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As a community service club covering Islington, Highgate and Muswell Hill we support charities operating or serving residents of these areas.

In recent years we have supported the charities including:

Throughout the year we conduct various fundraising and outreach activities to support these organisations. Fundraising events include an annual quiz held at the Whittington Hospital to support the Whittington Hospital Trust, as well as Christmas collections along with the Kaos Signing Choir.

Along with our work in the local community we also support international causes mainly through our membership in worldwide Rotary International. Rotary is a worldwide organization of more than 1.2 million members. This network funds and is actively involved in major projects around the world – perhaps the best known is the End Polio Now programme which has helped to successfully eradicated Polio from nearly every country. We also send Shelter Boxes to disaster areas around the world to help the victims of natural disasters in the early days before other support arrives. In recent years we have also undertaken two international projects in areas where our members had ties abroad. These were:

  • Donations of coats and school supplies to children in the Ketermaya Refugee Camp in Lebanon (in collaboration with the Rotary club of Chouf, Lebanon)
  • Donation of dictionaries to the Steven Tito Academy in Tanzania

If you have a project or organisation you’d like us to support which operates in Islington, Highgate, or Muswell Hill please get in touch.

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2034-03-15 0600EDT Droo, Mother, and Pops

From Discovered

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Event: 2034-03-15 0600EDT Droo, Mother, and Pops

Scenario: Family

Characters Locations
Droo, Mother, Pops, Willow CAFEL
Caused By Cause Of
Simultaneous Events
On This Day

Landing, several very good rolls from Willow.

Pops stops melting. Mother stays sedated, though her arm is repaired rapidly with micro-surgical bots, nanowire meshes, and ultrasonic calipers (commonly called the sonic screwdriver).

There is more to copy here as raw material.

Willow also ensured that both mother and pops for kept under separate guard. Separated from each other and separated from Drew regardless of their consciousness state.

Will also placed a call to Val after both were stable. Val and her discussed the weapon that was used to fracture and destroy mother's ulna. Val made a roll and used a fate point to realize that the weapon was an experimental one that he had heard of. It uses resonating frequencies to the target a specific bone, organ, part of the anatomy or tissue and causes of hateful and painful stress to that particular body part. Val also remembered that this weapon was abandoned because it wasn't practical for the field as there were problems tuning the resonation. Val also confirmed that mother would have had to be strapped down and targeted with this weapon over at least a half an hour for this level of damage to occur.

Data stored in Special:CargoTables/EVENT with the Form:Events and Template:Events. Pages are in the Events Category.

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text:
About RTC

Student Life

Facilities & Events

Careers at RTC

Bhutan's First and Only A+ Accredited Institution      Inspiring Education in Bhutan

1. Do I need a visa? If so how do I go about getting it?

ALL, EXCEPT Bangladesh, Maldivians and Indian nationals, require visas to enter Bhutan. However, international faculty members coming to teach at RTC should not worry about this, as the college will take care of your visa.

2.  How do I get to Bhutan?

Faculty living in India often come to Bhutan overland. Faculty from more distant countries normally fly to Delhi or Bangkok where they pick up Druk Air or Bhutan Airline (only from Bangkok) flights to Paro, Bhutan’s only international airport. Some flights also come in from Singapore, Dhaka and a few cities in Northern India. RTC can provide you with an update on current gateway cities for air transportation.

3.  What is the weather like?

During the winter seasons (December to mid-March) it can get very cold and dry (-4°C - 15°C), while in the summer seasons (June to August) it can get very wet and humid (15°C - 26°C). The annual monsoon season begins in mid June and ends around mid September. The strength of the monsoon varies from year to year, but in this part of Bhutan it is not the continuous heavy rain experienced in some other parts of Asia. The best months are from mid September to the end of October, and from March to May, when the days are generally clear, warm and pleasant with very little rain.

4.  Can you tell me a little more about the national language?

“Dzongkha” is the national language of Bhutan. It is a South Tibetan language that is somewhat similar to Sikkimese. However, international faculty/staff/students should not worry about the language barrier as many Bhutanese are conversant in English.

5.  Will I be given on campus housing?

Senior administrators and faculty will be allocated on campus housing in the following priority:

     * All senior administrators who are expected to live on campus (as decided by the President).

6.  Can you tell me more about the college and its location?

Royal Thimphu College is Bhutan's first and only private college. RTC is located among the silent and green cypress-hedged valley of Ngabiphu, providing a serene peaceful learning environment, yet close to the main city, Thimphu.

Royal Thimphu College offers general degree programs (BCA, BBA, BCOM, BA English/Env. Studies, BA Economics/ Env. Studies, BA Pol.Science/Sociology) under the auspices of the Royal University of Bhutan.  RTC’s objective is to contribute to educational excellence in Bhutan and to become an institute of international repute attracting outstanding students from Bhutan and abroad. The College aims to provide the best possible education to its students, while keeping its fees affordable and competitive with those in the region. Royal Thimphu College is widely acknowledged to have the best facilities in the country.

For more information on Royal Thimphu College please visit our website at www.rtc.bt or our Facebook Page at http://www.facebook.com/RoyalThimphuCollege

7.  How far is Royal Thimphu College from Thimphu city?

Royal Thimphu College is only a 15-20 minute drive from Thimphu City.

8.   What are the means of transportation to and from the city?

You can either choose to take a taxi, the staff bus, or the city bus which runs quite frequently, especially during the morning, late afternoon and early evening. We will give you the schedules when you arrive at RTC. Alternatively, some faculty members choose to buy a car.

