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Fixing Galaxy Note 4 freezing or slow performance issues

Noticed some lag or freezing problem on your #GalaxyNote4 lately? It might be RAM issue, or something more serious. Whatever the real reason is, we know firsthand how frustrating it can be to spend several seconds of our life staring at that loading screen (especially when this wasn’t the case before). Slow performance problems can manifest in many forms but their solutions are often similar. We hope that these three issues below can shed light on the matter.

  1. Galaxy Note 4 freezing or slow performance issues
  2. Apps on Galaxy Note 4 freeze and close, then phone locks the screen
  3. Galaxy Note 4 freezes when loading apps

If you are looking for solutions to your own #Android issue, you can contact us by using the link provided at the bottom of this page.

Problem #1: Galaxy Note 4 freezing or slow performance issues

Hello! I have a Note 4 that has been progressively getting slower and slower to the point it takes at least 5-10 seconds before responding to touching an app & opening…Facebook in particular crashes regularly- usually daily. And when I exit it (push the bottom left button to exit the app and everything) then restart the app, it still opens up to either a black or a white page and I have to repeatedly close/exit the app and restart it until it finally restarts. Most times even re-logging into Facebook itself… By crashing, I mean it does not actually close itself randomly. It actually freezes either on the screen I’m on and won’t go back or allow me to tap anything on the screen. Or it’ll turn the screen black or white. At that point the only option is to like I said completely exit/close the app and start over several (at least 3-4) times until it decides to work again…

Many times when trying to make a call I’ll push send, it briefly (for a split second) shows the calling screen with the phone number, the poof the screen is gone and I have to redial again. Sometimes (although not horribly often) it won’t even allow me to call that number at all- it just keeps dropping. No ringing or anything.

It is extremely slow to charge on any charger that is not the original. AND when I try to connect it to the computer to transfer pics it will NOT at all connect and show up on the computer.

And even if I use the original charger it’s random if I’m lucky to get it to connect or not. On the phone screen it’ll say it’s charging, but the computer will not show that it’s even connected. Plus when I do finally get it to connect, trying to actually transfer the pictures is extremely difficult and frustrating. 99% of the time the computer says it’s not responding and I have to physically disconnect the phone from the charger and start all over- reconnect, wait for it to be recognized IF it’s even going to…

I don’t have an extreme amount of apps on my phone either. Oh, there’s a Malwarebytes thing that comes up randomly too. Not sure if that’s ok or if it could be causing issues.

One more thing, the Note 4 camera is horrible…My husband has an iPhone and the camera on that one is awesome, almost macro. I’m a photographer and it really really frustrates me because this camera is a piece of $7!+…it continuously focuses (or tries anyways) and refocuses over and over. Even though when it’s “focusing” it is always blurry and takes forever. When I tap the screen where I want it to focus rarely it will focus on that. Usually it’ll pretend it’s going to focus and then either focus elsewhere or just stay blurry… Trying to tap the shoot button is almost impossible. It takes it’s time thinking about if it wants to shoot… Most times missing the shot…

Anyways I really hope all this is “fixable”… Please let me know what to do.

Thank you! — Nikkia

Solution: Hi Nikkia. Slow performance, random freezes, malfunctioning camera, and possibly other unmentioned issues in your phone may be caused by malware, corrupted firmware, faulty apps, or a combination of the three. To narrow down which of them is the real cause–like we usually recommend when confronted with simpler issues– may be a bit impractical in your case as it involves spending considerable amount of time observing. The most efficient, and hopefully, effective approach would be to simply wipe the phone clean via factory reset.

Do a Factory Reset

We normally recommend doing a factory reset after a user has exhausted all relevant troubleshooting, but since you have multiple problems doing so would actually work in your favor. This procedure will not only fix the issues you mentioned but will ensure that the operating system bugs are minimized.

Factory reset, also known as master reset, will erase everything off your Note 4’s primary storage device so make sure to keep a backup of your personal files like photos, videos, contacts, etc. before you proceed.

If you haven’t performed a factory reset before, just follow these steps:

  •  Turn off the Galaxy Note 4 completely.
  • Press and hold the Volume Up and the Home keys together, then press and hold the Power key.
  • When the Note 4 vibrates, release both the Home and Power keys but continue holding the Volume Up key.
  • When the Android System Recovery shows on the screen, release the Volume Up key.
  • Using the Volume Down key, highlight ‘wipe data / factory reset’ and press the Power key to select it.
  • Now highlight ‘Yes — delete all user data’ using the Volume Down key and press the Power key to begin the reset.
  • When the master reset is complete, highlight ‘Reboot system now’ and hit the Power key.
  • The Note 4 will restart but it will be longer than usual. When it reaches the Home screen, then begin your setup.

Be careful with apps you install

Now, wiping the phone clean does not mean we’re done. Far from it. Since there’s a chance that the problem may be caused by malicious software, you want to install apps that are known to be clean. Viruses, trojans, and other forms of malware can find their way into a mobile device via apps or downloaded contents.

But how can I tell which of my apps is clean, you may ask. Well, there’s no straight answer to that as even the most advanced mobile antivirus app right now can be tricked into thinking that a particular app you are scanning is not malicious. That’s a totally different topic though. The general rule of thumb when it comes to installing apps (with preventing malware from compromising a device in mind) is this: stick to official, mainstream or popular apps. Although this rule is not absolute, it is mostly effective simply because a user will think twice before installing least known apps. The logic here is that app developers, mainly but not all, create apps with revenue in mind. Free apps that aren’t popular enough usually gives little to nothing back to developers in terms of financial gain. In order to monetize their product, some developers may resort to illegal means like bombarding devices with ads or forcing re-directs to some digital products, as a way to recoup their investment.

Other apps of course are designed to be malicious from the start and are meant to compromise a device or steal valuable information. These apps can take many forms but many of them can pose as free and harmless games, or attractive productivity apps.

The point is, once you have performed a factory reset, you still need to watch what apps are added to the device to prevent issues from recurring. As they say, prevention is way more effective than solving problems. If you have lots of apps, it’s time to let go of those you don’t necessarily use. If you haven’t used an app for two weeks, chances are it doesn’t deserve a space in your phone. It’s up to you what app to install but once the problems occur again, you should try to uninstall apps until you have eliminated the cause.

Problem #2: Apps on Galaxy Note 4 freeze and close, then phone locks the screen

Recently my Note 4 update to Lollipop, but ever since it has had glitches and problems, being,

  • I use finger scan unlock, after scanning my finger, the screen unlocks but goes black. I have to press the home button to get back to the unlocked home screen.
  • Some apps freeze and shut down, and the phone goes to lock screen.
  • Battery life seems to get used up faster than normal. — Noel

Solution: Hi Noel. The first two issues may be resolved by wiping the system cache. Knowing their cause can be tricky as we have to check a number of things. The issues can be caused by a malfunctioning proximity sensor, faulty drivers, bad firmware, or corrupted third party app or apps. The best that we can do is wipe the cache partition first, then do a factory reset if nothing changes.

Here’s how to delete the cache partition:

  • Turn the device off.
  • Press and hold the following three buttons at the same time: Volume Up key, Home key, Power key.
  • When the phone vibrates, release the Power and Home key but continue to press and hold the Volume Up key.
  • Continue holding the Volume Up key until the Android System Recovery menu displays and then release. This step may take several seconds.
  • Press the Volume Down key to highlight ‘wipe cache partition.’
  • Press the Power key to select.
  • When the wipe cache partition is complete, ‘Reboot system now’ is highlighted.
  • Press the Power key to restart the device.

For the fast battery drain problem, you can refer to a post we’ve written previously. It was meant for Galaxy S4 and S5 but some of the principles can still be applied to your Note 4.

Problem #3: Galaxy Note 4 freezes when loading apps

Hi there. I’ve been having these 3 problems for about 3 weeks now.

  • While using the SAMSUNG KEYBOARD and I want to use a different type of the letter ex: a – á. Not every time but most times it says “Samsung keyboard not responding”.
  • When I’m on a app and press the Home button to go to the home screen it freezes for a second and goes to the homescreen but everything is blank  and empty then the apps start coming back after 2-3 seconds (never have I seen this problem on any other device).
  • It’s just not fast, Gallery app opens slow, after taking a picture it takes 6 seconds to go to the Gallery app with or without a SD card.

Thanks for the answers! — Adem

Solution: Hi Adem. The first thing to do is to ensure that the phone’s memory (RAM) is working fine. Android operating system is supposed to automatically manage RAM usage without any user input but sometimes this, in itself, becomes problematic for some reason. Although uncommon, it’s still not unheard of that a powerful device like your Note 4 suffers RAM hiccups so you may want to offer a helping hand.

Clear the RAM

A Note 4 packs 3GB of RAM and it should be enough to handle even up to 10 apps running all at once. Sometimes though, RAM management is not effectively implemented causing lag and freezes. If this happens, what you can do is to simply turn off some running apps to unload some pressure off the device’s RAM. To do that, just do these steps:

  • While in the Home screen, tap the Recent Apps button (the one on the left of the Home button). Recent App key on Note 4
  • Once you see the recently accessed apps, simply drag the app to the left or right to remove it from that list. To open an app, simply tap it.
  • If you want to close all apps, tap the Task Manager icon and select END ALL button.

Wipe application cache and data

To deal with the keyboard issue, simply delete its cache and data. Here’s how:

  • Go to Settings.
  • Proceed to Applications.
  • Select Manage Applications.
  • Tap the All tab.
  • Look for the keyboard app and tap it.
  • From there, you will see the Clear Cache and Clear Data buttons.

