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Tag Archives: Ron Paul

Give MoveOn a Piece of Your Mind

Whether you agree or disagree with MoveOn‘s political motivations, you shouldn’t miss the golden opportunity to give them a piece of your mind. They’ve posted three-question, open-ended (free text) survey to the web and are soliciting opinions.

  1. Share with us what you personally are thinking today. What is going through your head?
  2. What do you think Moveon.org should do next — either right away or between now and Election Day?
  3. Have you thought about what you personally want to do to help before Election Day? Do you have anything in particular in mind?
    Is there anything MoveOn as an organization can do to help you do that?

I’m sure they’re expecting an echo chamber of typical liberal talking points. Let’s give them something better, though. Let’s tell them all about Ron Paul’s message of returning to the libertarian and sound economic principles our constitutional republic was found on! C’mon, r3volutionaries, let’s tell MoveOn what we’re thinking!

P.S. If you’re not a Ron Paul supporter, that’s fine. Answer the survey anyway, especially if you’re not part of their assumed demographic. 🙂

Is Discrimination Always Wrong?

In response to Gutter Ball Master’s post, “Dr. Paul May Do Harm“, I offer the following article as rebuttal. I do not claim to be in total agreement with it, but I present it as an opposing viewpoint.

I Favor Discrimination

“If ever anyone wants to discredit me, he can cite the title of this article. I am giving it away on a silver platter in order to make one point: Freedom includes the freedom to discriminate. Discrimination is nothing more than making distinctions and being selective. Without discrimination, freedom to choose is an empty exercise. I favor the freedom to choose. Therefore, I favor discrimination. Not only do I favor discrimination, I discriminate constantly. And so does everyone else.”

It should be noted that the good doctor rejected the law on privacy, federal ineptitude, states rights, and constitutional authority grounds. Here’s his defense in his own words, emphasis mine (Fedora Tip to Chronicles of Dissent).

Continue reading

Dr. Paul May Do Harm

On 21 May 2008, “Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008” became law. Essentially, the act prohibits health insurance companies from denying coverage to someone with negative genetic makeup. This law is good legislation since it guarantees that everyone has the opportunity to enroll in or buy into health insurance to help improve or save peoples’ lives no matter what their genes may predispose them to.

If the legislation did not pass, many people with genetic issues would have to live without health insurance or live on the emergency room system (the general public). In addition, parents with children with negative genetic makeup would be forced to drop their children off their insurance. Some parents would probably even be forced to abort their children so they (the parents) could have insurance. (So much for safe and rare.)

97% of the US House voted for the Act. Ron Paul, a doctor, was part of the 3% who voted against it. Why would a doctor vote against it? Yes, with this Act the government is interfering in private industry, but with life and death issues, the government must intervene.

FD has suggested to me that the Act may be seen as another affirmative action law. I disagree in part. Yes, it says that the disadvantaged gets special treatment; in affirmative action law, minorities get to get into college. However, with the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008, the disadvantaged get to live. Insurance companies should not dictate that part of society at large must die to win a heavy bottom line (with blood).

What do you think of the Act? Why do you think Dr. Paul voted against it? (I thought he was OTAAC, or pro-life.)

Ron Paul: Compassionless Conservative?

Here’s proof that I don’t blindly agree with every word spoken or decision made by Ron Paul. Recently, the House of Representatives passed HR 1181 (“Expressing condolences and sympathy to the people of Burma for the grave loss of life and vast destruction caused by Cyclone Nargis.”) 410-1. Guess who the “1” was. That he was the lone voice of opposition in the House is not news. Why he opposed this symbolic resolution and which symbolic resolutions he hasn’t opposed may be. Andrew Malcolm of the LA Times Top of the Ticket blog explains:

“So Paul’s symbolic stand against symbolic silliness looks good.

“But then along come the sharp-eyed folks over at Radaronline.com, specifically Nick Curran, who finds out that Paul’s stand against symbolic silliness when it comes to Asians whose huts and hovels were erased by cyclone, is not quite so principled and a whole lot more enthused about dumb statements of sentiment when the silliness is closer to home.

“Come to find out Paul has voted in favor of similar empty resolutions to congratulate the University of Kansas football team for a swell season and winning the 2008 FedEx Orange Bowl, to the Louisiana State football team for, golly, winning the 2007 Bowl Championship Series and to celebrate the New York Giants for their come-from-behind victory in Super Bowl XLII. “

Continue reading

Divided We Fall?

There may be trouble on the horizon for the Ron Paul Revolution.

The trouble stems from recent good news out of the Constitution Party national convention. Delegates overwhelmingly rejected Alan Keyes, “a warmonger, neocon, and egomanic”, favor of Chuck Baldwin, a Baptist pastor who strongly supports Ron Paul. Adam Graham, who saw the CP convention as a farce, calls the selection of Baldwin, a candidate “you’ve never heard of”, “amazingly stupid“. Jim Powers calls it a “false start” for the Constitution Party.

Continue reading


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Index for Alex Porto’s stories:

Public Domain

Hello and welcome.

If you are reading this you are interested in learning more about what I do.

I organized my Medium stories in themes and will update this document with some selections of my work from time to time.

One of the things I enjoy talking about is my professional passion:

What can psychedelics teach us about living without fear of death?

Painting by Henryk Siemiradzki, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — Phryne at the Poseidonia in Eleusis

In the excellent book “The Immortality Key” the author Brian Muraresku reveals the most famous of the secret Greek religions, the Eleusinian Mysteries which are theorized to have conducted annual psychedelic rituals observed from c. 1600 BCE — 392 CE.

“Mysteries” refers to the annual festival held at Eleusis (the Mystēria), rather than to the religion itself.

Eleusinian initiates who lived through the rituals are known to have said that the secrets revealed during the journey are of tremendous importance for civilized life, in such a way that these secrets act like a glue that holds society together, and it…

How can LSD and Mushrooms change how we see ourselves?

Jean-Joseph Benjamin-Constant, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — Edited by the Author

To conquer yourself, one has to have a self.

One’s identity as an individual should be completely obliterated for your own self to be conquered. If the self-identity of an individual is not so easily destroyed, then it cannot be said that this person has conquered himself or herself. Because this kind of complete self-knowledge and control requires constant change.

Finding the Self

The Sun herb is your new herbal ally that will improve your life.

Nicolas Poussin, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — Edited by the author

Kanna (Sceletium tortuosum) is a sacred African plant that was traditionally used by the Khoi and San tribes as one of their main medicinal herbs.

This plant was initially imported to the world by the Dutch when they noticed the tribes in their colonies in Africa were using Kanna daily to improve the lives of both healthy and unhealthy people.

The two African tribes that are most commonly linked with the use of Sceletium are the San (hunter-gatherers) and the Khoi (pastoralists). …

These plants are your allies for improving the mood and enhancing performance in bed and life.

Sexual Plants — Pating by Eugene de Blaas, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

My career took a sharp turn when in 2019 I had the opportunity to work in a smartshop in Amsterdam.

Since then, I have learned to use natural tools in a totally different way than before.

By speaking with nearly thousands of people every week for one year about the responsible use of psychedelics and other sacred plants, I developed a perspective that aligns with what I learned from tribal medicine men and women — shamans — who believe that we can become allies with plants.

Your New Allies

To ‘create an ally’ means to develop your relationship with the plant and learn…

Understand yourself better by recording your dreams in your Dream Journal.

Painting by: Lawrence Alma-Tadema, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Dream Journal

A dream journal is a diary or a notebook where you write down your dreams. This is an excellent tool for practicing dream recall.

As you try to go over and express your dreams on paper, memories, and fragments of the dream will be easily accessible to you, and it will be easier to rebuilt the storyline of the dream when you re-analyze your dreams in the future.

In order to better understand yourself, a clear insight into your subconscious is extremely useful. In order to do this one of the most accessible ways is to investigate your own dreams.

Dream herbs: Vivid dreams, better dream recall, and deeper sleep. Let Nature Heal You.

Top 5 Dream Herbs — Painting by Frederic Leighton, 1st Baron Leighton, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

The oneirogenic plants (óneiros = “dream” and gen = “to create) are a group of herbs and plants that are able to enhance the dream state and increase the chances of lucid dreaming:

Lucid dreamers who use herbs as allies for subconscious exploration report that the use of oneirogenic plants improves dream exploration by making the dream:

  • Appear more vividly and clear than usual: Rich in color, details, and allegories;
  • Easier to recall;

During the lucid dream, the person is aware of the fact that is dreaming without waking up.

