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Monday, October 08, 2012

Media Week (V4, N42): Pearson, Library of Congress, Education & Technology + More

(Frankfurt - Come by Hall 8.0 R 928)

The Telegraph reviews Majorie Scardino's 15 year run as head of Pearson plc (Telegraph):
Part of the joy for Dame Marjorie was reshaping Pearson from a bewildering rag-bag of a business, which included Madame Tussauds wax museum, half of investment bank Lazard and a sizable cache of Château Latour wine, into today's publishing and education empire. Its current portfolio includes the Financial Times newspaper and Penguin Books, as well as a growing number of English language schools and universities in China and South Africa.

Dame Marjorie, a former rodeo rider, is known within the company for acting on instinct rather than starting out with forensic analysis. Some decisions have been misplaced - she laughs remembering the pink FT mobile phone launched in the late 1990s - but canny investments in digital initiatives and emerging markets have helped the group navigate its way through two recessions, a dotcom meltdown and the structural decline of print media. Pearson's share price has climbed almost 90pc under her 16-year stewardship. Meanwhile, revenues have tripled to £5.9bn and Pearson delivered record operating profits of £942m last year.
The Library of Congress had launched (or evolved based on their explanation) a new magazine and fittingly they are discussing themselves (LOC):
The War of 1812, often called the Second American Revolution, resulted in the burning of the U.S. Capitol and most of its contents. The Library of Congress arose from those ashes to become the largest library in the history of the world. Our premiere issue discusses our history as well as the services we offer to Congress and to researchers today. (Issue-pdf)
Over at Inside Higher Ed, Alexandra Logue writes about evolving idea about how technology continues to change education but it's been going on for a while (Inside):
Although we can all agree that college students are certainly not the same as casino attendees or lab rats, we can also all agree that technology, designed and used correctly, can facilitate instruction through personalization as well as through motivation. (The popular appeal of many online role-playing games is one example of that.)

The teaching techniques and tools discussed here have been promoted by behavioral psychologists for the past century. What lessons can we learn from this? One is that it is possible to facilitate learning using the techniques discussed here, such as personalized instruction, without ever having to use the latest (very expensive) technology. There are times when a relatively cheap programmed textbook will help someone learn, perhaps not as well as the best online programs, but very well.
I've been reading Philip Kerr's Bernie Gunther series since he released his first back in 1989 (or so). Here's an interview with him in The Economist. News that there is an HBO series in the works is worth looking forward to (Economist)
“PRAGUE FATALE” is the latest novel in the Bernie Gunther series by Philip Kerr, a British crime writer. This is the eighth book featuring Bernie, a sardonic Berlin detective with a fondness for cigarettes and women, since he first appeared in 1989. In the books, Mr Kerr skillfully combines noir-crime plots with authentic historical background placing Bernie in volatile times from the 1930s to the cold war.

In “Prague Fatale”, set in wartime Berlin and Prague, Bernie is dropped into his most morally ambiguous case yet. He accepts an invitation to a country-house gathering with Reinhard Heydrich, Hitler’s architect for the final solution (it would be unwise to refuse). During the weekend, one of Heydrich’s adjutants is found murdered. Bernie’s mettle is tested when he must unravel a whodunit involving some of the most savage characters in the Nazi leadership. HBO is in talks to adapt these taut, atmospheric murder mysteries into a TV series.
From Twitter:
George Pelecanos on what makes a good story, which of his books you should start with, & where to eat in DC

Booker judge says book bloggers drown out serious criticism, to the detriment of literature ”

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Monday, March 31, 2014

All about me

In extension our 1st task of the year was to design all the important informations about you. As you can see there is a picture above. The first picture it shows a rugby goal post and a volleyball net. Those two sports are one of my favourites. It is fun to play and we play it a lot in our family.

The second picture is a picture of the Samoan flag. Under the Samoan flag there its a thing called a 'ava. The Samoans do it a lot, it is for a special occasion. There are 3 objects in the 'ava. The bowl is called a Tanoa, the cup is called a Ipu tau ava and the strainer is called a Fau.

The third design is of a Bible and a Cross. Which means that I believe in The Lord and I go to church. I go to Tamaki P.I.P.C. I bet your wondering what does P.I.P.C means? It means Pacific Islanders Presbyterian Church. My grandpa is the minister of that church. He knows lots about God.

And the last design is of my Netbook. I really love my Netbook. It is very fun to work with, better than a pencil and a paper. My fingers never get tired from a Netbook. My Netbook is very special to me as well. And that is my design about me.

Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Festival of Education

On Saturday the 22nd of March our extension group went to Town at the Viaduct Events Centre. Our extension group had the opportunity to go there to learn new things about education. We had to make a movie with a colleague.

My partner was Gloria. Gloria is one of the leaders (prefect) in my school, so I was very lucky to have her. So first I recorded Gloria entering the Viaduct Centre, saying her oral.

When I have finished recording her, it was my turn. Gloria and I explored everywhere, searching for people, asking them questions. The questions we asked was “What is your booth about?” and “What has it got to do with education?” We gave them thought provoking questions and we received some fascinating answers.

We had a lot of fun! Interviewing people and meeting new friends. Gloria and I got lots of candies from lots of booths. At the end we had to show our favourite interview or part on the big screen. Our favourite part was singing with this Maori lady. She played the ukulele and Gloria sang along with her. When we had finished showing our movies we took a photo of us with Meredith and John. “Festival of Education was awesome!!”

Wednesday, March 19, 2014

Skills for adolesence

For our inquiry rotation with Miss Clark we have been learning about the word "Adolescence". Do you know what it means??  It means going from a child to an adult. Their these questions above that Miss Clark gave to us.

Cyclone Lusi

A cyclone was located in Auckland, New Zealand during the weekend. So far , we saw heavy rain , a system of strong winds and a bit of storm.  But we had been expecting  heavy thunder, big tornados , dark clouds and really really heavy rain! This cyclone has been mostly hitting the North part of Auckland.

But first. What is a cyclone? A cyclone is when high winds and  bad rain come upon us. There are all types of severe cyclones such as Tropical, midlatitude, and subtropical. Other types are mesocyclones, tornadoes, dust devils and steam devils. ( cyclones are all very dangerous! So watch your back! Cyclone can create gale force wind, and that means that the winds of the cyclone are uncontrollable.

The possibilities of a cyclone: Power outages, severe injuries, death accidents, food and water shortages, broken buildings, land slide. Power outages can happen when the storm strikes the power line. Deaths or accidents can mostly happen on the road or outside. Buildings can be tumbled down by trees falling and the gale force winds pushing against the house.

How can I ever be prepared? To be prepared for the Cyclone, it’ll be best to pack some food and drinks , in case you’re starving or thirsty. Close all windows and all doors , so you and your belongings are kept safely. Pack a radio and some battery , to listen what is going to happen next. Especially you need to keep your family safe from the cyclone! Usually in a cyclone , the power outages gets cut off that's why its best to pack a torch or some candles. Don’t forget some clothes!

Tuesday, March 18, 2014

War Diary

Screen Shot 2014-03-17 at 9.45.29 am.png

Dear Family and Friends,
Richard Seddon has sent us to war to serve the South Africans. We were only allowed to bring a couple of water and food. Some of my friends are seriously damaged but don't worry they are well looked after. I am so happy that the queen was on the behalf of New Zealand as well.

We eat the same food over and over again. It doesn’t feel the same, I really miss you guys and I feel homesick. I feel so concerned everyday, and I heard that you guys are safe and I am so happy to hear that.  Richard Seddon let us have been training really hard for this war in Wellington. And it’s really tiring, but its worth it.

Keep safe and I’ll come back soon!!

Friday, March 14, 2014

Fia Fia

Did you know that we have an event called “Fiafia” at our school?

Fia Fia is when we celebrate something for our school, and sometimes we just do it! Last year we had Fia Fia right in the beginning of the year. It was for Pt England’s 60th anniversary. But this year our teachers just want us to have Fia Fia because it’s really fun and entertaining.

Every Thursday we have practices for Fiafia. I’m in the Hip Hop group. My tutors are Miss King and Miss Paget. During the past weeks we have been learning some dance moves for 1 song, well 1 part of the song. Thats why the next practice which is next week we are having Easter who is a really good dancer helping us.

I hope you can come to our Fia Fia. It will be fun and entertaining at the same time! And there will be shops at the Fia Fia. So come along and watch us perform!

Wednesday, March 5, 2014

Toy Design

What is Sketchup..? Sketchup is a designing programme where you create lots of stuff. It is a 3D design tool. If you need to draw something 3D all you need to do is go on Sketchup. Sketchup is fun and creative.

Lots of people around the world use Sketchup. Especially teachers, students, designers and perhaps anyone in the world. Teachers might use it for making something for their class. Students might use it for a project at school. Designers…….well that’s pretty easy! Designers might use it for creating something, like a car or a robot. And you might just use it for fun!

In Sketchup there are lots of tools. There are shapes, tool bar, rotating tool, eraser, selector, shift pad and more. All those features are very helpful. When you first start it will be very hard. There will be tools at the top and it will be so confusing because you don't know which tool is which. But I know that in the end you will figure them out.

In our class our task was to make a 3D toy for the Junior classes. We are making it on Sketchup. Our class had to keep the Junior class entertained if they are bored. So we have been working everyday to make toys for our juniors. They toy I have designed is a minion. Nearly all the kids I interviewed wanted it. So here is the picture of my minion that I have made on Sketchup.

Sketchup is very special because you can create anything. It is very special because it is fun learning. And also it is fun because you can print it out as a 3D object. And right now I am making a minion in Sketchup. You should use Sketchup as well, it is fun and totally amazing. Go try it out!

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Friday, August 14, 2015

Netball Eastern Tournament

On Wednesday I had the opportunity to record our Netball mixed teams at the Eastern tournament. It was held for the age groups through from year 5 to 8.