Note: Wiping your keyboard’s data will erase any settings and downloaded/installed items like language packs and similar stuff.

Delete system cache and do factory reset

If clearing the RAM won’t do anything, try wiping the cache partition and do a factory reset afterwards (steps provided above).

Engage with us

If you are one of the users who encounters a problem with your device, let us know. We offer solutions for Android-related problems for free so if you have an issue with your Android device, simply fill in the short questionnaire in this link and we will try to publish our answers in the next posts. We cannot guarantee a quick response so if your issue is time sensitive, please find another way to resolve your problem.

When describing your issue, please be as detailed as possible so we can easily pinpoint a relevant solution. If you can, kindly include the exact error messages you are getting to give us an idea where to start. If you have already tried some troubleshooting steps before emailing us, make sure to mention them so we can skip them in our answers.

If you find this post helpful, please help us by spreading the word to your friends. TheDroidGuy has social network presence as well so you may want to interact with our community in our Facebook and Google+ pages.

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  1. please get off the internet. You are making a lot of frustrated people even more frustrated by giving them a whole lot of nothing to read and make them more frustrated at the end. If you don’t have a viable solution to specific issues then shut up and stop using headings that sound like you do. Or is this a ploy just to gather customers?

  2. Many posts keeps claiming to clear cache and RAM. Actually doesn’t having cache of app speed up its loading and hence faster performance, thats why we have RAM, don’t we? I think I am facing slow response issue since I wiped cache and did factory data reset etc.

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More on Getting Started in SpNeedsMin (& thoughts for small churches)

June 18, 2011

Recently several of my articles written for other publications were made available to readers through other websites.  All of these articles provide guidance on helping a church launch a special needs ministry.

Special Needs Ministry Checklist (written for

Special Needs:  Getting Started and the Pre-Launch Path (originally written for K! Magazine and now made available through

Communicating a Vision for Special Needs Inclusion (written for

Leading through the A’s of Special Needs Inclusion (written for

Leading Leaders of Special Needs Ministry (written for

For more help with links to sample forms and best practices, see the earlier post:  Starting a Special Needs Ministry

A few thoughts on small churches…

This week I was in discussion with someone about the responsibility and expectations for inclusion inside a small church.  First I want to say that everyone defines big and small differently.  The church with 200 children attending on any given Sunday morning may consider their program small when comparing themselves to the mega-church around the corner.  And to the rural church with a part-time or volunteer children’s pastor that includes 50 children (or fewer) on any given weekend….the church with 200 participants seems huge!  In the end, emphasizing small vs. large can be dangerous and used as an excuse for a ministry leader to distance themselves from a responsibility for inclusion.  Some children’s ministries may not have all the bells and whistles of another church due to a lack of resources.  But there is never justification for leading a ministry without a spirit of excellence.  Not every church leader has the same work ethic.  Without a doubt a staff person’s personal drive and ability (or inability) to wisely mange their time has direct bearing on their willingness to accommodate children with special needs.

However, I would be doing smaller churches a disservice if I didn’t recognize the differences for churches of varying sizes and resources.  My father is and has been a church senior pastor my entire life.  He has pastored churches of all shapes and sizes…serving as a part-time preacher for a rural congregation  many years ago to now leading a church blessed with numerous staff members and an abundant volunteer base.  From personal experience I can say that smaller churches do have more limitations.  Creating a buddy rotation for a single child on Sunday mornings may be a considerable accomplishment.  Especially for churches staffed with bi-vocational, part-time, and volunteer leaders, coordinating a special needs inclusion program may be close to impossible. In churches where staff members are wearing multiple hats, there are real physical limitations on that church.  As a pastor’s daughter who heard the home phone ring at all hours with needs inside our congregation, the expectations for a church staff can be daunting.  Even the best pastors cannot meet every legitimate need inside their church.  For a smaller church with fewer staff members, it can be more challenging to fully minister to the family and child impacted by special needs.

If you are a leader of a small church, do your best to accommodate the needs in your midst.  Work  so that the families God has brought to your church can remain active on Sunday mornings.  Create a partnership with the parents (when possible) while taking ownership for finding and equipping special needs helpers.  Initiate a relationship with the parents and provide followup communication as if you were walking in their shoes.  And remember, you are reporting to the highest authority.  There is a higher expectation of ministry leaders.  And while it may not always be fair, it is Biblical (1 Timothy).  (For a staff person serving in any size of church…if planning, organizing, and managing the sometimes necessary details of children’s ministry and special needs inclusion is something you dread, pray for God’s guidance.  Take the time to do meaningful self-examination and address those weaknesses.  Sometimes ministry minded individuals are actually better suited for lay ministry where the requirements of administration, organization, and follow-through are less crucial).

If you are the parent of a child with special needs, do your best to share some ownership in coordinating the care for your child – especially initially.  If you observe a staff person who exhibits a high personal work ethic and evidence of legitimate efforts to include your child, give grace when your family experiences a set-back (perhaps an assigned buddy is a no-show one week).   Pace your hopes and expectations while also placing yourself in the ministry leader’s shoes.  Think about what you can do to ensure the church leader’s success (they fear failure too!).  If your family experiences push-back or an ongoing lack of follow-through from the church staff, pray for God’s hand in the situation.  Sometimes God calls for perseverance and other times He directs us elsewhere…where a path for inclusion has already been paved.

  1. “If you are a leader of a small church, do your best to accommodate the needs in your midst. Work so that the families God has brought to your church can remain active on Sunday mornings.”I

    Honestly, that was not enough. Even small churches need to find out the family situation. I wanted to sing in the choir and participate in Bible studies for women, and without child care, I could not. We had no family nearby and struggled to find sitters. Small churches can provide names of potential sitters to the family or step up so that the parents can be active participants in other ministries and outreaches. I know that expecting child care for the child with special needs at church activities all of the time is not practical; however the Sunday morning mentality kept me from participating the way I wanted to. I wasn’t able to participate in other areas of my life, either, and not being able to get to know folks at church and pitch in because I had the responsibility of my child w/ special needs really stung.

  2. Penny –

    Thanks so much for candidly sharing. I think your experience and desires reflect those of many parents of children with special needs. Undoubtedly families like yours can benefit tremendously when the church is able to expand their accommodations beyond Sunday morning.

    Finding, coordinating, and sometimes paying for competent childcare is the biggest dilemma for most churches. One church I recently talked with secured a fantastic sitter to provide onsite Sunday care for a specific child with autism (the child is moderately impacted with notable learning and behavioral differences). I sat down with the children’s pastor and the parents of that child this past week. They openly shared of how they had helped each other over what has now been a 10-year partnership. In this case, the parents had developed a good database of special needs resources and they provided the name of the skilled professional to the church. This lady trained the church volunteers and at times even assisted the church in providing care. The family was thrilled and surprised when the church followed through on their promises, working so hard to successfully accommodate the child with special needs every single Sunday morning. And the children’s pastor said she knew she had the support and the appreciation of the family – even though she wasn’t able to provide special care for every setting and environment. Because of this parent-church relationship, that church has step-by-step warmed to and grown in their special needs inclusion. It was a blessing for everyone this past week as we saw the church’s VBS include and spiritually advance two participants significantly impacted by autism.

    One thing to mention…churches may be hesitant to provide the name of sitters due to liability.

    Providing childcare through mid-week Bible studies and choir practice are additional opportunities and challenges. I am familiar with churches who understand the parents’ desires and are trying to figure out how to accommodate through these settings. The discussion(s) for including working mothers and/or single parents are similar as there is a need for night-time studies and childcare. Even the mega-churches struggle in all of these areas.

    Many of these challenges/dilemmas/opportunities are not easily solved (I can’t wait until heaven!). Again, as a pastor’s daughter (my dad is still 100% at it!), there are usually so many needs and moving parts behind the scenes. Yes, there are lazy, incompetent, and apathetic people serving in ministry. I’ll be the first to recognize problem people and inadequate efforts related to churches and ministry….don’t get me started! But oftentimes churches are trying really hard to adequately address the needs inside their faith community while still operating within the constraints of their church’s resources and the needs of their own family.

  3. Hi5! Sharing Making Room , The Inclusive Church , Special Needs Ministry in discussion: ‘What about The Church?’ a perspective of Inclusion and Integration in the pews.ENJOY!

  4. Very helpful. Will be sharing. Thanks!

Trackbacks & Pingbacks

  1. Implementing a S.N. Program in a Small Church « The Inclusive Church
  2. Starting a Special Needs Ministry « The Inclusive Church

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To NATO, With Love from Russia

RUSSIA’S aggression in Ukraine has given NATO both a new sense of purpose and a new kind of threat: “hybrid” warfare. With its increasing expansionist attitude that has potential ramifications for the whole of Europe – and that’s putting it modestly, NATO is increasingly at crossroads with this despotic dictator – as described by the famous Russian band : “Pussy Riot”.

The overarching assumption is that Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, flushed by the success of annexing Crimea and prising away Ukraine’s Donbas region, moves on to something even more ambitious. His goal: to undermine NATO and the European Union, by concentrating his well-honed techniques of hybrid warfare on two Baltic states that share a land border with Russia—Latvia and Estonia.

Hybrid warfare brings together military and non-military instruments to discombobulate the target state.