To experience the lucid dream state is like living vicariously…

Human Until All The Stars Burns Out

Photo by Jeremy Bishop on Unsplash

We, humans, love to feel smart. We will do anything to convince ourselves that we are smarter than other humans and vastly superior to all of the organisms who came before us.

Humans have always wanted a way out;

An escape from our own imperfection, death, or whatever it is that has haunted us since the beginning of time.

Humans have always wanted a way out, and they’ve had many.

We invented religion to explain why some people are born good and others bad, but that didn’t stop us from sinning.

Humans invented science to explain where they came from, and how they work, but that didn’t…

One is rooted in the present; the other is aimed at the future

Photo by Nemuel Sereti on Unsplash

It seems to me that there are 2 paths to happiness.

  • The first is that you can achieve happiness by living in the present moment and appreciating what you have.
  • The second path is that you can achieve happiness by hoping for a better outcome in the future.

Living in the Present

Living in the present moment can be hard. It’s easy to let your mind drift to what you want or worry about things that are going wrong.

It’s easy to find yourself thinking about the future, which is something you can’t control. It’s important to remind yourself that the present moment is what you have right now and it’s good enough.

Hope for a Better Future

The other…

Lessons from the universe: Assume Ignorance and be Present.

Photo by Miha Rekar on Unsplash

Cats are interesting.

They seem to think in their own way. It really looks like they have an internal philosophical system that is different from ours. One that is not as systematic as ours but serves them well in their own environment.

There is no reason a cat should follow our standards of rationality and logic.

It would be like us going around acting as ants or bees do.

Cats live their lives in the moment, not planning for the future. It’s all very intuitive for them, they just feel when to be aggressive and when to back off. …

Alexandre Porto

Pieces of the integral man. Specialist in responsible use of psychedelics.

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“D”-vine Orange Chipotle Cod: A Dish High in Vitamin D

Vitamin D is one of those vitamins that keeps popping up in the media as beneficial for our health and it’s a vitamin that many of us are lacking. I created a recipe high in vitamin D using Atlantic cod, orange juice, bran cereal flakes, and chipotle. The result was a divine vitamin-D rich Orange Chipotle Cod recipe.

904 Fitness Magazine gave me this challenge to go along with a vitamin D article that is in the May edition. As a dietitian, I love turning to food before supplements so I accepted the challenge!

Facts about Vitamin D

  • According to the CDC, 31% of non-Hispanic blacks, 12% of Mexican Americans, and 3% of non-Hispanic whites have vitamin D deficiency.
  • Vitamin D is called the “sunshine vitamin” because substances in our skin are activated by the UV rays to produce vitamin D. This partially explains why vitamin D deficiency is higher in those with darker skin (which protects against UV rays) as well as those who live in climates with less sunshine or who spend more time indoors.
  • The recommended amount of Vitamin D for adults between 19-70 is 600 IU (international units) per day. A deficiency may cause bone issues such as bone pain, muscle pain or spasms, osteomalacia (soft bones), and rickets in children.
  • Since many people supplement, I’ll also give you the tolerable upper limit, which is 4,000 IU per day. Research is ongoing that is looking at the effects of large amounts of Vitamin D so these recommendations may change in the future. A toxicity may cause bone loss and kidney stones – you cannot overload on vitamin D from sunlight.
  • Vitamin D is important for calcium absorption and bone health. It’s being researched for its impact on heart disease, cancer, immune function, type 2 diabetes, blood pressure, and many other things.

I’m a light-skinned white dietitian who lives at the beach in Florida and even I had low enough levels of vitamin D that my physician put me on supplements! So, it is difficult to get your D when you rely on sunshine and foods.

Here’s why it is difficult to get enough vitamin D (600 IU) from foods… unless you are willing to swallow cod liver oil or can afford to eat salmon every day!

Food Amount IU (average) Source
Cod liver oil 1 tablespoon 1,360 Natural
Swordfish 3 ounces 560 Natural
Portabella mushrooms (with UV exposure) 1 cup 450 Natural
Salmon/mackerel (fatty fish) 3 ounces 425 Natural
Tuna (light, canned) 3 ounces 200 Natural
Fortified orange juice 1 cup 115 Fortified
Fortified milk 1 cup 115 Fortified
Fortified yogurt 6 ounces 80 Fortified
Fortified cereal 1 cup 70 Fortified
Sardines (canned in oil, drained) 2 pieces 50 Natural
Egg yolk 1 large 30 Natural
Portabella mushrooms (no UV exposure) 1 cup 10 Natural

Note that the fortified foods give an average for the IU of vitamin D and the actual amount can vary quite widely based on the level of fortification. When I was looking for cereals for my recipe, I found cereals with 0% to 25% of the daily value of vitamin D! It’s important to look at the labels for the fortified foods you choose. Also, notice that mushrooms contain much more vitamin D if they have been exposed to UV light. Since the packaged mushrooms in my store didn’t mention UV light on their labels, I asked my grocer about the mushrooms in the store and he had no idea if they were UV-exposed.

I turned to fish and fortified foods to make a “D”-vine Orange Chipotle Cod dish that has 32% of the daily value (~ 200 IU) of vitamin D and packs a nice little spicy kick. This recipe is also heart-healthy with low calories, low saturated fat, no trans fat, and low sodium. It is a little higher in cholesterol than I’d like; but still within heart healthy recommendations.

D-vine Orange Chipotle Cod (click link for a printer-friendly version)

Makes: 4 servings

Orange Chipotle Sauce

  • Chipotle in Adobo: 1 chipotle pepper, de-seeded and chopped plus 1 Tablespoon sauce
  • 1 cup vitamin D fortified orange juice
  • 1/4 cup vitamin D fortified plain non-fat yogurt

  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 cups vitamin D rich (25% DV) bran flakes cereal
  • 4 6-ounce Atlantic Cod filets
  • Non-stick cooking spray

Preheat oven to 450° F. Line baking sheet with tin foil and spray with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.

When preparing chipotle peppers, or any hot pepper for that matter, remember that the heat is mostly in the seeds. Chipotles pack a spicy punch so remove these little seeds before chopping to reduce the kick in the sauce.

Deseeding Chipotle Peppers

Deseeding Chipotle Peppers

Begin sauce. Pour 1 cup orange juice, chipotle pepper, and chipotle sauce into small saucepan and heat until mixture just begins to boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring frequently to prevent sticking until mixture thickens, approximately 35 minutes. Set aside when done.

The thicker drops show that the sauce has begun to thicken - it will continue to thicken after removed from the heat.

The thicker drops show that the sauce has begun to thicken – it will continue to thicken after removed from the heat.

In a shallow bowl, crack eggs and stir to combine yolk and white. Pour bran cereal into another shallow bowl and use measuring cup or the back of a spoon to crush the cereal into small pieces.

Use the back of your measuring cup as a crushing tool for the cereal

The smaller the flakes, the better the coating!

Rinse fish filets, draw through the egg and then press gently into the cereal to coat the fish with cereal. Place fish on foil-lined baking sheet. Repeat with each filet. Sprinkle any remaining cereal on top of fish.

Having everything prepared and close together makes coating the fish much easier

Having everything prepared and close together makes coating the fish much easier

Bake fish in oven for 20 minutes or until done and flesh flakes easily with a fork.

When orange-chipotle sauce has cooled, combine the sauce with the yogurt and stir to combine.

To serve, top each fish filet with approximately 1/4 cup of sauce.

Nutrition Information per serving (1 fish filet topped with 1/4 cup sauce): 315 calories, 5 grams fat (1 gram saturated fat, 0 trans fat), 174 milligrams cholesterol, 375 milligrams sodium, 26 grams carbohydrate (3 grams fiber), 37 grams protein, and 32% DV of vitamin D.

Served with brown rice mixed with chopped mushrooms and spinach – enjoy!

D-vine Orange Chipotle Cod

D-vine Orange Chipotle Cod

References as linked above, Nutrition: Concepts and Controversies, and the Linus Pauling Institute.