While I was at the tournament I got to record our schools games, and the first game I was able to film was the Yr 7&8 B team. Who played against Stonefield's school, and won!! Finding out that they won got us all excited!

I recorded a lot of games on that day, and as the day went on our four  teams were all in the finals. Listening closely to who each team was playing in the finals got us all filled with excitement! The Yr 7&8B team played Glen Taylor and lost, as well as the A team. Although both our Yr 5 and 6 teams came first in their grade.

It was an amazing day!! Watching and filming all the good things that happened on that day. I even caught a all the goals that our yr 5 team had shot in their finals!

Congratulations Point England!! You all did Great!!!!

  1. Hey Sela
    Cool story i really loved the way you used punctuation correctly.

  2. PTE
    Hey Sela, I enjoyed reading your netball Eastern tournament. I loved every bit of it because it reminds me of playing netball. Other than that keep up the hard work.


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2019 dodge ram 3500 leveling kit reviews

2019 dodge ram 3500 leveling kit reviews

2019 Dodge Ram 3500. Officially, the car is not detected but this mini truck will get significant changes in some of its parts. Ram 3500 listing is already a powerful means should not be taken as a foregone conclusion. The makers of this large pickup truck built to do some heavy heavy tasks with technological comfort. All these evil spirits will reach new levels in the next 2019 Dodge Ram 3500. According to the professional truck-heavy truck Ram, there is nothing like that much torque or power.

This is why the 2019 Dodge Ram 3500 will be dedicated to better accentuating the performance of the class. A total of 3500 trucks are being delivered by Lake Lekka. In addition the Dodge Ram is considered 3500. Automatically built with new report, properties, see. Automation will be interesting and amazing. 2019 Dodge Ram 3500 was built to be organized in all very sights on trips. As a result, the car tried to raise the mixture of wheels, with the intention that it would be fun while driving the data. Beside, the machine will give you gas efficiency.

According to several new reports, there will be a huge frontal change in the 2019 model. Events have speculated that a completely new grille along with the headlights could have been adopted. Doing so will definitely benefit the company as the Ram pickup trucks (especially the base models) need to seriously look modern. A the modified bumper also characterizes significant changes on the front fascia. As usual, additional exterior design elements may vary with decorations such as Limited, Color Star, Laramie Longhorn and Celtic. Similarly, the body colors can include Green Timberlane, Tan Energy, Black Volume Red, Robin Blue Egg and Granite Crystal Metallic.

As Ford Vans offer great luxury in the interior, the 2019 Dodge Ram 3500 must target itself. What is likely to change in the interior is the dashboard which will have a new layout of AC slots and a glove box. The 8.4-inch touch screen will be upgraded on a set of devices along with its controls. The steering wheel is also likely to share some new audio controls. The display camera will be synchronized with this display to monitor the truck bed. Other features include SiriusXM® Satellite Radio®, Wi-Fi Hotspot®, navigation system and voice command support.

Ram 3500 will be the latest Beverling machines. The model has two alternative engines for a small truck. The basic device capability gives a 5.7 liter V8 engine. This is the result of an advanced 380 torque display and four hundred lbs. Feet of torque. Instead of 2019 Dodge Ram 3500 you will get a 6. 7 liter turbo diesel engine. In general sense in the report perspective, the engine will achieve results from 350 to 850 385 lbs. Torque is as effective as a foot of torque. Limited by the first report, the companion motor has an electric power is more important. The originator including the engine and 6-speed transmission will be incorporated to make high-birth delivery. On the other hand, the use of gas in the future. In the city, the more leading Ram 3500 will get 26 mpg, while on the highway it will be 31 mpg.

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Monday, March 30, 2015

Yay! Our guest blogger today famous author  Alan 'Key' Bennett, with his glorious monologues about life and his mother,  take it away Alan!

It was not a particularly adventurous order - two slices of wholemeal, browned but not burnt, two butters and no jam delivered with the lack lustre flair and grace of an aged stripper from a bored girl with black hair but it suited the surroundings, a department store of no repute, perfectly. Optimistically called Zest, the restaurant, if one could call a self service cafeteria a respectable establishment, remained empty.

The two slices, uncut and a little burnt around the edges, looked disappointed. I turned them over to check both sides and fumbled with the small packets of melted butter from my plastic chair. The knife was dirty and a thin film of grease covered the once clean table. I ran my finger across the the cheap finish, noting with some distress that it felt gritty with the dirt of others, the dirt of life my mother might say.

She said things like that you see, my mother.

Opposite a grey haired gentleman had a similar problem. his toast was also burnt and he used the back edge of his knife to trim away the black. His face hinted at unhealthy thoughts as he hacked away harder, pausing only to cough up a years worth of flem.

Stop, stop it right there Alan! I know you're a top writing chap and all that but hey, lighten up a little, this is a happy blog, use happy words!

It was a marginally happy order - two slices of wholemeal, averagely toasted, two butters, sans jam delivered with a flair and grace of a bored but smiley stripper from a girl with dark hair but it suited the surroundings, a light and airy department store, perfectly. Called Zest, the restaurant, a self service cafeteria was a respectable establishment but remained delightfully empty.

I however felt dismal in such surroundings and I noticed with alarm the salt pot was half empty and the previous diners had left crumbs in the sugar. The dirty, grotty people tainted with the colour of life as my mother might say.

She was a miserable sod, my mother.

FFS Alan, keep it upbeat! One last try, think positive, positive, positive!

I was happy, hap...hap...happity and it was with delight I ordered perfectly toasted toast that arrived delicately delivered with lashings of butter, no jam as requested at the Zesty, Zest, Zest restaurant that was so delicately decorated they had even sprinkled crumbs in the sugar for me to nibble on.

That's it keep it up!

The crumbs...

In the sugar...

No Alan! Don't go there! Think frolicking lambs, think puppies! Forget about the sugar Alan!

Sugared crumbs...

From dirty people...

Vile dirty crumb laden people with sausage fingers and big flappy lips licking at dribbling butter running down their wrists and elbows eventually forming a pool of grease in their massive bellybuttons. Filthy, filthy grot laden...

Are you even listening?

Then be positive!

It was positively vile, I rue the day I ever entered. The sauce in those brown sticky bottles should have been a warning sign it was for common people, or as my mother used to say, for the great unwashed of the world.

Alan! That's terrible! You're banned from the blog for life, you can't be rude like that!

Sorry about that, Alan can be kind of difficult. Instead here is one of Alan's delightful little poems from a few years ago to see us out.

Mary had a slice of ham,
She also had some bacon,
Harry was the little pig,
Who's life Mary had taken.
Mary loved ham but hated Harry, he often left crumbs in sugar bowls and as his mother always used to say, dirty deeds bring dirty deeds and Harry had been very dirty indeed.

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Friday, August 10, 2012

Salon Girls and the woman who puts electricity in my pockets

Four and a half hours is not nearly enough time. It is like dropping a few crackers amongst a famine, a teaspoon of water to settle your thirst. And of course that is not true - during that slice of time there is no hunger or thirst, no lack of attention. It is the Skakespeare troupe to an audience of one. And they circle and laugh and touch and clip and trim and shape and whisper and caress and smile and then push me back out into the world. Perhaps improved, certainly delighted.

While her posture is unassuming and the droop in her blouse sufficient to expose half of her breasts, do not be misled, caught unawares: she is about the business of recovery, of proper cataloguing, and will not be dissuaded from her assignment. And with paper and pencil she will take copious notes, furious notes, and her posture will not change, she will not stiffen even slightly as her eyes flash and her hand jots, and while her breasts remain pleasant to look at, soon enough she will adjust the current and I will startle and she will no longer have pleasant breasts for me to look at. My only active sense will be hearing: her voice so calm, instructing, questioning, and the scratch of her pencil (it seems muffled, almost muted, as if she tries to keep this sound from me - to what end?) and the low drone of the generator, the occasional sizzle of the current, the shrill bleat of my voice.

It is likely, almost for certain, that I will be questioned about this slice of time, this expense. And so I will tell of feeding chocolates and the bottle of Cab Sauv pulled from the owner's private stash behind the safe and I will tell of the various and abundant allures of the pretties, and their obvious flatteries and their less obvious lingerings, of both touch and glance, a trail of imaginary affections. I will explain, perhaps even catalogue, the incongruous by very definition nature of this series of interactions, the predictable unfavorable outcomes, and all of the noticed inconsistencies, the tiniest of foibles and untruths. And this will please her, sufficient feed for her jotting hand and flashing eyes, and if I can remember when under the duress, I will describe her breasts to her and attribute them as belonging to one of the salon beauties. And I will deliver exquisite detail, total appreciation, and will expand and expand and expand until I am told to stop, until the current removes the delight.

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• Home
  • Academics
  • Overview

Pharm.D. Program

The Pharm.D. Program offers a Doctor of Pharmacy degree that prepares students to become pharmacy practitioners in a wide variety of settings, including community and retail pharmacies, hospitals, managed care facilities, and many more.

Graduate Programs

Medicinal Chemistry »

The Department of Medicinal Chemistry offers master's and doctor of philosophy degrees. The department has 12 full-time faculty members, approximately 40 graduate students, and about 30 postdoctoral fellows.

Researchers isolate molecules from nature or synthesize them in the laboratory and test them for activity against a disease target. The FDA evaluates the safety and efficacy and if acceptable, approves the drug and the prescribing information.

Pharmacology & Toxicology »

The Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology offers master's and doctor of philosophy degrees. PhD students are prepared to teach and do research in a university, pharmaceutical, biotechnology or government laboratory setting.

Following the drug discovery phase, researchers study the effects of drugs in the body to better understand their mechanisms of action and side effects in treating diseases.

Pharmaceutical Chemistry »

The Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry offers master's and doctor of philosophy degrees. Students receive a strong background in the physical/chemical sciences as they relate to pharmaceutical research through a comprehensive set of core and coursework offered by the department.