Unlike Ukraine, the Baltic states are members of both the EU and NATO and are covered by the military alliance’s commitment to collective security under Article 5 of the 1949 Washington treaty that deems an attack on one as an attack on all. But this was conceived in an era when there was no doubt whether a country was under military attack or not. The big question is whether it is fit for purpose in dealing with 21st-century Russian tactics, which use ambiguity and deniability to make it hard to gauge whether an attack is really under way. Only once in NATO’s 66-year history has Article 5 been invoked—after the attacks of September 11th 2001—and at the time it was controversial whether this was a proper use of the alliance’s biggest stick.

This is how Mr Putin might test it. Working to its established game plan, Russia starts by stirring up the resentments of “Russians” in Estonia and Latvia (by some reckoning, about a quarter of the population in both countries), bombarding them with propaganda about the discrimination they are supposedly subjected to. Using agents provocateurs to foment pro-Russian demonstrations in the capitals, Riga and Tallinn, Russia does all it can to undermine the authorities in both countries. Ethnic Russians from Estonia and Latvia who were encouraged to fight with their “brothers” in eastern Ukraine stand ready to carry on the fight back home.

As the situation deteriorates, using his tried and tested method with Crimea; Mr Putin orders snap exercises of elite troops on the Russian side of the border, giving him the option of military intervention with little notice. Drills of this kind were a critical element in the destabilisation of Ukraine. Cyber-attacks are stepped up, adding to confusion, and NATO faces a huge increase in incursions into allied airspace in the region by Russian aircraft. Next, “self-defence forces” start forming in areas with many ethnic Russians, organised by soldiers wearing the same green uniforms shorn of insignia as the “little green men” who suddenly turned up in Crimea.

Estonia and Latvia ask NATO to declare that an Article 5-invoking event is under way and thus to commit all the alliance’s members to come to their defence. There is a lack of consensus that a full-scale response is justified at this stage, and with Mr Putin warning that any escalation by NATO could force Russia to consider using nuclear weapons to defend itself, the alliance’s “parliament”, the North Atlantic Council, cannot reach the required consensus of all 28 countries. The insistence of Germany that all political means of defusing the crisis must be brought to bear before going down a path that could lead to a major war in Europe finds many supporters. Thus, the bedrock assumption on which NATO’s credibility and thus the security of Europe rests has been tested and found wanting.

How likely is such a scenario? Perhaps Mr Putin regards the risk of taking on NATO as too great. Even his Ukraine escapade has stretched Russia’s military resources.

But the allies cannot afford to rely on that. They have drawn up plans to hold the NATO Response Force, which has at its disposal 40,000 well-equipped troops, at a much higher state of readiness. A “spearhead” force of about 5,000 troops will be deployable at the first sign of trouble, possibly within hours, on the order of the alliance’s supreme commander, General Philip Breedlove, without the usual requirement for consensual political approval. NATO’s new secretary-general, Jens Stoltenberg, says it is also helping its front-line states improve their intelligence-gathering and situational awareness. Knowing what an aggressor is planning and understanding early on what is happening on the ground are vital.

Heinrich Brauss, NATO’s assistant secretary-general for defence policy, stresses the need for speedy decision-making: “One week”, he says, “could be too long in the event of a hybrid attack. We are now significantly accelerating our procedures.” He refuses to define what might trigger Article 5. “Some ambiguity is necessary,” he says. But an adversary “must know that NATO is capable and willing to act”.

Whatever happens, the geopolitics of Europe, which has dominated the world scope for the better part of the last two centuries, continues to hog the limelight away from another contender,the ISIS.

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The Leaning Cow

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Shifting gears

May 13th, 2015 ·No Comments

I have been just meandering around for the past couple of days, confused by a message on my personal GPS map of places in my life. I found myself feeling not at the right spot at times in the day and hearing a faint GPS directional voice saying, “You can’t get there from here anymore.”

For a couple of years, especially when the roads weren’t threatened with ice or snow, I would spend late afternoons and evenings two to three times a week sitting between Clara and Kathryn in Room 420. I was fortunate: Kathryn was my friend and Clara came to accept me as one. We were one almost old lady book-ended by two official ones. (Over 95, dontcha know) One very hot summer, we sat watching for rain, remarking with hope on each cloud that hinted of coming our way, studying any breeze that began moving a plant on the window sill. We played Solitaire at the dining table while waiting for the trays to come. We kept company.

And now, there is no longer a reason for me to keep heading over to Room 420. But it is almost as if my car is asking, “Time to head out? Huh? Huh?” Well, no, but time to look at my map.

Tags: Just Me - AmeliaJake · The Peanut Butter Cafe & Roadhouse

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Five Lessons

Dinking around on Pinterest the other day (shocker), I came across a pin for a blog post about five lessons learned from a woman’s year on the mat and my breath caught for a moment in my chest. It took that second for the pieces to click, but wow – I totally could have written that tagline, especially since the one-year anniversary of my practice is swiftly approaching at the end of this month. Crazy (pants). Rather than read it (I promise, I will go back and find it/share it because it’s only fair to give credit where credit is due), I decided to write my own. So here you go: Five Lessons from My Year on the Mat:

1) Music heals my soul. This is not really new news, but holy mother of wow – the music is as much a part of my practice as the movements. It is what drew me instantly to avani and made doing my 200 at Lotus House a no brainer. Both studios are well-versed in song and the teachers at both places know the power of a well-played tune. Sequencing my classes to teach? Awesome. Making the playlists to go along with each one? Even more awesome. It’s beautiful how music can reach inside and touch or heal a part of you (and thank goodness for Spotify so I didn’t blow our entire budge on iTunes this last year. Oof!)

2) Crazy pants are awesome. I get it. Crazy pants are not the point of yoga. Neither are pairs that cost $100 (which, for the record, I do not own). Yoga is not about what you wear or from what store you get you gear. It’s just not. That being said, I love me a good pair of crazy yoga pants. To me they represent the fun and flavor and flare that can accompany one’s journey on the mat because so much freedom and confidence can come from yoga, so why not embrace the crazy pants if/when you can? I like the expressiveness and daringness that can come from sporting some funky leg wear (and yes, I have a pair dubbed the “Eff You, Tuesday” pants which probably doesn’t seem very yoga of me, but some days are just special, ya know?). So even though crazy pants are nowhere near the eight limbs, you won’t find me complaining that they are part of today’s yoga scene in the States. My inner teenager – the one who was not always confident enough to wear the crazy pants back in the day – is flying her freak flag high and loving every minute of it.

3) Yoga is soooo much more than the physical practice. Perhaps I am lucky because I did not originally come to the mat for a workout. Actually, I know I am lucky for that because exercise in the past has been an unhealthy obsession for me, but since I came to yoga to help quiet/slow/calm my mind, the physical benefits of it sort of snuck up on me. After a few months, I could hold poses better and longer. After six months I had muscles in places that haven’t seen strength or tone since B.C. (which basically puts me back to 2008). And after my 200YTT? I had some pretty kick ass muscles (and others that just felt kicked, but there you go – balance – another benefit of yoga!). in a lot of places! And while the physical poses are obviously important, I’ve learned that the mental and emotional and spiritual components are just as powerful. Maybe even more so. Living your yoga? That’s where the real transformation comes from and comes into play. Taking the “you” on the mat (strong, beautiful, loved) and carrying that through your day-in-day-out? That’s beginning and living the true work, my friends.

4) Shit’s gonna change. I suppose there’s a more PG way to say that, but I don’t think any of the PG ways would really carry the same meaning. Some shit is going to get better. Some shit is going to have to get much worse before it starts to get better. And some shit might come up again and again and again. That’s life. That’s part of the practice. The point is that you keep coming back to the practice, back to the mat, back to yourself to try again. Maybe it’s a pose. Maybe it’s your breath. Maybe it’s your brain working through stuff (see – there I used PG and I don’t know – it’s just not the same) you didn’t even know was there. Maybe it’s learning to walk away from shit that no longer serves you, whether that takes the form of thoughts, behaviors, people, or all of the above. It’s not easy. But it is real and it is learning to live to the best of your ability and what greater gift can you give yourself but that?

5) A year can change everything. Some people believe that people, as a general rule, do not change. I have to disagree. While I am not a completely different person from a year ago, I am a better version of myself. I’m happier, sleeping better (most of the time), more fit (physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually), and I now get paid when I “go to work” at my dream job. That’s a c.r.a.p. ton of awesome for just 12 short months and a lot of hard work and change, too. So whatever it is that you want to do? Do it. Start now and see where you are in 12 months. You might just go and shock yourself with everything you accomplish, which is what I feel when I look at this last year of yoga. It’s not too late and it’s never the wrong time. Open your heart. Find your center. Stretch – your mind and your body. You might just be amazed at what is waiting to greet you when you do!

Here is the inspiration post – I read it after I wrote my list and I do have to say, some of you might appreciate her No.4 (but like her, I’m going to keep talking about it. A lot.)

With Much Love and Peace – Namaste!

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quantum-logoEdu.Quantum offers Mathematics, Science and English Programs from Primary 1 to Primary 6 level. They pride themselves as a coaching centre, as opposed to a tuition centre. Psychological techniques, positive education emotions and parental support are used to help children learn essential life and academics skills.

The philosophy of the centre is to train their students to be leaders, not followers. In essence, Edu.Quantam’s interest is to keep their student’s interest in learning. Their students learn the SUCCESS formula to do well in school:

  • Excel in their studies
  • Build up their interpersonal skills
  • Be a fun person to be around

As their students gain confidence in themselves and their learning abilities, they also pick up these essential techniques: Teambuilding, Presentation skills, Study skills, Confidence building and Creative Writing.

