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Cannabis & Human Biology

How and Why Cannabis Effects Us and Shapes Our Experiences

As we begin to learn more about cannabis and its chemical compounds, chiefly cannabinoids, you might have heard of a complicated term in the middle of the cannabis discussion: Endocannabinoid System.

Before we jump into the specific science of the endocannabinoid system (ECS), think of it as a catchall term that describes the equalizer preset you were born with, like audio equalizers. Introducing THC to your ECS allows you to drive up or drive down signal amplification for each individual value, such as hunger, hearing, and proprioception, or your understanding of movement and spatial orientation. The munchies, for example, represent an amplified hunger signal.

The Endocannabinoid System

Every function in our bodies requires a specific balance of factors in order to perform at maximum capacity. When this balance is achieved, it’s called homeostasis. The endogenous cannabinoid, or endocannabinoid system (ECS), plays a major role in survival by helping to maintain homeostasis in fish, reptiles, birds, and mammals (including humans).

Pain, stress, appetite, energy metabolism, cardiovascular function, reward and motivation, reproduction, and sleep are just a few of the functions the endogenous cannabinoid system is involved in.

The ECS consists of three main components: “messenger” molecules that our bodies synthesize, the receptors these molecules bind to, and the enzymes that break them down. This system is present throughout the entire body — it’s on immune cells in our bloodstream, on our nerves throughout our extremities, on the entire axis of the spinal cord, and in virtually every cell in our entire brain. There are even cannabinoid receptors in our skin.

The body naturally produces two known cannabinoid molecules: anandamide and 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG). Because anandamide was only discovered in the 1990s, there is still a great deal of research and study to be done in order to fully understand these endocannabinoid molecules.

Anandamide and 2-AG seek out cannabinoid receptors CB1 and CB2. While these two receptors have been the most studied by scientists, there are others. Anandamide and 2-AG also activate TRPV proteins. TRPV proteins are responsible for the body’s sensations of heat and cold. For example, that heat you experience when you eat chili peppers — that’s a TRPV response.

Although the CB and TRPV receptors are the major players in the ECS, there are at least three other receptors that may eventually be considered cannabinoid receptors, once their functions are fully understood (GPR55, GPR18, and GPR119).

CB1 receptors are largely found in the central nervous system, where they regulate a wide variety of brain functions. In fact, they’re the most widely expressed protein of their kind in the brain. In the brain, the major role of the CB1 receptor is to regulate the release of other neurotransmitters, such as serotonin, dopamine, and glutamate. Think of these neurotransmitters as children waiting to enter a crosswalk after school: The endocannabinoid system acts as the crossing guard, allowing them to cross at very tightly controlled times and amounts. Although the CB1 receptor is responsible for the euphoric effects of cannabis, it’s also critically involved in the brain’s top-down control of pain.

CB2 receptors are mostly found on immune cells, which circulate throughout the body and brain via the bloodstream. They’re also found on neurons in a few select brain regions. CB2 receptors are involved in pain relief, anti-inflammation and neuroprotection.

Anandamide and 2-AG are produced by our cells in an “on demand” fashion. They are commonly referred to as “retrograde messengers” because they float backwards across the gap between two neurons, in the opposite direction of normal neuronal communication. After binding to their targets, the endogenous cannabinoids are rapidly broken down by enzymes FAAH and MAG lipase. FAAH, or fatty acid amide hydrolase, breaks down fatty acid amides like anandamide, while MAG lipase, or monoacylglycerol lipase, breaks down 2-AG.

Several pharmaceutical companies have identified these enzymes as potential targets for new classes of drugs to treat pain. The rationale is that if the endocannabinoid molecules relieve pain, then perhaps increasing their presence (by preventing their enzymatic breakdown) would be a “natural” mechanism of pain relief. Unfortunately, this approach has proven to be much more dangerous than stimulating the endocannabinoid system directly, by introducing cannabinoids from the cannabis plant.

Because our bodies already use cannabinoid molecules to regulate many functions, we’re inherently endowed with many targets the cannabis plant can activate. Phytocannabinoids (plant-derived cannabinoids) are compounds that are unique to the cannabis plant, produced by trichomes on its surface. Beyond the known and potential cannabinoid receptors mentioned above, phytocannabinoids bind to many other targets. For instance, cannabidiol (CBD) has at least 12 sites of action in the brain.

Everyone’s endocannabinoid system is unique: the rates of 2-AG and anandamide production and break down can vary wildly, and so can the levels of cannabinoid receptors in our bodies. For instance, prolonged use of cannabis causes the brain to reduce the number of CB1 receptors that are available for activation. Using human brain imaging, we can observe that just 48 hours of abstinence from cannabis is sufficient to resensitize the system and bring the expression of CB1 proteins to a level that is comparable to a non-cannabis user.

Individual differences in this system also occur due to genetic variations (mutations) in both the receptors (CB1 and CB2) and the degradation enzymes (FAAH and MAG-lipase). In the future, it may be possible for doctors to screen for the presence of these genetic variations in a simple DNA test, so patients can have some idea of what their ECS  looks like before starting cannabis therapy. This type of biological screening would be incredibly useful in finding the right kind of cannabis therapy for the right patient.

How Terpenes Work with Cannabinoids to Produce the Cannabis Plant’s Most Desired Effects

Some of the cannabis plant’s most appealing qualities are the aromas and flavors we experience when we consume it. Many of the most popular strains are named after their intended taste. Blueberry is named for its sweet, citrusy blueberry flavor, Sour Diesel for its pungent and intoxicating fuel-like aroma, and Cheese for its, well, cheesy taste and smell.

You can thank terpenes for all the cannabis flavors and aromas you love. Whether you smoke cannabis flower, dab concentrates, or vaporize either, terpenes are hard at work delivering tasty citrus, diesel, woody, pine, skunky, coffee, spicy, herbal, or tropical flavors to your palate.

But terpenes do more than provide flavor and aroma. They also support other cannabis molecules in producing wanted effects. We call this the entourage effect, and it’s the reason terpenes have become such a critical piece of the cannabis puzzle.

Cannabis contains hundreds of molecules that have the ability to directly interact with our bodies and minds. Cannabinoid molecules are relatively unique to the cannabis plant, but other plant-derived molecules such as flavonoids and terpenes also bind to our cells and influence our experiences.

Terpenes are a large class of molecules that are produced by many species of plants. They are the main ingredient in essential oils, and are the fragrant compounds responsible for plants’ distinctive smells. The cannabis plant produces at least three dozen different terpenes. The unique scent of each cannabis cultivar (strain) is a result of the unique balance of terpenes produced by that particular plant. Terpenes dissipate into the air very easily, and are the first molecules to vaporize when heat is applied to flower. The flavor of terpenes is maximized by whole-flower vaporization, which gives the brain a chance to interpret the flavor without overwhelming it with the taste of smoke.

In addition to their aromas, terpenes have direct interactions with our bodies. For instance, alpha-pinene and beta-caryophyllene interfere with molecules that dilate our blood vessels. Less dilation equals less inflammation. Evidence suggests that whole-plant cannabis (that includes terpenes) is superior to isolated compounds from the plant. This isn’t entirely surprising: if pinene is anti-inflammatory, and CBD is also anti-inflammatory, then the body has a chance to fight inflammation from two different angles, using a single flower. This combined benefit is known as the Entourage Effect; cannabinoids like THC and CBD produce better outcomes when they are consumed alongside a supporting cast of terpenes.

So how is this all happening? What bodily processes or mechanisms could explain why combined terpenes and cannabinoids are superior to isolated ones? Like the example above, one possibility is that cannabinoids and terpenes hit different targets, and the summed activity at those targets (receptors or other cellular pathways) results in a better outcome; in other words, attacking inflammation at multiple sources of inflammation. It’s also plausible that terpenes could enhance our bodies’ ability to absorb or process cannabinoids. On the other hand, we have decent evidence that the undesirable effects of cannabis are minimized when there is a diverse set of molecules consumed at once. For instance, when CBD is consumed alongside THC, people experience less paranoia and anxiety.

The thing about the word “entourage” is that it gives the connotation that all the work is being done by a prevalent cannabinoid (like THC or CBD), while the other minor cannabinoids and terpenes are there as a sea of relatively insignificant minions. In some cases this may be true, like when an individual uses an extremely THC dominant flower (20+ %) that doesn’t have much else going for it.

However, there are a staggering variety of chemical phenotypes (chemotypes of cannabis) out there in the world. Plants that have a rich diversity of cannabinoids and terpenes may fall more into an “Ensemble” effect, rather than an “Entourage.” Just like an orchestra, each individual instrument contributes to the overall experience of the musical piece. THC may be the conductor, and CBD might be first-chair violin, but every instrument, every different cannabinoid molecule, contributes to the overall experience.

Almost everything we know about terpenes and cannabinoids is a result of studying their properties in isolation. With the exceptions of THC and CBD, the majority of this work has been done in animal models and petri dishes. Although this kind of science tells us a lot about the cellular mechanisms by which cannabinoids promote health, these models could be a bit too simplistic to generalize the results to the entire human population.

In the real world, we usually don’t consume isolated alpha pinene and wait to see how much it improves our breathing. Isolated cannabinoids like CBN are becoming more common. But, just because they’re being more widely consumed doesn’t mean there is sufficient clinical research to fully understand how they function in the real world, alongside others. Most “evidence” is purely anecdotal at this point. It’s far more common (and more beneficial) for us to consume hundreds of molecules at a time. There is a huge amount of research left to do in order for us to understand exactly how terpenes enhance the other health benefits of the cannabis plant, and exactly which constellations of molecules produce the different kinds of highs for which cannabis is known.

