their Divine hero.

But all the while the true enemy ? the Black Ring ? still festers beneath the surface, ready for its next move, poised to strike. For their leader Damian tirelessly plots silent schemes with utterly malign intent.

Then one day, an event takes place that will reshape the history of Rivellon: a dying Dragon Knight gives her powers to a member of the order that seeks to destroy her: you.

Perhaps you, blessed as you are with the powers of the Dragon, will be able to stop the black tides that threaten to engulf Rivellon. Many adventures await you, many mysteries yearn to be unravelled and all the world awaits the outcome of your new destiny.

Sign in with Facebook


text:
Home / Games / Fantasy Squad: The Era Begins v1.3.1 Mod APK

Fantasy Squad: The Era Begins v1.3.1 Mod APK

Fantasy Squad: The Era Begins
Fantasy Squad: The Era Begins

Fantasy Squad: The Era Begins v1.3.1 Mod apk for Android.

Journey with [Stein], Erashid’s Light of the NEW World
Train a Squad of Heroes, to complete fulfill your QUEST!
Extreme Action RPG! Start a NEW ERA on your Fantasy Legacy

In the far, far north. The [Wall of Wonders] stood tall as the sky
Isolating a world where [Guardians], beasts and diverse creatures exists in harmony
The Wall that was unmoved and unscathed through the test of time
Until the day when, humanity received a grim reminder of the dangers of the unknown
On that fateful day, the wall cracked open and unveiled the hidden Northern World

Challenge yourself! Tame the Guardians to be humanity’s LAST HOPE
Withstand Garashid’s curse! Form a Squad that can smash them to pieces!
This is now your fate…

Game Features

★ Stand tall to be humanity’s last hope!
In a strange world beyond the wall. Heavenly bodies ruled the land. Are you WORTHY to dominate the Guardians?
Fight back and simmer the experience in battling collosus monsters. Stand tall to be humanity’s last hope!

★ Get CRAZY with 500,000 possible Team Combination!
Empower your Squad with the Fate System!
Empower your Squad with the Area Link System!
Battle other Squad with over half a million Squad Combination (Team Formation)!

★ Immerse your senses with Immense Story and Character Depth!
Journey with the Hero and embark on a course changing destiny!
Relish the familiar RPG style and savor the story unlike any other!

★ The Ultimate Fantasy Squad – Strategy & Plot!
Entangle yourself with the awesome Characters and their profound backstory
Establish your own Fantasy Squad with strategic team formation, combination to conquer vital plot!

★ Real Time Battle FEVER!
Leave your boring ass game!
Embark on a NEW World of dynamic real-time PRG adventure!

Fantasy Squad: The Era Begins mod apk

Mod info:

– Player High Damage
-Crit Chance and Crit Damage
– Enemy has No Defence,
– Enemy has No Blocking
-Enemy 0 damage
– PvP enemy dmg 0.7x & heroes dmg 2x

Install Steps:
1.) Install Original Version First to Bypass Tutorial
2.)Uninstall Playstore Version and Install modded apk
3.) Enjoy

Download [Google Play]

Fantasy Squad v1.3.1 Original APK | Mirror 1 | Mirror 2 | Mirror 3

Fantasy Squad v1.3.1 Mod APK | Mirror 1 | Mirror 2 | Mirror 3

About iHackedit Staff

We are huge fan of Android. Android is love,Android is life!

  1. Hello, fantasy squad mod for new version v1.3.2 please thanks.

  2. new update please for fantasy squad. thanks

  3. Please mod the game ‘Sword of Fantasy’ thanks. 🙂

  4. hi team like Justin Reicardo say that not working whin you install the moded ver you couldent be logine in

  5. Please make saven knight mod,thanks.

  6. Can you help me with this, after play original version, i’m download a mod version but can’t login to my fb account or google account. How can i fix that, plzbhelp and thank you

  7. Hi, I’ve tried logging into both Facebook and my Google account to initially bypass the tutorial however after downloading the mod I’m unable to login to either of them, only option would be the guest account which requires me to go through the tutorial however it glitches as the attack is too high lol XD, any possibility you could create a mod data as well? thanks for all the hardwork!!!!! 🙂

    • I got that problem too 🙁

    • How u can pass the tutorial with guess account. When they said need to use skill. My screen show “unable to use skill”. Plz show me