9.  How many dining halls or cafeterias are there on campus?

We have 1 dining hall, 1 canteen and 1 dry canteen (only fast food) on campus.

10.  Is there a grocery store on or around the campus?

Unfortunately, we do not have a grocery store on or around the campus area; you will have to go to the weekend market which is located in Thimphu city. We do, however, have a small book store on campus where you can get your stationary, shampoo, soap, chips, noodles, chocolates, etc.  As the inventory in grocery stores is rather limited, if there is anything you “can’t live without” consider bringing a modest supply of it.

11.  Are expatriate faculty members required to wear the national dress while teaching/on campus?

No, expatriate faculty members can dress as they would for professional work in their home country.

12.  Are there laundry services on campus?

There are a couple of coin-operated washing machines available for use by faculty living on campus.

13.  Are there decent shops in Thimphu where I can buy clothes, electronics and household items?

While high-end clothes, shoes, electronics, etc. are very limited in the country there is a decent supply of reasonably-priced imported apparel and electronics in the local shops. You may wish to bring whatever is necessary with you to the extent possible.  Household goods, such as sheets, blankets and towels, pots and pans, etc are available here.

14.  What should I consider bringing that I might not think of?

Long underwear and slippers are useful in the winter as central heating is not available in most places.

Bring needed footwear, especially if your feet are large, as the range of sizes available here is somewhat limited.

Essential/prescription medications, as they may not always be available here.

Converters for any appliances that were made to function at 110 volts rather than at 220 volts which is the standard here.

15.  Will I be given on campus housing?

Senior administrators and faculty will be allocated on campus housing in the following priority:

     1.      All senior administrators who are expected to live on campus (as decided by the Director).

     2.      Faculty accompanying students for semester long programs (i.e. Wheaton).

     3.      Faculty from outside SAARC countries*. (SAARC refers to the regional grouping of the 8 South Asian countries)

     4.      Faculty from within SAARC countries*.

     5.      Bhutanese faculty.

Most expatriate faculty members decide to live on campus as do some of the Bhutanese faculty and staff. If on-campus housing is full, it is possible to rent lodgings in areas not too far from the campus.

16.  Are the apartments furnished or unfurnished?

The apartments are furnished. The list of items issued to apartment types B, C and D differ slightly. Once you have been given an apartment type, you can contact our administrative officers to get the list of items provided in the apartment type you have.

17.  Are there things we can rent from the college for our apartments?

Yes, you can rent things like televisions, ovens, extra heaters, and cooking gas from the college.

*Cooking gas can be refilled at the college store.

18.  What all do I have to pay for in addition to rent if I live in a college apartment?

If you live on campus, you will have to pay for your electricity, broadband internet (there is free wi-fi) and phone.

19.  Can you tell me a little bit about banks and ATMs at the college or in Bhutan?

We have 1 ATM machine on campus. In addition, there are several major banks in Thimphu for your checking account and for your currency exchange.

20.  Is there a hospital on or near the college campus?

We have a small health center with a health assistant to assist with everyday medical problems. Students/staff/faculty experiencing more serious medical problems will be referred to the Thimphu National Referral Hospital which is only 15-20 minutes away.

21.  Are prescription medications available in Bhutan?

Yes, prescription medications are available in Bhutan. However, supplies may be limited or a little different from what you may get in your own country. Therefore, we suggest you assemble a medical kit with general health and all prescribed medications you may require during your stay here.

22.  Can I have glasses made up in Bhutan?

Yes, you can have glasses made up at the local optical shop.

23.  What are the policies for inviting guests?

Expatriates who have been working in the Kingdom for a minimum period of 6 months can invite 2 guests a year to come for a limited time without paying the fees normally required for those visiting Bhutan. Immediate family members (spouse and children) are not considered “guests” and can visit for limited periods without charge as well. Of course, if you have minor children they may accompany you during your entire stay here.

24.  What about my children’s schooling?

We can suggest good schools for your children. However, you will have to talk to the principal/teacher and get them enrolled yourselves. The school’s academic year begins in late February/early March. Both public schools and private schools are available in Thimphu for most grade levels.

25.  Do we need special permits to travel outside Thimphu?

Yes, you will need special permits to travel outside of the Thimphu–Paro area - the administrative officers will take care of all permits as long as you let them know a few days beforehand.

26.  Are the weekends (Saturday & Sunday) considered a holiday?

Yes, Sunday is a holiday, but Saturday is considered a half day (till 12:30 PM) for faculty other than those teaching in the evening Continuing Education program, which also has Saturday afternoon classes. The college observes most but not all national holidays.

27.  Do we get summer and winter breaks? How long are they?

The colleges’ academic year is based on a two semester system (of approximately 18 weeks each); the academic year begins in the first week of August and ends in late June or early July. Therefore, Royal Thimphu College has short summer breaks (3 weeks) and a long winter break (2 ½ months).


text:
45 Automatic - 230 Grains, Full Metal Jacket, Per 100 - RTP Armor

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In 1873, less than a decade after the Civil War and when Westward expansion was in full gallop, Winchester introduced the first successful centerfire cartridges. Winchester has set the world standard in superior ammunition performance and innovation for more than a century. To millions of hunters and shooters worldwide, the name "Winchester" means quality and performance. No matter the sport, game, or protection, you can always depend on the Winchester Ammunition to perform as promised.