Child’s view of learning

Before addressing a child’s academic results, we should first seek and understand their view towards learning. Children often feel that there is very little disregard for their feelings towards learning, and they may feel resentful that their rights to play or free time have been violated. Homework is a chore, and they feel they are forced to do things (i.e. go for tuition) that are not to their liking or decision. This, he said, is the beginning of a negative emotion towards learning.

Therefore, for a child to learn well, we should access the level of emotional association the child is at towards learning – is it positive, negative or neutral? That is where the psychological approach in Edu.Quantum comes in.

Intelligent Reader Program

Edu Quantam’s latest program Intelligent Reader, aims to equip children with the essential reading and comprehension skills. “Most of the time, children can read, but do they truly understand what they read?” Roderick asks. “Each child has a different level or reading stress, due to the influence by personal learning styles. That is why we encourage parents to sit in during the first few sessions of our program, and practice our teaching methodologies with other children, and not their own children. In this way, parents are exposed to different learning styles, and know what the appropriate strategies to guide them are.” The first and last sessions of the program will be videoed, to check with the class level of competency and how they have progressed.

Roderick and his students

Coach, and not teach

What stands out in Edu.Quantum, as compared to the other tuition centers is their emphasis on personal development and addressing the emotional needs of a child.Here, academic subjects are used as a medium to address the emotional needs of a child.Programs at Edu.Quantum are geared towards their emotional needs, and fine tuned according to the Ministry of Education curriculum standards.

Psychological techniques are adopted in each class, to motivate and address their emotional needs. “We believe once their needs are met, children will be more inclined to want to learn more.” Besides using psychological techniques, lessons are conducted in a fun and interactive way. For example, Roderick engages his students in role-playing activities, to learn speaking and social skills. To engage the older children in discussions and brush up on their speaking skills, he uses newspapers articles and talks about current affairs with the class.

Parents as Partners

Edu.Quantum also organizes Coaching workshops for parents. In addition, when a new student enrolls in his class, Roderick will always hold informal interviews them, together with their parents. Meetings with parents are a frequent occurrence, to follow-up on their child’s personal and academic performance. As Roderick nicely sums it up, “You don’t teach your child, you work along with him or her. You coach them, inspire, and equip them.”

About Roderick Chua
The consultant and head coach at Edu.Quantum Learning Systems, Roderick has had more than 20 years of experiences teaching, coaching and guiding youths as a tutor and pastoral counselor. Currently pursuing his Masters in Counselling Psychology, Roderick is interested to enhance the emotional attitude of his students towards learning.

Exclusively for The New Age Parents readers!
You are invited to a free introductory workshop on 18 June, 2011, at 2pm to 4 pm. The workshop will be held at 2 Serangoon Road #04-16, The Verge (former Tekka Mall). All parents will receive a free gift for their child.

To register, please contact Serene Chong at 6566 8835 or 9665 2567.

Written by Michelle Ang


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About The Outlier Film

The Missouri River Breaks. Country that has inspired generations with many intensely loving it and others viciously hating it. It’s rough vast country that would take a few lifetimes to explore the half of. In 2015 four good friends set out to repeat the success they had in 2014. Four hunters and four bulls taken during Montana’s archery season. A goal that won’t come easy. Watch as the four pursue elk across this broken landscape.


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#RealTalk -University

As an 18-year-old the prospect of moving to a new city fills you with so much excitement. There is this preconception that university is the best experience; a new you. But, for so many, the experience doesn’t live up to the expectation.

I’m sure we all agree that moving in day is the strangest day of your life. Moving your life into a small, overpriced room, with a shower so small you suddenly understand how Buddy felt. i feel you buddy, the elves defo had it easy. It’s all lols, your loved ones joking about how won’t be able to eat steak every night and how you won’t be able to shop in Waitrose anymore (I still have the record for cheapest Waitrose shop; £6 for a week shop…. “unbelievable Jeff”) But, then they go home and you don’t, it is an isolating experience, that we don’t talk about.

A roll of dice. The people you live with, in halls, is down to chance, realistically you won’t know them, you might not know their name. You can try to stalk them online, but let’s be honest no-one looks like their facey-B profile picture. its sort of like ordering a dress from China- it won’t be what you expected. Honestly, the truth is that you might not get on with them, any of them at the beginning. You will think you have nothing in common. …you might be a sheep farmer and they might be vegan….. But don’t judge the book by its cover too much, people are more than just an exterior!

Scrolling through Instagram all your school peers look like they are having the best time. They are always out drinking with their flatmates or playing pub golf with their new society buddies. However, don’t be fooled. I thought this was the case until I came home at Christmas. So many of my friends felt the same as I did and I thought they were loving it. We all can fake a smile for a post and write a caption ‘the best night with the best girls’.

You don’t need to change when you go to university, people will like you for you. Like school, university is cliquey but unlike school, these groups just get on with life. you can say goodbye to all that bitchy nonsense. Over time your group forms, you won’t even realise it happening.

Settling in at university takes time. You might feel like I did, by Christmas I wanted to drop out. I didn’t have a ‘tight nit’ friendship group and I wasn’t enjoying the course but I didn’t want to give up. I thought just make it to the end of the year and decide then. I went back and it was the best decision I made; 2nd year the city felt like home and by 3rd year I didn’t want to leave.

Don’t feel like you have to be drinking 24/7, my flatmate Sophia (no we are not together- together, just pals thanks) and I hardly went out. Why? because it was too much effort; instead we watched netflix, moaned about life and cooked pancakes. (and burnt chicken, I burnt a lot of chicken). Social lives don’t have to survive in a cup of double vodka coke.

Simply; talk. Talking helps, it doesn’t just help you, it helps the listener. If you are brave enough to talk about your emotions the stigma will be broken down. It is OK not to be OK.

some tips that might help you:

  • talk- to your friends from home and people at uni- they might feel the same
  • don’t rush your decisions
  • eat actual food, chicken nuggets doesn’t help the mind, sadly
  • be social- go for coffee, to the cinema or shopping etc
  • University isn’t for everyone, there’s no shame in leaving but give it a chance

You don’t have to wear glitter, shop vintage or do drugs to get the most from University. You will change as a person; you grow into an adult, you experience life and had opportunities thrown in your face. you will also probably get a bit fatter. I haven’t met many people that regretted university, most of us are still clinging on to our student cards in the hope that we save 10%.

If you want to talk about university give us a holla, we are great listeners!

btw Ellie went to Leeds Arts University to study Fine Art and Maddey is at Manchester Met studying Nutritional Sciences!

PS. Cheese is expensive.


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Monthly Archives: August 2013

Why I Can Vagabond My Kids All Over the World and Not Worry

Yesterday, my kids started a new school. Not one of their friends from their old school are at their new school. It’s not in our neighborhood (or state; my mission is to have them try out Jewish schools in every American state and Canadian province and whatever they call them in the UK so that by the time they grow up, they will the world experts on Jewish schools. And NHL players, because that’s what they say they’re going to be. And doctors, because I always tack that on to NHL players). How will they make friends? Who will they talk to? Will it be like our arrival in the US a few years back when I got weekly calls from LL’s kindergarten teacher who would say encouraging things like “LL spoke in class today! I said his name and he whispered “Here.” Most of us even heard him!”?

In nervous anticipation of the transition, I turned–where else?–to Facebook. I scrolled through hundreds of friends. On the list: someone I spoke to twice at a conference in Barbados one year when she was dating someone who was a student in the program where The Scientist was a postdoc. She has since broken up with said student, who graduated, wrote a novel, and moved to England, and as for her, FB tells me she moved to Turkey and married a Turkish guy, and is having a birthday today, and all this is to say I am highly doubtful our paths will ever cross again, and I have no idea why she is on my friendlist. “Friend”? Marky Mark, can you come up with a variety of terms to designate these people who end up on our daily feeds?

Aha! I discover that a fellow who spent the year in Israel with The Scientist and me two decades ago has kids at the school my kids are about to attend. Thank you, Marky Mark. Loose ties are awesome. Sorry for the complaint.

I ding him. Back then, he was loud and obnoxious, which I don’t mean as an insult, because I’m also loud and obnoxious, and I was even louder and more obnoxious then. In fact, I rather liked him and his loud, obnoxious crowd.

He’s a rabbi now. Which somehow makes perfect sense. Who wants a quiet, mousy rabbi?

“We’re meeting Rabbi Loud’s kids tonight,” I tell my kids after arranging a date with his absolutely fabulous wife. “Please pretend you’re not obnoxious.” I have the word obnoxious in my head. Also, my kids are obnoxious. In fact, as I say this to them, they are beating each other with sticks. “You need to have friends in your new school.”

LL pshaws me. “Oh, mama, of course we’ll make friends.”

We arrive at their house, the kids all run off to play Wii, and they’re immediate besties. Guess LL was right.

He and Cool J start school. They’ll be taking the bus, but I drive them on the first day, worried they will be worried. They are not worried. I go home, and I wait anxiously for them to return. “Hey, Mama,” they call out as they burst through the door. They are all smiles. I ask a hundred questions; they ask to play Wii. “Can you tell me one thing?” I ask. “Did you have any friends? Did you talk to Rabbi Loud’s son?” LL looks at me like I’m crazy. “Of course I did,” he says. “He’s my best friend.” “He is?” “Well, of course he is. He’s the only person I know!”

I get fewer details from Cool J, but today he comes home with double the smile he had on yesterday. “Did you have fun at school?” I ask. “YES!! It was the best day at school ever!!” “It was?” I ask, delighted. “Well, sure,” he says. “It was better than yesterday, and there have only been two days, so it was the best day at school EVER!”