6 thoughts on ““D”-vine Orange Chipotle Cod: A Dish High in Vitamin D

  1. Pingback: 55 Healthy Fish Recipes | mediterranean diet | The Domestic Dietitian

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Dr. Alexander D. Wissner-Gross
LinkedIn alexwg Twitter @alexwg Email alexwg@gemedy.com Email alexwg@post.harvard.edu
Dr. Alexander D. Wissner-Gross is an award-winning computer scientist, entrepreneur, investor, and author. He serves as President and Chief Scientist of Gemedy and Managing Director of Reified and has taught at Harvard and MIT. He has received 128 major distinctions, authored 23 publications, been granted 24 issued, pending, and provisional patents, and founded, managed, and advised 7 technology companies with combined exits of over $600 million. In 1998 and 1999, respectively, he won the USA Computer Olympiad and the Intel Science Talent Search. In 2003, he became the last person in MIT history to earn a triple major, with bachelor's degrees in Physics, Electrical Science and Engineering, and Mathematics, and graduated first in his class from the MIT School of Engineering with a Marshall Scholarship. In 2007, he completed his Ph.D. in Physics at Harvard, where his research on neuromorphic computing, machine learning, and programmable matter was awarded the Hertz Foundation's Doctoral Thesis Prize. A thought leader in artificial intelligence and cyber-physical systems, he is a contributing author of the New York Times Science Bestseller, This Idea Must Die, and the Amazon #1 New Release, What to Think About Machines That Think. A popular TED speaker, his talks have been viewed more than 2 million times and translated into 27 languages. His work has been featured in more than 200 press outlets worldwide, including The Wall Street Journal, BusinessWeek, CNN, USA Today, and Wired. Download Full CV »
Harvard IACS Seminar
Achieving superintelligence: definitions, datasets, and defenses
September 9, 2016
Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) Conference
The physics of artificial general intelligence
August 3, 2014
TED / TEDxBeaconStreet
A new equation for intelligence
November 17, 2013
Google Solve for X
Networking faster than light
November 16, 2013
Foresight Technical Conference
Computation and molecular nanotechnologies
January 13, 2013
Terasem Annual Virtual Workshop on Geoethical Nanotechnology
Physically programmable surfaces
July 20, 2012
The Seasteading Conference
Liquidity on the high seas
June 2, 2012
Philosophical Society of Washington
Trading at the speed of light
December 2, 2011
The Singularity Summit
Planetary scale intelligence
October 16, 2011
To manage it, you need to measure it
March 24, 2009
Hertz Foundation Symposium
Thesis prize winners panel
March 21, 2009


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guest blog

Guest Blog from Charly Conquest – How to Shop Sustainably

So I imagine you all saw the Stacey Dooley Fashions Dirty Secrets BBC documentary this week, where she travels the world to uncover the hidden costs of our addiction to fast fashion and asks the question ‘are our clothes wrecking the Planet?’ She sees for herself how toxic chemicals released by the garment industry pollute waterways that […]


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.NU Domain Names Registration

The .NU country-code top-level domain name extension was initially assigned to the Pacific island of Niue. Due to the phonetic similarity with the word 'new', .NU is being used by a large number of webmasters all over the globe. The extension is available for registration to anyone. Furthermore, because .NU is still not very popular, you have a higher possibility of registering a very attractive .NU domain for your own personal or corporate site.At MT Hosting, you can purchase a moderately priced .NU domain for just $18.00 per year.

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The Domain Manager is an integral part of the Web Hosting Control Panel, so you'll be able to manage your websites too, without the need to move to an alternative Control Panel.


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Jul 29, 2019

Allen Fairview Chamber of Commerce CEO Sharon Mayer gives examples of how The Chamber works behind the scenes to serve membership.

Saundra Midkiff (Membership Director) and Karen Simpson (Finance Director) have the details of upcoming ribbon cuttings and events:

Jul 22, 2019

Sharon Mayer has the details on the upcoming Membership Luncheon featuring State Representative Jeff Leach.

Saundra Midkiff updates us on new members and a big ribbon cutting coming up for  Lazy Dog

Jul 16, 2019

Eric Hoyle has all the details about the upcoming 5:05 Networking Event at Heritage Ranch Golf and Country Club

Jul 15, 2019

We welcome a new voice to the podcast this week...Jordan Stahl who will be handling social media for the Allen Fairview Chamber of Commerce

Saundra Midkiff Welcomes New Members:

Jul 8, 2019

Saundra Midkiff welcomes new members and talks about the benefits of membership

New Members


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Dekorra Mock Rock - Model 107

Rock Style :

Dimensions: 15"L × 14"W × 23"H

 Common Application Types:

  • Well - 8" diameter up to 18"H

  • Septic Pipes - 6" diameter up to 20"H
    Rock measurements are for widest external dimensions. To get a full list of internal dimensions, consult our Will-It-Fit Spreadsheet.

    Dekorra Rock Dimensions Will-It-Fit: Rock Dimensions
    DekoRRa Size-A-Rock.xls

    Shipping Times (Updated Summer 2021)

    We are happy to announce that our online store is open for orders 24/7 and we are always there to help you find the best rocks possible!

    Increased Overall Shipping Lead Time

    Currently most Dekorra rocks have a 5-12 week shipping lead time.  Dekorra is experiencing an incredible increase in sales which has led to delays in product availability.  Rocks that are in stock will usually ship in 3 days on the days from their warehouse.  (Dekorra ships orders on Wednesdays and Fridays).

    12 Week+ Shipping Lead Time

    A few rocks that are harder to produce now have a lead time of at least 12 weeks.  As a result many online sellers have chosen not to offer these rocks on as they require significantly more customer service.

    Here at Allmockrocks LLC we are choosing to continue to take orders to ensure that you get the rock that you need.  If you are willing to wait, we recommend that you order the rock, and we will do our best to ship them out as soon as they are available.

    Thank you for understanding! As always, if you have any questions, please feel free to contact us with your questions.

    Shipping Costs

    Unfortunately, due to Fed Ex raising shipping costs we have had to add shipping surcharges at this time.  We hope in the future to be able to return to free shipping (on most orders) within the lower 48 Continental United States.

    Some larger rocks require an additional shipping/handling charge to cover the cost of the extended transportation time, as many require to be shipped via freight.

    Please contact us for details on shipping outside the Continental United States.

    Return Policy

    In the event that you have to return your product(s), please e-mail us and let us know and we will make the process as seamless as possible for you.  As a result of the nature of shipping and handling rocks, there is a 15% restocking fee on all items returned.


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Tim Tszyu finishes Michael Zerafa in just two words

Aussie boxing champ Tim Tszyu has seemingly left any hope of a Michael Zerafa fight in his dust with just two words seemingly closing the book.

The pair were meant to meet in a highly anticipated clash in Newcastle but the Victorian-based Zerafa pulled out of the fight, claiming inadequate arrangements for he and his team to travel to Newcastle.

Watch Tim Tszyu v Stevie Spark on Main Event available on Foxtel and Kayo, Wednesday 7 July at 7pm AEST. ORDER NOW >

Reports that the weigh in would be shifted to Melbourne and private jets be used to fly Zerafa in on fight night have been revealed in the time since.

Queensland boxer Stevie Sparks has since stepped in to fight Tszyu and took his own shot at Zerafa in a thinly veiled swipe during the press conference.

Sparks, who was pouring beers when he agreed to the fight, brings his 12-1 (11KO) record to the fight could be a challenge for Tzsyu’s unbeaten 18 fight record.

“I do this for the fans and that’s why I did step in on late notice because the fans needed to see a fight,” he said. “If you want it bad enough, you’ll make it happen, that’s referring to myself, to Tim, to No Limit, when you want something bad enough, you’ll make it go ahead. Unlike some other fighters who aren't willing to do that.”

But Tszyu, who’s been on the big stage for some time now knew exactly what to say when asked about Zerafa.

“Michael who?” he asked. “Haven’t heard of him for a bit now.”

Tim Tszyu isn’t mucking around.Source:FOX SPORTS

It was all Tszyu would say on his former opponent.

However, he did hint that it may be his last fight in Australia, seemingly ending any hope of Zerafa to face off against Tszyu.

Tszyu has his sights on a world title fight with the winner of the unification fight between WBA (Super), WBC, IBF and The Ring champion Jermell Charlo and WBO champ Brian Castano, who fight on July 17.

Charlo said Tszyu would never fight him but the Aussie is setting up an irresistible resume.

He’s currently the No. 1 challenger for the WBO title, No. 3 for the IBF and No. 4 for the WBC on the current rankings.

Tsyzu has been scathing over Zerafa pulling out of the fight night but interestingly, Aussie boxing legend Jeff Fenech believes that Sparks will give Tszyu a tougher fight.

“Tim’s in a real fight now,” Fenech said last week. “I was in the other corner for Spark’s last fight when he beat Jack Brubaker who I train and I have absolutely no doubt he is a tougher fight for Tim Tszyu than what Michael Zerafa would have been.

“He is a very talented kid and he believes in himself, and these are the guys you need to worry about. I’m really excited now – I cannot wait for this fight.”

Sparks said that the praise from Fenech meant a lot but at the end of the day it was just talk.

“You try and block all that stuff out,” Sparks said. “I don’t want to get too caught up in the media and who said what because at the end of the day, I’m the one in there who has to throw the punches and take the punches. We block all that out and keep the job in mind.”