Pharmaceutical chemists formulate the drug to improve absorption by the body, to increase shelf life, and to target delivery to the desired tissue. Bioanalytical chemistry is an important tool for understanding the basis of drug addiction.

Pharmacy Practice »

The Department of Pharmacy Practice offers a master’s degree and a residency program and furthers the mission of the School of Pharmacy by striving for excellence in teaching, research, scholarly activity, service, and patient care.

Following clinical trials and approval, patients come into the pharmacy with the prescription for a new drug. The pharmacist provides the drug and counsels the patient on its proper use and side effects.

Contact Advisor
KU Today
2nd among all schools of pharmacy in National Institutes of Health funding
Brings more than $20 million in external funding into the state each year
7 of 19 cancer drugs formulated through the National Cancer Institute were developed at the KU School of Pharmacy
3,000 free flu shots given to needy Kansans during the past 5 years
4,000 living alumni, 63 percent of them living and working in Kansas
KU pharmacists practice in 95 of Kansas’ 105 counties
20th among public schools of pharmacy.
—U.S. News & World Report
$20.2 million NIH research grant earned by Distinguished Professor Jeff Aubé was 2nd largest in Kansas history
100 percent placement after graduation for KU Pharm.D. students
Established in 1885 as the 1st professional program at KU


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Friday, 14 November 2014

PHighter Friday: Clair

My diagnosis came on much like it does for many other young women.  During high school, I began to notice an increasing amount of chest pain, a racing heartbeat, and shortness of breath.  Characteristic of a developing adolescent, I denied that these symptoms were abnormal.  I attributed my inability to breathe and instances of passing out as being out of shape.  However, after a year of tests, hospital visits, and appointments with doctors and specialists, I was diagnosed with Primary Pulmonary Hypertension.

As a senior in high school preparing to leave for college, the diagnosis was devastating.  Even though my doctor gave me the green light to go away to college and a positive long-term prognosis, I began to find that the emotional toll of having a progressive disease was more difficult than its physical manifestations.  Even though I attempted to cope with the anxiety that stemmed from my diagnosis with PH, it began to extend to other aspects of my life.  I began to doubt what I could make of and do in my future, and this doubt precipitated new insecurities.

Although there wasn’t a dramatic turning point, the woman with PH I am now is a stark contrast from that newly diagnosed teenager.  I changed the way I took care of myself.  I began to eat healthier by eliminating junk and adding fresh produce to my daily diet.  I also started practicing yoga and working out.  Of course, my workouts are modified.  I’m not running miles upon miles or doing intense cardio, and probably never will. But I keep a consistent schedule of yoga and lead a rock-climbing and yoga club for my students at the school I teach.  I do what I can, and I’m certainly doing much more than I ever thought would be possible after receiving my initial diagnosis

This past summer I spent 6 weeks in Europe.  I climbed Mount Vesuvius, a large volcano in Italy, climbed over 600 stairs to the top of a church in Florence, hiked in the Alps, and visited 6 countries.  The people with me understood that although I said yes to every adventure, I was going to do it at my own pace.  When I climbed Mount Vesuvius, I stopped a little at first, but as the altitude increased, I had to stop every few steps.  In our group, I was the very last person to make it to the crater and I didn’t care. I was only focused on completing my journey to the top no matter how long it took me.

Now a decade into my journey with Pulmonary Hypertension, I’m currently in the process of planning a trip this winter to Zambia, Africa.  Disease or not, everyone has one life.  Dwelling on what will or will not happen will only cause unnecessary worries.  Had I never broken free from my initial doubts or my perceived, grim outlook on my future, I know that I never would have taken the chance to start yoga, or to attempt an ambitious climb to the top of a volcano.  However, I was allowed to do both of these things, and I will continue to experience life, because I am committed to doing the absolute most that I can with my disability.  I will not allow Pulmonary Hypertension – or the psychological toll that comes along with it - to take away my potential and the opportunities that come my way.

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Monday, 15 May 2017

texting luke two

Detours derived from a doctor's detailed account, Sacred Texting Luke is a different density, a microscopic portraiture.

If you'd like to read it with us slowly, alternate mornings, let me know. +44 (0) 7729056452. We share these on Whatsapp, so, happy sweep international numbers into the mix.

Lk2v1-2 Syria. A country often on our lips but one for whom I struggle to know how to pray for. How does one pray for a nation? How does one pray for a government? How does one pray generically for the suffering and intentions of thousands upon thousands? When I lead a service at church I find myself googling for world events that need intercessory prayer in a way that I don't usually - perhaps this is a virtue of communal prayer, that it forces us to think of prayer for those beyond ourselves, but equally this behaviour is indicative of the fact that I haven't internalised prayerful habits for nations and places in need. God, teach me to pray. I pray for the people of Syria, I pray your light, your love, your armour of protection. I pray for Syrians in the UK, prompt me, us by your spirit to be a place that demonstrates your kindness, your refuge.

Lk2v3-4 Davidic lineage. Man hands ministry onto man, it, too, deepens like a coastal shelf, if we would only let God.. By individualising against familiality we have not escaped the formative damages of childhood development, while we have aggressively shed those benefits of being intergenerationality triangulated and of being deepened in the peculiar ministry of our tribe. Being of a lineage is a given given, you are cast in the mould of even absent negligent parents recursively. You have only the choice of whether you face this consciously or no, in the counselling of the everyday or the counselling of a psychotherapist. For better or worse, you are your father's son. God's vision for humanity is for better, redeeming families to be more than the sum of their pathologies, and He considers their idiosyncratic gifts as the irreducible building blocks of a personalist Kingdom of Heaven. God's plan for the world is the long game, the patient ground swell of lineages, like giant oil tankers, brought slowly round the long of arc of redemption.
~ Town of Bethlehem. We go to the ends of the earth, _from_ a somewhere. "Y'all know where I'm from: 01 to the 21.." to the farthest flung you are still inescapably from. Watching Caitlin Moran's Raised by Wolves is a little essay in such Genius Loci. Hilarious and uncomfortable home truths. So too, God works through the complex tapestry of place. The Emperor Quirinias and his nativity crew, political projects, armies and subsequent empires breeze through the land fleetingly, God has been orchestrating a much bigger story. He is orchestrating a much bigger story, for London, for 41.

Lk2v5-6 The time came. 'God's timing is perfect', 'trust in God's timing' are phrases I've never liked or used. Maybe the mire of tangled philosophy behind these phrases makes me keep them at arms length but also because the way these phrases are used tends to conjour in my mind a god as a super-person, who floats just slightly higher off the ground than human beings and can see a little further into the distance, who has some magic powers to move middle-sized dry goods around a bit, a god who wants to bring about the same things that I want, but just at a slightly different time, so I can feel a bit smugly vindicated in the end that I got the thing we wanted, but oh how humbly I also learnt to wait for god's timing. This picture seems to get wrong both God's transcendence and God's immanence. For in some sense all timing is God's timing (Ec3v1-8, what other kind could there be?) And in another sense our sense of time is so shaped by the contours of our own consciousness that cosmic time and deep time are beyond our grasp (2Pt3v8). This is a mystery, I don't know how to comport myself to God's 'time'. I think the 'timing' of God must have an ethical (Ec3v16) and an aesthetic dimension (Ec3v11), & I think we see glimpses of this. We sometimes see how things 'fit', we can tell events as narrative for the glory of God. Sometimes God speaks specific things, like 'wait' or 'go for it'. God is both nearer and bigger than we think, the events around us today already contain a language that speaks of God, the time is always coming, the time is always more than us.

Lk2v7-8 "No room at the inn.." Plan B was always Plan A: The bolt from the blue for the broken is a backstreet bleak and insanitary birth wrapped ragged with what's ready-to-hand. Harsh like Calais Jungle improv, Christ is born at the edge in a brutal theatre of unsentimental favela energy. Behold a sticky God, messy, he makes do to mend. Just about mangering, God takes brinkmanship to the borderlands to display enoughness itself.
~ "No room at the inn.." Outsiders, outliers.. Jesus' birth is not incidentally outside. The outsideness is vital. Beyond the city gates. From-the-outside is where the energy to reverse entropy comes from. Outside of the closed loop of recursive recurrence, God is.

Lk2v9-10 More fear. Interesting to note that the shepherds proclaim joy to be the antithesis of fear, rather than peace, comfort, stillness or courage, as we might expect. I realise that I tend to think of joy as being an extra and optional variable on top of some basic level of existential security that I'm supposed to feel. Not so, dear shepherd-heart, quaking in the early morn. Behold! The joy of your life is close by. Allow joy to master you first, for joy frets nothing, joy panics nothing, joy is a right response to the good, the true, the beautiful. Joy is a right response to belovedness, that which casts out all fear.

Lk2v11-12 Saviour. Christ. Lord. Blurry tautologians, note:
~ Saviour (ctrl+shift+S): From the world, the flesh and the devil. From sins of thought and word and deed. From negligence, weakness and our own deliberate fault. Saviour Jesus saves. Perpetually present tense. Over and over and over. Again and again and again. You and you and you. Jn5v17
~ Christ (adj. 'annointed'): Annointed Prophet. Annointed Priest. Annointed King. Christ Jesus ministers. A supernatural multi-tool, a kit of gifts, commissioned to assume roles mediating spiritual power via a threefold office.
~ Lord (, The): Preeminent over all. Preexisting before all. Prevailing beyond all. Lord Jesus is. Total Boss. Last word. Definitionally superlative. Utter and ultimate. Unparseably vast. Being in its utmost form. More than more than.
~~ Saviour. Christ. Lord. // Does. Has. Is. // Action. Power. Title. // Effecting. Ministering. Being.