Why THC Gets You High and CBD Doesn’t, Explained

Whether it’s THC and CBD, or tetrahydrocannabinol and cannabidiol, respectively, chances are you’ve heard about these two cannabinoids. They’re not only the most well-known, but the most prevalent compounds in the cannabis plant.

The quick wrap on these two compounds usually goes something like this: THC gets you high and CBD doesn’t, but that’s just a small part of the story.

Each cannabis plant contains a rich profile of cannabinoids that interact with our bodies in unique and sophisticated ways. Start unpacking the science behind THC and CBD, and one thing becomes clear: there’s far more to these incredible cannabinoids than their most apparent effects would suggest.

THC is Cannabis’ Most Well-known and Desired Compound

Cannabis is one of the safest intoxicating substances on the planet. As with other intoxicating drugs, the precise mechanisms by which cannabis produces intoxication aren’t entirely known. We can, however, conclude a few important things.

The main intoxicating ingredient in cannabis is delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). The intoxicating properties of THC were first described in the 1940s, however our understanding of THC dramatically improved once the Israeli scientist Rafael Mechoulam synthesized this molecule in 1965.

THC is an agonist, or activator, of the cannabinoid 1 (CB1) receptor. When cannabis is given to people who have had their CB1 receptors blocked (by a different drug, called an antagonist), cannabis cannot get them high. So, we know that the CB1 receptor must be the critical target in the brain that produces intoxication.

Brain imaging studies have shown increased blood flow to the prefrontal cortex region of the brain during THC intoxication. This region of the brain is responsible for decision-making, attention, and other executive functions, like motor skills. In short, THC intoxication can affect any of these functions to varying degrees depending on the person.

Another important factor in cannabis intoxication involves the activation of the brain’s reward circuitry, which feeds our emotional and memory processes. Ultimately, the activity in these regions produces pleasurable sensations and emotions that encourage us to revisit that greasy burger place for a calorie-dense meal or ask a potential mate out on another date.

Cannabis activates the brain’s reward pathway, which makes us feel good, and increases our likelihood of partaking again in the future. THC binding to CB1 receptors in the brain’s reward system is a major factor in cannabis’ ability to produce feelings of euphoria.

There is a Lot More to CBD Than “It Doesn’t Get You High.”

But THC is far from the only ingredient in cannabis that has a direct impact on brain function. The most notable comparison is with cannabidiol (CBD), which is the second most abundant cannabinoid found in the plant. CBD is often touted as “non-psychoactive,” however this statement is somewhat misleading. Any substance that has a direct effect on the function of the brain is considered to be psychoactive. CBD most certainly does this, as it has very powerful anti-seizure and anti-anxiety properties.

CBD is indeed psychoactive; it’s just not intoxicating. The reason for this is that unlike THC, CBD is exceedingly bad at activating the CB1 receptor. In fact, evidence suggests that it actually interferes with the activity of the CB1 receptor, especially in the presence of THC. When THC and CBD work together to affect CB1 receptor activity, users tend to feel a more mellow, nuanced subjective high and have a much lower chance of experiencing paranoia compared to the effects felt when CBD is absent. That’s because THC activates the CB1 receptor, while CBD inhibits it. The presence of both cannabinoids balances the effects.

Things get particularly interesting when other cannabinoid and terpene molecules are consumed alongside THC and CBD. Although we are just beginning to understand the isolated effects of cannabinoids such as CBN, CBC, and CBG, their ability to bind to targets in the brain means they could potentially enhance, interfere with, prolong, or in some other way modulate the effects of THC. It’s entirely possible that some of cannabis’ most well-known effects (such as couch lock) may have very little to do with THC itself, but rather, the relative contributions of these lesser-known molecules.

Cannabis is a complex plant with relatively little available research into its effects and interactions with the human body — and we’re just beginning to learn the many ways cannabis compounds work together to change the way we feel.

Why Do Different Cannabis Varieties Give You Different Kinds of Highs?

Those mushroom-shaped structures are known as trichomes, and packed inside each and every one of them is a diverse array of biologically active molecules. More than 100 unique cannabinoid molecules have been identified so far, and any given cannabis plant can produce dozens of them in different ratios.

Every cannabinoid is structurally different than the rest. Even a subtle shift in the chemical bonds within a molecule can dramatically change its 3-dimensional shape. It’s the unique shape of the molecules within the cannabis plant that very strictly dictates exactly how they interact with our bodies. Delta-9-THC for instance, interacts directly with the CB1 receptors in our brain to produce euphoria and intoxication. CBD, despite being capable of more than a dozen types of actions, does not produce euphoria because its 3-dimensional shape doesn’t allow it to activate CB1 receptors. The saying “you can’t fit a square peg into a round hole” literally applies here.

Cannabinoids aren’t the end of the story, though. Like countless plants on planet Earth, cannabis also produces aromatic, or fragrant molecules known as terpenes. Terpenes give plants their signature smells (such as pinene, found in conifer trees, and limonene, found in citrus plants). In addition to being fragrant, terpenes also directly interact with the cells in our brains as a result of their unique chemical composition and 3-dimensional shape.

Speaking of shape, let’s talk about Indica and Sativa for a moment. In the late 1700s, botanists gave these names to different kinds of cannabis plants scattered across the globe. These different names were assigned due to differences in how the plants looked. At that time in history, the morphologically and genetically distinct plants across the globe probably produced very distinct effects in people as well. Sativa plants may very well have been uplifting, and Indica plants may have been sedating.

A lot has happened in 200 years, however. The subjective high is certainly not driven by the shape of a plant, and even its genetic lineage says little about what kind of high it will produce: it all comes down to the molecules. The many and varied types of cannabis intoxication are solely a result of which molecules were consumed, in which ratios, and at what dose. Scores of molecules competing for binding sites, synergizing with one another, interfering with one another, supporting and modulating one another — that’s the difference between energized and couch locked, not Indica and Sativa.

Despite an incredible amount of effort on the behalf of cannabis cultivators, no two cannabis plants ever produce identical levels of cannabinoids and terpenes. Even two genetically identical clones of the same mother plant can have meaningful variability in their chemistry. The plant’s genes, the growing instructions embedded in the DNA, generally guide which molecules the plant will produce. The amount or relative expression of those molecules, however, is very sensitive to growing, harvesting, and curing conditions.

So how do we know what kind of high we’ll experience when we buy a particular flower?

In short, we don’t. The best we can possibly do at the moment is pay attention to the kind of experience a particular cannabinoid and terpene ratio produced and look for a similar makeup, rather than keeping track of what a particular strain did for us.

Ever Smoke the Same Flower with a Friend Only to Have Completely Different Experiences? Your Genes might have a lot to do with it

So, you’re at a friend’s house, and they hand you a joint. “Be careful,” your friend warns. “This flower is really strong.” You take a drag and next thing you know, you’re feeling … absolutely nothing.

Sound familiar? It illustrates a pretty common occurrence — the same toke exhibiting different effects in different folks — one for which we might have no one to blame but ourselves. Or, more accurately, our own genes.

Cannabis is able to produce a wide array of experiences in human beings. It can make us sleepy, enhance our relationships, change our perception of the world and relieve the symptoms of debilitating diseases. And while different kinds of cannabis products produce different effects, what is even more interesting is that the same cannabis product can produce very different effects among individuals.

For instance, in passing a joint amongst a group of friends, some people may be completely unaffected while others experience intense intoxication of one variety or another. Why is that?

Cannabis exerts its effects through many targets and mechanisms within the brain, most notably the CB1 and CB2 receptors. These receptors are proteins that are made inside of our cells, and like all other proteins our bodies make, the “blueprints” for how to build them reside in our DNA. Although the human genome (the collection of all human genes) is strikingly similar across people, random or inherited edits (mutations) in these blueprints are extremely common. Genetic mutations can often be the source of inherited diseases, and they can also account for some of the differences in people’s reaction to cannabis.

Mutations in the human CB1 receptor (the target for THC and main site of cannabis intoxication) were first observed more than a decade ago. So far, scientists have identified nine variations of this gene in humans. When the blueprints for the protein are different, the function of the protein is almost always affected.

This means that right now, you’re walking around with one of at least nine different versions of the CB1 receptor protein. In some cases, a CB1 mutation could make you more vulnerable to diseases like anorexia, Crohn’s, or addiction, but in others it could drastically alter your sensitivity to the molecules that bind to it (like THC). This could very well explain why an individual’s sensitivity to cannabis intoxication could be greater or less than the eight other friends sharing the joint.

There are also at least seven mutations in the human FAAH gene (an enzyme that breaks down our bodies’ naturally produced cannabinoid molecules), and four mutations in the CB2 receptor. These mutations could have major health implications, and are the subject of intense ongoing research.

But genetic mutations affected by cannabis aren’t restricted to the genes involved in our endogenous cannabinoid system. For example, some people have mutations in the Akt gene (Protein kinase B, not an endocannabinoid-specific gene). This gene can keep cells from dying and inhibit tissue growth and is associated with many types of cancer. People with this mutation are more prone to make errors in judgement and motor responses after consuming cannabis. That’s because the individual’s Akt mutation changes how cannabinoids affect them.