Stevie Sparks is looking for an upset.Source:FOX SPORTS

As for an upset, Sparks said it was all he was dreaming of.

“It’s everything to me mate, this is huge,” Sparks said. “This is all I’ve ever dreamt about. I’ve had an inkling I’d fight Tim and it’s maybe fate that this has fallen into place. This would set my family financially, this would set myself up in the boxing world. It’s about the legacy I want to leave on the sport, I’m doing this for something to leave behind, for something fans can talk about for years after I’m retired, they can talk about Stephen Sparks and that he never shied away from a fight.”

Despite the warning from Fenech however, Tszyu didn’t appear worried at all.

Tszyu said Sparks is a “good boxer but there are levels and I’m no Brubaker”.

“Look, it’s good to have dreams, it’s good to have belief, it’s good to have vision,” Tszyu said.

“But once we get in the ring, all that disappears. You get into my territory, you get into my zone, you get into my cage, and there’s only thing that happens: the hope, the soul, and everything gets taken away and I’m in control.

Bring it on!

Source: Read Full Article


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Prem to fund defibrillators after Eriksen collapse

The Premier League said on Friday it is funding defibrillators at grassroots clubs and facilities to save lives if someone suffers a cardiac arrest in the wake of Christian Eriksen’s collapse at Euro 2020.

The former Tottenham midfielder collapsed in Denmark’s group opener against Finland. His life was saved when CPR was administered to him on the pitch and his heart was re-started with a defibrillator before he was taken to hospital.

– How social media reacted to in-game Eriksen tribute
– Marcotti: Eriksen collapse reminder of the fragility of life
– Borden: Denmark sends emotional message to Eriksen

The league said “more than 2,000 sites will benefit” with the first 1,000 units of Automated External Defibrillators (AED) to be delivered before the 2021-22 season begins.

“The traumatic incident we all witnessed when Christian Eriksen collapsed during Euro 2020 brings into sharp focus the need for defibrillators to be more widely available across the football community,” Premier League chief executive Richard Masters said in a statement.

“The welfare of participants and all those involved in football is a priority and this fund will support many people using football facilities not just with the provision of devices but also the training required to use the equipment.

“Sadly, a sudden cardiac incident could happen anytime, anywhere and we hope by enabling more facilities to have a device, it will make the difference in saving someone’s life.”

Eriksen was discharged from hospital after an operation to implant a heart starter device.

Former Bolton midfielder Fabrice Muamba, who collapsed on the pitch in an FA Cup match in 2012 and was technically “dead” for 78 minutes, welcomed the initiative.

“I know from personal experience the importance of having access to this type of medical equipment and how vital it is for someone’s survival after suffering from sudden cardiac arrest,” he said. “Educating people how to use defibrillators is crucial.”

Source: Read Full Article


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Cinnamon Roll Cake with Apples, Craisins and Almonds

our blog too

Nothing beats fresh out of the oven cinnamon rolls.  Those rich, sweet, buttery, spiraled pastries filled with aromatic cinnamon, sprinkled with nuts and dripping with sugar glaze.  Add a steaming hot cup of coffee and it’s a decadent way to start any day.

Did you know that cinnamon buns are celebrated in Sweden?  Yes, we just might have the Swedes to thank for inventing this inviting indulgence.  They’re just about a part of daily life there.  In fact, October 4 is Kanelbullens Dag (Cinnamon Bun Day) in Sweden.

It’s not October 4, but who needs a day to celebrate cinnamon rolls?  So here is Oli’s recipe for a bit of a twist on traditional cinamon rolls – a cinnamon roll cake. The ingredients are in keeping with traditional rolls, but arranging them in a cake pan and turning out one big cinnamon roll cake is Oli’s unique take. (Don’t forget, he’s an Icelander living in Sweden.)   It’s a lovely presentation that is simple to assemble. The cake is not heavy and does not pack a fist full of sugar.  It’s a rich, delicious cardamom scented cinnamon cake that is zesty and just sweet enough.  Instead of the classic raisins in the filling, this recipe uses Craisins. (Hey, when you’re out of raisins use Craisins!)

You are getting two for one with this recipe.  After you prepare the cake, you might have left overs which are the traditional Swedish cinnamon rolls. Pop them on a buttered cookie sheet and bake for about 12 minutes.

Now, where is that cup of coffee?. . .

Cinnamon Roll Cake with Apples, Craisins and Almonds

We’ve listed the filling, egg wash and sugar glaze recipes first.  It’s your choice.  You can make the filling and egg wash, and reserve them until ready to use.  You can also choose to make them while the dough is rising.  You should choose a good baking apple like a Granny Smith or Honey Crisp that will hold up to oven heat and not get mushy.   The sugar glaze is a no brainer.  Make this when the cake has cooled.

1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 cup peeled and cubed baking apples
3/4 cup craisins or raisins
3/4 cup sliced almonds
6 tablespoons room temperature butter

1.  In a small bowl, mix together sugar and cinnamon.
2.  In a medium bowl, toss together apples, craisins or raisins and almonds.
3. Reserve

Egg Wash
 egg yolk
1 tablespoon milk

1.  In a small bowl whisk together egg yolk and milk.
2.  Refrigerate until ready to use.

Sugar Glaze
1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
2 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon lemon juice

1.  In a small bowl, mix together sugar, water, lemon juice.  There should be no sugar lumps.  Mixture will be thickly runny.

1 ounce package active dry yeast or fresh yeast cake
1 cup luke warm milk
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon ground cardamom
1 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons cold butter, cut into small cubes

In a small bowl dissolve yeast in milk.

1. Place flour, sugar, cardamom, salt and butter in bowl of stand mixer fitted with dough hook. Mix until no butter clumps remain.
2.  Pour yeast mixture into flour mixture and mix until dough is smooth and pulls away from sides of bowl.
3.  Cover bowl with a damp cloth and allow dough to double in size.

1 3

Preheat oven to 350 Farenheit
5.  On a clean, floured surface, roll out dough to about 15-inches by 12-inches.
 Get reserved filling mixture and evenly spread butter over dough, then sprinkle with sugar and  cinnamon mixture.
6. Evenly strew apples, craisins or raisins and almonds over dough.

7.  Roll dough, lengthwise in jelly roll fashion then use a sharp knife to cut log into about 20 even slices.
8.  Arrange slices in a buttered 8-inch cake pan.  Start at the perimeter and overlap each slice by half of the next slice.  When you’ve gone around the pan, do the same in the middle.  (If you have slices left over, place them on a buttered cookie sheet.)
9.  Brush top of cake and any individual rolls with reserved egg wash.  Refrigerate leftover egg wash for use when cake comes out of oven.
9.  Bake cake in preheated 350 F oven 40 minutes.
(Bake individual rolls for about 12 minutes.)
10. When out of the oven and still hot, brush tops again with egg wash. It adds a nice shiny surface.

11. When rolls have cooled, drizzle with sugar glaze.
10Chinnamon rolls

_MG_0138 worked

About Allthatcooking

We are an Icelander living in Sweden and New England Yankee living in Virginia who share not only a great friendship but also a passion for world food. Our particular interest lies in the types of dishes that bring people together at celebrations and during holidays. When we take an occasional break from working on our global cookbook, we post on what is now a side project - our blog . Visit us at
This entry was posted in Breakfast, Desserts, Sweets and tagged , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

5 Responses to Cinnamon Roll Cake with Apples, Craisins and Almonds

  1. ieatsigrins says:

    Cinnamon Bun Day! That is great! I wanna live in Sweden where cinnamon buns are elevated by national recognition. And, cardamom! Under-promoted subtle spice elevated to very high status on my palate. Haven’t made this recipe yet, but bet your bottom dollar folks, I shall be making Oli’s Cinnamom (couldn’t resist) Roll Cake come this weekend. Keep doing all that cooking, O & G!

    • Cardamom is my absolute favorite. Never buy the ground stuff in a bottle. Buy the green pods (you can find them in Indian groceries) and grind them yourself. Far superior and the aroma is intoxicating! Now, what time is breakfast this weekend?

  2. nusrat2010 says:

    You made me drool the way you described your cake in the first paragraph 🙂 And that cake shot only intensified my drooling speed 🙂
    I can live on that gorgeous cake for the rest of my life 🙂

  3. The buns look droolworthy!

  4. This is so unique and reminds me of the coffee cakes of my youth. Can’t wait to try it!

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WIP learning mode

WIP Learning Mode

When you first start with Windows Information Protection (WIP), you might want to consider starting with the Protection Mode set to Silent. This is also called Windows Information Protection Learning Mode or WIP Learning Mode. In silent/learning mode WIP runs silently and will not block anything. It will however encrypt and log all actions including […]

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Are your friends the biggest obstacle to you achieving your goals?