My kids are happy, positive people. Sometimes I think LL has something of my grandmother’s spirit in him (she was rather a glass half empty kind of person), but maybe I’m just mixing them up because they both love(d) to eat matzah year-round. Remind me of this when I’m obsessively scrolling through my FB friendlist next year in anticipation of our move to the UK.

new school


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Celebrity, Entertainment, Reviews
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Wednesday’s ‘Where Are They Now’ Post – Leisha Hailey

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So here I am trying to think of interesting individuals to talk about and the name Leisha Hailey comes to mind. Anyone who is a fan of the show The L Word will know exactly who I am talking about.

Leisha Hailey played Alice Pieszecki in the show, a funny,  quirky, usually loud, bisexual freelance writer, living in Los Angeles.  It is her most well known role to date with the show itself a huge success in the queer community world-wide. Not only did it contain an all female lead cast, but also an all queer identified cast. I can probably count the amount of times this has happened on one hand, which is saying something…”WATCH IT.”

Since then, Hailey  has appeared in a couple of CSI episodes, played the voice of Lily on ‘American Dad’ and more memorably Emily Weaver in the 2011 movie ‘Fertile Ground‘ just to name a few. However, her acting career has for the most part been put on the back bench while she has been concentrating more on her music. Teamed with musician Camila Grey, in 2007 the band Uh Huh Her was formed.

In 2011 it came out (pun totally intended) that her and her “band mate” Grey were more than just friends. Remember Hailey’s PDA plane incident last year where her and her partner were asked to leave the plane for kissing? Well it was Grey on the other end of that affection.

Anyway, I digress. Uh Huh Her have released two EPs and two albums. I can’t say much for their 2011 album Nocturnes as I haven’t listened to it much, however I can say that their 2008 album Common Reaction is very addictive! ‘Wait Another Day’ and ‘Everyone’ are my favourite songs.

They are still yet to have made it to my home city; Perth (or Australia to my knowledge) but I still have my fingers crossed.

To keep up with all things Leisha,  follow her on twitter here.

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What Do You Want to Know- Question #2

Christy asks,

I teach 5th grade reading/language arts. What types of activities and assignments do you take grades from?

First, let me explain that I teach using the workshop method, but I do not teach in a workshop-based school.  We grade on an A-F scale, and I am expected to assess my students on this scale.  However, I have managed to modify assignments and grading to make it work for me.

I should begin by pointing out that I grade on a point scale.  Each assignment is worth a specified amount of points.  At the end of the marking period, I add up the amount of points a student received and divide it by the number of points a student could have achieved.  This works well for me, because I use a lot of rubrics.  It also allows me to easily weight assignments.

Now, my reading assessments are varied.  As I have explained previously, my students are responsible for one letter-essay every 3-4 weeks.  These letter-essays are assessed on a 1-4 scale, using a rubric.  Each student hands in 3 letter-essays each marking period.  I also do a lot of reader’s response and metacognitive response work.  For example, my students just finished their Holocaust/WWII book clubs.  Each book club was responsible for answering 4-6 essential questions from the unit, using knowledge from their book selection.  This was worth 50 points.  Then each individual was responsible for a reader’s response activity that focused on theme (adapted from Day-to-Day Assessment in the Reading Workshop: Making Informed Instructional Decisions in Grades 3-6).  Each question was worth 10 points on a rubric.  Together, this was added up for a 100 point grade in my gradebook.  This is just one example of an assessment I use.

I do give traditional tests and quizzes.  Vocabulary is tested using quizzes and the points earned are added to my grading book.  And while I don’t do whole-class novels often, I don’t dispose of them completely.  At certain points during the year I do give traditional comprehension tests on novels.  I try to only do this 1-2x each year, because I use so many other assessments.  However, my students need to know how to take traditional comprehension tests in order to survive middle school and high school.  I also try to use these tests to assess their writing.  For example, I include essays and literary essays after we finish those units of study.  It helps students to realize the link between reading, writing, and the content areas.

Finally, we do projects!  These are always graded with a rubric.  Always.  I DO NOT do book reports.  Please, don’t assume project=book report.  Instead, we do activities related to our unit of study.  For example, our current read-aloud is The Lightning Thief and we are studying mythology in class. (This goes hand-in-hand with their current social studies unit). Most recently, my students did a project where they modernized a Greek god/goddess. They drew a picture of their modernized god/goddess and wrote a modern myth about them. One student explained the war in Iraq as the result of a fight between Ares and Hades. Another wrote about Poseidon causing Hurricane Katrina. It was awesome! They got to have fun and be creative with art, reading, and writing and I had a great assessment.

Hopefully, this helps explain my assessments.  It’s hard to boil it down into a blog post, so please comment if you need any clarifications or have more questions!

3 Responses

  1. Thank you so much! I have been a lone wolf at my school this year when I abandoned all workbooks and have used rubrics and scoring tools to grade my assignments. I’m trying to make everything as authentic as possible. I currently do reading response logs but I like the idea of your letter too. Thanks again for such a detailed response. 🙂

  2. It has been fun reading your responses to the questions. What a great idea.

  3. […] addressed this a little in Question #2 earlier in the week.  I also use the traditional A-F grading system in my district and I have […]

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10 Photos that Make You Wanna Explore Cabongaoan Beach in Pangasinan

Frankly speaking, Pangasinan is underrated. They have amazing beaches that are yet to discover. And so this summer, we hit the road for a long trip to Western Luzon – Pangasinan instead of going south. Original plan is to visit Patar Beach in Bolinao, Pangasinan but later changed to Burgos – also in Pangasinan to wrap up the summer season. Bolinao is known for its very own Patar Beach, which is rich in mocha-color sand and amazing rock formations. But unknown to many – well, atleast for now, other than Bolinao, Pangasinan has Burgos, a 4th class municipality located at the westernmost point of the province. If Bolinao is rich in beautiful beaches, Burgos has its own share of worthy-beach destination.

Here are 10 stunning photos that make you wanna visit Cabongaoan Beach now.

File_000 (1)DSC_0049DSC_1287

Cabongaoan Beach is definitely Burgos’ pride. A decent beach with fewer crowds compared to Patar Beach in Bolinao. This perhaps is the reason why we chose Burgos over Bolinao, to avoid the over-crowded beach and spend time at the beach quietly. The beach is still virgin. It has yet to be explored. In fact, the road to Cabongaoan Beach is quite rough. It took us four-hour drive from Carmen to Burgos town proper. Then an additional 45 minutes to reach the beach area. But the long and winding road to the beach is all worth it. The moment we reached our destination, I immediately ran to the beach side and was amaze with the view and the crystal-clear waters of the ocean.
30 minutes walk from the resort we stayed is where the so-called “Death Pool” The death pool is a deep tidal pool beside the sea. I am not sure why is it called the death pool though. But according to locals, it is a term to describe the natural swimming pool that forms near the beach whenever the tide comes in and fills it with saltwater. It’s pretty scary that’s why I didn’t go closer to take photos of it. Yet, beach-goers seems to be enjoying at the pool Other than the “death pool”, there are a number of rock formations and sea cliffs in Cabongaon Beach that are also instagram-worthy. So I took as many photos as I can. Plus, I was able to witness a beautiful sunset by the beach.
We stayed overnight at Puerto del Baher where we rented a small bungalow house with three air-conditioned rooms for PHP7,000. Since the resort is not fully-developed yet, and the place is quite remote there are no available restaurants or stores where you can buy and eat foods during your stay at the beach. Prior to our trip to Cabongaoan, we have to buy our food from the town’s marketplace and cook at the resort. For more information and reservations, you may visit their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/Mhargee.puertodelbaherresort/

Traveling to Burgos from Manila may take so much time but I assure you the long drive will be worth it. The “death pool” is a must-see attraction, and the beach, you’ll definitely fall in-love with it.
Here’s a short guide on how to reach Cabongaoan Beach when commuting.
• Take buses going to Alaminos, Pangasinan
o Bus lines: Five Star, Victory Liner, Solid North, Dagupan Bus (from Cubao or Pasay)
• Take another bus from Alaminos going to Burgos
• From Burgos, charter a tricycle to take you to Cabongoan Beach (approximately PHP300/one way)
• I suggest to get the contact number of the tricycle driver so he can pick you up from the resort the next day

Book hotels in Pangasinan


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Monthly Archives: April 2015

Reptile Parties

As always we are in demand for birthday reptile party shows in Melbourne.  Doing the only hands on reptile displays always makes us sought after and the kids not only have fun, but learn at the same time. For mums … Continue reading

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Metrolink crash presentations are online

The National Transportation Safety Board has posted presentations explaining its investigative findings of the Metrolink crash in Sept. 2008 that killed 25 on its website.

There are several presentations, including an introduction and a review of signaling issues associated with the crash.

Categories: Safety

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Go Metro to the Dead Sea Scrolls!

The California Science Center has been named one of the top museum destinations in Southern California, and starting next Tuesday, it will be the host of Dead Sea Scrolls: The Exhibition, the largest display of ancient scripts ever seen outside of Israel. From March 10 through September, you’ll be able to immerse yourself in the history of Jerusalem without having to travel 10+ hours by plane — just hop on the Expo Line to Expo Park/USC Station!

Th exhibit features over 600 artifacts and is sure to excite visitors of all ages. Guests will discover a 3-ton stone from Jerusalem’s Western Wall, technology used to date and preserve the ancient scripts and the oldest known copies of the Hebrew Bible — the Old Testament. Be sure to show your valid TAP card at the box office to save $3 on adult tickets!