- Caliber: .45 Colt Automatic Pistol (ACP
- Bullet Weight: 230 Grains
- Bullet Type: Full Metal Jacket (FMJ)
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text:
2018’s Best Rums and Opinions on Rum’s Current Position

2018’s Best Rums and Opinions on Rum’s Current Position

In this article:

  • Opinion on rum’s current position in the UK.
    • Are spiced rums good for rum?
  • Favourite rums from 2018.
  • Rum in 2019.
    • Is rum the new gin?
  • My top 3 rums of 2018.
  • My top 3 distilleries in 2018.

In addition to presenting a list of Best Rums, I thought I would add something extra with my thoughts on the rum sector and releases we have been treated to. The rums mentioned were tasted by me in 2018, not necessarily first released in 2018.

2018 has been another vintage year for rum. It is amazing to see just how much progress is being made in helping rum be appreciated for the truly great spirit that it is. Bars, supermarkets and even airlines are stocking more than just the standard basic brands and consumers are starting to look beyond the big boys and explore the incredible diversity of the rum category. It is also exciting to see some craft distillations popping up here in the UK, many of which are batch distilled in traditional copper pot stills.

But, a measure of how far we still have to go is that there is a glut of spiced “rum” liqueurs that for me, confuse the category. It especially annoys me when most of them are piggybacking someone else’s craft. What I mean by this is many spiced “rums” are imported rums distilled by a third party that are just flavoured and sweetened and then given a fancy bottle, a dodgy pirate-based marketing story and consumers think they are drinking rum. Well they are not! I have even encountered a rum being described as having botanicals added to it. I mean, come on, no thank you – keep your botanicals in the flavoured vodkas aka gin!

The rum category is in danger of becoming gin-like – a world where very few “distilleries” actually distill (many just add flavour) and hardly any create their own neutral spirit. Add the mythical botanicals that are so eagerly lapped up by consumers, introduce a novel marketing idea, pop in some over-priced fancy tonics and a few pieces of botanicals and you have a multi-million pound formula. Now whilst the big multi-national brand owners would love to repeat this in the rum world, I am horrified to think rum would become as shallow as the gin world is. Are sales and the bottom line all that matters? If it is, we could end up with nothing but 95% multi-column distillate, produced at ethanol plants and artificially flavoured.

May Contain Vodka
May Contain Vodka

I find it rather odd having to explain to “rum” drinkers that they are not actually drinking rum, but merely a liqueur. Morgan’s Spiced for example cannot legally be called rum due to its low ABV, yet it is often referred to a being “rum.” Whisk(e)y drinkers do not have to explain that Drambuie is not whisk(e)y and Brandy drinkers do not have to explain that Grand Marnier is a liqueur that contains brandy. If rum continues down the flavoured spirit route or tries to emulate gin, the artesanal production we crave and enjoy today would quickly disappear and the progress in the rum category would quickly disappear. It is not that spiced rums are wrong, but for me they denigrate the category solely due to the perception that they are actually rums. I was in a UK supermarket recently and saw Appleton 12 year old and Mount Gay XO sandwiched between Kraken and Sailor Jerry! Imagine seeing Glenmorangie and Macallan next to Southern Comfort and Glayva.

So for me, maybe it is just the terminology that needs to change. Of course, many drinkers aspire to be spirit connoisseurs and see quaffing a fine spirit as something chic and sophisticated. No-one wants the illusion to be shattered when you inform someone that their spirit is not what they think it is. But, again, this is only something that occurs in the rum world with adulterated rums or flavoured vodkas masquerading as premium drinks.

Whilst much progress has been made, there is more work to do to give consumers more information about the rum in their glass. By ensuring consumers know what they are drinking, we can further ensure that the money spent on a rum is for the liquid itself rather than a marketing story and fancy bottle. And that the liquid is actually rum, not some amalgamation of cheap imported rum and a shed load of sugar and additives. Ultimately, we want artesanal and traditional rums to continue to be made. To ensure this end, knowing what we are drinking and paying for is important. I hope that myself and other writers in the rum category help others to sort out the wheat from the chaff, or should that be the rum from the flavoured vodkas?

But, moving some negativity aside, I am genuinely excited about what has happened in the rum world in 2018 and also thinking about what is to come in 2019.

My favourite rums from 2018.

In such a vintage year, I have broken down the rums by country and category. This is by no means a comprehensive list and I am sure there are lots of other fine rums that are not on this list but inevitably, not every rum can be featured!

Worthy Park

Cask Selection Series

The re-emergence of Worthy Park is one of the amazing rum stories of recent years. Steeped in a rich and long history, Worthy Park produce stunning pure pot still rums. Continuing from the 2017 Marsala and Oloroso cask finishes, 2018 saw Sherry, Madeira, Port and Virgin oak casks benefit from secondary ageing. There has also been some fine collaborations with Velier.

Being a big Hampden fan and having visited the distillery a couple of years ago, it is superb to see them producing mainstream rums again. Hampden Rum and Overproof Rum are both stunning drinks.

Of course, anyone who knows me is aware that Appleton always has a special place close to my heart having grown up drinking it and having visited the distillery on multiple occasions. 2018 saw Appleton produce a Canadian-only 15 year old expression (I will review it when time permits) as well as a stunning 30 year old, which is due for an imminent release. I have already had a sneak tasting and love it!