This question has come to mind based on my personal and professional experiences. Those as an athletic individual who has endeavoured to live a vigorous life for the last 15 years, and then as a Strength and Conditioning (S&C) coach training health and fitness enthusiasts and amateur to professional athletes over the last six years. Every one of these individuals, myself included, had their own specific training goals that they have invested time and money into the pursuit of. But how many actually achieve them?

In the professional realm, you can imagine that the success rate is most likely greater than at the sub-elite or recreational level. Although true, in my experience it’s still far lower than it should be – but perhaps that comes from a mind too bound by the philosophy of attaining one’s best version? As an S&C coach all you can do is implement the training interventions and modalities as best you can, providing as much technical and moral support as is necessary. However once you go beyond the scope of your time together with your client, your sphere of influence wanes and the client becomes vulnerable to a host of potentially negative extrinsic and intrinsic factors. And this is where I have noticed the most common similarities between what hinders these clients of all levels and professions from achieving their goals- the social aspects of their lives.

This brings us back to the question; are your friends the biggest obstacle to you achieving your goals? Well, firstly it’s important I just make it clear that there are obviously many other obstacles such as genetic and injury related ones, but in this piece I’m focusing on the social because, as mentioned above, its prevalence throughout all levels of physical training, its influence and the reduced control the S&C coach has over it sets it apart and puts it in place for special consideration. What are the types of social problems facing any individual that is attempting to train regularly in the pursuit of their goals? To begin with let’s examine the types of goals we’re referring to. These training goals range from the aesthetic – reduce body fat, increase muscle mass of intrinsically or extrinsically desirable body parts (pectorals, biceps, glutes, etc) and the performance based – improve strength, power, speed & endurance, etc. Then you have to ask what are the most important factors in achieving said goals? If we inspect those outside the S&C coach’s direct control, one would say, genetic limitations, nutrition, sleep, motivation and a support system are the most important. Looking at that list it should be intuitively obvious that a persons social environment can and will have significant effects on all bar one – the genetic limitations.

How specifically can it affect them? Well If I consolidate all my personal and professional experience with the anecdotal accounts of my fellow professionals with their clients’/athletes’ these are the pictures that get painted about the specific role of ones ‘friends’ in the hindering of their physical goals.

Let’s start with the big one – Nutrition. This, more often that not, is the biggest stumbling block with the recreational athlete or client, but can still prove challenging for professionals because, even though they maybe at a psychological level of determination, drive and habitualness that surpasses that of the non-professional, they were not always professional and as such would most likely not have been able to escape the types of social conditioning from birth to adulthood that creates unhealthy relationships with ‘junk food’ or counterproductive dietary habits. Its importance with the non-professional is often amplified by the fact that they;

  1. Generally possess goals that are skewed towards the aesthetic (e.g. gaining a ‘flat stomach’).
  2. Start their training regimes further away from their aesthetic target (e.g. I’ve put of lots of weight over the holiday period).
  3. Give themselves shorter time frames within which to achieve their goals (e.g. I have a holiday in 4 weeks).

Those three factors, though not an exhaustive list, give you an idea – and in each of those situations proper nutrition is just as, if not more, important than any training intervention one could wish to undertake. Now for the role of the ‘friend’ – which I define in this discussion as anyone who you exchange frequent interactions with and whose opinion can affect your decision-making. So for example, feeling the need to go on daily lunch or after work drinks with friends, feeling the need to go out to a bar/club for a heavily alcohol-focused night out every weekend, or when out for dinner – ordering meals you know you shouldn’t for fear of social mockery or alienation from the group. This effect of peer pressure is a well documented one, and one that extends to other unhealthy habits like smoking. However, complete discussion of those aspects is beyond the scope of this piece. Suffice to say, peer pressure is very detrimental to the kind of decision-making processes that lead to good nutrition and an increased potential to achieve aesthetic goals. The same goes for the professionals and their performance goals… Just look at the most recent example of professional footballer Gabriel Agbonlahor’s physical decline due to poor lifestyle choice – choices that (based on his explanations for his behaviour) were no doubt influenced in some way by his friendship group.

Next is sleep – this is an aspect of training that’s importance in homeostasis, fat loss, physiological adaptations and recovery is often understated or poorly recognized. There is a plethora of literature explaining said importance, but if we just look at it anecdotally, how many people have experienced disturbed sleeping patterns due to excessive alcohol intake, poor diet, late meals, and poor lifestyle choices? I predict a vast majority. And how many of the aforementioned were partaken in some part due to the influence of friends? Again I predict a vast majority.

Motivation – This can be more intrinsic or extrinsic depending on the individual’s personality type and experiences, and it would be hard to say which is greater in any given person. However, knowing that the external influences play a role, it’s safe to assume that negative or counterproductive extrinsic factors, will reduce the individual’s motivation to follow the training regime with the dedication and precision required to achieve their goals. These counterproductive external influences in the combined S&C experience of my peers and myself come in the form of friends, family, spouses and even fellow sportsmen and women. For example, a friend, family member, spouse, or peer suggesting that you come out for drinks, shisha, ill advised meals on the eve of your competition or training session because it’s their birthday. From their perspective this might make sense, but should their priorities be the same as yours? Should you feel bad for choosing your goals over theirs? Do you know their true motivations for asking this of you while knowing how important your training or competition is? Not a straightforward question to answer… The key is context and, more often than not, I have found the answer to all is a firm no. Simply because human nature is such that generally the only way to maintain one’s discipline and professionalism is by not allowing even the smallest backwards step or deviation outside of the prescribed planned ones (i.e. rest days, cheat days, off season periods, etc). We are habitual creatures and if your training regime becomes so regimented that its partaking becomes second nature, there is a greater chance of you seeing continual motivation-enhancing improvements and getting to the end goal successfully. Plus, although you may be able to trust the intensions of family or a spouse, can you trust those of your peers? Especially in non-team based sports? A question perhaps best answered in another piece, but food for thought nonetheless. Furthermore, you might be thinking a little drink or fast food here and there will not have a direct detrimental effect on your training and indirect effect on your motivation, and that in fact that little guilty pleasure might give you even more motivation via an improved mood or a guilt driven desire to train harder. Stop and think about this. The bad habits and psychological attachments and addiction we as a species have developed over the years with food, social interactions and smoking to name but a few, are never likely to be eradicated. Therefore, is dabbling in these behaviours in an unstructured way going to help you repress/control them or just increase the likelihood of a full relapse? This in turn breeds a turbulent guilt, shame, and self loathing cycle that destroys motivation – ultimately preventing you from achieving your training goals.

Finally, the support system, which is basically defining a particular type of close knit social group designed to give you emotional and practical help in your moments of need. In the professional realm, this can be the most important factor as the life of a modern day professional can become very lonely. In the early stages of their career they can find themselves becoming distanced from their former ‘real’ friends and having to make new ones whose motivations are harder to ascertain due to their increased financial wealth. The problem within this aspect of achieving ones goal’s is that a significant number of professionals and non-professionals do not have one to begin with- the professionals for the potential disingenuousness of those around them and the non-pros because those around them, family and spouse included, may not be living the same lifestyle as them. After all, for those of us who are regularly active, health and fitness may be the centre of our world, but we are still in the minority. And most people do not live lives anywhere close to conducive to an above average level of mental, physical and spiritual health, all of which regular exercise and good nutrition have been proved to have a positive affect on. This all means that when life or training is not going well and you are in need of support, they may not be the best people to provide it due to lack of experience or understanding of your plight – no matter the pureness of their intentions. Therefore, it could be a good idea when venturing on the road to an aesthetic or performance goal, to seek additional friendship from those following a similar path.

To conclude, the nature of human connection and interaction in the context of ones lifestyle choices, and pursuit of individual goals is a complicated one. However it’s clear that the people you see on a day-to-day basis – friend, foe, family or spouse will have a significant role to play in the attaining of said goals. So be very very mindful of who you allow to be close, and how much influence you permit their words to have on the decisions made about the body that has to carry you 365 days a year from beginning to end.

By Alpha Maurice Cidade Cauwenbergh

© Alpha Maurice Cidade Cauwenbergh – 2016. Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Alpha Maurice Cidade Cauwenbergh – with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

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Altadena Heritage Tree Page

Welcome to our Tree Page with information on selecting, planting, caring for and maintaining your trees. We also have information on upcoming or recorded events regarding trees.