And if you’re a true historian, see aerial views of the Holy Land and more in Jerusalem 3D, presented by National Geographic Entertainment. Receive additional savings on adult IMAX tickets by showing your TAP card at the box office.

Get your tickets to the ultimate adventure today! For more routes and connections to the Science Center, check Trip Planner.


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Transportation headlines, Thursday, June 18

Have a transportation-related article you think should be included in headlines? Drop me an email! And don’t forget, Metro is on TwitterFacebook and Instagram.

Today’s Art of Transit is a video from dancer Phillip Chbeeb:

Interesting chart from a city of L.A. Planning Department report tweeted by Rick Cole, who is leaving his post as city of Los Angeles Deputy Mayor for Budget and Innovation to go to work for the city of Santa Monica:

There are probably several factors in play here, one of which is surely the economy. I suspect that our expanding transit system has also helped with several projects opening either before or during the timeframe above — including the Red Line to NoHo, the Pasadena Gold Line, the Orange Line, the Eastside Gold Line, the Silver Line and the Expo Line’s first phase.

Quasi-related: the LAT’s Patt Morrisson interviewed Cole about ongoing issues in the city of L.A. and Santa Monica. One chronological item worth mentioning: the Metro Board decided to pursue a regional bikeshare program in late 2013 after the city of L.A. unsuccessfully tried to implement bikeshare on their own. Speaking of…

Metro’s Planning Committee approves a bikeshare contract (Streetsblog LA)

As a result, full Metro Board will consider the contract with Bicycle Transit Systems and Bcycle at their meeting next week. A lot of the discussion involved interoperability with the bikeshare program that Santa Monica is pursuing. As Streetsblog notes, Metro Board Members expressed concern but decided to move forward with Metro staff to work with Santa Monica on said issues. Here’s our post about the Metro staff recommendation.

Where President Obama’s visit will impact traffic and buses (Daily News)

The LAPD provides a list of streets to avoid with President Obama and Hillary Clinton visiting the region today and Friday.

Ways and Means Chair Paul Ryan says no to raising the federal gas tax (Washington Post)

As the Post says, Ryan is holding the keys to the car (so to speak) in the House when it comes to such decisions. However, both Ryan and other committee members agreed that a long-term solution still must be found and that Congress is failing the American people when it comes to finding a source for long-term transportation funding.

You decide whether that means progress.

Should I be drinking local or sustainable beer (Grist)

The always fun/informative Ask Umbra column tackles a surprisingly tough question: which beer brands are the most sustainable? Ones made locally or ones made in distant locales but using renewable energy?

The answer is tough as some brands are trying different tactics to reduce their carbon footprint whereas others have been relatively silent. Nonetheless, Umbra comes up with this advice:

To figure out which beers best fit your green prerequisites, I highly recommend asking each of your local favorites what it’s doing to clean up its act — bonus points for doing so publicly (thanks, Twitter!) and with groups of friends chiming in. The more brewmasters hear our demands for sustainably produced beer, the less we’ll have to worry about trucking in our ales from across the country. Then buy the ones that are doing the most for the planet – these guys need our support.

And when you’re imbibing, don’t forget about the hefty impacts from glass bottles and aluminum cans we saw in those brand reports. Bike, walk, or bus your way down to that brewery and fill up a reusable bomber (or keg, if you’re in the party mood) whenever you can. You’re slashing impacts from shipping and packaging, and that deserves a toast.

There’s no shortage of local breweries in our region near transit. One of them is near my crib — the Stone tasting room about 15 feet from the train at the Gold Line’s Del Mar Station.

Closing the 710 gap (Marketplace)

The radio program is doing a series on our nation’s infrastructure and this segment looks at the 4.5-mile gap in the 710 between Alhambra and Pasadena. The somewhat strange video below teases the text that doesn’t say much but go over the very basics: Caltrans and Metro have issued a draft environmental study that proposes five alternatives: no-build, traffic signal/intersection improvements, light rail, bus rapid transit or a freeway tunnel. The public comment is currently open; here’s the project’s home page.

Redondo Beach bike path opens Saturday (Beach Reporter)

The bike path between Redondo Beach and Hermosa Beach has received a makeover with Measure R tax dollars helping pay. Looks pretty nice — especially the protected bikeway part along Harbor Drive.

•Things to watch/listen to on transit. I’m often illiterate or slow to the party (if invited at all) when it comes to pop culture and have never heard of Greg Holden. But wow. What a great cover of a great old Tom Petty song:

6 replies

  1. Re: long term solution for transportation funding

    The simplest of all solutions is that Murica should stop fighting stupid and costly wars and re-direct money back to our own country and start investing in our own infrastructure. Did we really need to spend $600 million dollars in building a new embassy in Baghdad, one with a size of 80 football fields?

    It’s not every day that I agree with Fox News, but even they think that was wasteful spending!

    And it costs us taxpayers $1.2 billion a year just to maintain it!

    And this is how our tax dollars were spent:

    Imagine what $600 million dollars of taxpayer money and $1.2 billion per year could do to our crumbling infrastructure if it were used here!

    Of course bringing back money here from stupid wars that waste money is only half the solution. Transportation agencies themselves also need to do their part also to start cutting costs and increasing revenue on their own. If Asian countries are able to show the rest of the world that they can run transit for profit and run them with better efficiency with little or no tax support, Murica transit agencies should start learning from them on how they are able to accomplish that too. Tax dollars would be better spent in sending American public transit agency officials to study abroad in places like Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore and have them learn everything they can from these places.

  2. Drink “local” or “sustainable” beer? Wow, must be a really slow news day. The only thing ‘local’ about LACo breweries is the equipment, hops and grain are grown WAY offsite.
    Also correct me, but I thought that customer supplied ‘refillable’ containers weren’t allowed anymore due to nanny health regs. Too bad since recycling a larger container Should reduce the cost of a superior product. I’ll have to ask the folks at my nearby (Three Weavers) microbrewery in Inglewood.

    • Hey Mike;

      I just saw growlers at Stone a couple weeks ago — unless something has changed since then. I certainly hope not.

      Yes, sorta slow news day but nice to mix it up once in a while too.

      Steve Hymon
      Editor, The Source

  3. Thanks for the headsup on POTUS. Saw the C-5 at LAX yesterday and figured he might be coming.

  4. When our city is visited by high level politicians and political candidates, they should be forced to ride our public transit system between fundraising gigs. No more road closures for POTUS.

    • Obama is too stuck up to take the same traffic congested streets as the rest of us. What makes you think he won’t get preferential treatment when riding Metro?

      When Obama rides Metro, they’ll make it certain that that particular Metro line will be off limits to everyone except for Obama’s entourage and they bring in someone from the Army to operate Obama’s Metro Rail.


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The John Batchelor Show Hotel Mars, Wednesday, 1-30-13 January 31, 2013

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The John Batchelor Show Hotel Mars, Wednesday, 1-30-13

Guests:  John Batchelor, Dr. Caleb Scharf,  Dr. David Livingston:  Topics: Lake Vostok, water ice, Lake Whillans, Antarctica, extremophiles.  You are invited to comment, ask questions, and discuss the Space Show program/guest(s) on the Space Show blog, https://thespaceshow.wordpress.com. Comments, questions, and any discussion must be relevant and applicable to Space Show programming. Written Transcripts of Space Show programs are not permitted without prior written consent from The Space Show (even if for personal use) & are a violation of the Space Show copyright. We do not permit the commercial use of any Space Show program or part thereof, nor do we permit Space Show programs to be edited, placed on YouTube, or other private channels & websites. Space Show programs can be quoted in news articles, papers, academic & research work but must be cited or referenced in the proper citation format. Contact Dr. Livingston for questions about our copyright and trademark policies which we do enforce.  This program is archived on The Space Show website, podcasting, and blog sites with permission from John Batchelor. Please visit the John Batchelor Show website for more information about this fine program, www.johnbatchelorshow.com.  During our 11 minute plus discussion with Dr. Caleb Scharf, we talked about the Russian Lake Vostok drilling project for water ice, the American team drilling at Lake Whillans looking for signs of life, and overall the search for extremophiles here on Earth, then extrapolating to planets and moons in our solar system.  This is a most interesting and informative discussion.

     Please post any comments/questions you might have on The Space Show blog.  You can contact any of  us through drspace@thespaceshow.com.


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Baby Boy Baby Shower

My best friend just had her first baby in July. A precious healthy little baby boy named Hunter. Before his grand arrival into our lives I threw her a little shower to celebrate her first bundle of joy. Here are a few pictures from her baby shower.

I made the banner on the wall from burlap squares, black paint, and stencils

IMG_3484 IMG_3478

One of the mom-to-be’s friends made this adorable 4-wheeler diaper cake!

How cute is this rubber duckie blue punch?! It’s blue Hawaiian punch, vanilla ice cream, and a 2L bottle of Sprite.

IMG_3473 IMG_3472

Banana Pudding

For my step-dad’s birthday this year he requested banana pudding instead of a cake. So, as usual, I went on the hunt for the perfect (and easiest) banana pudding recipe. I found this gem, and oh what a gem it is. This is really really good banana pudding. Everyone raved about how amazing it was and, of course, it was all eaten right up!