Another important variation outside of the endocannabinoid system is found in the liver. When cannabis is ingested orally (swallowed tincture or edibles), it passes through the digestive system and liver before the cannabinoids can get into the bloodstream and brain. The liver contains many enzymes (again, proteins encoded by our DNA) that process many kinds of medications and substances. One of the more notable enzymes in the liver converts delta-9-THC into 11-hydroxy-THC, which is even more potent at activating the CB1 receptor and inducing intoxication. There are virtually countless individual differences in the efficiency and diversity of liver functions that could affect our experience with edible cannabis.

The genetic mutations that change our experience of cannabis may be present from birth, but they can also occur as a result of our experiences. Genes get turned off and turned on almost constantly throughout our daily lives, in response to many stimuli (invading viruses, diet, stress, you name it). At some point in the near future, it might be possible to do a simple DNA test (swabbing the inside of your cheek) to determine what your genes look like, and what you might be able to expect from using cannabis.

How Cannabinoids Are Converted, the Deal With Eating Raw Cannabis, and What That Little “A” Actually Means, Answered.

You may have stumbled upon an interesting ingredient in the search for a super healthy juice or smoothie recipe: raw cannabis.

And no, that isn’t a mistake. Raw cannabis belongs to the realm of superfoods alongside avocados, kale, and greek yogurt; they help fight arthritis, chronic pain, and other maladies — without any intoxicating effects.

This is all thanks to Tetrahydrocannabinolic Acid (THCA), a cannabinoid that, until recently, has been most closely related to Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the most intoxicating chemical compound in cannabis. The relation? THCA becomes THC.

Which begs the question: how is THCA non-intoxicating when consumed in raw cannabis (fresh, uncured, and unheated) but intoxicating once it has become THC?

Decarboxylation: How Cannabinoids Convert to Change the Way They Interact with Our Bodies.

The cannabis plant produces hundreds of cannabinoids, the chemical compounds responsible for the therapeutic and psychoactive effects of cannabis. But only a few cannabinoids cause the euphoric high that is unique to the cannabis plant. Most people assume that during the growth period the cannabis plant is producing THC, the most desired cannabinoid to cannabis cultivators, when it is actually primarily producing a larger molecule: THCA.

THCA is the non-intoxicating precursor that becomes THC when exposed to heat over a prolonged period of time. THCA that’s found in the cannabis plant won’t make you feel high. This is how you can eat or drink the raw plant and not feel its intoxicating effects.

But what keeps THCA from producing the intoxicating effects of THC? The simple answer: The THCA molecule doesn’t fit into the brain’s cannabinoid receptors.

In terms of physical size, THCA is a larger compound than THC. This is due to the extra carboxyl group attached to the molecule; it’s this carboxyl group that defines THCA as an acid. In fact, most cannabinoids (CBDA, CBGA, THCVA) take this acidic form when harvested and it is only later that they become the cannabinoids (CBD, CBG, THCV) we’re more familiar with.

The term for converting THCA into THC is decarboxylation. Simply put, it’s the process of removing the carboxylic acid group from a cannabinoid, a change that enhances its ability to interact with the body. Without decarboxylation, THCA have very little affinity for the cannabinoid type I (CBI) receptor since they can’t fit. CB1 receptor activation is a requirement for intoxication; if molecules don’t fit here, they can’t get you high.

Heat removes a carboxylic acid group from THCA, and the molecule decarboxylates into THC. As a smaller cannabinoid, THC is able to bind to CB1 receptors throughout the human body, producing intoxication.

Heat, Light, and the Many Ways THCA Converts to THC.

THCA is considered “thermally unstable,” which is another way to emphasize that it will alter when provoked by heat. Because of THCA’s instability, the molecule lends itself to several different methods of decarboxylation.

Sunlight conversion: THCA can convert to THC to varying degrees through exposure to light and heat. If a cannabis plant sits in the warm sun for an extended period of time, its THCA compounds will slowly convert to THC.

Room temperature conversion: THCA also converts to THC when stored at room temperature for a long enough time. In an olive oil extract, 22% of THCA will convert to THC over the course of 10 days at 77 degrees. Under the same conditions, 67% of THCA in an ethanol extraction will convert. Over time, cannabis stored at room temperature with very little light exposure will convert 20% of its THCA to THC.

Smoking: If dried and cured bud is exposed to a high degree of heat for a short time, as a match or lighter would provide during smoking, much of the existing THCA rapidly changes to THC. However, not all THCA converts to THC (smoking isn’t the most efficient method of decarboxylation).

The Benefits of THCA and Reasons to Go Raw

The raw cannabis movement is largely led by the benefits of THCA. More consumers are looking for smoothie and juice recipes to consume raw cannabis for its non-intoxicating, medicinal benefits (thanks to CBD’s rise in popularity).

Research is still preliminary and some results are still anecdotal, but the consumption of cannabinoid acids (the “A” in THCA) is believed to be a key to preventing chronic diseases (IBS, glaucoma, fibromyalgia) caused by an endocannabinoid production deficiency.

THCA is commonly being used as a nutritional supplement and dietary enhancer for its:

  • Anti-inflammatory properties to help with conditions like lupus and arthritis
  • Antidiabetic properties, reducing the risk of developing early onset diabetes
  • Neuroprotective properties to treat neurodegenerative diseases
  • Antiemetic properties to battle loss of appetite and nausea

Whether you’re smoking or juicing, understanding the various ways cannabinoids convert and interact with our bodies is crucial to achieving the effects we desire (and avoiding the ones we don’t). As more research is conducted in pursuit of a deeper understanding of how humans and cannabinoids interact, we can safely integrate raw cannabis into our daily diets to take full advantage of everything the plant has to offer.

– weedmaps

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Daily Archives: January 11, 2015

Resolve To Dress Better

If you’ve made a New Year’s resolution to eat more salad, why not go one step further and resolve to make your own salad dressings. It doesn’t take long, the ingredients you need are probably already in your pantry, and the dressings you make from scratch will taste much better than anything you find on the shelves of you local supermarket.

A basic vinaigrette is a great starting point. From there you can add ingredients to suit your tastes or that will complement the other ingredients in your salad. Vinaigrettes are just a combination of acid, fat and flavor in a standard ratio:IMG_5411
-1 part acid (citrus juice, vinegar)
-3 or 4 parts fat (oil)
-flavor (salt, pepper, chopped shallot, garlic, dried or fresh chopped herbs)

If you’d like your vinaigrette to hold together (emulsify) you can add a little dijon mustard or honey. You can also play with the ratio of oil-to-acid based on your personal taste and the boldness of flavor in the acid. If you like your dressing tart, add less oil.

You can whisk together the acid and flavor ingredients in a bowl and then drizzle in the oil while whisking. However, it’s much easier to just put all of your ingredients in a jar with a tight fitting lid and shake vigorously until well mixed. Added bonus: no clean up!

You can use a high-end extra virgin olive oil in your vinaigrette, but in most cases the vinegar and flavorings will overpower the oil, so a decent mid-priced extra virgin oil with a flavor profile that you like will do just fine.

To balance out the flavor of vinaigrette that seems too strong, add a few drops of water and shake or whisk until incorporated. Keep in mind that extra virgin olive oil may solidify in the refrigerator so you will need to take your vinaigrette out of the fridge an hour or so before you plan to use it and shake to reincorporate the oil.

Here’s a variation on the basic vinaigrette with an Asian twist. Fresh, crisp, raw baby bok choy is a great green for making salads and this dressing works especially well on bok choy. Teriyaki vinaigrette also makes a good marinade for tofu, chicken, fish, beef or pork

(makes 1 ¼ cups)

¼ cup Soy Sauce
2 Tblspns Rice Wine Vinegar
2 Tblspns Orange Juice
1 Tblspn Honey
1 clove Garlic—minced
2 tspns Fresh Ginger—grated (or 1 tspn dried ginger)
½ tspn Hot Sauce
2 tspns Orange or Lime Zest
¾ cup Canola Oil

• Whisk together all ingredients except oil until well combined.
• While whisking, drizzle in oil until blended.
• Alternatively, place all ingredients in a small jar and shake vigorously until combined

I’ll go beyond basic vinaigrette with a couple of blended dressings that will help shake up your winter salad repertoire in my next post.

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Exchange Consultancy

Get the most from your Microsoft Exchange Server investment with our expert consultancy services. We handle the implementation, migration and administration of Microsoft Exchange Servers with user bases extending from five to many thousand employees.

Our services span design, installation, implementation, configuration, migrations and troubleshooting. With more than a decade of independent Microsoft Exchange Server consultancy experience under our belt, we've handled numerous different implementations and configurations.

All work is carried out in accordance with Microsoft best practice, so you can be confident the solution will do what you want it to. We're able to work with Exchange 2003, 2007, 2010, 2013 and 2016 plus Small Business Server (SBS) 2008 and 2011.

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If you're experiencing poor performance, or functionality that doesn't appear to be working correctly, we can troubleshoot and resolve the problem.

We're also able to provide a 'third line of support' for clients that choose to handle their own Exchange implementation. While they do the day-to-day work involved, we can carry out the more significant, complex tasks - such as reconfiguration, updating and patching. We can either do this on-site, or via remote access.

For insurance and contractual reasons, we can only operate with clients based in the UK.

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Our guest this week is a mother of three kids, a graduate of Health Education,Â  president and developer of the Super Healthy Kids, Healthy Habits Plate. A very busy individual indeed, please welcome Amy Roskelley!

Many parents are concerned about their kids eating behaviors.Â  Kids can be picky, stubborn, and can go for long periods of time surviving on mac and cheese. It can get even more frustrating when you find something healthy they like, only for them to reject it the next day.Â  So how do you make sure they are getting what they need without turning into the Grinch?Â  Here are a few ideas.