Appleton 15yo: Bottle
Appleton 15yo: Bottle
Jamaica GI

Jamaica has now introduced its own Geographical Indication to guarantee certain standards in order for a bottle to be labelled as Jamaican rum – the type of water used, location, type of fermentation, use of pot and/or column stills and of course a guaranteed age statement on a bottle ensuring that every drop of rum in a bottle is at least the age stated on the bottle.

My other favourite distillery (along with Appleton) is Foursquare in Barbados. Richard Seale from Foursquare has been very busy in producing and releasing new rums in 2018 – we have had Foursquare ECS VI 2005, Foursquare ECS VII Dominus and Foursquare ECS VIII Premise as well as Principia (with Velier) and Veritas. The continued quality of rums coming from Foursquare never ceases to amaze me and 2018 has been one of their best.

Mount Gay

The oldest distillery in Barbados, Mount Gay, has also been very busy in 2018, producing an exceptional limited edition bottling – Mount Gay Peat Smoke Expression Rum. They have also paired up with The Whisky Exchange to release a limited edition of a 7 year old rum.

Mount Gay XO Peat Smoke Expression: Label Front (US) (Photo From Internet)
Mount Gay XO Peat Smoke Expression: Label Front (US) (Photo From Internet)
St. Nicholas Abbey

Cask strength versions of SNA’s white and 5 year old rums have been released – both of which are superb.

For me, 2018 was the year when agricole rhum started to be more fully appreciated in the UK. This is an often neglected or overlooked sector but one that delivers amazing characterful rhums.

Inevitably, when mentioning agricole, Martinique springs to mind. This year I discovered some amazing rhums from Rhum JM including an Armagnac finish.

Neisson is a brand that is very hard to find in the UK. I purchased a bottle of Profil 105 from France, and would hope to see more of it coming over here.

A new agricole I discovered at 2018’s UK RumFest is Rhum Depaz. I especially enjoyed their Rhum Depaz XO.

The surprise find of 2018 is Rum Agricola Da Madeira: 970 Single Cask Edition. Few people outside Madeira are aware of the stunning rums being produced on the island. I already discovered the amazing William Hinton Rum and this year, it has been matched by 970.

Other / Independent Bottlers

Of course, Velier usually sits at the top of many rum enthusiast’s lists for independent bottlings. For me, one of the highlights of 2018 was the release of Antigua Distillery Velier “Heavy” Rum. There have been many other fine Velier releases this year, notably from Hampden and Worthy Park.

Kill Devil

One of my favourite independent bottlers, Kill Devil, have released many new single cask rums in 2018 – the Guyana Enmore 1992 (24 and 25 year old) rums being a personal highlight. The 2006 Panama rum released at 61.5% was also a top tipple.

Compagnie des Indes

Another independent bottler that continues to release amazing single cask rums from all around the world. Their 55% 9 year old Hampden rum was my personal favourite of their releases this year.

St. Lucia Distillers

Those wonderful distillers in St. Lucia have added 1931 to the Chairman’s Reserve regular line-up. Going forwards it will be the same blend each year and will be branded as Chairman’s Reserve – as always, it is a stunning rum. Admiral Rodney rum has been given a shake-up too with three new versions of the rum being released.

Don Q

One of my favourite Spanish-style brands of rum is Don Q who always produce top quality rums. This year saw the release of their superb 2007 offering as well as the long-awaited release of the Vermouth Cask-finished rum, which is a really unique and superb product.

One brand I am fond of is Neptune. 2018 saw them upgrade their blend of aged Foursquare rums. Pure, smooth and unadulterated top quality rum!

A brand that produces much controversy in the rum world due to their adulteration of rums through adding a “dosage.” 2018 saw much improvement though with the second Extrême editions – Plantation Extrême No. 2: Fiji Islands 16yo Rum and Plantation Extrême No. 2: Guyana 18yo Rum being especially good, albeit pricey. Their Xaymaca Special Dry Rum met with mixed reviews – personally, I quite liked it!

As a member of the Scotch Malt Whisky Society, I often enjoy their single cask rums. 2018 brought several new ones to market including SMWS R7.1: “Welcome to Jamrock” which was my favourite.

Some new independent bottlers appeared with some fine single cask rums. I especially enjoyed the Marsala wine cask-finished SBS from Foursquare distillery and the equally excellent The Duchess Barbados 13yo Rum also from Foursquare.

The one flavoured rum that I absolutely loved in 2018 was Cane & Bean 1870. A superb combination of rum from Foursquare and real Peruvian cacao.

Before revealing my choices for best rum of 2018, here is a quick preview of what to expect in 2019.

Rums in 2019

As always, we will be treated to more new and exciting releases from Foursquare. Already announced are a 14 year old version of the excellent Doorly’s rum – having had a couple of tots of this already, I can promise that it really is superb. There will be the imminent official release of Destino in collaboration with Velier and further Exceptional Cask Selection releases, starting with “IX Empery” at 56% and also “Imperium” at 58%. There will also be “Patrimonio” a 14 year old ex-Sherry, ex-Bourbon cask rum at 56%. And I expect further Velier collaborations too!

We may see something from St. Nicholas Abbey. This year I had a lovely tasting of an 8 year old single cask rum – it would be great to see this released.

St. Nicholas Abbey 8yo
St. Nicholas Abbey 8yo

There will also be further work on the Barbados Geographical Indication, which will help to guarantee standards in all bottles of rum labelled as being from Barbados.