You Will Need:
-2 boxes of instant french vanilla pudding
-2.5 cups of milk
-16oz heavy whipping cream
– 1/3 cup powdered sugar
– 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
– 1 package of cream cheese (8oz)
– 1 can of sweetened condensed milk (14oz)
-2 boxes of Nilla Wafers
-7 bananas

-In a large bowl mix together pudding and milk. Set aside
-In another bowl beat the whipping cream until stiff peaks form. This is easiest in a stand mixer because it can take a little bit
-Mix the powdered sugar and vanilla into the whipping cream.
-In another bowl ix the softened cream cheese and sweetened condensed milk until well blended.
-Fold in about 2/3 of the whipped cream mix into the cream cheese mix. Then fold that mixture into the pudding and blend together.
-Now you’re ready to fill your trifle bowl. When starting from the bottom of the bowl the layering should go like this: Nilla wafers, bananas, pudding mix, Nilla wafers, bananas, pudding, Nilla wafers, bananas, pudding, bananas, Nilla wafers, leftover whipped cream.
(I didn’t add any whipped cream to the top because no one in my family likes it)

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Pewter D-Bit Letter Opener
Designs by Loriece

Pewter D-Bit Letter Opener

Regular price $54.00

Dee Bit Letter Opener is the height of sophistication for office accessories. A beautiful accessory for anyone who wants a touch of equestrian in their office. It makes for a great gift for your trainer, too.

  • Dee Bit letter opener in pewter
  • 1 3/4″ wide, 8 1/2″ high, 3/8″ deep

More from this collection


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Joint 1st Prize Awarded at Inaugural Oleh Krysa International

25 year old Markiyan Melnychenko from Australia and 22 year old Dasol Jeong from Canada have been awarded joint 1st prize at the inaugural Oleh Krysa International Violin Competition, in Lviv, Ukraine

Joint 2nd Prize was awarded to Lev Solodovnikov from Russia and Ui-Youn Hong from South Korea

3rd Prize was not awarded

Both Marikyan and Dasol are current students of Oleh Krysa at the Eastman School of Music


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Fact Check: Demonetisation’s Effect on Increase in Direct Taxes and Income Tax Base

Despite government press releases, as of August 2017, there doesn’t appear to have been a substantial increase in the number of new tax payers or direct tax collection as a result of demonetisation.

Representational image. Credit: Tax credits/ Flickr CC BY 2.0

On the morning of August 8, most of our newspapers – both national as well as regional ones – ran headlines about the giant leap in the income tax returns received as well as the increase in advance direct tax collections. The media has attributed this huge achievement to the demonetisation move executed by the government. Finally, it appears, the nation has started to reap the benefits of demonetisation.

However, the fact checker in me became curious with the claim of a 24% jump in the number of returns filed. Also the figure of  “2.82 crore returns filed in this assessment year” did not look so huge because I had delved into this data earlier for an article titled ‘Why Duplicate PAN Cards Are Not as Big an Issue as the Modi Government Claims‘.

New definitions of tax payers

What added to the confusion was that the ruling government recently redefined the terms “tax base”, “tax payers” and “new tax payer added” which adds  the “number of persons from whom the TDS/TCS deductions are made” to the “number of returns” received in a year. This change was effected by accepting the ‘Report of the Committee for recommending standard definitions of certain terms‘, chaired by Avadhesh Kumar Mishra.

So, it’s more than slightly confusing as to why the government is going back to the term “number of returns filed” rather than the “number of total tax payers”.

On March 1, 2016, in the Rajya Sabha (QN no. 557 asked by Sri. Bhupender Yadav), the government answered that during the AY 2013-14 (FY 2012-13), 2.857 crores individuals in the age group of 25 to 60 years filed income tax returns. No information about the total number of the returns filed in that particular year was shared in the answer. But even this part data of 25 to 60 years age groups of 2.857 crores in FY 2012-13 is higher than the figure of 2.82 crores for the last financial year that was put out by the income tax department and reported on by most mainstream media.

CBDT press release dated August 7

Let’s scrutinise the press release by the CBDT dated August 7 2017, to separate the wheat from the chaff. Most newspapers carried headlines based on the above press release. CBDT made an odd comparison of returns filed as on August 5 with the returns filed during the corresponding period in previous year. Normally, CBDT makes such comparisons based on financial year or assessment year rather than midway on some odd date like what they did in the press release. American writer Rex Todhunter Scot once said, There are two kinds of statistics, the kind you look up and the kind you make up.” Of course, skewed statistics are always misleading and give a distorted picture.

The last date for filing income tax returns by the individuals and Hindu Undivided Families (HUF) for this AY 2017-18 was extended from July 31 to August 5. At the same time, the business assessees who needs mandatory auditing can file their returns up to September 30. If we look at the income tax return statistics for AY 2014-15 (which is the latest of the assessment year for which such detailed information of assessees is available as of today) at the CBDT website, the first group comprises 96% of the total assessees who should file returns within August 5. The number of assessees under business entities, who are yet to file returns, are a marginal 4%. Though returns can be filed after the due date, it will attract interest and penalties. A new section 234F inserted into the Income Tax Act, 1961, in this regard imposes a heavier fine and makes it more rigid.

Number of tax payers and returns

Though this part data comparison of 2.82 crores returns as of August 5 with corresponding previous year did not hold good, it is important to look at the  number of actual returns submitted in the previous years for a comparison consider the fact, 96% of the returns should be filed within August 5 deadline. For this, I have relied on the CAG Report No. 2 of 2017, Department of Revenue – Direct Taxes (See Table 1.3, at Page 3), which gives the number of actual returns filed by the non-corporate assessees between FY 2011-12 to FY 2015-16. The foot note in the table clearly indicates that the above “figures are based on the actual returns filed during the respective year”.

From the above table, it is clear that the actual number of returns submitted by the non-corporate assessees during the last financial year is 3.98 crores. Due to PAN-Aadhaar linkage insistence and other reasons, a vast majority of individuals filed their returns before the deadline of August 5. Even then the number is 2.82 crores as per the press release of CBDT, which is only 71% of the total non-corporate assessee returns filed in previous financial year. This data clearly indicates there is no big jump like 24% as claimed is going to happen in the number of returns to be filed within this assessment year. Of course, we have to wait till the end of this assessment year to know the final figures of the same.

The above inference is based on the figure of effective assessees for AY 2016-17 (FY 2015-16) published by the CBDT as “Income Tax Department Time Series Data Financial Year 2000-01 to 2016-17” (See Table 1.7 at Page 9). This data is including the “number of people who filed returns” plus “number of people from whom TDS/TCS are deducted” as per the new definition approved by CBDT (See the note at the bottom of the table). We should take note that the total number of returns are nothing but a subset of this data of number of effective assessees. There should be corporate/business entities return will be added to this figure, but that number was just around 16 lakhs during the AY 2014-15, comprising hardly 4% of the total returns.

So let’s look at this data to see the trend of the number of effective assessees till FY 2015-16 (AY 2016-17). The graph shows that the year-to-year growth of the number of effective assessees is falling from 11.78% in AY 2013-14 to 7.08% in AY 2015-16 where final data is available. The provisional data for AY 2016-17 shows that it is further declined to 2.34%. So a comparison with last couple of years is imperative to compare the present AY figure rather than a part data with FY 2015-16. The ‘effective assessees’ show a downward trend from a year-to-year growth of 11.78% in 2013-14 to last three consecutive years. So any comparison with AY 2016-17 (FY 2015-16), which shows one of the lowest year-to-year growth, is not going to give you any correct picture. All these indicators and “part data of 2.82 crores returns” released by CBDT for last FY 2016-17 clearly denotes that there is not any substantial jump in the total number of effective assessees or number of returns filed, if we consider the whole financial year or assessment year as the yardstick for comparison.

Another document which leads light into the number of tax payers is the Economic Survey Vol. 2 (See Page 22). It makes important observations:

1.85 Did the signalling effect of demonetisation — namely that there would be decreased tolerance of tax non-compliance highlighted in the Union Budget for 2017- 18 – have an impact on tax compliance? According to the tax data, the number of new individual tax payers (based on returns filed) increased from 63.5 lakh in 2015-16 to 80.7 lakh in 2016-17. But all this increase cannot be attributed to demonetisation because there is some natural trend increase in new taxpayers. Instead, this impact by measuring the increase in taxpayers in the post-demonetisation period relative to the increase in the same period the previous year is estimated.

1.86 As the Table 6 shows, the growth of taxpayers post-demonetisation was significantly greater than in the previous year (45%t versus 25%). The addition amounted to about 5.4 lakh taxpayers or 1% of all individual taxpayers in just a few months. The addition to the reported taxable income (of these new payers) was about Rs 10,600 crore. So, the tax base did expand after demonetisation. It is, however, interesting that the average income reported of the new taxpayers – Rs 2.7 lakh – was not far above the tax threshold of Rs 2.5 lakh, so the immediate impact on tax collections was muted. The full effect on collections will materialize gradually as reported income of these taxpayers grows.”

Here, the Economic Survey is trying to be modest, but at the same time attempting to prove that there is some influence on demonetisation. Economic Survey put the number of new tax payers have increased after demonetisation as 5.4 lakhs or just 1% of all individual tax payers. This 1% may be a round off to the single digit with respect to the total tax base, because we have seen from the other table that 6.27 crores total tax payers are there in FY 2015-16. But even the Economic Survey conveniently shut its eyes to the number of tax payers added in the previous year 2014-15 where in 76.04 lakh new tax payers were added, while last year added only 80.7 lakh new tax payers and which was compared with 2015-16 figure of 63.5 lakh.

Please see the Annual Report of the Ministry of Finance (FY 2015-16, Page No.155). So even the modest figure looks gloomy in this background. So if one correlates it with FY 2014-15 data, instead of the FY 2015-16 figure, we can see that additional tax payers added will shrink to just 1.4 lakh people.