â€¢Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  First, chill out.Â  If they are growing and have energy to sustain them for the demands of their little lives, than you probably are overly concerned.

â€¢Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  Stop buying what you donâ€™t want them to eat.Â  If you truly think your kid will starve if you stop buying hot dogs altogether, I promise you are wrong. I cut my 5 year old off cold turkey from hot dogs, and 1 year later, he is still asking for hot dogs.Â  But we donâ€™t have any, so he eats something else.

â€¢Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  Let them get hungry.Â  Food always tastes better, and they are more likely to try something if they are hungry.

â€¢Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  For preschoolers, use the red light/ green light method.Â  Foods are all assigned red, yellow, or green.Â  Green light foods can be eaten anytime; yellow light foods, sometimes; and red light foods should be avoided.

â€¢Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  Do not regulate the amount your child is eating.Â  You should be the one to decide WHAT they eat; they can decide HOW MUCH they eat.Â  Leave the â€œclean plate clubâ€ in the past where it belongs.

â€¢Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  Be a role model.Â  If you eat good, healthy food, your child will more likely adopt similar habits. Itâ€™s been proven example is more effective than bribing when it comes to eating something.

â€¢Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â  Place a poster of the food guide pyramid into your pantry. Kids as little as 2, will look at our poster to decide what food they want to eat. Educating them about variety and good food choices gives them information rather than battling the â€œbecause I said soâ€ model.

Fantastic tips! Amy has such a creative way to get the positive message out at her blog. The kids in her blog are Cereal Boy, 9 years old. Then The Flip-flopper, Sheâ€™s 7 years old. Also there is ketchup boy….he is 4. Visit Super Healthy Kids for fun, healthy reading!


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February 5, 2017

Today the overall news remains good: white blood counts have peaked and begun to head back down to normal levels. This should make room for the hemoglobin and platelets to again rise towards where they ought to be. Doctors are still talking about a potential discharge from the hospital sometime this week, though we don’t know yet whether that would be early or late in the week.

The downer of the day is that I had a really hard time sleeping last night, and then didn’t feel like doing much of anything other than sleep all day today (Sunday). It’s just about bedtime for me now, and hopefully I can get into a more normal cycle again. If you’ve been missing messages, updates, or calls back from me that’s why: nothing but sleeping going on. Tomorrow should be a bit more active; I’ll try to return calls and such.

Today’s great joy was that Aurora and Audrey got to visit me, enter my room, and snuggle up on my lap for a while around mid-day. That was the first time we had had full contact in thirteen days. I look forward to lots more of it.

Sleepily (and still optimistically),

This post was originally published on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/markus.silpala/posts/10212115416067378

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Is Remarriage A Step In The Right Direction?

Right direction Pixabay question-mark-2123966_1920.jpg“As I conduct stepfamily seminars around the country, there are two consistent questions I hear from single-parents. They concern going in the right direction towards remarriage. They are:

1. ‘Should I remarry?’

2. ‘When we get married, how do we help our kids and family to succeed?’

“I never tell couples whether they should remarry. But I do admonish them to step away from their remarriage fantasies. They need to consider the realities of stepfamily life.

“In order to make a step in the right direction for you and your children, you first must understand the challenges of stepfamily living. Then you will be able to make an informed choice about remarriage.”

Help in Making that Step in the Right Direction

The above statement was made by Ron Deal who is there founder and president of As For Me And My House Ministries, which provides marriage and family training across the country and family education consultation to church and community leaders. Ron also joined the staff of FamilyLife as Director of Blended Family Ministries. He’s a great expert that knows firsthand the ins and outs of remarriage.

Here’s another piece of advice that Ron offers on this issue that is good to note:

“Make sure you’re not still haunted by the ghost of marriage past. Emotional and spiritual healing from divorce or the death of a spouse takes time; in fact, the average person requires three to five years before they can be discerning about a new relationship. Don’t let the rebound-bug bite you where it hurts. After his wife died of cancer Gary found himself lonely and feeling inadequate to care for his daughter. ‘I guess I needed a partner and I wanted a mother for my child,’ he said. This emptiness lead him to rush into a new marriage. It’s one that ended after just one year. Remember, time is your best friend so slow down the dating process.”

To read the rest of what Ron has to say, click on the Family Life Today web site link provided below:

Is Remarriage A Step in the Right Direction?

If you have additional tips you can share to help others, please “Join the Discussion” by adding your comments below.

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52 responses to “Is Remarriage A Step In The Right Direction?

  1. (SOUTH AFRICA)  I once read in the book of Ezra about a sad situation where husbands divorced their wives on grounds other than the ones permitted, in order to marry foreign wives. A stern intruction was subsequently given by God to those men to immediately divorce the “new wives” and go back to their old ones. I imagined no difficulty in the reconciliation in so far as the old wives were concerned. However, I have difficulty understanding what the solution would have been where the offending husband refused to obey God’s command and remained with “the foreign wife”.

    I say this because more often than not, as it would seem to be common cause, one spouse is divorced against their will, and despite attempts to reconcile, the offending spouse goes ahead with the divorce any way.

    Situations do vary I understand. I am in my early thirties, a believer as well. My husband of 12 years divorced me and went to stay with a married woman (who after they started their adulterous relationship also instituted divorce against her own husband). I have two children both born of my marriage. Even after I discovered the adulterous relatioship between him and his married adulteress I was willing to forgive him. Instead, the rejection and resistance I got from him was beyond words. Because there were money issues involved, he even resorted to the very old trick of “contract murderers.” However by God’s grace those plans were revealed to me before they could reach fruition. I know that God hates it when we deliberately fall into sin, and as matter of fact I do not want to fall into sin in my new journey as a single person.

    My ex is living with another man’s wife (the other man is still very much alive, bear in mind). Therefore my ex has now long become “one in flesh and in spirit” with the new woman. Supposing he decides to reconcile (which I can assure you will never happen if things go his way); would I be doing the correct thing in welcoming him back despite him having been one in flesh and spirit with the other woman? Would I then not be caused by him to commit adultery? Can someone explain why God gave a stren warning that anyone who marries a divorced woman causes her to commit adultery? And while doing so, can someone explain then what it means to be NO LONGER BOUND (OR MORALLY BOUND AS OTHER VERSIONS WOULD HAVE IT)? How can one reconcile all these scriptures with what Jesus said elsewhere in the Bible that: it is pleasing to God if a man remains unmarried, but if one cannot control his fleshly longings, let him get himslef his own spouse. Did these words refer to “men” in the biologigal sense of the word, or is the contrary true?

    While I always pray to God, just like Thelma, to give me (if it is pleasing to Him that I marry again) a God fearing prince from His Kingdom; and while I am fully aware of the fact that His ways are not my ways, and in fact are higher than mine, examining myself I know certainly that if my ex were to come back, I would never be able to live in peace with him again, especially having seen that he can have me killed if he wants to. I certainly would not like to live in fear of him. That would be bondage in new form than the abuse and bellitlement bondage I was in before.

    I hear all the comments, and it would appear that they depend on the current situation of the commentator. It is true that we are flesh and blood. And I do believe that it is similarly no use trying to be right with God (by remaining single after divorce) while becoming wrong with oneself. I equally do not wnat to “become wrong” with the sacred intistution of marriage.

    If there is one thing I am sure of, it is that I would not want to ever be part of my ex’s life again. I am not forgetting that his children may still want to be part of his life and vice-versa. It is just sad because he has not bothered to make contact with them for a year as I write this comment; nor does he seem keen to fulfill his financial obligations towards them. However, that is besides the point because I am also gainfylly employed and from the least that I get, I do make sure that I meet the basic and other needs of my two lovely kids, while I wait for the legal processes to afford me appropriate relief.

    I believe that with God nothing is impossible, but I am fearing that somewhere along the way I may not be able to sustain the single life (socially and emotionally speaking). Does re-marriage after divorce then also mean a legalised adultery?

  2. (USA)  I know of a man who has been divorced 2x not a reason of adultery and he wants to have another serious relationship perhaps a 3rd marriage, would he commit adultery?

    1. (USA) Evelyn: Jesus only provided for divorce by death or adultery. The real tragedy in divorce for other reasons (e.g. you being the infidel) is remarriage because then the one who marries causes the one marrying him or her to commit adultery. You become an adulterer when you join yourself to an adulterer, married or not.

  3. (USA) When would it be prudent to tell a divorced person to hold off on marriage until they get themselves fixed first? Never telling a couple to not marry may be a derelection of duty if either of them individually caused their previous divorce.

  4. (SOUTH AFRICA) I have waited for two odd years for someone to kindly provide clarity to my questions. I do still get a sense that the issue of remarriage after divorce is a very sensitive one. While some of the responses are really insightful, it is sad to see people constituting themselves as Judges towards others. And all I can say is: Brethren, before you can judge all the divorcees or some of them, who still have aspirations of being married, and who are mostly in pain as a result of their divorce; especially those who never chose to divorce, who were forcefully divorced by their spouses, wait until the foundations (of marriage) are shaken, when an unexplained powerful force tears you apart from your spouse despite your having been faithful; prayerful; submissive (if you are a wife) in your marriage; wait until you find yourself with a million questions to which on your own you can provide no answers; wait until you are in a foreign ground in this cruel planet earth, not even understanding what the meaning of “remaining single” is anymore… Wait until the doctrines of man engulf you like the waves of the sea, concerning what the word of God says about the issue.

    Be that as it may, I have since discovered that it is true that the Holy Spirit is the one that guides and teaches us, hence I believe it is God Himself using the Holy Sipirit, at work in us. I am of a humble view that God gave us power to choose after all. Afterall He is the only One that is all seeing and all knowing, and therefore better suited to Judge us. He alone has the perfect Spirit of understanding.