In Jamaica, Appleton 30 year old is due for release imminently. As soon as I get mine, I will be reviewing it of course. I also expect to see more coming from Worthy Park, too.

Pusser’s new 15 year old blend is due to hit the shelves soon. Always a tasty tot!

Is rum the new gin?

With gin dominating the UK “craft” distillation sector in 2018, I expect to see more distilleries switching away from the saturated gin-sector and into rums. 2018 was full of spiced adulterations in the UK, with many “distilleries” merely flavouring someone else’s distillate. Let’s hope 2019 sees more English fermented/distilled rums.

The distillery I work for, English Spirit were the first distillers of rum from scratch in the UK and the rums they distill are top quality, pure and clean. Many more rums distilled from scratch are on the horizon in the UK – Morvenna from Cornwall and Greensand Ridge Wealden Rum from Kent are two such examples as well as several fine rums from Scotland.

Further afield, the emergence of Mhoba rum from South Africa has been a big plus in the UK. I hope to see (and taste) more of their rums in 2019. Fiji and Mauritius have also started to gain popularity as has agricole from Madeira and so it would be great to see more of their rums.

RumShopBoy Logo Rums of the year 2018
RumShopBoy: Rums of the year 2018

Best Rums of 2018

1. Foursquare ECS VII Dominus

It is somewhat inevitable to find a Foursquare rum at the top of my list, but just because it is, does not mean the position is not thoroughly deserved. Foursquare ECS VI 2005 was stunning but for me Foursquare ECS VII Dominus has the edge. Having re-visited both rums on multiple occasions, every time I prefer Dominus although an honourable mention should go to Foursquare ECS VIII Premise as something to appeal to lovers of lower ABV rums. The release of Principia (with Velier) was stunning, too although Dominus still has the edge. That said, choosing your favourite Foursquare rum often depends on your mood and there is a Foursquare rum for every occasion and mood. I have found that my moods are most often suited to Dominus though.

Of course Destino is superb too but as the 2018 release was just 600 bottles, I have not included it in 2018. Maybe in 2019…..

Foursquare ECS VII "Dominus": Bottle
Foursquare ECS VII “Dominus”: Bottle

2. Antigua Distillery Velier “Heavy” Rum

This rum is stunning – a real surprise from a column still rum. Luca Gargano at Velier found some amazing casks of rum at Antigua Distillery and the result speaks for itself. The €55 price and 66% ABV defy belief value-wise. The real appeal of this rum is that it is a grower. Each additional sip brings more nuances to your palate. Some might think 66% ABV is too high, but it really does not feel nor taste as strong – sipping this neat is a delight.

Antigua Distillery Velier "Heavy" Rum: Bottle and Box
Antigua Distillery Velier “Heavy” Rum: Bottle and Box

3. Mount Gay Peat Smoke Expression Rum

High ABV and a unique cask-finishing have produced this gem from Mount Gay. The only downside is the price point, but the quality is beyond doubt. At times, you feel as if you are drinking whisky, yet clearly you are actually drinking rum. The peated influence strikes the right balance and the 57% ABV is superb.

Mount Gay XO Peat Smoke Expression: Glass
Mount Gay XO Peat Smoke Expression: Glass

Best Distillery in 2018

1. Foursquare (Barbados)

Year-on-year, Foursquare continue to innovate and raise the bar and every year, they succeed in producing fine rums that get better and better. Not only that, but they are natural products and promoted by the very articulate and one of the most passionate people in the rum world, Mr. Richard Seale. I salute you and your fine rums sir!

2. Worthy Park (Jamaica)

Since re-commencing distilling in 2005, Worthy Park have produced batch distilled rums of the finest quality. Their collection of cask-finished rums adds a new dimension and coupled with the high ABVs, they are some of the finest rums in the world.

3. Don Q

The release of 2007 and the superb Don Q Sweet Vermouth Cask “Finish” set Don Q aside from other producers of lighter Spanish-style rons. They continue to innovate and produce fine quality rums.

And so, that is all from me for 2018. Thank you to everyone who reads my posts.

Happy New Year to everyone – let’s make 2019 a rumtastic year!

Simon aka RumShopBoy

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Sprouts: easy DIY winter greens

      3 Comments on Sprouts: easy DIY winter greens

I’ve been eating sprouts during the winter for a number of years now. Sprouts are a quick and easy way to provide the family with fresh veg all year long regardless of where you live. They’re pure, fresh, and nutrient-rich food that can be produced easily whether you’re 3 or 103. I like to use the jar method because I already have a bunch of mason jars handy, and I’m willing to sacrifice a cupboard close to the sink to keep them handy for easiest propagation.

People have been growing sprouts for more than 5000 years; in 2939 BC the emperor of China wrote about the versatile qualities of sprouts─and to this day sprouts are still one of the most nutritious foods on Earth. That’s because sprouts increase in nutritional content as they grow, especially in vitamins A, B-complex, C, E, and K. The vitamin C in sprouted peas increases 8-fold in 4 days─compared to dry peas. In sprouted wheat, the vitamin B-complex increases 6 times and the vitamin E 3 times in just 4 days of sprouting. Many different minerals abound in sprouts in an easily digested form having already been processed by the sprouts for your body’s immediate use.

sprouts-easy-diy-winter-greensWhen eaten raw, sprouts provide a storehouse of enzymes, and homegrown sprouts are the freshest, most assuredly organic food available to you. It just makes good sense to keep them in your home and utilize this easy food source.