Lk2v13-14 Heavenly host. Thinking about the we-yous of angelic-human interactions. There is a collective subject that is the heavenly host who can, it seem, address us, and to whom, it seems, we can reply. Speculation on the inter-group dynamics of a band of angels isn't something we're given much insight into here, but we do see their unity in joint action, collective proclamation, shared purpose, communal worship. We see angels attending to Christ together and turning to face other others to speak of him. Our tasks might differ from the angels in some ways, but there is obvious similarity, overlap and ultimate shared purpose of the worship of the true God. So too then the church, that we are called to attend together to Christ, coordinating ourselves to labour together as one. Prayer this morning for the grace, wisdom, co-ordination, right focus and love that we need for one another as the church, small scale and world wide.

Lk2v15-16 "Let us go.." It is a tidy and dazzling coincidence that we should have considered precisely this notion at such length this weekend from Ps84 'Blessed are those whose hearts are set on pilgrimage.' Pilgrimage is a 'going': a sense that there is a point A and a point B. // a conviction that I cannot stay at at A. // a counting the cost of the distance to B. // And then, a going.
~ And we, like the shepherds, *go together*, withwards, speaking a "let us" to one another - such is a sacred texting.
~ And we, like the shepherds, *go in hope* for a thing which already "has happened" but which is revealed as future tense not-yet seen.
~ And we, like the shepherds, *go "in haste"* knowing our need, knowing time is short, knowing that this makes all the difference. ~ And we, like the shepherds, *go looking* with an earnest yearning seeking scouring eye, a raking and close meditating attentive attention "and found Mary" - ἀνεῦραν is no mere stumbleupon, but a discovery after searching.

Angels soared
and shepherds, bored
woke, and wonder gnawed
Beheld the Lord!
Responding awed:
made known abroad,
of one accord,
absurd to hoard
the treasure stored
the spirit broad
their guilt unscored
indifference cored.
Far more, and less, than they could afford.

Lk2v19-20 "treasured up .. pondered" What do you store away? What do you commit to memory? What do you bottle up? What promises have you preserved? What tapes do you play? What have you tattooed to your eyelids, what have you carved to your desk? Memory is everything. It is your only interpretative lens, it is the calibration tool of all experience, the bedrock of all language, the means by which we self-identify at all. The modern mind is amnesiac, a flickering light on a blank slate, delible words on disposable architecture, we are committed to nothing and commit nothing to memory, we are flimsy and forgettable flash drives *But you can choose to remember.* And you can choose what you remember. Selective memory is inevitable, so select well. I can give you more verbatim Eminem than I can any writer of anything more edifying. I have not selected well. And thus polluted, the lens by which I describe reality through is tinted and tainted by untruth, subtly shifting my sense of the real, my definition of normal, and my measure of the possible. Scripture memorisation is nothing to boast in, it is an epistemological life-jacket, it is windscreen-wash for our journey through a sandstorm, it is the control test against which all other variables are wildly field tested. // One could contrast "treasured up" two ways. It is *not-forgetting the foundations of your identity*, but it also implies *not-broadcasting boasts of bravado.* The Christian is a depthed being, withdrawing from the ecstasy of communication, and the noise of the present, into the steady and eternal certainties of treasure treasured up. Or so says this introvert..

Lk2v21-22 The naming of Jesus. Sat in the College garden this morning I took out Hudson Taylor's 'Union and Communion with Christ' then put it away again, feeling self-conscious. Among the philosophers and theologians I feel awkward about the name 'Christ', and 'Jesus' is even worse. I'd much rather talk about 'the divine', or maybe 'the Trinitarian God' if I'm feeling brave. I'm quick to un-name Jesus, fearing association with a caricature of the one-dimensional cheesy evangelical. Why have I let myself associate use of the name of Jesus with this fear? I pray that I might be in the business of loving the name and naming the love of Jesus. Out loud: 'Jesus'. May remember, reassociate, recognise the depths of his name.

Lk2v23-24 Christianity is Jewish. Judaism entails certain contextual practices which are now redundant, but also, certain practices which reflect broad human universal practical necessity and enduring poetic relevance. Maternity leave is such a universal practical necessity. Lv12 makes this provision in a language very alien to us: *Uncleanness* ameliorated by *Sacrifice*. The modern mind dismisses these as crude anthropological curiousities. The evangelical mind dismisses these through Jesus: Christ makes all things clean. Christ is a once-for-all sacrifice. I want to briefly and inconclusively speculate on these two themes:
~ *Unclean* as a word conjures in the mind an icky naughtiness, it is a cruel pejorative, a slur brought against the helpless to add insult to injury. It renders a world irredeemably polluted, and the pursuit of personal hygiene stands as a barrier to mission (Ac10v14 etc). However, not all modes of quartering the world into geographies of quarantine are equal. It is possible to establish categories of time space and matter according to their contagious influence or immune nonresistance and to make contingency for compassionate cushioning for the protection of the vulnerable. Maternity leave is such a bracketing. And it is notable that in Judaism the leave is total, short (33 or 66 days), celebrated publically upon readmittance, and varied according to the child (in this case by gender which is another discussion, but it is enough to note that the leave is bespoke).
~ *Sacrifice* usually emphasises a vertical dimension to our spiritual life, a theatrical death of a hapless creature to placate an irate deity. Or in more modern modes, like secular Lent, it is the dramatic death of a pleasure or the onerous foregoing of some privilege in order to placate an infinite moral misdemeanour - smoking or crimes against the body beautiful. Sacrifice in Judaism is notably more person-centred as a ritual, and even horizontal in its orientation, the cost varied according to the economy of her means and the meat would then be eaten by the offerer.

Lk2v25-26 As per discussions about Simeon in Advent, considering that this revelation is comparable to someone now having revelation that they will witness the second coming before they die, which I would dismiss as craziness. As I all the more encounter different types of people with different styles and convictions I ache for discernment and openness both in full measure that I might be able to be aligned with the work of the Spirit who transcends subjective conviction. Come Holy Spirit, give us knowledge, make us wise, draw us close.

Lk2v27-28 "..came by/in the Spirit" Do you? Coming and going and being, by and in and of the Spirit. What does that look like? What does that look like for you just now? What will that look like in your older age after a lifetime of steady intensification? One could extract generic maxims from this, a bland encouragement to be more 'spirit'ual... But the Spirit, He is personal, and the spirituality he bestows on you is bespoke, and the fruit it bears should be bizarre. I am thinking about about this theme of radically ecclectic energetically extremist spiritualities for 9th July preaching on Lk7 "played the flute..sang a dirge" upto v35 "Wisdom is justified by *all* her children." What is the shape of your spiritual peculiarity? We meet Simeon and Anna. They are operating in the Spirit, according to their peculiar calling as seers, they are wizened oracles seeing with a beady glint, deliriously tuned to the hidden geometry and serendepitous scheduling of a providential totality. I see them, curious lightning conductors, eccentric holy fools, wiry sages with an electric shock of hair, full-time, full-on, year on eager year intensifying and curdling a rich hunger and vivid charismatic mania for a prophetic sensitivity. Is this you? Is this your call?  Some of us are called to such a Yoda ministry, some of us are called to minister as architects Ex31v2, lion tamers Jg14v6, mothers Lk1v41, politicians 1Sm16v13, political agitators Lk1v15... All these ecclectic callings, all need, emphatically, to be practised in the Spirit. Do it. Go bananas. What is your call?
~"Death" It is interesting to me that they both have a story with death (v26 "see death" and v37 "widowed"), as if the Spirit were a Thestral, we are beings-toward-death, but over death, we talk down to Death on first name terms, 1Co15v55.

Lk2v29-30 Breath to breath / birth and death. Birth and death heighten everything,  neither are capable of telling lies. Both tell us things matter. Both make us responsible. Both tell us we must surrender. Both tell us we can't run on default. Both are unknowns. This is life alive to God: alive to the mystery and pain of birth and death.

Lk2v31-32 "..Salvation .. Light .. Revelation .. Glory.." Generic Christian honorifics prompt an overfamiliar drowsy nod-along response in me. The light metaphor, however, never gets old, never bottoms out, never ceases to draw my imagination to the nooks of new possibility. Light: emitted, transmitted, reflected and absorbed. From the rectilinear propagation of an evangelion, to living in the light's warming glow and nuanced colour, to the casting of light and shadow onto the relief of a textured universe. The world is divided here for Simeon, as for Paul, into Jew and Gentile, a world yet united under a banner 'all peoples' who will yet be brought to light.
~ The Jews, that is, the church qua existing covenant community, has a *light-for-glory*. Light from within, Christ the filament gloriously emitting light outwards from the bulb of the church. Christ's coming into the world is light-for-glory, your glory, Christian. Christ-In-You-the-[luminous]-Hope-of-Glory.
~ The Gentiles, that is, the world, your colleagues, your family, your housemates, have *light-for-revelation*. From this moment, they can now see their hand in front of their face. Radiant light transmitted through the ether from the lit-for-glory saved-ones, casts a world brighter and more shapely, coherent and navigable. Light-for-revelation is task lighting, lamps-unto-paths, neon signage.
_# I will hold the Christ-light for you_
_in the night-time of your fear;_

Lk2v33-34 Rise and Fall  First the falling, then the rising. Dragging my soul kicking and screaming to believe Col2v12-15 this morning. Unadorned prayers: First death, then resurrection. Praying for a fuller measure of understanding.

Lk2v35-36 Mary's bleeding heart. No glassy scarlet bead etched with a scalpel, no needling switchblade idly toyed with. The blade ῥομφαία in view here is a blazing barbarian cutlass, the greek mentioned only elsewhere in Rv1v16's double-edged samurai sword, the WMD of sabre sports. Like Mary, we bear Christ, and if we suffer we will reign Rm8v17. Against sanitised Christian suffering, we are lambs to the slaughter, church should be a bloody mess.