    How about we all do what He says in His word, as we are ALL His PEOPLE: we humble ourselves before Him, and admit that we have sinned (in even smallest ways like being judgmental of each other…) and turn back from our sinful ways [and we know what those ways are, not by judging, but by the Spirit of God convicting (and no condemning) us]; seek Him with all our hearts… and see if he will not heal us (our land) of all confusion; pain; etc etc etc. Really, this self righteous disposition among those who either have not known the pain of divorce; or are known to it but have been helped already by God’s grace, and endowed with God’s Spirit of understanding to make their choice concerning remarriage and being single (and really live it hopefully), is just not right.

    I am not saying we must condone sin and distort God’s word, but I beg of you bretheren: GET OFF YOUR HIGH SEATS OF JUDGEMENT!!! YOUR JUDGING WORDS KILL IN THE SPIRIT!!! You would be surprised just how many of us know what God’s word says and means, but are (by our questions and in our confusion) crying out: “carest thou not that we perish”… Judging one another will not help.

    1. Thank you Londi. You have made your point very well. It is always easier for someone else who has not suffered deeply in this type of pain to judge. It is true that God hates divorce. Many people recognize that, and should. God knows all too well the horrible pain and complications it can bring and He doesn’t want it for His children. But there are many who have divorce inflicted upon them. They cannot MAKE their spouse live up to his or her promises. Many people don’t recognize that. Thankfully, we have a God who does and also gives grace. While we can see that we serve a God of order and Truth and justice, we must also see through the criticism Jesus (and prophets) gave to those who act like unbending Pharisees, He is also a God of grace and forgiveness. There is a balance.

      Divorce is not the “unpardonable sin.” It is not good and we should do what we can to fight against it, when it is possible. But again, many have it imposed upon them in this world that is not friendly to helping to support, and grow marriages. We need to help one another and not whip those who have already been hurt so deeply. Judgement does that. Thank you Londi, for saying it like it is. You give both sides and as I said before, you have made your point well. May God bind up your broken heart. May God help you to sort out your questions, giving you HIS wisdom, not the wisdom of man. And may we all give each other grace without compromising God’s principles.

      As Jesus said, and may we all remember: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” (Matthew 5:3-12) May God bless you Londi… you and those who are hurting in the way you describe. I pray God meets your needs and tends to your wounds, and helps you to rise and minister to others by His grace, with His grace. May His face smile upon yours.

      1. The pharisees were on the side of remarriage. According to Matthew 19..Jesus defines remarriage if your spouse is alive, then it’s considered adultery. This is what the scripture says. Yes God will forgive your sins but you have to turn from adultery. Read I Corinthians 5:9-13. No matter how you look at it, Jesus said so.

        Fornication is not adultery. Matthew 1:18-20,24&25. When a married person sleeps with someone else it is not fornication, it’s adultery. Please read 1 Corinthians 7 in context. God does not contradict His word. Please fast and pray for complete understanding. Stop looking to the doctrines of man and seek God with all your heart to get true understanding. And to you Mrs. Cindy Wright you have created a website that is very helpful for people in true marriages but it greatly grieves me to see that you are misleading so many souls in sinful relationships. This is not me condemning you but we are commanded to judge each other in righteous judgement (1 Corinthians 5:12).

        As Jesus said, “the word in which I speak to you will judge you on the last day.” Please repent Mrs. Wright. I don’t want you or anyone to perish and let these people know the truth because if you don’t you will die in your sins and your righteousness (good works) will not remembered.Ezekiel 33:1-20, Matthew 7:13-27.

        1. Monique, I’m so sorry for you. I HATE divorce. I do all I can to try to stop every divorce from happening that is possible. That’s one of the reasons for this web site –to participate with the Lord in helping marriages grow stronger, and prevent as many divorces as we can. But I/we can’t stop all the divorces from happening. And some spouses aren’t given the choice to stop a divorce. And my being pharisaical and legalistic about divorces –throwing scriptures at people won’t do much, other than hurt many innocent people and those in extreme pain –shooting the wounded. I’m not concerned that I will “perish” Monique, and “die” in my sins. Please know that divorce is not an unpardonable sin. God’s grace is amazing! You should try to give it, as you receive it from the Lord.

          1. Good day Mrs. Cindy Wright. You say you “hate divorce” but yet you encouraged remarriage on many articles you have here. Would you say that you are compromising the word of God? I never said adultery is unpardonable, you can be forgiven for it the same way you can be forgiven for murder, lies, fornication etc, but if you repent and turn from your sin. I’m saying this in Love.

            Please let people know the the truth. Sin must be repented of meaning to turn from it. Jesus defined adultery as someone who was married prior and there spouse is alive. I sympathize with those who are going through this. But you cannot tell people that it is okay to remarry. Your definition of grace is highly diluted. Jesus paid the price for us to believe and obey gospel. You say that you believe in Jesus but yet you compromise His word to make people feel comfortable in there sins. Titus 2:11-12 read it and pray for understanding mrs.wright. just because “remarriage” is not the unpardonable sin does not make it right to do. Sin is sin and all sin should be repented of. I love you and I pray that you can get the true understanding of God’s word.

          2. She did let the people know the truth. The truth is for nearly 1/2 of those divorced, it was something forced on them. It wasn’t something they chose. Their spouse unilaterally decided that they wanted a divorce and refused to consider any other option.

            I’ve laid it out very clearly in this thread. Even God says He hates divorce, yet He divorced himself from Israel. Therefore, there is no contradiction in saying I hate divorce AND permitting divorce and the inevitable re-marriage.

            The Bride of Christ is not Israel, it’s the Church. One might argue that God Himself is or will be re-married.

    2. I agree, Londi! It is all about a LOVE relationship with our Father, not about condemnation of anyone, the one who left, the one who was left. We must fall on our faces before our loving Father, and hear what He has to say, and quit judging!

      1. The two were made ONE FLESH, this is quite simple to understand. The sins made by 1/2 are the sins of the other HALF. Let no man separate what God has joined together! “In the beginning DIVORCE WAS NOT SO!”

        HOW MANY MARRIED COUPLES CAN FAULT THEIR DIVORCE ON THE WHOLE WORLD FALLING INTO SIN? ONLY ONE COUPLE CAN USE THIS AS AN EXCUSE, Adam and Eve! THEY DID NOT DIVORCE. When we try to find reasons to rationalize our sinful natures, YES OUR SINFUL NATURE! We are pardoning the sin.

        It is my honest belief, that we must ask for the forgiveness of the sins our other half makes, just as much as we ask for the forgiveness of the sins we ourselves make against our God.


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Who is Tommy Chong? Bio: Net Worth, Death, Wife, Daughter, Child, Children

Who is Tommy Chong?

Tommy Chong is a comedian, musician, actor, author and cannabis directly activists using a Canadian-American background. There’s never been a star that has advocated for its free legal use of marijuana like he did. He became famous for his marijuana-themed Cheech and Chong comedy albums and films. He was completely dedicated to what he thought must be the best of individuals to possess and use marijuana. Let’s get to find out more about Tommy Chong.

Tommy Chong’s Wiki, Parents

His mom was a waitress using Scotish-Iris source while his dad was a Chinese truck driver. Chong and his parents lived in Calgary in which they settled at a conservative neighbourhood at a home his father purchased for $500 at the moment. Thus this advised the family decided to move around there. Tommy Chong explained the area as “Dog Patch. ” He wasn’t considerably educated however, however he attended college for a while until he drooped from high school when he was only 16. Becoming idle and not actually having something serious to perform, he chose to music by playing with the guitar to generate money. And money he did earn! According to him, he was about 16 when he found that songs can make you laid, even when you were a lanky, resilient, geeky-looking man like himself. He continued on this route and soon joined a Calgary soul band known as The Colors in 1960. From 1963, together with Bobby Taylor among his group members, they started a Vancouver nightclub called Blue Balls. Things went fairly well for them in this partnership as not only was their music marketed , but in addition, it put more cash in their pockets.At a moment, they introduced in different musicians since the group had been fairly powerful and had gained fame . But, by 1965 the team divide. Chong is also an established performer who played on several Cheech & Chong comedy records. He shared with the Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album using Cheech Marin at 1973. In spite of this victory together, they divide in 1985 because of what has been termed creative differences. This took its toll on Tommy Chong because he didn’t behave frequently again being compounded with his short prison term. His acting career picked up a couple of decades later with various functions coming his way.

Wife and Children of Tommy Chong

Tommy Chong was married two times with one divorce and 6 children. In the year 1960, he married Maxine Sneed that a Canadian of both Cherokee and Black descent. They were parents to Robbi Chong at 1965 and two women Rae Dawn. But, Sneed and Chong went the role of a divorce. Five decades after, love discovered him and Shelby Fiddis collectively in 1975. They also have and got married in Los Angeles. A son called Paris who had been born in 1974, yet another son called Gilbran born in 1981, along with a girl named Precious. They embraced Marcus Wyatt at 1978.

A post shared by Tommy Chong (@heytommychong) on

Tommy Chong’s Net Worth

Tommy’s net worth is estimated to be at $8 million. His musical career was broadly successful and regardless of the issues with his healthhe resembles one who won’t take the time to contact active music when he’s completely powerful.

Is Tommy Chong?