I buy my sprouting seeds from Johnny’s Selected Seeds where they have a wide selection to choose from, and the sprouting seeds have all been tested for the presence of E. coli and salmonella. That’s important because these seeds are being used in a different manner from the seeds you’re using to put in the ground and the potential is there for those bacteria to take hold if we’re not careful.

What you need:

  • Sprouting seed of choice: check out Johnny’s sprouting seed selection here.
  • Glass jar or other such container: wide-mouth glass canning jar, quart size.
  • Lid: made of cheesecloth, muslin, or nylon screen, secured with a rubber band or canning lid rim, or a special sprouting lid which screws onto the jar and has a built-in screen, which makes rinsing easy
  • Drainer: we use a small plastic dish strainer to set the glass jars in for draining after they’ve been rinsed.
  • Air & water: should be easy enough!
  • Space & darkness: I prefer to designate a cupboard next to the kitchen sink for my sprouts. Usually the lowest shelf houses the jars and strainer with the growing sprouts, and the shelf above that is where I store my packets of sprouting seed and other related sprouting-equipment.

General rules for sprouting

There are a number of different methods to grow sprouts. I prefer the jar method because I happen to have numerous canning jars handy, but with any of the methods you will follow the same basic procedure.

Measure out your seed accordingly.

1. Measure & cull:  Check out this sprouting seed pdf from Johnny’s; they give you the quantity of seed and the estimated yield for 11 different varieties of sprouting seed. You should measure out your seed for sprouting and check it over before putting it in the jar. Pick out any stones or dead-looking seeds.

2. Wash & skim: Put the seed in your chosen jar and fill it three-quarters full with water. Swish and swirl the seed around to rinse them clean. Pour of the UFOs (unidentified floating objects).

3. Soak overnight: Soaking times vary depending on the seed size, but generally the common denominator is 8 hours or overnight.

We like to use cheese cloth on our sprouting jars.

4. Drain: We’re using cheesecloth and rubber bands on our sprouting jars; you can easily adjust the cloth to suit the seed you’re sprouting. The smaller the seed the more layers of cheesecloth you need. We just cut large squares and fold them to fit, then we fix it to the top of the jar with a rubber band. Drain off the soak water. This water is rich in water-soluble vitamins and minerals so if you have houseplants you might consider saving it and using it to water you plants with; it will give them a nice boost.

5. Rinse & drain: 2-3 times a day you need to rinse your sprouts with room temperature water. Cold water will set the sprouts back, and hot water will kill them. Use room temperature water to rinse them for about 30 seconds, then drain the water off again. Sprouts are very forgiving, so if you forget to rinse them one time it’s not the end of the world.

6. Sun: If you’re growing leafy sprouts like alfalfa, clover, cabbage, kale, radish, spinach, mustard, and turnip, as well as the more difficult chia, cress, and flax. Your sprouts will eventually grow leaves, and when exposed to light those leaves will begin to develop chlorophyll. Simply keep your sprouts next to the window on the fourth and fifth day cycle or on the fifth and sixth days. I find that even just one day in the sun is enough to green up my sprouts. Beware that some sprouts─like fenugreek─turn bitter and tough when exposed to light.

7. Hull (optional): Often this is unnecessary and some folks skip this step altogether─considering it less trouble to simply eat the fibrous hulls along with the sprouts. However if you choose to remove the hulls you can do it either rinse-by-rinse or all-at-once at the final rinse. To remove hulls rinse-by-rinse begin on the third or fourth day by affixing the widest mesh possible to your jar and flush water through the jar. Many of the hulls will float up and out the top. You can also fill the jar with water and skim the floating hulls off with a spoon. To remove hulls at the final rinse put them in a bowl in the sink and fill it half-full with water. Loosen and agitate the sprouts to comb out the hulls. The trick with this is to hold the sprout midway under water so that they neither sink nor swim.

8. Cull & store: The final rinse should always precede the harvest by at least 8 hours. Never refrigerate wet sprouts─this can lead to mushy and moldy sprouts after just a couple of days. Store dry sprouts in the fridge.

9. Clean the jar: Be sure to wash your sprouting jar with hot soapy water between each batch, rinse clean and allow to dry before use.

10. Begin again: Keep the cycle going for a continuous supply of fresh, organic, nutrient-rich vegetation for your consumption.

Eat more sprouts!

eat more sprouts

Salads of sprouts and shoots are quite a treat in the midst of winter!

I like to take a sprout/shoot salad to work with me in a jar with the dressing at the bottom. Dump the contents onto a plate and PRESTO! Instant salad!

I’m making every effort to eat a less processed diet─a diet in which I’m either growing my own or sourcing as much of my food as much as possible from local farmers. Eating more sprouts is a quick and easy way to provide a form of fresh vegetables that are nutrient-rich and they’re so versatile.

My goal is to grow and eat more sprouts every day, and to get my family to eat more sprouts. I love sprouts on my sandwiches and in a salad. Check out this great website with lots of recipes for using sprouts in everything from stir-fry and salads, to tortillas, pizzas, soups and sandwiches. Everyone should eat more sprouts!

Do you grow sprouts too?  Which are your favorites and how do you like to eat them???