 Altadena Heritage has been working to maintain our existing tree canopy as well as increase it. While Altadena is not an urban center but rather suburban, it has a very high “Urban Heat Island Index.” This is because prevailing onshore winds carry heat from the LA basin up to the foothills until they are stopped by the San Gabriel Mountains right in Altadena. We published an article on this in our newsletter.

Planting Trees Really Helps

Planting trees is a very effective way to combat the Urban Heat Island effect, the others being installing cool roofs and cool pavements. Trees cool the air by transpiration and by shading heat absorbing surfaces. Some additional benefits of trees:  they take pollutants and carbon dioxide out of the air, emit oxygen, encourage active transportation (walking, bicycling) by providing shade, stimulate economic activity, and improve health and wellbeing.

Learn to Select, Plant and Care for Your Trees

We have reached out to tree experts to help us provide a series of workshops and additional information to help residents make the right decisions about choosing, planting and caring for the best trees that suit our climate and contribute most to the cooling and improvement of our environment.

This effort is supported by a generous grant from Southern California Edison.

2020 Tree Workshops

September 26, 10 am – 12 pm

Right Tree, Right Place – Tree Selection and Siting

Led by tree expert and plant pathologist, Dr. Jerrold Turney

October 24, 10 am – 12 pm

Pruning and Tree Care

Presented by tree expert
and plant pathologist,
Dr. Jerrold Turney

November 7, 10 am – 12 pm

A Tree Planting Demonstration

Presented by tree expert and plant pathologist Dr. Jerry Turney

Tree Resources

Altadena Heritage has compiled the following list of online resources to learn more about trees – how to access, select, plant and care for them.

General Information

L.A. County Public Works will plant a tree in your parkway for free if space meets criteria. Call 818-249-3094 to request a parkway tree.

SelecTree, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo – Website
Provides a wealth of information on any particular species of tree.

Tree PeopleWebsite
Very active in Los Angeles. This is a great website with lots of information about the Urban Forest, trees, gardening, how to get involved, etc. The DIY section is very good.

California ReLeaf – Website
Provides grants to communities for arbor day events and for large planting projects. They advocate for planting large trees, as those will have a larger impact on climate change and the urban heat island effect. Website has webinars, videos, slide show presentations, newsletter, links to many resources.

California Urban Forests Council –  Website

L.A. and Orange Counties Regional Urban Forests CouncilWebsite
Presentations of past seminars available here. Publishes a tree guide.

International Society of ArboricultureWebsite
Lots of advice for the tree owner, including how to buy a high-quality tree. Will help you find certified arborists in our area and check their credentials.

Urban Tree Foundation – Website
Research-based advice on tree buying, planting, and care for the professional and the homeowner. See especially this guide: PDF

Tree Care for Birds –  Website
Best management practices to protect birds and other wildlife during and beyond nesting season. Good resources page and some great photos.

Selecting the Right Tree

LADWP Home Tree Guide – Website

Tree People’s LA City Approved Tree List – click on plant lists – Website

Pasadena Cool Trees Guidebook (2018) – PDF

How to Choose the Right Tree for the Right Place – Website

The Large Tree Argument – PDF

Buying High Quality Trees – PDF

Selecting the Best Site

Pasadena Cool Trees Guidebook – PDF

LADWP Home Tree Guide – Website

Tree Planting & Care

CALFIRE Nursery Standards & Specs  – PDF

Planting to Protect Against Wildfire

With wild fires such a current issue for Altadena residents, here are some articles to help you plant and care for a more fire resistant landscape.

  • A Guide to Defensible Space –
    PDF & PDF
  • Very High Fire Severity Zone Map –
  • Ca Buildings in Fire Zones – Website
  • Pasadena Cool Trees Guidebook – PDF

  • LADWP Home Tree Guide – Website

Fire Resistant Landscaping

Fire-safe Plant Lists

  • Diablo Firesfe – Website
  • Fire Safe County- PDF
  • Tuloume Firesafe –  PDF

Trees NOT to Plant in Southern California – and Why

The following list of trees should not be planted in Southern California due to widespread lethal tree diseases that have no effective treatment. The pests/diseases that are of greatest concern are Bacterial Leaf Scorch and Invasive Shot Hole Bore.

Bacterial Leaf Scorch

Bacterial Leaf Scorch has been present in California for more than 100 years. In 1990 Oleanders started dying and were diagnosed as infected with Xylella fastidiosa in 1993. Soon thereafter Liquidambar styraciflua, Plums, Crape Myrtle and Olive were observed dying and diagnosed as infected with Xylella fastidiosa. Xylella fastidiosa is the causal agent of Bacterial Leaf Scorch. These five hosts are now dying throughout Southern California. Any trees planted will likely die in 5-10 years and have no chance of reaching mature size before they die.

Trees NOT to plant due to Bacterial Leaf Scorch

  • Liquidambar
  • Olive
  • Plum (especially Purple Leaf Plum),
  • Crape Myrtle
  • Oleander

Invasive Shot Hole Borer (ISHB)

Invasive Shot Hole Borer (ISHB) was first found at Whittier Narrows in Los Angeles County in 2003 but was not identified until several years later.

From 2003-2010 the beetle was found on a few ornamental trees, then in 2010 it was the presumptive cause of the death of a large number of box elder street trees in Long Beach. In 2012 the beetle was collected from a backyard avocado tree in South Gate, and from several tree species at local botanical gardens. It now appears to be established in Los Angeles, Orange, and Riverside Counties and has also spread to selected areas of San Bernardino, Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties. A single beetle was caught in Santa Cruz County in 2014.

The host list for ISHB is now over 60 different tree species. Some hosts are preferred hosts and others are less attractive to the beetle. Preferred hosts of ISHB should not be planted as they will likely die in 5-10 years and never reach mature size before dying. I have observed that all species of Acer (Maple) and Platanus racemosa (Western Sycamore) are highly susceptible and are dying throughout Southern California and should not be planted.

Trees NOT to Plants Due to Likely Death From ISHB
    • Acer buergerianum – Trident maple
    • Acer macrophyllum – Big leaf maple
    • Acer negundo – Box elder
    • Parkinsonia aculeata – Palo verde
    • Platanus racemosa – California sycamore
    • Platanus hispanica – London plane
    • Populus fremontii – Fremont cottonwood
    • Populus nigra – Black poplar
    • Populus trichocarpa – Black cottonwood
    • Quercus lobata – Valley oak
    • Quercus robur – English oak
    • Ricinus communis – Castorbean
    • Salix gooddingii – Black willow
    • Salix laevigata – Red willow
    • Salix lasiolepis – Arroyo willow

Jerrold Turney Ph.D.

Consultant in Plant Pathology and Arboriculture
ISA Certified Arborist #WC-2364
Pest Control Adviser License #75603


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About Altitude Bloomington

Our park features high energy equipment such as wipeout, a trapeze bar, trampoline basketball, extreme dodgeball and much more entertainment for families, groups, and individuals.

Altitude Trampoline Park Bloomington offers cutting edge attractions and exciting family entertainment activities such as:

  • Main Court
  • Wipeout
  • Trapeze Bar
  • Kids Court
  • Battle Beam
  • Log Roll
  • Extreme Dodgeball
  • Trampoline Basketball
  • Tumble Tracks
  • Monkey Bars
  • Foam Pit

With over 23,000 square feet of total space, this place is jumping! Altitude Trampoline Park Bloomington is a fresh, new entertainment option for families, groups, and individuals to have active fun.

Altitude Trampoline Park Bloomington is an exciting addition to the entertainment mix and is open all year, rain or shine. It is our hope that parents and children alike will appreciate a new destination for active, family entertainment in a safe and clean environment.

Altitude Bloomington is the perfect venue for a birthday party or group event. We offer several different party and event packages that can be customized to fit your budget and accommodate groups of any size, large or small.

Sign Up For
Special Offers

Altitude Trampoline Park Bloomington

1702 General Electric Rd, Suite #4
Bloomington, IL 61704
(309) 663-1988


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In Trump’s Jan. 6 recast, attackers become martyrs, heroes – The Denver Post

WASHINGTON — A cocktail of propaganda, conspiracy theory and disinformation — of the kind intoxicating to the masses in the darkest turns of history — is fueling delusion over the agonies of Jan. 6.

Hate is “love.” Violence is “peace.” The pro-Donald Trump attackers are patriots.

Months after the then-president’s supporters stormed the Capitol that winter day, Trump and his acolytes are taking this revisionism to a new and dangerous place — one of martyrs and warlike heroes, and of revenge. It’s a place where cries of “blue lives matter” have transformed into shouts of “f— the blue.”