But, there was no supply of authority in order to add credence to the claim or instead rumour. It expired. In June 2012 just on 9th, Tommy Chong declared publicly that he has been battling prostate cancer that he explained his as a sluggish phase one he has had for quite a while. He explained in the course of handling this disorder, he had been drug-free for up to 3 decades but sadly the prostrate came backagain. In 2015, fantastic news came as he declared through his Twitter handle the hemp oil therapy that he was using to treat his own cancer was powerful. This success wasn’t too long since he shortly came back withcolorectal cancer and has been using cannabis like mad so as to survive the treatment. It’s thought he is still treating it.

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Friday’s Odds And Ends

Posted by mcm0704 on July 25, 2014 |

Another week just whizzed by. It’s amazing how that happens, and every Friday I look back to see what I accomplished in the week. Some weeks are better than others, but I am sure that is true for most of us.

On Monday I tied up some admin things for the drama camp – doing reports and thank you notes – and I even managed to get some writing done on the new book I started the first of June. Friends from Omaha, NE came for a short visit on Tuesday and left yesterday morning, and it was so nice to see them. It had been about 13 years since we had seen each other. What fun we had catching up on everything, and again I was reminded of how friendships that root so deeply never wither.

Image courtesy of Deviant Art

 I didn’t watch the news most of the week, so I have no idea what is going on in the world, which might be for the best. But I did catch a bit of a story last night before I turned the TV off. The story was about how people no longer join groups and organizations because they do their social interacting online. Part of the story was about a community-service organization closing after almost 50 years of organizing events for a Texas city, and a spokesman for the organization said they had to close because they no longer had enough people joining to have the personnel to put on the events.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, volunteering is also down:

The volunteer rate declined by 1.1 percentage points to 25.4 percent for the year ending in September 2013, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. About 62.6 million people volunteered through or for an organization at least once between September 2012 and September 2013. The volunteer rate in 2013 was the lowest it has been since the supplement was first administered in 2002.

It’s kind of sad to see that we are getting more and more isolated because of advances in technology. I remember when more homes got television sets and less people sat out on front porches in the evening and less children played stick-ball in the streets. My grandfather said that television would be the ruination of our society.

I wouldn’t go that far, but I do think we need to find a balance between our use of devices and our enjoyment of people and places in real time, not virtual time.

Now to end with a joke, and I hope you have a wonderful weekend.

      A man answered the phone. “Yes, Mother,” he sighed. “Listen, I’ve had a long day. Jane has been in one of her awkward moods . . . Yes, I know I should be firmer with her, but it’s not easy. You know what she’s like . . . Yes, I remember you warned me . . . Yes, I remember you told me she was a vile creature who would make my life a misery . . . Yes, I remember you begged me not to marry her. You were right, OK? You want to speak to her? I”ll put her on.”
      He put down the phone and called to his wife in the next room: “Jane, your mother wants to talk to you.”

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  • Mel Parish says:

    Interesting post Maryann. You are right when you say we need to find some balance. The problem is that people might consider sharing an issue which they are concerned about or want to raise money for on Facebook etc as ‘volunteering’ in that they are helping to raise money/awareness, but donating time for physical events is just as as important (if not more so). I’d hope this drop off in volunteering is a temporary blip, but given the way technology is playing an increasing part in day to day interaction, making more and more people spectators in life rather than participators, you do have to wonder how community events will fare in the future.

  • So true, Mel, and maybe service organizations need to find ways to use technology to their benefit. Still, there is nothing like working side-by-side in a food pantry or a Red Cross shelter to give you a terrific sense of satisfaction at doing some good.

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Monthly Archives: May 2015

Morning Will Come

How can I bear the pain?
So many plans…permanently interrupted.
So many dreams….shattered.
All gone.
Why? Why this? Why us? Why me?
Life will never be the same again.
Is it even worth living?
Where are you, God?
I’m right here beside you, my child.
Even though you may not feel my presence,
I’m holding you close under the shadow of my wings.
I will walk with you through this dark night.
Do not shrink from weeping.
I gave you tears for emotional release.
Don’t try to hide your grief.
Let it become for you a source of healing,
A process of restoration,
For I have planned it so.
Those who mourn shall be blessed.
I’ll be holding on to you,
Even when you feel you can’t hold on to me.
Seek my face, child of mine.
Receive my promise, impossible as is may seem now,
That joy will come in the morning.
It may take much time,
But I will heal your broken heart.
I know the night seems endless,
I have promised.
—-From The Haven of Rest Newsletter

Note: I came across this poem and wanted to share it with my readers. So many times we can’t see the light because of so much darkness, despair, grief and pain. We wonder how long? How much more? When will it end? God, are you really there? Friends, please know that as long as you have a pulse, there is a purpose. As long as you have breath, there is hope. And as long as you’re in your right mind, there are possibilities. Under the shadow of His wings, stay the course. Full speed ahead!

Weeping may endure for the night, but joy comes in the morning.

Filed under Encouraged Comfort, Hope For the Hopeless

Memorial Day

Memorial Day is a day for remembering and honoring military personnel who DIED in the service of their country, particularly those who died in battle or as a result of wounds sustained in battle.

All gave some – Some gave all.

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Book Review – “Running in Heels” by Mary A. Perez

From another fan across the miles! Tina, you’re awesome and have captured my heart!

Just Ask Tina

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I just finished reading “Running in Heels” – a terrific memoir by one of my special Blog buddies, Mary A. Perez. I must admit that I was not prepared for the multi-faceted journey that I experienced as I read this book, finding myself vacillating between tears and laughter, fear and hope as I rooted for this courageous and tenacious young girl as she worked to make a life for herself and, eventually, her children.  What struck me most about Mary was her determination to love and to be loved.  She travailed through abandonment, neglect, lack, and a contorted view of love, only to evolve, against all odds, into a dedicated and determined mother, and endearing and graceful daughter, a faithful and loyal wife and, most importantly of all, a triumphant and powerful woman of God. As she tried to become embittered, Mary’s heart was somehow strangely open as she continually doled out forgiveness and second chances…

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Book Review

A beautiful, heartfelt review of my book that brought me to tears. Testimonies from readers like these confirm that out of all my messes, I did something right! God bless you, Cate.

Let's Have Another Piece of Pie

A fellow blogger that crossed my path a while ago has published a book.  It is full of truth and pain and her reality.  Her memoir.

I purchased this book through for my kindle.  I couldn’t put it down until I finished it.  But I had to.  I tend to feel the pain as I read and needed short breaks.  That is a GOOD thing.  Why?  Because we all have come from dysfunctional backgrounds.  But some faced harder things than we may have.  Or perhaps I should say different things in our past.

I never went hungry or was physically abused.  I had more of the verbal attacks and great loss and left to myself to heal.

As I read through Mary’s book, Running in Heels, I thought of people I have met over the years who had to endure great pain.  Is it fair…

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First Day on the Job – 1972

“Hold the pickles, Hold the lettuce, Special orders don’t upset us,
All we ask is you let us, Serve it your way.”

Our uniforms reminded me of ketchup and mustard. After riding the city bus to Miami Beach to my first paying job, I’d pasted on a smile, greeted customers, took their burger and drink orders and handled the cash register.

BK - 1972 Chpt 11

“Running in Heels: A Memoir of Grit and Grace” page 101

#TBT – Yeah, I did that.

Filed under Memoir, Running in Heels

Get to Know Me ~ From A to Z

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Filed under Mary A Pérez from A to Z, Word Fun

Book Review: Running In Heels- A Memoir of Grit and Grace

Just want to thank Teresa for this wonderful book review! She rocks!

Home And Spirit

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Mary A. Perez is a WordPress Blogger and the author of her gripping memoir Running In Heels.  This raw memoir begins with Mary Perez’s childhood and that mysterious resilience that children often have when life treats them harshly. We read how this little girl dug within herself to find her inner strength to survive even when it meant stealing cold cuts from stray cats. The journey takes us through her sad loss of her childhood where we are also seized by her experience of tragic loss.

At times the book reads like a journey through time as Mary grows up and recounts events in her life which coincide with historical events such as the assassination of Martin Luther King and the attempted assassination of Ronald Reagan.  There are some small fond memories of TV programs of the 60’s and 70’s and popular food labels of that time. We also…

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If I Had Known …

If I had known then what I know now,

I would have stopped the clock and savor every precious moment.

Instead, I found myself encumbered with the daily task of trying to keep afloat in being a mother.

If I had know then what I know now,

I would have frozen time just to gaze upon your little chest, rising and falling with every heartbeat while you slept peacefully in your crib.

If I had known then what I know now,

I would have sung more lullabies while rocking you on my lap, nestled in my arms, given you more kisses, and chased away all nightmares.

I’d have tickled you harder, squeezed you tighter, laughed with you louder, played silly games with you longer.

I would have taken more walks in the park, built many sand castles, eaten more ice cream cones with sprinkles, dug for the best sea shells, rode on all the merry-go-rounds, climbed every rock, smelled every flower, played catch more, run through the rain puddles, taken more photos and captured every single moment with you!

I was needed when you were small; you relied upon me then. If I only could now, I would hold you closer still, wipe your every teardrop, chase your every fear, and never let you down.

But the tide has turned, I can only watch from a distant. The sun has set and hidden beyond the horizon. My silent tears serve as a constant reminder that the times are fleeting. With every hour. Every minute. Every second.

My heart swells with pride to see that you, my children, have blossomed and matured.

But if I had known then what I know now … I would have done things so much different. I would have hushed the madness with all the hustle and bustle sooner, and cherished those magic moments when you were small, to cradle you in my arms forever and never, ever let you go.

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May 6, 2015 · 9:39 PM

Me, qualified?