More recommended reading:

How to sprout fenugreek – from Eight Acres

Growing sprouts at home – via Mother Earth News

How to grow your own sprouts – from They’re Not Our Goats

Perfect sprouts every time; how to sprout seeds to eat – this by the Healing Harvest Homestead

Sprouts for Backyard Chickens – by Imperfectly Happy Homesteading

3 thoughts on “Sprouts: easy DIY winter greens

    1. Samantha Burns Post author

      We purchase heirloom seeds almost exclusively, the lion’s share coming from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds, but a few select varieties we purchase from Johnny’s Seeds or Fedco–which are both local to us here in central Maine.

Share your thoughts, comments or questions!


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11997Washington v Glucksberg; Vacco v QuillEburn, Michael E10-May-2010
21994Withdrawing, Withholding and Refusing Emergency ResuscitationEburn, Michael E4-Dec-2009
31992Self-Defence and the Classification of DefencesWright, Frances19-Aug-2013
41996Further Decision on the Right to DieEburn, Michael E30-Nov-2009
51996United States recognition of the right to dieEburn, Michael E30-Nov-2009
61992Emergency Vehicles and the law in New South WalesEburn, Michael E2-Jun-2010


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• West Lorne to Port Dover, ONT
  • 99 miles
  • Alternative energy sources
  • Early start
  • Canadian friends to visit

When I wrote that we’d been averaging a high number of miles per day yesterday, I didn’t know that today would be even longer. We pretty much did a century (100 miles). Again the forecast dictated our riding schedule. We opted to get up early, break camp, and skip the formal breakfast at 6:30. Instead, Sheila got our protein drinks blended and we drank them and left. It got us on the road by 6:30, when the mists were rising over the fields and all was quiet.

By leaving early we also had nobody else around us on the road. We had to entertain ourselves. Fortunately that was pretty easy. Especially when we had such fun things as this drive-in movie screen for soy plants to look at. I mean, why would having a movie screen make soy plants grow faster? We saw them in many fields. And, interestingly enough, they all seemed to be oriented toward the sun. I wonder why that was? These little mysteries kept us rolling along.

We were finally passed by Robin around the 45 mile mark. His two boys were not with him. In fact, they were ahead of everyone. They had decided to leave at 4:30 AM and ride all 172 miles to Niagara Falls today. It has to do with a girlfriend waiting there. The things we do for love.

We were among the first 10 people at picnic. That’s never happened before and will probably never happen again. It was right on the shore of Lake Erie. There was a cute lighthouse. The entire time we were there a tractor was raking the beach. It’s a Friday morning ritual. They clean up all the garbage by raking the beach. It was very well groomed by the time we left.

In the afternoon we passed through the largest windfarm run by Hydro 1, the local utility. We learned a few more things about the turbines. The blades are as long as a Boeing 737. They automatically orient themselves to the wind and adjust the blades so they keep a constant speed of 13-19 rpms. People often worry about their danger to birds, but of every 10,000 birds killed by human activity (including cats, cars, and turbines) only one is attributable to the turbines. I just don’t see the downside. Though clearly some here do as there were anti-wind yard signs.

The Fly Boys came rushing past us just before the last water stop. Those last 15 miles were tough because the road would drop down to a little community, then climb back out often at a 10+% grade. It was hard at the end of a long day in the saddle. We finally stopped for blueberries at a produce stand. The shade and the food helped revitalize us for the trip in.

Once again we’ve found free computers to work on. We’re in the Port Dover Public Library. We love libraries. Not only are the computeres and wi-fi free but the librarian helped us learn several new things which we’ll share in tomorrow’s post. When we are done here, we’ll set up camp, then eat. Our friends Sean and Heather Kane are now living outside Toronto and they are coming down to see us. They cycled from Seattle to Washington DC in 2001, self-supported on their tandem. We’ll probably swap road stories and gawk at their two children. It’ll be fun.

O Canada!
Niagara Falls....and cranky


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Chignecto Naturalists’ Club Monthly Meeting

September 18, 2017

Join us for the monthly meeting of the CNC with guest speakers, Andrew and Colin Macfarlane, biologists and naturalists. Their presentation, “A glimpse of Ecuadorian Amazonia” will include images and anecdotes from a trip to a jungle eco-lodge run by a local indigenous tribe.
All are welcome!
For more information about CNC, please contact club president, Pam Novak at 364-1902.

September 18, 2017
7:30 pm - 9:30 pm
Event Category:

Sackville Commons
64 Main St
Sackville, NB Canada


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Day 17 #formationFOUNDATIONS | Companionship

Today is the seventeenth day of our #formationFOUNDATIONS series. In case you're new here, you can read more about this series or start from the beginning at Our goal for this series is to help you...

  • LEARN about different spiritual practices that you can adopt for your own walk. You will learn how to make the most of your Sacred Ordinary Days planner or the FREE Essentials Workbook you got when you joined our newsletter list, which has all the most essential pages from the planner that we don't want anyone to miss out on.
  • PRACTICE these things on a daily, weekly, seasonally and yearly schedule. You will be able to lay (or bolster up) a strong spiritual formation foundation by clearing the space for your new spiritual practices to deepen.
  • SHARE your experience with people who speak the same language. You'll get to know the other members of our community, who are some of the wisest, most interesting, super fun, and most real people I know by following along on Instagram or Facebook or inside Common House, our ecumenical online community.

Day 17 | Companionship

The journey of life is long and beautiful. Our seasons of life change. Sometimes the path is known and sometimes it takes a turn that takes us by surprise. Who are your sacred, trusted traveling companions? Do you have different companions in different seasons? Or some who have journeyed with you throughout several seasons?