Lk2v37-38 Considering what it would be to "never leave the temple". I suspect that Anna is someone else I would dismiss as a bit crazy if I met her. Worshipping night and day? Isn't it a bit...extreme? One-sided? A dangerous echo-chamber? The latter prompts thoughts on what makes for a pathological 'Christian bubble' vs discerning a right calling to primarily or even exclusively invest in worship, prayer and prophecy in the temple. A 'Christian bubble' perhaps involves none of the risk, challenge or labour of life 'out in the world' but also none of Anna's fervour. It takes God-language and church-habits for granted but can operate on an otherwise functional atheism. Where we find ourselves called to life in the temple it must surely be a life of costly rather than cosy.

Lk2v39-40 Jesus "grew" and "became strong" and was "filled with wisdom" and.., like Team America, this needs a montage. The Exploding Calendar trope, set to Eye of the Tiger, we see JC manning up. When we pop out the end of our extended adolescence, what have we become? What manner of manhood have we acquired?
Jesus' incarnation involved birth and death, weakness and temptation, family and friendship, hunger and thirst, dirt and cleaning, anger and intellect, physical pain, emotional pain, and in this verse, 'growth'. To grow is inevitable. But to grow up to become other than merely boys-who-can-shave is not inevitable. Being human involves a growing into an adult form of the species, quantitatively bigger, but what is the quality of being a grown-up, which Millenials are accused of delaying? Many answers could be discussed, but these verses offer these three for starters:
~ *1. Strength.* What did Jesus need strength for? His calling in life was to die for sinners - no strength needed? Additional to that, to preach - no strength needed? And to perform healing - no strength needed? This popular construction of an abridged Jesus in a body-optional mode of his embodiment offers very little to provoke we the reedy, cybernetic and metrosexual towards a muscular Christianity. Jesus grew strong. Christian! Become strong, increase in vigour, Do Hard Things! (Alex & Brett Harris)
~ *2. Wisdom.* Against the myth of the genius, the magic-thinking shortcut to the right answer, there is a wisdom into which one grows. Jesus _was being filled.._ present-participle of a process ongoing. In an wiki age of networked mind, what does one bother to commit to memory, what mental fight is worth the effort, what sort of a knower does one want to become? In an age of mere data processing, what is wisdom? It is still "the art of living skilfully..", it still begins with "the fear of the Lord.." and it remains a prerequisite for mature adulthood. Would that we, 41 and the rest of our generation would set our hearts on a sage gravitas, slowly earnt, long fermented and hard tested. Wisdom wars for true truth, against constructions of reality based on unrelational knowledge and disembodied being. Jesus grew in a wisdom.
~ *3. God's favour.* Indefinite teenagers: there but for the Grace of God go I. The answer to growing up is not simply to work harder and do more. The gift, the privelege, the resource to be the grownup you are called to be, this comes from God. Recieve it by faith. Seek it. Flex the muscles of faith, grow into the use of it, know more the need of it, so seek more of it. And so then Lk2v52: "increase in this grace and favour of God". God grant us grace to grow up.
What is in your Rocky montage?

Lk2v41-42 Jesus was a church kid, like me. He knew the deal, he breathed the alloyed oxygen of genuine faith and compromised religion all about him, his body knew the rituals, his memory was populated by these annual church weekends away in Jerusalem. A prayer this morning for the church kids, for myself, for Phil [et al]. We're all church kids. All the churched and de-churched and re-churched and the not-sures and just-beginnings. For the idol of church to be broken in us all. For the love of church to be a true safety and calling. For true church. For new church. For freedom in realising that Jesus is not the small-c church, for the joy and hope of realising that the big-C church is Jesus, the true vine. God, come save us church kids.

Lk2v43-44 Struck by two things:
[1] Becoming adult
[2] Being chill
~ [1] Travelling parties to Jerusalem would have travelled in two groups: the men, and the women&children. Jesus here is older than Nancy Cameron left in the Plough Inn, and the focus here should not be on negligent parenting, but on the unavoidable ambiguity of adolescence. And considering that, then pondering what are the sufficiently safe, sufficiently challenging conditions for the eager developing mind to make radical choices not to follow the inevitable path of his father and uncles, but to carve a divergent road less travelled. The church, as the temple in that day, should be that third space. And perhaps 41 might be such a context for the church. Run this story of Jesus coming-of-age with the parallel prodigal son parable, or with a more contemporary Into The Wild, a note the will to inividuate and the youthful vigour, curiosity and sense of justice, is constant, but how easily this drifts restless and uncontained into the twenties, and even thirties. Kettled, coddled, indulged, suffocated - the world is wasted by the youths we squander.
[2] Being Chill vs Judgemental Phil who is baffled that this behaviour should be called love. Jesus callous disregard for the practicality of The Plan, what is he thinking!? Och, Phil. The God has these things in hand, and it is so important to retain a sense of proportion, and an openness to the self-ordering of the universe, and the capacity of grace to come in from the outside to bear up these practical things. Jesus is relentlessly relational and impractical, because he could be, and can be. He holds the universe in his hand. As if this were Lion in every moment, knowing that it ends happily ever after, knowing that all things work for good, that we will be reunited, and that everything broken will be repaired.
Lk10v41-42 "Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her."
Ps46v10 "..Be chill, and know that I am God."

Lk2v45-46 I wonder how Mary & Joseph felt during this search for Jesus, especially Mary. She tells us afterwards of her v48 "great distress". Did she know in her depths that Jesus would be ultimately be safe, drawing on  the 1v32-33 prophetic promises of God and the 2v19 deep-buried treasures of testimony in her heart, despite surface anxiety? Or did she wonder with deep-seated fear and confusion whether this event unfolding was the 2v35 sword that would pierce her? How did she pray? With anger? With surrender? Reminding God of his words? With loss of certainty as to whether any of it has been God at all? How do we live with the specific direct things we think God has spoken to us - with faith but not entitlement or hubris? What do we do with hard words? How search for Jesus in the hub-bub of the city without over- or under-interpreting our own calling? It can all be a bit loud and frantic, this search, God...teach me the how as well as the where.

Lk2v47-48 In the life of the mind, what made Jesus 'Jesus'? We know Jesus' Jesusness was not found in any "form nor comeliness". It was not any "beauty that we should desire him" Is 53:3. It was not an immunity to hunger Mk11v12 or sleep Mk4v38. Neither was it omniscience, for he had to learn wisdom Lk2v52. But what about his mind? He "astonished in his understanding and answers".. When the God of the universe elected to become flesh, did he fashion a version of a man with a peculiar mental capacity, a superhuman intellect? Should we consider Jesus intelligent, above average intelligent, in the top 1% intelligent, or beyond that, a superlatively intelligent genius operating with an inaccessible giftedness? And what does that genius alter in the way we relate to our friend and saviour, our brother and exemplar?
OR. Can it be claimed that Jesus was an ordinary human, of ordinary build and ordinary intelligence, distinguished only by sinlessness? Genuine question.
To meet a simple mind long shaped by grace, an average mind not blinded by sin, not hostage to sinful appetites, not corrupted in its thinking - such a mind would think astonishing thoughts. There would the weak and foolish things shame the wise. For, sin impairs thinking, the mind turned in on itself is epistemelogical self sabotage. There is a virus-of-the-mind aspect to our captivity to sin. And the corrupt mind's ideas have consequences for mental health, and the total effectiveness of a genius.
But an average mind, that has learnt to kill sin? That would be astonishing.

Lk2v49-50 Jesus embodies Ps84, obv. And the search for him draws us towards the Father's house, the holy of holies, a clearer signal of that Trinitarian love. The adolescent Jesus does a sneaky Jn17v24-26 on his parents. Go searching.

Lk2v51-52 " too will get old; and when you do, you’ll fantasize that when you were young prices were reasonable, politicians were noble and children respected their elders. Respect your elders..."
~ *Jesus submitted.* Be like Jesus. Imitate his civil disobedience. Imitate his submission. In this portrait of a saviour-in-formation, we see the adult Christ forged in the profoundly ordinary process of humble submission.
~ *Jesus submitted.* Even the peerless Jesus. Especially the peerless Jesus. Jesus submits because Jesus knows that the truest true greatness comes through submission. It is in submission that we find the all-sufficient resource, for the needed efficacy to overcome the utterly pervasive brokenness of the world. Submission is not incidental. Submission is essential. Submission is not merely a scout badge amongst other good behaviours. Submission is the training for, and the substance of, _the_ battle against the human problem: the rebellious unsubmissive selfish heart. *Submission is the antithesis of individualism.* And, individualism is _the_ drug of our age. It permeates every presupposition, every snowflake lifestyle expectation, every disruptive business plan, every party political manifesto. It colours marriages, it shapes architectures, and it renders community antagonistic and impossible. We measure ourselves and 'the good' against a false freedom, the myth of autonomy. And toward that vision, our modern saviour will come unfettered, so we must be unfettered. Our rugged individualist saviour will move fast and break things to bring us the salvation of invulnerable podular existences and technologies which mitigate all contexts for possible submission.
~ *Submit because Jesus submitted.* You are not the exception. A life-unsubmitted is not merely flimsy and sentimental, it is untrue and ineffective. You are not better than Jesus.
~ *Submit as Jesus submitted.* Jesus submitted to inadequate authorities, uncomprehending parents ultimately through to duplicitous disciples and corrupt government. Jesus submits, he takes no power over, he seeks the good of and serves, he plays by their rules, he dies by their sword.
~ *Submission is the substance of peaceful community* Eph5v21 Submission moves the heart. Mary was taking notes anyway, but this episode commits itself as a memory bookending Mary's understanding of the Christ's formation. And it is in this way of impacting the heart that *submission is the armoury of effective conflict* Rm12v21 Mt5v39 1Pt3v1 etc. Submission is the non-violence which heaps burning coals, overthrows empires and wins unbelieving spouses to faith.


text:
© 2008 MLB Advanced Media, L.P. All rights reserved.