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I am so glad that God doesn’t call the qualified but He qualifies the called! I am one that may feel like puking my guts up before an event. But then once the execution is over, I may bawl like a baby! As much as I am thankful for the grit in me to undertake a task, I am much more grateful for the grace of God that carries me through a task. I don’t take this lightly.

Be yourself, nobody else is better qualified than you.

This weekend, I had a wonderful opportunity in sharing my heart at Howard Partridge’s Round Table. I was blessed, not only by the warm reception, but especially by the men in the conference being so responsive. Many voiced to me how touched they were by my words, as they reflected on their own situations or someone dear to them.

Regardless of faith, status, education or race, we’ve all felt discouraged, rejected, abandoned or betrayed at one point or another. We’ve all had our dreams smashed, our dignity shot, our hearts torn, and our hope lost.

If my life of peril can become a life of promise, yours can too. I believe your yesterdays does not have to define your todays. Just remember: You may not be where you want to be today, but thank God you are not where you once were.

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text:
These makeup kits look just like '90s Polly Pocket cases

Once a pretty solid potential choking hazard, now an inspiration for a grown-up makeup case, Polly Pocket is back in your ... pocket.

Los Angeles-based vegan makeup brand Lime Crime has taken cues from the '90s version of the toy for their new Pocket Candy eyeshadow range.

Something awesome this way comes... 🌼🍦🎀🌈 #pocketcandypalette

A post shared by Lime Crime (@limecrimemakeup) on

These things are bright. You can pick from bubblegum, pink lemonade or sugar plum color palettes, retailing at $34 each or $90 for all three.

Pair this with some squiggle lips and, heck, squiggle brows, and you'll be on your way to bizarrely on-trend beauty glory.

Five eye and cheek tones come nestled within a mirrored compact that looks like the Christmas present of my 10-year-old dreams.

These honestly wouldn't look out of place popping up in a Saturday morning ad break between Biker Mice from Mars and Sabrina: The Animated Series.

🌼🍦🎀🌈 Coming soon to a toy store near you... #pocketcandypalette

A post shared by Lime Crime (@limecrimemakeup) on

If someone dropped this, a Lip Smacker and an Impulse SPICE in my Christmas stocking this year, I'd be on my way to finally hitting the big time in my girl band, Kizbet.

Lime Crime's Pocket Candy will be available from their website "soon."

WATCH: This lego redesign will have you building blocks on the wall

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text:
Claire Foy at the Toronto Film Festival in 2017.
Claire Foy at the Toronto Film Festival in 2017.
Image: Getty Images

All hail the new girl with the dragon tattoo.

Claire Foy – best known as Queen Elizabeth II in Netflix's The Crown – has officially been cast as lead Lisbeth Salander in The Girl in the Spider's Web, to be directed by Fede Alvarez (Don't Breathe).

She takes over for Rooney Mara, who portrayed the character in 2011's The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. Noomi Rapace played the role in the original, Swedish-language The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, released in 2009, as well as its two sequels.

All the films are based on the Millennium series of books created by Stieg Larsson. The author had originally planned for a ten-part saga, but died after completing the third book. David Lagencrantz took over as the new author starting with the fourth installment, The Girl in the Spider's Web

When Mara first booked the lead in Dragon Tattoo, the idea was that she would remain in the role for its likely sequels, then assumed to be The Girl Who Played With Fire and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest (books two and three in Larsson's series).

However, plans for a second film with Mara never quite came together, and in 2015, Sony decided to move on a Spider's Web adaptation. The search for a new star got underway not long after. The studio set its sights high, reportedly eyeing Natalie Portman and Scarlett Johansson at various points.

Foy is a rising star who'd been acting professionally for years before she broke out with The Crown. She's up for a lead actress drama at this year's Emmys, which take place Sunday, and was recently at the Toronto International Film Festival to promote her new movie, Breathe. In a statement, Alvarez described Foy as "an incredible, rare talent who will inject a new and exciting life into Lisbeth."

Shooting on The Girl in the Spider's Web is slated to begin this winter in Berlin and Stockholm. Sony has the film lined up for an October 19, 2018 release.

WATCH: Here are 10 of Hollywood's best movie props of all time

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text:
I'm having a bit of a rough day, please tell me something good happening in your life to cheer me up. :)

@amycii Since switching to some new productivity tools (Notion + Todoist), I feel totally re-energised to be productive and start working towards the future. It's been a huge boost after a tough few months.

@letthewatersroar that's great to hear! i might check those out myself.

@amycii Todoist is just an absolute beast of a to-do list app. But Notion is something quite different, it's a sort of cross between a note-taking app and a modular project management tool - very cool.

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text:
Public hashtag page, but with a masonry layout. Thoughts?

Out of curiosity, do you understand what I mean when I say "public hashtag page"?

Some adjustments will be needed, I think, in terms of sizes and margins. And show more doesn't work properly. But here is a demo:

☝ Updated that page again. Added a header, fixed show more, made the text and margins a bit smaller.

@Gargron nothing to complain about the layout, I just find annoying the pop up and userid request everytime I try to fav or boost a toot in there especially if I'm already logged in the same instance. I guess it has something to do with the whole protocol whatever but... oh well

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text:
I am interested in stacks of vector bundles on varieties and how deformations of the variety (including non-commutative ones) reflect themselves in deformations of the stack of vector bundles.

I will denote by $X$ the space I am interested in. Lets take it to be either $Spec(\mathbb{C}[x,y]/m^n)$ where $m$ is the ideal $(x,y)$ or the formal completion of $Spec(\mathbb{C}[x,y])$ at the origin. Lets consider the stack of line bundles on $X$. Up to isomorphism, all line bundles are trivial so this stack is just $[pt/G]$ where $G=R^{\times}$ and $R= \mathbb{C}[[x,y]]$ or $R= \mathbb{C}[x,y]/m^n$.

Here, we think of $R^{\times}$ as an algebraic group. As far as I understand, the families of stacks over $Spec(\mathbb{C}[\epsilon]/\epsilon^{2})$ which restrict to this stack $[pt/G]$ on the central fiber (mod equivalence) are given by $H^{2}(G,\mathfrak{g})$, where $\mathfrak{g}$ is the Lie Algebra of $G$, and the action is adjoint which here is trivial.

The space $H^{2}(G,\mathfrak{g})$ seems to be unpleasantly large. If I let $K$ be the kernel of the projection map of $G$ to $\mathbb{C}^{\times}$ and $\mathfrak{k}$ be the lie algebra of $K$ then I get

$H^{2}(G,\mathfrak{g}) \cong Alt_{\mathbb{C}}^{2}(\mathfrak{k}, \mathfrak{g})= \wedge^{2}\mathfrak{k}^{\vee} \otimes_{\mathbb{C}} \mathfrak{g}$

One sees this using short exact sequence of groups $0\to \mathfrak{k} \stackrel{exp}\to G \to \mathbb{C}^{\times} \to 1. $

The deformations of $G$ as a group seem to be badly behaved, in particular this space is way larger than the deformations of $R$ as an algebra. So it seems like most of the deformations of the stack are not modular (do not come from deformations of $X$). In the case that $R= \mathbb{C}[[x,y]]=\mathfrak{g}$, this space $H^{2}(G,\mathfrak{g})$ is not even a finitely generated $R$ module.

Should this be remedied in some way by changing the set up? If instead of groupoids of vector bundles, I could keep the same objects but allow more morphisms. In other words, I can consider stacks in abelian categories of coherent sheaves. This would seem to improve the situation.

  • $\begingroup$ I see now that the group $K$ that comes from projection of $G$ onto the constants is also a ring called the Witt Ring of $R$, this could be useful somehow. $\endgroup$ – Oren Ben-Bassat Mar 29 '11 at 14:10

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text:
ABC Mathseeds Content Overview

Lessons 1 - 50

The first 20 lessons are for children with little or no mathematical skills. Children learn fundamental number skills including number recognition, number words and counting. The Mathseeds characters led by Mango introduce a range of skills including recognising the shape of each number 0-10 and one-to-one correspondence. Children are also introduced to the four basic 2D shapes: circle, square, triangle and rectangle, colours and some simple concepts of size: big, small, short, tall etc.

Lessons 21 - 50 develop growing mathematical skills. Children learn to count forwards and backwards to twenty with confidence. They use a range of techniques including ten frames and number lines. They also learn the number words up to twenty. Addition is introduced and children add up to ten and doubles to five. Mango and the other Mathseeds characters present the concepts of passing time, life cycles and days of the week during these lessons. Children develop their understanding of 2D shapes by sorting them according to their properties. They are also introduced to four 3D shapes: sphere, cube, cone and cylinder.

Kindergarten Lessons Overview

Year 1

Lessons 51 - 100

ABC Mathseeds Lessons 51 - 100 build on the skills children have acquired earlier in the program. Children learn to count to 100, order numbers and identify ordinal numbers to 10th. An understanding of place value is developed, including trading ones for tens. Children identify money – notes and coins, and investigate fractions, focusing on wholes, halves and quarters. Subtraction is introduced, and children initially add and subtract to 10, and then to within 100. Strategies include counting on, counting back, near doubles and using number fact families. Children learn how to skip count by 2s, 5s and 10s, as well as early multiplication and division skills of grouping and sharing. The concepts of area and volume are introduced in these lessons, and children continue to investigate the features of 2D shapes and 3D objects. Children follow simple directions to a particular location and learn to read digital and analogue clocks to the half-hour. Tally charts and simple picture graphs are introduced. Children also work with the concept of chance and the likelihood of things happening.