    • Mods can’t be log in with google account. need to log in with facebook. and you need to delete your facebook app first.

      anyway the mod doesn’t really work well.
      – Player High Damage (Only sometime and work only with some hero.)
      -Crit Chance and Crit Damage (working fine)
      – Enemy has No Defence, (can’t really tell)
      – Enemy has No Blocking (can’t really tell, though i saw block by enemy before.)
      -Enemy 0 damage (you still can receive damage by enemy)
      – PvP enemy dmg 0.7x & heroes dmg 2x (can’t really tell)

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *


text:
Welcome to my piece of blog land!

Thanks for stopping by my blog. I appreciate your taking time out of your busy day to take a peek at what I've been up to.

Monday, July 25, 2011

July Papertrey Blog Hop

Its that time again. I love the 25th of the month! Its PTI blog hop time!

This month's challenge was to come up with a card inspired by this picture:

Isn't this photo really inspiring? The colors, the butterflies, the white bench, the throw with the medallion. Just beautiful! I was also really inspired by Betsy's card here, and thought the impressed doily fit the feel of the photo and my project.

Its really hard to see the impressed doily, so here is a closer look. I sponged some white ink so the sentiment would stand out a bit more. It shows up better in real life. Also, it would help if I could take a decent picture!

There are a lot of GORGEOUS projects at Nichole's blog to check out. Thanks for stopping by to see mine!

Saturday, July 23, 2011

Stamp-A-Faire Challenges

By the name of my blog title, you probably get the idea that I don't have a lot of time to do the hobby that I really enjoy (scrapping). I wasn't able to even start any of the Stamp-A-Faire Challenges until my 3 little angels (ahem) were in bed at 8:00 CST. And, as you moms out there know, just because you put a kid to bed doesn't mean that they stay there. Anyways, long story short, I had 2 hours to work on the challenges, which were really fun, by the way. To help with the time issue, I combined a couple challenges into one card. I was able to get 2 cards done, but I was only able to link one. Just ran out of time. Darn.

Okay, enough excuses. Here are my cards.

The first one is for Challenge 9 (use a stamp in a new and interesting way), Challenge 8 (create a card that is cut back around an inch and creates a lip to add a design element) and Challenge 5 (create a faux border with a solid shape).

The light bulb is the largest balloon from Up, Up and Away flipped upside down (stamped with the smooth side rather than the design side). The month that I discovered Papertrey Ink was the same month Up, Up and Away was released. When I first saw the dies, I thought of a light bulb right away. This was my chance to finally make the light bulb I pictured all those months ago.

Now on to the card that I didn't get to link. I created this card to go with Challenge 1, 4, and 6.

I'm going to use this for my son's friend's birthday party on August 12, so even though I didn't have quite enough time to link the card, it will still go to good use.

Here's to hoping Stamp-A-Faire is an annual thing! Thanks for stopping by!

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Thanks, Coach!

I'm back for a third day in a row with a card for my oldest's T ball coach. He participates in T ball through the local YMCA. The coaches are all volunteers and really deserve our thanks. I'm not entirely sure what I will be including with the card yet. I made a frame and included a team photo for DJ's soccer coach. I hope to do something different this time.

Isn't that pattern paper fun? I got it in a large sports theme paper pack with a 40% off coupon at good ol' Michaels.

Thanks for stopping by!

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

The Sky's the Limit

A friend of mine is having a really hard year. I mean really hard. I wanted to send her a card to let her know that things may be hard right now, but the future is bright.

I love the way cards look with a lot of white space. Here is my attempt at the technique.

I was really inspired how Nichole Heady folded her card off center and put the sentiment on the "inside" of the card here. I recreated it vertically to give my balloons a little more height.

Its another hot one here in Wisconsin. We are off to my oldest's T ball game. We better take lots of water!

Thanks for stopping by!

Monday, July 18, 2011

Hip Hop Hooray!

Its been a while since I've posted. Life is just plain busy right now. But, last Friday I had a chance to get together with a couple of friends and do some scrapping. It was so nice to get out and have a little girl talk and create! Here is one of the 3 cards that I made.