10/16/08 1:46 AM ET

Philly fans celebrate World Series berth

Rejoicing faithful take to Philadelphia's streets in droves

PHILADELPHIA -- Though the Phillies were almost 3,000 miles away from home when they clinched their first World Series berth in 15 years, Phils fans were out in full force Wednesday night to celebrate.

"I wish we could go out and spray champagne on our fans," pitcher Brett Myers said after the Phillies defeated the Dodgers, 5-1, in Game 5 of the National League Championship Series at Dodger Stadium.

complete postseason coverage

"I can only imagine what it's going to be like when we land, how excited the people are going to be and who's going to be there to see us," center fielder Shane Victorino said. "It's going to be a fun time."

It was a celebration in Philadelphia for everyone involved. Red-and-white clad Phillies fans hooted, hollered and sprayed their beverages at McFadden's Restaurant at Citizens Bank Park.

After the game ended, Philadelphia's local FOX station showed overhead shots of the city's streets, filled with overjoyed fans. The station reported that police had not encountered any major problems.

"I'm sure they're celebrating," pitcher Cole Hamels said. "We'll be able to celebrate with them in the next couple days or so."

Victorino had a message for the Philadelphia faithful.

"We're still not done," he said. "This means a lot, but they don't want to stop here. They want a championship. They don't want to just get close. If we don't win that championship, they won't be happy. Be ready to go."

Kevin Horan is an associate reporter for MLB.com. Anthony DiComo, Matthew Leach and Ken Mandel contributed to this report. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.


text:
© 2013 MLB Advanced Media, L.P. All rights reserved.

11/12/2013 8:36 P.M. ET

Phillies, Byrd finalize two-year contract

Outfielder could serve in everyday role; protect Utley, Howard in lineup

PHILADELPHIA -- The Phillies believe they found a right-handed bat on Tuesday, when they announced they have signed outfielder Marlon Byrd to a two-year, $16 million contract.

But what type of right-handed bat are they getting?

Byrd, 36, hit .291 with 24 home runs, 88 RBIs and an .847 on-base plus slugging percentage in 147 games last season with the Mets and Pirates. It was the best year of his career, but it also followed the worst year of his career. Byrd hit a combined .210 with one home run, nine RBIs and a .488 OPS in 47 games with the Cubs and Red Sox in 2012 before serving a 50-game suspension for violating Major League Baseball's policy on performance-enhancing drugs.

Byrd, whose deal includes a club/vesting option for 2016, could not find another job in baseball, so he headed to Mexico to play winter ball, where he resurrected his career before signing a Minor League deal with the Mets.

"We're just looking for the best bang for our buck," said Phils general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. "We have a lot of holes to fill. Again, we won't be able to fill them all from outside, but we're trying to get the best value we possibly can."

It remains to be seen if Byrd is a good value or not. He had a .360 batting average on balls in play this season, which is 31 points higher than his career average and 63 points higher than the big league average in 2013. But Byrd also struck out a career-high 144 times.

Byrd's deal raised some eyebrows at the GM Meetings in Orlando, Fla., because of the money and the fact that the Phillies moved so aggressively. But Mets general manager Sandy Alderson said he wasn't surprised by the deal.

"Not really," Alderson said. "Given what we've seen so far, I wasn't surprised. Had you asked me the question three or four months ago, I might have been surprised. But not in light of what's happened since the end of the season. There haven't been that many signings, but this one is consistent with the others."

If Byrd can replicate or come close to his 2013 success -- his .786 OPS from 2007-13 ranks 94th out of 233 hitters with 2,000 or more plate appearances -- Amaro will have somebody to hit behind Chase Utley and Ryan Howard.

But if Byrd regresses, the Phillies will remain without the right-handed power bat they lost when Jayson Werth signed with the Nationals following the 2010 season. (The Phils acquired Hunter Pence in July 2011, only to trade him to the Giants a year later.)

It is unclear how Byrd's arrival affects outfielders John Mayberry Jr., who is eligible for salary arbitration, or Darin Ruf, although Amaro said he assumes he will tender Mayberry a contract.

Byrd, who the Phillies selected in the 10th round of the 1999 First-Year Player Draft, should at least upgrade the outfield defense, which has been a priority for Amaro. The Fielding Bible awarded Byrd plus-12 runs saved in 1,168 innings last season.

Philadelphia had other free-agent options when it came to a right-handed-hitting outfielder, including Nelson Cruz, Carlos Beltran, Michael Morse and Corey Hart. Cruz, 33, has more pop than Byrd, but he served his own 50-game suspension this season and is below average defensively. Beltran, 36, is a switch-hitter with pop and is a fine defender, but he turned down the $14.1 million qualifying offer from the Cardinals and could command at least a two-year, $30 million deal. Hart, 31, missed the 2013 season because of injuries, and although the Phils have loved Morse, 31, in the past, he has a lengthy injury history and struggled last season with the Mariners and Orioles.

If Byrd's contract is $8 million next season, it already pushes Philadelphia's payroll to $130.5 million for just nine players: Cliff Lee ($25 million), Howard ($25 million), Cole Hamels ($22.5 million), Utley ($15 million), Jonathan Papelbon ($13 million), Jimmy Rollins ($11 million), Byrd, Mike Adams ($7 million) and Miguel Gonzalez ($4 million). That does not include money they must spend for a catcher, starting pitcher, a reliever or two, plus pay arbitration-eligible players like Ben Revere, Antonio Bastardo, Kyle Kendrick, Kevin Frandsen and Mayberry.

So thoughts that Byrd's signing is a "depth" move seem misguided unless the Phillies make a trade, and Amaro said "it's possible" they could still try to add another outfielder. They could trade left fielder Domonic Brown or Revere to fill some needs. Otherwise, at the moment it looks like Brown, Revere and Byrd in the 2014 outfield.

Amaro said he would be OK with that.

"Yes, I would," he said. "Much more comfortable than I was in the past."

Is Byrd enough to improve an offense that ranked 26th in scoring, 24th in on-base percentage and 21st in slugging percentage in 2013? No, but Byrd is considered a complementary piece to Howard, Utley and Rollins, and the Phils have hitched their success to this group.

Still, Amaro said they will continue to look for ways to improve offensively. That includes re-signing free-agent catcher Carlos Ruiz. FOXSports.com reported Ruiz has received a two-year, $20 million offer. The Rockies have expressed interest in Ruiz, but the Denver Post reported it is not Colorado. Amaro has said they are looking at alternatives.

"We've got some holes to fill," Amaro said. "Obviously, we had a very poor year last year. We have to get healthy, number one. We have to get production out of the guys that are our core players. We have to get Revere back and healthy. We have to get Howard back and healthy. Those are key elements of our offense."

Todd Zolecki is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.


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Lenten Vespers & Benediction
Sunday, March 26, 2017, 03:00pm - 04:30pm

Laetare Sunday Solemn Vespers (Evening Prayer)
March 26th at 3:00 PM
with Adoration & Benediction
Led by our own SSPJ Choir

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Forms, Forces and Fragments

I am a collector of forms, contemplating the forces that created them. Freely combining abstract and recognizable fragments of human experience, I search for patterns and interrelationships that suggest non-linear stories, celebrating both the material and intangible aspects of life.

Philip High was born in Louisville, Kentucky and studied painting, printmaking and ceramics at the University of Kentucky in Lexington. He began a career in graphic arts after moving to Atlanta, Georgia, eventually relocating to Mobile, Alabama. Years later he returned to Lexington, where he began shifting his focus back to fine art. Philip has received regional, national and international awards for fine art and illustration in both digital and traditional media and currently lives in Louisville, Kentucky.

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Tuesday, October 15, 2013

More Blog Hop News

It took me a while to decide on a prize but when I saw this collection I knew it was a must have for any scrapper so of course I wanted to give it away! Make sure you visit the Sketch~n~Scrap blog each day from October 21st through November 8th to see what each designer is up to and the prizes that are being offered.

For my holiday I am giving away this "Sweet" Hey Kid kre8tive kit by Pink Paislee that contains: (12) 12" x 12" single sided patterns, (329) cardstock stickers, (5) clear border stickers, and (27) chipboard stickers.Create amazing craft projects with the NEW Kre8V-Kits! Everything you need is bundled into one convenient pack including papers, stickers, alphabets, chipboard accents and more!

See you at the hop!

langeatheart said...

looking forward to the hop! Enjoy looking at your work! A new follower! Drop by sometime as I am also having a giveaway this month for a very special little girl Pay it Forward contest! All the best!

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Cosmetic Acupuncture

Cosmetic Acupuncture, Phoenix Wellness Whitby Cosmetic acupuncture focuses on reducing the fine lines on the face, which most often occur due to accumulation of life's daily stresses on the mind body and spirit. In order to treat the face, we also treat the internal organs, balancing & harmonizing their internal relationships. If you are bothered by the sight of sagging skin and fine lines around your eyes and mouth, you might consider acupuncture. This centuries old technique helps your face look younger and brighter with improved skin tone and tightness - all without having to go under the knife.

How Cosmetic Acupuncture Works

Acupuncture is a traditional Chinese therapy used for over 2,500 years.  Practitioners place thin, hair-like needles at certain points within the body to stimulate the body's natural healing response. It has become increasingly popular in Canada and is now recognized as a safe and effective way to treat everything from migraines and back pain to arthritis and asthma.

Facial rejuvenation treatment involves the insertion of about 30 to 50 needles, with the majority on the face and head, and some on other parts of the body such as the lower legs, feet, arms and hands. The process can take about an hour to complete.

If you're worried about pain, it's reported that most people barely feed the needles as they are inserted. Some may not feel anything while the needles are in, while others might experience tingling, warmth or a mild dull ache in some insertion sites. In delicate areas, where there is less fatty tissue and more blood vessels, bones or nerves nearer to the surface of the skin, one might feel a slight pin prick very briefly as the needle is inserted.