Year 1 Lessons Overview

Year 2

Lessons 101 - 150

Mathseeds lessons 101 - 150 introduce a range of new concepts and consolidate skills taught previously. Children learn to count to 1000, identify odd and even numbers and round to the nearest 10 and 100. They continue to develop place value skills; composing and decomposing numbers to 999. Addition and subtraction strategies are further developed, including the ‘jump’ and ‘split’ methods, as well as vertical addition and subtraction. Children continue to practise grouping and sharing and use of the multiplication and division signs. They are also taught how to find fractions of a collection of items. Children investigate length and are shown how to measure in metres and centimetres. They investigate the way 2D shapes move and reflect, as well as how 3D objects are constructed. Children tell the time to the quarter-hour and the nearest 5 minutes, and use a calendar to identify particular dates. They construct tally charts and simple picture graphs, and interpret data in a variety of ways.

Year 2 Lessons Overview

Year 3

Lessons 151 - 200

ABC Mathseeds lessons 151 – 200 cover a range of numeracy topics taught in year 3. Children learn numbers to 10 000, counting forward and backward in thousands, hundreds and tens, and ordering bigger numbers from smallest to largest. They will explore angles, vertical and horizontal lines of symmetry, and identify images in the environment that are symmetrical. Children will also be introduced to the L and ml units of measure, and learn to read increments on measuring jugs to determine the amount of liquid. They will also learn to count squares to measure area, and multiply length by width to find the area in square units. Multiplication and division strategies are explored, including times tables and related division facts. Children will explore currency in more depth, as well as fractions, furthering their understanding of the role of top and bottom numbers in a fraction using the term ‘denominator’.

Year 3 Lessons Overview


text:
Defending the Saidnaya monastery

February 10, 2014

Carmen Jokhadar  As-Safir

The damage resulting from fighting that one will see on the way leading to the Saidnaya monastery is insignificant — some crumbled rocks and burnt grass. However, once one steps inside the monastery, the hair-raising and shocking magnitude of the damage, whether it is the broken glass or the multiple blows inflicted to the roof, becomes visible. The destruction has been caused by missiles and shells which gunmen used as they tried to conquer the monastery and bring down the bronze sculpture of Christ. “A single step can put your life at risk, sniping is still underway,” says a soldier. In the corner, two people are talking about last night’s developments. Not one quiet night goes by at the monastery.

Historians tell us that the Cherubim Monastery (cherubim is Arabic for “angels”) dates back to the third century, given the caves inside the mountain. Some of these caves, to which Christians once escaped from the persecution of pagans, can be seen as one heads to the top of the monastery. In 529, the initial edifices for worship were built, and with time, they turned into ruins. The monastery was first mentioned by Arab writer Chihab al-Din al-Umari in the 14th century. He stated: “This monastery was built by the Byzantines with limestone,” and he described its architecture.

In 1737, British prelate Richard Pocock found one monk at the monastery, and wrote that “the Cherubim Monastery is inhabited and accommodates one monk and one church that is in good condition and adequate for the celebration of prayers.” In 1982, under Patriarch Ignatius IV, the monastery was rebuilt on the highest point of the Qalamoun Mountains, with its original design and architecture preserved.

Reaching the Cherubim Monastery from Damascus requires around 90 minutes for the 8 kilometer distance because of the numerous checkpoints and thorough searches, particularly in areas that were previously under the control of opposition gunmen, such as al-Tal. From the checkpoint in Saidnaya (near the Paradise Restaurant) to the Cherubim Monastery, one cannot stop for even a moment on the road. To avoid snipers, the car speeds toward the monastery in the middle of the vast mountains, through the populated area, until reaching the towering monastery at an altitude of 2,130 meters. From the monastery, one can see the majority of the Qalamoun areas and the joint slopes with Lebanon.

Defending the Saidnaya monastery1

It is not the first time that the monastery has been attacked. A year ago, mortar shells fell on it and there were attempts to infiltrate it. The latest attack is the fourth.

In addition to its religious importance, the monastery has great strategic and military value that helps in controlling the surrounding plain, cutting the supply of arms and besieging the towns of Saidnaya, Marouna and Maarra. Conquering the monastery would allow to control the road leading from Yabrood to Rankous and al-Tal, and give the islamic militants a key base in the Qalamoun region.

A military source in Saidnaya confirmed that “the Syrian army and national defense forces are fighting desperately because the war is against takfiri groups and they want to defend their homeland, the territory, and their dignity.” He added, “It is either the monastery or death. The icons there serve as an honor for us. Six soldiers were killed in the latest attack.” With a sad tone, he explained, “Imagine that a stranger is slaughtering me on my own territory,” and he pointed out that it was possible to eliminate many gunmen, yet the most dangerous battle was still the one against takfiri groups that had swept Syria.

The battle at the Cherubim Monastery is a direct message and attempt to achieve a field gain to put pressure on the Syrian official delegation during the negotiations in Geneva.”

The commander of the Cherubim Monastery operations told As-Safir, “The attack was based on three groups: an assault force (itself divided into two groups — the first tasked with turning from the southwest and attacking gunmen, and second with cutting off supply and aid coming from Rankous), a cover force and a backup force.”

The battle began at 3:30 a.m. with a surprise attack through fog carried out by terrorists against the surrounding military points. Three soldiers were killed. The fighting continued until 5:15 a.m. and gunmen were able to reach the boundary walls of the monastery. There they were buried.”

He pointed out that, at 7:45 a.m., some militants tried to escape and the last one of them was killed at 8:35 a.m. The monastery was subsequently under massive shellfire until 10 a.m. It then turned into intermittent shelling until 11 a.m., as Syrian forces started firing back. A field commander confirmed that, since the last attack, the monastery had been struck by mortar shells and subjected to infiltration attempts on a daily basis. He stated that “the forces defending the town launch sporadic strikes because the presence of civilians in the region prevents the possibility of a comprehensive qualitative military operation. As it is the case in Adra, the insurgents are using children and women as human shields.”

A participant in the clashes at the Cherubim Monastery indicated that “militants carried perfume bottles, a toothpick and women’s underwear. In terms of military equipment, they had communication devices, grenades and machine guns, and each of them carried a knife. They also had raw meat that they would use in case of serious wounds (since some believe placing a piece of meat on a wound quickens the healing process).” The participant indicated that the militants burned the bodies of their own dead in the mountains to prevent identification and so that they would not be forced to carry the corpses. Transportation is difficult because Syrian forces have many observation points in the region.

According to one participant in the fierce battles, militants were filming the operation, and a satellite channel even heralded the breaking into the Cherubim Monastery and the fall of Saidnaya.

Defending the Saidnaya monastery3

Meanwhile, an officer in Saidnaya, having moved between several hotspots in Syria, said that “militants in Syria are divided into four groups: militants on the border who benefit from smuggling operations, jihadist militants, criminals wanted by the judiciary, and young men forced by militants to join their ranks under threat.”

He asserted that the situation was improving and the protests staged recently in a number of Syrian cities against the militants were the biggest proof of that. Even if the participants in the protest marches were not necessarily affiliated with the Assad regime, they were rejecting the presence and practices of foreigners on their own land. Those foreigners surely had shown creativity in committing murder, rape and shameful practices against humanity, morality and religion. “Takfirism undermines pacifism — the prevailing ideology. It also violates religions,” he added. “We are fighting for our honor, our true religions, our civilization, our future and the future of our children.”

A source monitoring the battles in Saidnaya confirmed: “I have counted 63 corpses until today of gunmen from Syria, France, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Afghanistan,” pointing out that negotiations are underway about the delivery of 18 of them.

A military source in Saidnaya reported, that the people of the region as well as the fighters from the National Defense Forces and the Syrian army expect the militants to launch a big offensive for four reasons: the strategic and military importance of the site, its religious symbolism, their desire to avenge their defeat in the recent battles and, most important, the warning of financial supporters to cut off aid if “victory or at least a breakthrough” was not achieved.

Though the militants are constantly attempting to break into the Cherubim Monastery, which houses the second-largest statue of Jesus Christ in the world and the largest in the region (it was erected in 2013), they are defeated by the guards of the monastery, which come from different religions (as it is documented by their names). The statue of Christ on the mountain, holding a sign that reads “I come to save the world,” is saving the Qalamoun region from the foreign warriors.

One comment

  1. […] in Syria fight for survival Defending the Saidnaya monastery Save the Christians The nearly forgotten war in Syria Insights about […]

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text: This time around I take to the shaky cam (just kidding it’s not that shaky…much)  and unbox my new Roku 2 XD set top box. This device is the second most featured packed set top box in Roku’s current line-up. Nevertheless it was dying for some unboxing coverage. So sit back and relax as you get to check out not only an unboxing, but a quick tutorial on how to set your box up and add some channels.


text:
BSD on POWER, Free Software Magazine Issue 3

This morning, my printed copy of Issue 3 of Free Software Magazine arrived. I know I should have got over the ‘Wow, that’s my name on the cover’ thing, but I haven’t. It still feels good :)When Chris finished his book he said ‘It’s great now I’ve got the final copies I feel like a published author’. Then I pointed out that today they could mock up some ‘books’ that looked like the real thing and nobody else would ever see them. It’s the seeing it in a shop on the shelf that gives the best ‘twinge’ still for me. Issue 3 includes my Running BSD on PowerPC/PPC article – all about using BSD on the PowerPC platform in place of the usual Intel, including what your options are and the issues surrounding them. If you want to see my name on the cover of a real printed magazine, head over and subscribe.