So final take is that there is nothing substantial to boast about the new tax payers added due to demonetisation as the number is so insignificant. Once CAG finalises the audit of FY 2016-17, we will get a real picture and we can wait for the same.

Direct tax collection

Tax revenue resources of the Union government consist of revenue receipts from direct and indirect taxes, which are now almost in the ratio 1:1 for the last financial year as per CBDT statistics.

  • Direct taxes levied by the government mainly comprises:
  • Corporate Tax levied on income of the companies;
  • Income Tax levied on income of persons (other than companies);
  • Other direct taxes incl Wealth Tax, Securities Transactions Tax, etc.

As per the latest data released by CBDT, these taxes are distributed as Corporate Tax (57%), Personal Income Tax (41%) and other direct taxes (2%).

There are different mode of direct taxes collection (tax deducted at source (TDS), advance tax, self-assessment tax, regular assessment tax) in respect of both corporate and income tax. Collection through advance tax, self-assessment tax and TDS is largely indicative of degree of voluntary compliance in the system. Collection of tax through regular assessment mode occurs on assessment. The division various components of direct taxes for FY 2016-17 is as shown in the pie chart.

CBDT press release made another claim on direct tax collections:

“The effect of demonetisation is also clearly visible in the growth in Direct Tax Collections. Advance Tax collections of Personal Income Tax (i.e. other than Corporate Tax) as on 05.08.2017 showed a growth of about 41.79% over the corresponding period in F.Y. 2016-2017. Personal Income Tax under Self-Assessment Tax (SAT) grew at 34.25% over the corresponding period in F.Y. 2016-2017.”

So this statement is talking about a convenient truth, that too about a part data series. “Advance Tax” is around 41% of the total direct tax component, as we see from the above pie chart. Then “personal income tax” is also 41% of the total direct taxes. So here, CBDT conveniently talking about 41% of personal income tax component of the advance tax, which is also 41% of the direct tax. Hence, the net effect of the advance tax of the personal income tax component comes around 16% of the total direct tax collection. Similarly, self-assessment tax is just 8% of the total direct tax collection and when we consider its personal tax component, it will shrink to 3.3% of the direct tax collection. So here, the CBDT is just doing cherry picking of the 20% of value of total direct tax collection and comparing it with some arbitrary date, while totally silent about rest 80% of value.

Why CBDT is not speaking about the corporate tax and other components or about the entire direct tax component instead of this cherry picking? The answer lies in another press release by CBDT dated July 6, 2017, soon after first quarter direct tax collections ended in June 2017.

Closely examine the first paragraph:

“The provisional figures for direct tax collections up to June, 2017 show that net collections are at Rs. 1.42 lakh crore which is 14.8% higher than the net collections for the corresponding period of last year. Net direct tax collections represent 14.5% of the total budget estimates of direct taxes for F.Y. 2017-18 (Rs 9.8 lakh crore).”

Here, the picture is clear, the direct tax collections grow at 14.8% than the corresponding quarter during previous year. But please look at the larger picture, the government was in receipt of only 14.5% of total budget estimate for FY 2017-18 in the first quarter, wherein the collections should be around 20% normally. CBDT was able to collect only Rs 1.42 lakh crores towards direct taxes in the first quarter against the estimated budgeted target of Rs 9.8 lakh crores for FY 2017-18. This is an under realisation of the estimate target? I am leaving the answer to your own judgement.

But this warrants a close examination of direct taxes collection over the last six years and its year-on-year growth, which is provided by CBDT in “Income Tax Department Time Series Data Financial Year 2000-01 to 2016-17” (See Table 1.1 at Page 2).

So the total direct tax collection recorded during the first quarter at 14.8% is only a marginal improvement over the last FY’s year-on-year growth component of 14.54%. From the above graph we can see that the direct tax collections showing a steady upward trend from 2011-12 (10.7%) to 2012-13 (13.6%) to 2013-14 (14.24%) during the UPA-2 regime under Manmohan Singh. But during the NDA regime under Narendra Modi, the year-on-year growth fell to 8.96% in 2014-15, 6.63% in 2015-16 and shows some recovery of 14.54% during 2016-17, but it is based on a low base in 2015-16. If the direct tax collection followed the same trend in the Singh era, take it as 14% for next three years, it would have touched Rs 9,46,108 crores instead the present collection of Rs 8,49,818 crores.

Also the figure of Rs 8,49,818 crores should be taken with a pinch of salt as there was an Income Disclosure Scheme (IDS-2016), which resulted a disclosure of Rs 65,250 crores prior to the demonetisation. As the tax collected from this scheme is 45% of the disclosed amount, it would be Rs 29,362.5 crores. Also it is mandatory to pay 50% of the above tax in two instalments in the last financial year and remaining 50% before this September end. So there was a component from IDS amounting to Rs 14,861 crores was part of the direct tax component in last financial year. I am not considering the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana which was announced after demonetisation, which turned out to be a damp squib. According to newspaper reports, the direct tax collected under this head was only Rs 2300 crores though it was expected to collect anything between RS 50,000 crores and Rs 1,00,000 crores. So if we remove the component of IDS-2016, the direct tax increase of year to year even from a low base of FY 2015-16, is reduced from the 14.54% to 12.56%.

To summarise:

  • Any amount of increase, even the marginal 5.4 lakh new tax assesses or 1% of the total income tax base presented in Economic Survey will further shrink to just 1.4 lakh tax payers, if it is corroborated with FY 2014-15, wherein 76.04 lakh new tax payers were added to the tax base.
  • Tax collections were already under a steady growth till 2014 and in fact was growing 14% in FY 2013-2014. But it had a sharp drop in FY 2014-15 and FY 2015-2016 period, which has now rebounded to FY 2016-17 to above 4%. But if we consider the contribution due IDS-2016, this will further drop to 12.56%.
  • Taking above two together, there is neither a sudden surge in number of people paying taxes nor amount of taxes that are collected by the government which can be seen as a breakthrough. For that, we have to wait for few more, hoping that the government doesn’t change the methodology in between.

So, the hard data from the CAG, CBDT and MoF proves that there has been no substantial increase in the number of new tax payers or direct tax collection due to demonetisation. The CBDT with its selective press release, helped the government to manage headlines. As usual, our mainstream media became mere stenographers and amplifiers that carried the news with thick headlines without checking the facts.

This article originally appeared on Decipher the Demonetisation. It has been republished here with permission.

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The Wrath of God & Rebellion of Humanity

Revelation is a gripping book.

There are heights and there are depths. It shows you the glory of God and the the depths of human sin. It’s a book of blessing and of judgment, and a word that frequently occurs is ‘wrath’ or more specifically the wrath of God, unveiled in the seven seals, seven trumpets and seven bowls, in increasing measures.

The word is mentioned 11 times and sometimes qualified as ‘great wrath’ or ‘the fury of his wrath’ – hardly words we like to hear.

To be frank it’s not a subject we warm to, it is much easier to talk about the love of God. But…. if we cannot talk about the love and wrath of God in the same breath are we really talking about the right thing when it comes to either?

Love for many today is no more than an insipid, sentimental feeling. It’s gushy and slushy, and when it’s not there, it’s not there. It’s also seen as ‘tolerance’ (of the politically correct form), where, ‘if it makes them happy let them do it,’ is the standard. ‘I mean, whose to judge? They’ve gotta work these things out for themselves,’ as they say!

The problem is when we put our modern day interpretations of love on to God we find it just doesn’t fit, and rather than asking whether we’ve got it right, we say God’s got it wrong – as if we should tell God what he should be like!

That’s where we need to go back and read our Bibles. There we discover that God is not on our level – never was, never will be. He is holy, holy, holy – we certainly are not, and the fact of the matter is that a holy, loving, and just God has every right to be angry – we have rebelled against him, we have messed up our own lives and those of others too, and spoiled and soiled the world he created and declared was very good.

BUT, like a good father (for that is what he is), he cannot simply ignore rebellion, and allow it to go on, turn a blind eye to it and hope it will rectify itself, or go away – it doesn’t. It usually gets worse.

It is in this context that the good news comes in and makes sense, the good news that God has done just that in Jesus, who willingly came and took all our sin, and bore it’s judgment on the cross – the holy wrath of a just God. “You were dead…. under wrath…. But God who is rich in mercy, because of his great love…” (Eph 2:1-4) – wonderful words!

As an aside it never ceases to amaze me how many who deny God want justice. The logic is in an evolutionary world there can be no such thing as justice.

When you know the holiness of God and the depth of our sin, that line of Stuart Townends, In Christ Alone, is so soul stirring, and heart warming, “Till on that cross as Jesus died, the wrath of God was satisfied….”

No wonder Charles Wesley could write, “No condemnation now I dread, Jesus, and all in him, is mine; alive in him, my living head, and clothed with righteousness divine. Bold I approach the eternal throne….”

Yes Revelation speaks of the wrath of God, but it also has a parallel message of the gospel, providing the opportunity to repent in the face of such judgments. Sadly they all to frequently would not repent and turned on God and blasphemed his name, even preferrring to lose their lives than turn to God (6:16, 17; 9:20, 21; 16:9, 11).

Humanities rebellion runs deep, but God’s love runs deeper still. All the while the earth remains the words of Paul apply, “Now is the acceptable time; now is the day of salvation.” (2 Corinthians 6:2). What will you do? Will you repent and believe the good news of Jesus Christ and be saved from the wrath to come?

You can listen to Wesleys grand hymn here:

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