Cosmetic Acupuncture yields subtle and noticeable results, and generally between the first and third session with results becoming more clear and lasting after six to eight sessions. A patient can expect to see improved texture and skin colour. There is also a reduction of fine lines and wrinkles, sagging jowls, double chin, puffiness and drooping lids.  The best results come with 10 to 12 initial sessions done weekly, followed by maintenance sessions every three to four months.

About Cosmetic Acupuncture

Cosmetic Acupuncture, Phoenix Wellness Whitby

Acupuncture is a safe and effective natural therapy used to heal illness, prevent disease, and improve well being. Tiny hair thin needles are inserted into specific points in the body to stimulate the body’s natural healing response. Acupuncture is an effective, safe, and complimentary to medications, and even surgery for a variety of conditions and ailments. It is very important that you have your acupuncture treatments given by someone who has proper and adequate training in the field. Paul Henderson has been practicing and teaching acupuncture for over 15 years, which makes him a great choice for your cosmetic acupuncture practitioner.


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Newest comments in prefix 045

04-5152999 can any one tell who is calling from this no. and company?    ive just receive call as of 10:29 am Dubai time 9/26/2013
guest (United Arab Emirates) Sep 26 2013, 6:30 am Post
called our UK ex directory landline today 24/7/2013 at 14.55hrs

Indian(?) accent male calling about accident claim, falsely stated he is based in an office near Forest Gate , east London and hung up when I asked for his company name and phone number.
Me (Walton, United Kingdom) Jul 24 2013, 2:15 pm Post
Details about this number

Telephone number: 04566-9899
Owner and address: Details
City : Aruppukottai - India
Petey (Melbourne, Australia) Apr 19 2013, 4:44 am Post
I also received call from this number. But was not able to answer. Anyone knows from who's number is this? Thanks
Guest (United Arab Emirates) Oct 6 2012, 9:44 am Post
Hung up when I answered
egdp (Banbury, United Kingdom) Jun 22 2012, 10:34 am Post
This number called and asked for my husband by name, I asked who was calling and they asked if I was him and I said no. When I said again who is calling the gentleman said you tell me who you are and then I'll tell you.    I of course didn't tell him anything and then he hung up. The man sounded like he had an indian accent. So obviously another scam.
cd (London, United Kingdom) Jun 18 2012, 12:43 pm Post
just got a call from this number answered and they promptly hung up.... never said a thing to me
Guest (United Kingdom) May 29 2012, 4:14 pm Post
Nuisance call - hung up as soon as the phone was answered.
Anon (Hebden Bridge, United Kingdom) Apr 13 2012, 7:48 pm Post
Just called 2.35pm. Sounded like an Indian call centre. Asked for me by name. As soon as I asked what it was about they hung up
Maggie (Clacton-on-sea, United Kingdom) Mar 20 2012, 2:40 pm Post
Guest (Dubai, United Arab Emirates) Dec 24 2011, 6:27 am Post
Me too, just had a text to ring and quote a reference number, they will wait.
Olive (Dublin, Ireland) Aug 16 2011, 4:16 pm Post
Now this time he was calling from some local bank :(
Malik (Dubai, United Arab Emirates) Jul 18 2011, 11:48 am Post
today i received call from 045078600 at 10:43 am (11/6/2011) which I could not able to attend as I was busy with other line, after I tried to recall but not connecting and showing number not in use, why?
Abdul Rehnman Bhatti (Dubai, United Arab Emirates) Jun 11 2011, 6:54 am Post


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Sunday, 14 June 2009

That’s what it semt to be

Peter Roach wrote:
I heard a Rotherham man being interviewed on Radio 4 earlier today about the effects of the recession. I thought I heard him say 'It semt to come on suddenly' ('semt' where 'seemed' would be expected). If I heard that correctly (I wasn't listening carefully at the time), it would be presumably be analogical to /dremt/ - /dri:md/. Have you ever heard this? Or did I mis-hear?

I answered
I’ve never heard it, but it seems entirely plausible. The OED has a past tense semde, sempt, semt in the 13th-16th centuries.
You could possibly check in the Leeds Survey of English Dialects.

Peter then reported
I consulted my cousin-in-law, who knows the area well - he used to be Head Teacher of Grimethorpe Comprehensive. I remember him telling me of hearing one of his teachers saying to a boy “don't tha thee-thou me!”. His reply concerning semt:
Yes semt (I'm not sure exactly how it's spelt - it can be pronounced more like sempt) is common in Rotherham, Sheffield and Barnsley, tha’ knows. They also use tret (for treated).

So I think I must have heard this form correctly.
And I in turn can say that I have heard tret for the past of treat.

  1. I like that. I favour "dreamt" and "leapt" (or should that be "lept"?) over "dreamed" and "dreamt", myself.

    Can't give any reason why, though.

  2. I've not heard "sempt" from living in Yorkshire. I looked in the Upton/Parry/Widdowson volume of SED and in the Dictionary of the Scots Language, and didn't find it anywhere. That's a new entry for me. However, I have heard "tret" frequently. Similar forms include "selt" (sold) and "telt" (told), which extend from Yorkshire northwards into Scotland.

    It's good to see a bit of Yorkshire dialect on the blog, although I should point out that Grimethorpe, as an isolated ex-pit village, is likely to be very conservative in comparison to the rest of West/South Yorkshire speech.

  3. And Jack Windsor Lewis points out (p.c.) that Americans have "pled" as the past tense of "plead".

  4. This is my dream,
    It is my own dream,
    I dreamt it.
    I dreamt that my hair was kempt.
    Then I dreamt that my true love unkempt it

    ~ Ogden Nash

  5. BrE is pretty vast and wide, I had studied it before but never to the depths of the many different ways some words can be pronounced or spoken. In deed much more deep and rich than AmE.


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Archive for the ‘Curiosities’ Category

What’s new in PHP 5.4? A huge list of major changes!

Tuesday, September 27th, 2011

The PHP 5.4 is now available.

As you probably know, the updates that were intended for postponed PHP 6 were added to PHP 5.4.0 instead, so now PHP includes a huge set of new language features and removes several legacy behaviors.

Because of that I created a list of major changes since PHP 5.3 ,along with some examples and brief descriptions of these changes… (more…)

Ani-Shell, just another black-hat shell in PHP

Tuesday, September 27th, 2011

Quoting the project’s home page:

Ani-Shell is a simple PHP shell with some unique features like Mass Mailer , A simple Web-Server Fuzzer , a DDoser etc! This shell has immense capabilities and have been written with some coding standards in mind for better editing and customization

The Plot to Kill PHP MySQL Extension

Friday, July 15th, 2011

Today I received a mass email from This was an information about a new entry on a blog led by Manuel Lemos, the creator of the site.

In this entry he informs us that the PHP core developers are planning to kill the PHP original MySQL extension. (more…)

phpMultiServer, a high-performance HTTP server written in pure PHP

Tuesday, June 14th, 2011

This is a sample, high-performance HTTP server written in pure PHP.

Thanks to various optimizations, this server is able to handle more than 800 HTTP requests/second on a dual core laptop (Core 2 Duo 1.6Ghz).

This in turn allows you to create highly efficient PHP scripts with low response times (less than 1ms latency between sending request to launching PHP script).

In result this software is sometimes faster than the Apache HTTP Server (which is written in highly efficient C language). (more…)

Eval() counterparts in PHP: how to do something wrong faster?

Monday, June 13th, 2011

Probably all PHP developers know what is the eval() command, and why it should be avoided.

There are several reasons, but mainly the problem is the safety and efficiency of the script. An additional disadvantage may be lack of support by the compilers of PHP code (for example, HipHop for PHP).

Unfortunately, there are situations where it is necessary to execute dynamically created code. In this article I will focus on performance and faster replacement of eval() command. (more…)

Download VMware image of Fedora 14 Linux with HipHop for PHP installed

Friday, June 10th, 2011

Many articles on this blog describes the performance and functionality of HipHop. Since many readers like the dry facts, I decided that I prepare an image of Linux distribution, which will have a built-in support to PHP code translator. (more…)

Drupal 7: HipHop for PHP vs APC – benchmark

Tuesday, May 17th, 2011

Drupal is one of two most popular content management systems (CMS) written in PHP . It is used as a back-end system for at least 1.5% of all websites worldwide. It is also one with the the slowest systems of this kind on the Internet

There have been many suggestions on improving Drupal performance, some of them recommend the use of APC module, data caching, or even compilation of the entire system through HipHop for PHP. While the first two solutions have been successfully implemented, no one was able to perform the build process.

After many battles with the compiler and the Drupal code, I present you results of the first successful translation of Drupal 7 to C++ language. (more…)

Object-Oriented PHP: Implementation of C# getters and setters in PHP

Friday, May 13th, 2011

PHP 5 and C# .NET have a getter and setter method feature, making it look like we’re accessing the data member directly. As you probably know, in C# you can define getters and setters for the properties of an object like this:

public class Person
    //default constructor
    public Person()
    private string _Name;
    public string Name
        //set the person name
        set { this._Name = value; }
        //get the person name
        get { return this._Name; }

You can simulate this functionality in PHP 5.x using the magic __get () and __set () functions, but that solution has one big drawback. Magic variables are not visible in the PHP code (in a class declaration), and in IDE applications (until the variable is declared “virtually” from the phpDoc comments).

Because of that I present you another little-known functionality of the PHP language, which solves the above problems. In my solution you can easily convert class properties into magic variables which will be visible everywhere in the code/IDE applications. (more…)

Code injection – a simple PHP virus carried in a JPEG image

Friday, May 13th, 2011

As a developer and administrator for the webhosting company I saw many galleries and download scripts written in PHP. While the scripts were generally similar (used file_get_contents(), fopen(), readfile()), sometimes I’ve seen other, less traditional implementations.

A case of one of my company’s customers inspired me to write this article. Few months ago he reported to me with the problem of sending files via a PHP script. Some of his files were sent successfully but others did not and he could not get to the heart of the matter.