The fact inversion about the siege is the latest in Trump’s contorted oeuvre of the “big lie” compendium, the most specious of which is that the election was stolen from him, when it was not.

It is rooted in the formula of potent propaganda through the ages: Say it loud, say it often, say it with the heft of political power behind you, and people will believe. Once spread by pamphlets, posters and word of mouth, now spread by swipe of finger, the result is the same: a passionate, unquestioning following.

FACT CHECK: Trump stokes Jan. 6 conspiracy theories

Techniques of glorifying your side and demonizing the other with skewed information, if not outright lies, have been in play at least since World War I, when the U.S. government roused sentiment for the cause with posters depicting the German soldier as an ape-human with a willowy American maiden in his clutches. That paled next to what followed years later with Nazi Germany’s terrifying use of propaganda for the slaughter and subjugation of millions.

Whether the deception feeds warmongering or merely a defeated president’s ego, some of the methods are the same, like telling the same fabrication over and over until it sticks.

Trump perfected the art of repetition — about the “election hoax,” the “rigged election” and ”massive voter fraud,” with none of those accusations substantiated in the dozens of court cases and official post-election audits but engrained nonetheless among his supporters.

Four years ago, Trump appeared to equate white supremacists and racial justice protesters in Charlottesville, Virginia, with his comment that there were “very fine people, on both sides.”

This time, in this telling, the very fine people on Jan. 6 were on one side: his.

For the other side — the police, overwhelmed for hours and bloodied in the insurrection — Trump only has an in-your-face question that doubles as a four-word conspiracy theory: “Who killed Ashli Babbitt?”

Those words have become a viral mantra meant to elevate Babbitt as a righteous martyr in the cause of liberty. They ricochet around the mainline social media platforms where Trump is banned for spreading misinformation but his followers still commiserate. The woman died from a police officer’s bullet fired as she tried to climb through the jagged glass of a smashed window toward the House chamber during the riot.

Babbitt has become the face of the insurrection — emblazoned on T-shirts and cheered in basement ballrooms at hotels around the country where conspiracy theorists gather to vent. In Washington’s Georgetown neighborhood, flyers are plastered on street lamps and building facades telling of an unveiling of a statue of Babbitt in nearby Alexandria, Virginia, on July 27, at “high noon.”

Trump and many Republicans have cycled through various characterizations of the insurrection, each iteration wholly unlike the previous one. The attackers were said to be leftist antifa followers in disguise. Then they were said to be overexcited tourists. Now they are heralded as foot soldiers for freedom.

Each iteration has required Americans to ignore the rage they saw on their screens, and some lawmakers to ignore that they were among the shocked targets of the attackers that day. The hunted now praise the hunters.

Taken together, the revisionists and their believers are “swimming in a vast sea of nonsense,” said Brendan Buck, a former top aide to onetime House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis.

That sea’s currents are familiar to historians who study what makes some conspiracy theories and propaganda persuasive.

Once people buy into the lies, there can be no convincing them they aren’t true, said Dolores Albarracin, a psychology professor at the University of Pennsylvania and co-author of a coming book, “Creating Conspiracy Beliefs: How Our Thoughts are Shaped.”

Despite the well-documented facts about what happened on Jan. 6, believers often dismiss anyone who tries to set them straight by claiming they are either duped or part of the conspiracy, Albarracin said.

“The belief contains a device that protects it,” she said. “Nothing can invalidate the conspiracy theory. Trying to refute the theory proves the theory and signals you as a conspirator.”

DJ Peterson, an expert on authoritarianism and propaganda, is president of Longview Global Advisors, a Los Angeles-based consulting firm, and worked at the Eurasia Group and the RAND Corporation. He said that in an online world awash in information and a real world riven by polarization, “you pick and choose what you want to believe, including sticking your head in the sand.”

Trump, Peterson said, excels at amplifying claims that galvanize his core supporters and turn them against other Americans.

“That’s where the power of Trump is,” he said. “He’s good at picking up on these threads … that lower the level of trust and create division.”

Recent polls are consistent in illustrating the country’s divide over Trump and his post-election histrionics. In essence, two-thirds of the population is against him; two-thirds of Republicans for him. In one of the latest, Quinnipiac found that 66% of Republicans consider President Joe Biden to have been illegitimately elected.

That number and others like it in multiple polls represent tens of millions of people who were hoodwinked into believing allegations of election fraud that have been thoroughly investigated and refuted, including by Trump’s own attorney general, William Barr. Trump’s fabrications have stuck and now undergird the attempts by him and those closest to him to glorify the Jan. 6 mob.

“The consequence of lying is you kind of never get back to where you were before,” said Harvard historian Jill Lepore, whose podcast, “The Last Archive,” explores hoaxes, deceptions and what has happened to truth. “That’s what’s pernicious about our particular moment.”

Of Trump, she said: “His method is generally to just create chaos so that people really don’t know which way to look.”

In the case of the insurrection, his followers looked away. An aggressive amnesia seems to have taken hold over how ugly it all was, even though the scenes that were broadcast and streamed in real time are forever.

Swarming to the Capitol after a staging rally where Trump told them to “fight like hell,” and vowed, falsely, that he would be right there with them, the attackers beat the vastly outnumbered law enforcement officers, injuring scores of them. In one particularly awful case, an officer was crushed against a door by people pushing to get in, his mouth bleeding as the side of his face pressed against the glass of the door.

Lawmakers inside ran for their lives, hiding for hours as the mob wandered the halls of Congress holding up Trump flags. The assailants called out for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and wanted Trump’s vice president, who was there, too. “Hang Mike Pence,” they chanted.

Babbitt was part of the group that was trying to beat down the doors of the House chamber as Capitol Police officers were evacuating the House floor and as some members were still trapped in the upper gallery. The officers used furniture to barricade the glass doors separating the hallway from the Speaker’s Lobby to try to stave off the attackers, who were breaking glass with their fists, flagpoles and other objects.

Only three police officers were guarding the doors on the other side of the stacked furniture as at least 20 attackers tried to get in, screaming, “F– the blue!” and “Break it down!” One smashed the door glass next to an officer’s head; another warned the officers they would be hurt if they didn’t get out of the way.

A Capitol Police lieutenant pointed his gun. “Gun!” “Gun!” the attackers shouted as the hysteria reached a fever pitch. They started to lift Babbitt up, to climb through the window. The officer fired one round.

Babbitt was struck in the shoulder. She later died. The officer was cleared of wrongdoing, and his name was not released.

Trump now states falsely — and with a stream of repetitions — that she was shot “right in the head.”

“They were there for one reason, the rigged election,” he told Fox News a week ago. “They felt the election was rigged. That’s why they were there. And they were peaceful people. These were great people. The crowd was unbelievable. And I mentioned the word love. The love — the love in the air, I have never seen anything like it.”

Klepper reported from Providence, R.I.

Source: Read Full Article


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Dr. Phil: Arizona’s Savage Front Office

Hotshots mid-season report

Credit: Arizona Hotshots

Bill Belichick, Nick Saban, Ed Reed, and Ray Lewis are names synonymous for having arguably the greatest impact on the game of modern football, another connection to these names is Arizona Hotshots General Manager, Phil Savage.

Phil Savage
Credit: Arizona Hotshots

The resume of Savage includes former jobs as General Manager of the Cleveland Browns, Director of Player Personnel of the Baltimore Ravens, Executive Director of the Senior Bowl, Scout for the Cleveland Browns, Radio Analyst for the University of Alabama’s Crimson Tide Sports Network, coaching stints at the collegiate and professional ranks, and has even worked as a consultant and executive for the Philadelphia Eagles. Savage brings something any start-up league desperately needs, credibility!

While Savage certainly has an impressive resume, it is important to look at his impact on the present and future. As other leagues can attest, first impressions are everything. For the Alliance of American Football, Phil Savage brings all-star power to the front office of the Arizona Hotshots. After all, one of the things that will determine the fate of the AAF is the ability to develop players.

Savage played a key role in discovering the talents of players that include the aforementioned Ray Lewis and Ed Reed but also Baltimore Ravens legends, Terrell Suggs and Jonathan Ogden among others. Being responsible for 11 pro bowlers and five present or future Hall-of-Famers affirms that Savage will help not only Arizona in the player development department but the AAF as a whole.

Credit: Arizona Hotshots

The last question that must be asked, what does all of this mean for the Arizona Hotshots? Unlike the NFL, the teams of the AAF will rely upon territorial rights to fulfill rosters. This makes player development and professional relationships vital for success in the league. The Hotshots alone, have 14 players that played for the Arizona Cardinals alone. This means that a major part of the Hotshots roster could eventually leave for a return to the NFL.