Two of my three boys will be in school this fall, the oldest in kindergarten, and my middle will start preschool. That means lots of birthday party invitations. I decided I had better start stocking up on boy birthday cards. I was inspired by Nichole Heady's felt frog here and wanted to make one, too. But, with the light blue paper rather than the dark green that Nichole used, I think it came out looking a little babyish. So, I added a big bow on the top and will tuck it a way for a little nephew of mine whose having a first birthday in about 6 months! (At least I will be prepared!!)

It is really hot and humid here today. I think I will take my kiddos to the splash pad when they get up from their nap in a half hour! They will be thrilled!

Thanks for stopping by! Stay cool!

Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Color Inspiration

Well, there is nothing like waiting until the absolute last minute! It is nearly midnight MDT time (almost 1:00 my time!) and I finally am getting my card done and up on the blog for the Color Inspiration #6 challenge over at I absolutely LOVE this color combination, but my mojo escaped me until this afternoon, and then I didn't have time to work on my vision until after fireworks tonight. But, here it is:

I was also inspired by Nichole Heady's challenge (that I am a day late for) highlighting the polaroid 2 step masking technique. You can watch a great video showing the technique here.

Thanks for stopping by!

Friday, July 1, 2011

4th of July Treats

Oh my goodness, life has been B-U-S-Y! I recently left my part time job to be a full time at-home mom again. My husband, who has been unemployed for a year and a half, was offered a job that requires travel and on-call time. Plus he is still taking classes for EMT and paramedic, volunteering for 2 different local fire departments, and trying to maintain a growing business. That makes me sorta a single mom right now. My hopes and prayers is that all this hard work now will lead to a future where we can worry a little less about money and have a wonderful family life.

So, my oldest will be starting kindergarten in the fall. Our school district offers a summer class called "Kindergarten Jumpstart" that helps the kiddos transition to big kid school. They are having a 4th of July party today, and I wanted to give the kids in DJ's class a little treat.

I made fun little Uncle Sam pins for each of the kids. You can find a tutorial here. But, I have to warn you that the tutorial said to use markers for the hat, but using marker on fun foam did not work for me. The marker rubbed right off. So, I paper pieced the hat and clear embossed them to give a little shine.

Here is one that I packaged up in a clear cello bag. I threw in a couple of dum-dums (DJ's favorite). I used Papertrey's Banner Borders die for the bottom of the topper.

And here are the lot of them all together. (I just love how they look grouped up like that!)

Have a GREAT 4th of July weekend and thanks for stopping by!


text:
Volume 8, Number 2 (6-2010) | IJCE 2010, 8(2): 159-173 | Back to browse issues page

XML Print

Download citation:
BibTeX | RIS | EndNote | Medlars | ProCite | Reference Manager | RefWorks
Send citation to:

Ghanbari A, Ahmadabadi M. Active Earth Pressure on Inclined Retaining Walls in Static and Pseudo-Static Conditions. IJCE. 2010; 8 (2) :159-173
URL: http://ijce.iust.ac.ir/article-1-210-en.html

Abstract:   (12908 Views)

Inclined retaining walls with slopes less than perpendicular are appropriate candidates in several

engineering problems. Yet, to the knowledge of authors, only a few analytical solution for calculation of active earth

pressure on such walls, which will be usually smaller than the same pressure on vertical ones, has been presented

neither in research papers nor in design codes. Considering limit equilibrium concept in current research, a new

formulation is proposed for determination of active earth pressure, angle of failure wedge and application point of

resultant force for inclined walls. Necessary parameters are extracted assuming the pseudo-static seismic coefficient

to be valid in earthquake conditions. Moreover, based on Horizontal Slices Method (HSM) a new formulation is

obtained for determining the characteristics of inclined walls in granular and or frictional cohesive soils. Findings of

present analysis are then compared with results from other available methods in similar conditions and this way, the

validity of proposed methods has been proved. Finally according to the results of this research, a simplified relation

for considering the effect of slope in reduction of active earth pressure and change in failure wedge in inclined

retaining walls has been proposed.

Full-Text [PDF 2050 kb]   (4698 Downloads)
Type of Study: Research Paper | Subject: Seismic Geotechnique

Add your comments about this article : Your username or email:
Write the security code in the box

© 2015 All Rights Reserved | International Journal of Civil Engineering

Designed & Developed by : Yektaweb