After a brief code inspection, it turned out that script written by him had some undesired, additional functionality. Because he’s been using include() clause to read an images, his script was vulnerable to the code injection! (more…)

HipHop for PHP: Unimplemented functions and features

Tuesday, May 10th, 2011

Because of various incompatibilities and installation difficulties HipHop for PHP is not the right solution for everyone deploying PHP.

In this article I present you the documentation about unimplemented functions in HipHop for PHP compiler. This is an enhanced copy of the github’s documentation which has been deleted from project’s website three days ago by unknown reason.

The article has been enhanced with my own notes to make it up-to-date and more friendly for the end-users. (more…)

How to speed up the compilation of PHP code in HipHop for PHP – part I: ccache

Tuesday, May 10th, 2011

Compilation of any program written in PHP, depending on its size, can take anywhere from few to tens of minutes.

The long compile time is nothing unusual for C, C++ and Java developers. Unfortunately the same can not be said for PHP programmers who are accustomed to the fact that all changes in the source code are seen online in their browsers.

In this article I’ll present you one of the solutions that significantly reduces the compile time of PHP code. (more…)

Drupal 7 and HipHop for PHP: compilation

Monday, May 9th, 2011

Shortly after the release of HipHop for PHP, many articles about its possibilities and functions it can offer to existing PHP scripts appeared on the internet, but the most of them described problems which disrupted the compilation process of two popular CMS systems: Drupal and Joomla. They were caused by the poor quality of the PHP code in which these systems were written.

These articles are outdated since the release of new versions: Drupal 7 and Joomla 1.6.

Has the quality of PHP code improved? Is it now possible to compile the Drupal system without any problems?
This series of articles will answer these questions.

Mod_rewrite and HipHop for PHP on Apache Web Server

Monday, April 25th, 2011

PHP scripts compiled with HipHop for PHP compiler can easily act as HTTP servers. However, they do not provide the Internet’s most popular method for creating friendly URLs’, the mod_rewrite module that is supplied with the Apache Web server.

In this article I will describe the easiest way to run compiled PHP scripts from the Apache server. (more…)


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October 30, 2014

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Hello PHP fans, and welcome to this week's edition of

Following a mixed response to last week's "Open Letter to PHP-FIG", Anthony Ferrara has posted a follow up explaining his conclusions and points in a bit more detail.

We have an article listing "40 Useful PHP Classes and Libraries", not only for those developers who are new to the community, but also to assist everyone in every day development.

The Refactoring Legacy Code series draws to a conclusion, with Part 11 analysing final results.

Just announced is the 2015 PHP Unconference Europe, to be held in Majorca, with tickets already on sale.

And we bring you a presentation on Object Oriented Programming, given by Steve Francia at OSCON 2014.

If you would like to sponsor PHP's most popular weekly newsletter, or post a job advert here, please contact me on

Have a great weekend ;o)

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A Followup To An Open Letter To PHP-FIG
After a mixture of responses to his previously posted "Open Letter To PHP-FIG", Anthony Ferrara has posted a follow up explaining his conclusions and points in a bit more detail.

PHP Wars: Attack of the Clones
Phil Sturgeon talks about "cloned packages" - those packages that are virtually identical to, but lower-powered versions of, already established, well-tested packages.

40 Useful PHP Classes and Libraries for Efficient Development
PHP is a scripting language that also happens to be the most popular in the domain. It is famously used in web development and may not be all that easy to learn for newbies, but it certainly does work wonders and magic. This article lists 40 PHP classes and libraries to use in order to learn the language quickly, and employ its use in your everyday development.

The PHP Security Advisories Database
A year and a half ago, Fabien Potencier proudly announced a new initiative to create a database of known security vulnerabilities for projects using Composer. So far this has been a great success, and has now been taken one step further.

Duplication of Effort and NIH
The PHP community is engaged in a discussion on whether or not developers should spend time writing new packages that solve existing problems with existing solutions.

5 Easy Ways to Get Started with PHP on Vagrant
Vagrant is a tool for creating and managing virtual environments that help many developers not have to care about the “works on my machine…” problem. Vagrant creates reusable development systems that can be used again and again, helping you keep your system clean of too many installations.

Tutorials and Talks

PHP and RabbitMQ: Advanced Examples
In Part 1 we covered the theory and a simple use case of the AMQP protocol in PHP with RabbitMQ as the broker. Now, let’s dive into some more advanced examples.

Strategic Archive Extraction with Distill
Perhaps you are building an application which depends on archives; for example, you constantly have to download archives and extract files from them. There are many libraries out there that can help you get files extracted from an archive, and a new player in town capable of doing this job is Distill.

Reduce Number of Queries
In this article, aimed at beginner to intermediate developers, Anna Filina explains how to figure out whether the number of queries might be a contributing factor when a site is slow. She also looks at how to count them, how to find spots to optimise and how to eliminate most of these queries.

Yet Another example of WebSockets, and AngularJs Working With a Silex Backend
Referring to a previous similar post of his, Gonzalo Ayuso wants to create a key-value interface to play with websockets.

Using Phansible to Provision a Remote PHP Server
Phansible is an open source project that provides an easy web interface to create Ansible provisionings for PHP based projects. Although the project is more focused on development environments with Vagrant, it's quite easy to configure the downloaded bundle for provisioning any remote server with SSH access.

Refactoring Legacy Code - Part 11: The End?
In our previous lesson we've learned a new way to understand and make code better by extracting till we drop. While that tutorial was a good way to learn the techniques, it was hardly the ideal example to understand the benefits of it. In this lesson we will extract till we drop on all of our trivia game related code, and analyse the final result.

Expert PHP - Part 1: Preventing SQL Injection Attacks
Expert PHP is a small five-part series of posts written for beginner to intermediate developers wishing to take their skills to the next level. Advanced developers might find some snippets of helpful information through the series as well. Each post will have a task for you to complete to help ensure you have understood everything presented.

What’s The Difference Between A “Pivot Table” And An “Association Table”?
An “association table” is a table that joins other tables in a many-to-many relationship. For example, if an Article can have more than one Tag, and each Tag can be placed on one or more Articles, then they are in a many-to-many relationship. To associate them to each other, we need a third table through which we can join them.

Creating Maintainable WordPress Meta Boxes: Verify and Sanitise
Throughout this series we've been creating a plugin that's meant to provide authors with a way to collect, manage and save ideas and references to content that they're creating within WordPress. Up to this point we've put together the basic file organisation of the plugin, as well as the front-end. In this post, we're going to hop back into the server-side code and begin implementing functionality.
News and Announcements
SensioLabs is proud to announce the second edition of SymfonyCon, which this year takes place in Madrid at the end of November. Talks, workshops, discussions and other serious work around Symfony and it's environment. The 'normal' ticket price expires tomorrow.

TechMeetup: 14-15th November 2014, Uruguay
In it's third year, TechMeetup brings together
all of Uruguay's tech communities, enabling participants to exchange ideas and knowledge. Tickets are on sale now.

PHP Unconference Europe: 9-10th May 2015, Majorca
The next PHP Unconference has been announced for next May, in Majorca. Tickets are already available.

Next Steps for the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy
Thanks to the hard work of staff and the Content Working Group, they have completed another round of updates to their draft privacy policy and terms of service. They have also responded to much of the feedback provided in their earlier announcement.

Reading and Viewing

Go For Object Oriented Programmers
Object Oriented (OO) programming has dominated software engineering for the last two decades. This presentation was given at OSCON 2014, by Steve Francia.

Voices of the ElePHPant - Interview with Erika Heidi Reinaldo
This week Cal Evans chats with Erika Heidi, developer advocate for DigitalOcean and regular PHP speaker.

October 2014 php[architect] Magazine Released
This month's edition is now available.

Web Application Development with Yii 2 and PHP Paperback (by Mark Safronov and Jeffrey Winesett, published 25 Sep 2014)
Implement real-world web application features efficiently using the Yii development framework. Each chapter provides micro-examples that build upon each other to create the final macro-example, a basic CRM application. Filled with useful tasks to improve the maintainability of your applications.

Rasberry Pi For Beginners: Everything You Need To Know To Get The Most Out of Your Raspberry Pi  (by Adam Holmes, published 23rd October 2014)
A computer for $35? Sounds too good to be true right? The Raspberry Pi is truly a “super computer” for under $50! Since its release, the Raspberry Pi has developed into so much more and is being utilised for new and innovative projects each and every day.

Programmer Extraordinaire, Expensify - California
We are Expensify and we do "expense reports that don't suck!" You are an incredibly hard worker, a cool person to be with, someone we can trust, rely upon, hang out with, bounce ideas off of, and generally interact with in a positive way, both personally and professionally. You are super talented in a general way but specifically talented in a programming way (this means that you can switch on a dime between C++, PHP, Bash, Cron, HTML, CSS, JavaScript, jQuery, Dwoo, SQL) and you're the sort of person who can just pick it up and figure it out.

To post a job advert please contact

Interesting Projects, Tools and Libraries

Opine is a concise PHP framework for building web applications.

Write your sessions in a more readable way. Great for multidimensional sessions.

Test code against multiple versions of PHP with the help of docker.

PHP Client library for Qafoo Profiler.

A PHP 5.3+ library for generating RFC 4122 version 1, 3, 4, and 5 universally unique identifiers (UUID).

Kafka client for PHP.

A semantic version parser and comparison library.

Simple PHP router that works with uri, query string or both.

Cryptographically sign data to prevent tampering.

Micro PHP Framework.

A Laravel Wrapper for WhatsApi.

PHP tools to provide a pretty console output.

Build tools to generate packages of a PHP project.

PHP 5.4+ full-stack web framework.

High performance PHP router.

A simple, secure and scalable PHP application framework.

A simple OO wrapper around PHP's cURL implementation.

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