Having a general manager the caliber of Savage can only improve the odds for Hotshots players looking to get back to “the league.” The more Hotshots players that are developed and sent to the NFL will only provide as a strong marketing tool for the organization. A stellar front office led by Savage, an experienced coaching staff, and a highly skilled roster all play a major role in a Las Vegas oddsmaker declaring the Arizona Hotshots as the favorite to win the championship in the inaugural season of the AAF. One thing is clear, the Hotshots need immediate success to survive, and Phil Savage has the cure.

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16 March 2021

More books, more space to read!

Selecting books for yourself or to share with a child should be a joyful task, although it can often be daunting. With the recent expansion of […]
4 December 2020

Gifts for book-lovers

Looking for the perfect present for the bookworm in your life? Here are gift ideas to satisfy readers of all ages. Suggestions include items from the […]
24 November 2020

New routines, germs, disappointment, and anxiety: Picture books for reading together right now

We know many of you are wondering what to read with your children right now as you navigate new routines, new restrictions to daily life, and […]
7 September 2019

Turning tropes on their head

“What does the Teen Writing Group do?” is a questions we’re asked often in the Children’s and Teens’ Services Department. Each meeting does involve some writing, […]


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YAFF 2019: 3rd Grade – 1st Place “The Golden Necklace” by Louise Harper
15 September 2019
Library Culture Picks: October 2019
1 October 2019

Library staff’s favorite books that we’re sure nobody has heard of

Library staff loves these books, and we’re pretty sure you’ve probably have not heard of many of them.

Here’s what Library staff had to say about some of these books:

The Little White Bird is a lovely novel by J.M. Barrie where Peter Pan first appeared. I still haven’t met anyone who can talk about this book with me.”

“I don’t have one favorite book but I’m sure no one has heard of the many World War II books I’ve read, the titles of which I cannot remember.”

“My theory is that we each have a favorite children’s book that’s not part of the literary canon, that’s probably out of print, but that was beloved for years. Mine is Miss Polly’s Animal School by Mary Elting. It’s pretty ridiculous but I adored it.”

“I don’t think many people have read 2. The Language of Cities by Deyan Sudjic, but it’s such an amazing book, and it made me look at the cities I’ve lived in and traveled to in completely new ways.”

“Well may be it’s not only Catherine who doesn’t know Pete Fromm and The Indian Creek…Maybe not my favorite but a good one!”

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AWESOME! Trump Meets With Talladega College President After Band Wowed Inauguration Crowd

Talladega is a historically black college which was criticized by some on the left because members of the school band wanted to perform at Trump’s inauguration.

The band ultimately went and performed at the inauguration. They were so amazing and talented. They blew everyone away with their performance.

President Trump was so impressed, he ultimately met with the college president. reports:

Trump meets with Talladega College president

President Donald Trump met with Talladega College President Billy C. Hawkins Sunday, according to the school.

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Hawkins’ invitation came less than 48 hours after Talladega College’s Great Tornado Band performed in Trump’s inaugural parade in Washington.

In a news release, the school said Hawkins attended meetings and was also able to attend a reception at the White House. In a prepared statement, he called it “an overwhelming experience.”

The band raised more than $673,000 through a GoFundMe page for travel expenses to the inaugural, when its original goal was $75,000. The groundswell of money came after Hawkins appeared on Fox News’ “The O’Reilly Factor” in response to criticism of the band accepting an invitation to appear in Trump’s inaugural parade. Some alumni and others criticized the move as endorsing Trump.

Hawkins said he left the White House “very encouraged about a positive future for (historically black colleges and universities) all across the country.”

In case you missed it, you can see part of the band’s incredible performance below:

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Welcome dear feast of Lent

Welcome dear feast of Lent, says George Herbert.

Velaszquez, St. Antony and St. Peter the Hermit, detail, 1635

I can’t count how many people have said to me over the years, “ I just LOVE Lent!” But Lent, in the Northern Hemisphere, is when you’re running out of the winter stores and the greens have not yet sprouted in the earth and you’re half starved. It’s a fast imposed by the land and climate. We were wondering a few days ago what our own stores at the farm would be like if we didn’t use freezers (which use energy). Trying to live close to the land and reflecting on food this way opens to us the fragility of life and the abundance we take for granted. I mean, we could just go to the A&P and pick up all sorts of wonderful foods at any time of year if we wanted to.

But just thinking of the A&P and how overwhelmed and disoriented I get in big grocery stores, reminds me of the larger majority of people in the world for whom a grocery store like this a decadent dream. Fasting widens the boundaries of compassion, stretches the heart, makes room for love.

Mother Teresa on her speaking tours in the United States was always quick to point out that the obscene abundance of the West fostered malnourished souls.  Maybe so many folks love Lent because it’s time to set aside other things in order to tend the starving soul.

Yet Lord instruct us to improve our fast
By starving sin and taking such repast
           As may our faults control:

That ev’ry man may revel at his door,
Not in his parlour; banqueting the poor,
            And among those of his soul.*

And the starving soul responds like a desert flower, the seed quickened by the spring rain, shooting up quickly and blossoming radiantly, it’s face tracing the sun’s path through the day, and closing modestly in the cool of the night. Look at the wildflowers! Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these!

But another reason for both fasting and nourishing the soul is to prepare for the Great Feast of the Resurrection. I was interested in the Orthodox teaching about Tabor Light, (Last Epiphany A) and that hell is simply encountering the Presence of the Divine unprepared, thus the unbearable anguishing burning of Reality.  Lent is the time of soul-searching, repentance, forgiveness, reconciliation, for seeking and facing truth. Sins are simply those things which obstruct a loving relationship with God and neighbor. And so, in Lent you expose your sin to the Light and let it burn. Better a lot of little burnings and taking in growing increments of Divine Light than one terrible shattering blast of Reality.

And the snow will melt, the hens will warm up, they will scratch around the ground and fill up the egg boxes again. And my soul will stretch and give more love than I thought possible even after the last Lent.

* George Herbert
    Lent (excerpt)

2 Responses to “Welcome dear feast of Lent”

  1. Diane Says:

    My eye rested on this line, “And my soul will stretch and give more love than I thought possible…” Thank you. Diane

  2. Pat McKenzie Says:

    Particularly when we feel the truth that a result of sin is “separation from God”

    To me, Lent seems to grant strength to move me past rote recitation into aching yearning of “my God you are my God, eagerly I seek you, my soul thirsts for you, my flesh faints for you…”

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237 replies on “About”

Wonderful! I would like to invite you to publish an essay on my blog — on your writing, and your thoughts about how you/it have/has been influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic. Several artists, writers, and musicians from around the world are contributing. If you are interested then send me a message. You may write in English, French, Spanish, Italian etc., as you wish.

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Hi, I was just checking out your website and filled out your feedback form. The contact page on your site sends you these messages via email which is why you’re reading through my message right now right? That’s the most important achievement with any type of advertising, making people actually READ your ad and I did that just now with you! If you have something you would like to blast out to thousands of websites via their contact forms in the US or anywhere in the world let me know, I can even focus on specific niches and my pricing is very low. Reply here: Benja57mik57@gmail.com

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Hello Mum Cee- Amoafowaa Sefa I have Nominated you for the Vincent Ehindero Blogger Award. I hope you will respond with a blog post about this Award. This is all on my page Amoafowaa. Good to see your picture !

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Merci Cécilia de tes visites et de ton accueil. J’espère que tu vas bien…
En ces moments difficiles et délicats, protège toi et prends bien soin de toi. Affectueuses pensées et bisous de France. Vive le Ghana.

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I am delighted that you checked out my little blog today…and deeply honored. I hope you come back soon. I plan on discoursing later today further about “relationships” and how much I know about them…which is very little! Actually, I know “no” thing about them but manage to have some of ’em! Hope to see you and I’m gonna subscribe to yours.

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I really enjoyed reading both your poetry and your prose observations about English language courses in Ghana! It’s obvious you have a lot of talent, and I look forward to reading what you come up with next.

Thank you for stopping by my blog, and I hope you have a lovely day!

Hi Amoafowaa, I have nominated you for the One Lovely Blog award! I learned from a fellow blogger to offer a bouquet of flowers for those who are not accepting awards or are too busy at the moment.
I enjoy your keeping it real through your individual, creative prose!

Hello amoafowaa, I promised to let you know when one of my lyric poems was put to music, so here I am and here is the link: http://youtu.be/lVv_UslVjhE
JR Ella is incredibly talented, full of soul, I hope you enjoy listening to it!

It is always a wonderful pleasure to read your poems, I have been moved many times by your words, so I will be coming back time and time again 🙂

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