Look for someone who is trustworthy, someone who will walk with you, someone who you can have a mutual relationship with. Someone who you can be brave with and who will be brave with you; someone who you can be honest with and who will be honest with you.

Maybe your companion is a friend, a relative, a mentor. Sometimes we find ourselves in places full of those people who understand who we are and where we are at and those companions come easy to us. Other times we find ourselves in places where those companions don't come easy, where they are hard to find, where we feel as though we are into journey alone.

In those seasons, what do you do? Do you go reach out to people as companions who are with you even if they don't always get it? Do you turn to books or music as companions? Do you turn to a spiritual director?

A spiritual director can be a companion for you on your journey of life, being it for a season or for the long haul. A spiritual director will listen to you, join you in prayer, and be with you as you look for God's movement in your life or seek discernment in a decision or opportunity.

If you want to listen to more about companions and traveling life with others, check out our podcast from the first season, episode 14. You can listen to on our website, on SoundCloud, in iTunes, or with your favorite podcasting app.

Now it is your turn:

  • Who are your traveling companions? How have you found those people?
  • Do you meet (or have you met) with a spiritual director? How is, or was, that for you?

Head over to Instagram or Facebook and share your reflection or a photo using #formationFOUNDATIONS and tag us @sacredordinarydays, please! Or, join the conversation inside Common House, our ecumenical online community.

This is the fourth week of our Formation Foundation series and will focus on Seasonal Practices. We'll always share the latest blog post in the series at when it's live. So, check there each day for the latest!

If you'd like to use the planner alongside us, you can order one today or get August for $2. You might even already have a planner, either the new Academic year or the previous Liturgical year. If not, today's the day to order yours since they just started on August 1st.


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Contact Information

Student of the Month

Welcome to Miss Burnett's fourth grade class

On our class site you will find different websites the students can use at home.  You will also find what we are learning this week.  Below you will find what homework is assigned for the night.  Students must turn in the homework when it is due, however, if the homework is not completed the student will miss recess until that homework is turned in.  If you have any questions about anything please feel free to contact me at any time!

What's New?

This week in reading we are working on plot events. Students will need to list the main events that happen in the story in chronological order.  Every week your child will take a weekly lesson test over the weeks focus skill and comprehension strategy. Students should continue to read 20 minutes every night and log it on their monthly log.  It is important in fourth grade that we continue to read everyday.

Your child should be practicing their multiplication facts every day.  To start our math class we do a timed test.  Students should be able to complete 40 multiplication facts in 1 minute.  This week in math we are doing our NeSA review.  Students should be bringing home math homework everyday. If your child does not have math homework they should use that time to work on multiplication and division facts.

It's time to do some writing!  In fourth grade we focus on personal narratives.  Every week we begin a new story.  It is important that  when we are telling a story we have a clear beginning, middle and end.  In class we focus on one idea and expand on it.  We now know the 6-traits of writing and how we get the grades we get.

In science we are all scientists.  Right now we are learning all about rocks and minerals.  We are having a lot of fun identifying different characteristics of rocks and minerals. We get to learn so much in science through exploration.

Cycle Days

1/6 Art 1:44 - 2:50

2/7 Computers 9:10 - 10:00 Strings 11:10

3/8 9:10 - 10:00 Library 10:00 - 10:30 Guidance

4/9 Music/ PE 10:10 - 11:10 Strings 11:10

5/10 PE 1:50 - 2:20


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Boarding Schools for Boys in Tennessee -- Safe Harbor is a lower cost alternative to therapeutic boarding schools in Memphis, TN. – low cost boarding schools and boarding schools.

Boarding Schools for Boys in Memphis, Tennessee

Boarding Schools for Boys in Memphis, Tennessee…
Few Will Enroll Boys Who are Struggling with Disrespect, Peer Pressure, Minor Trouble with the Law, or Failing Grades. But Safe Harbor Does, and Turns them into Respectful, Calm, Disciplined, Confident and Knowledgeable Young Men.

As you search for boarding schools in Memphis, Tennessee that will help your boy who is struggling, will you take a minute to look at Safe Harbor? Safe Harbor is a more affordable alternative to therapeutic boarding schools in Memphis, Tennessee, with similar success and outcomes.

Safe Harbor is designed to instruct troubled boys in essential life skills and to build character.

boys home and boarding schoolThe Safe Harbor boarding school story is portrayed in the 2009 movie “Safe Harbor” on the Hallmark Channel, which still airs periodically today. Safe Harbor has been featured nationally in People Magazine, and on CBS This Morning, NBC News Today, CNN, and CBN.

Safe Harbor transforms at-risk teenage boys into mature and responsible young men. Boys who are trained at Safe Harbor may be caught up in depression, defiance, behavioral and school issues, minor drug use or trouble with the law, or the upheaval of a loss in their life. Often, teens who are struggling need help gaining a broader view of the world, one not so fixated on themselves or keeping up with their peers.

Even though you may be searching for a boarding school in Memphis, Tennessee, please consider that the Safe Harbor waterfront experience blended with the personal attention, counsel and training lead to an unparalleled opportunity for growth and change in behavior.

For at-risk boys, Safe Harbor boarding school teaches boating and maritime skills, gives practical life training, and builds character in the context of vocational training, all while boys pursue their high school diplomas. The boys (many have come from Memphis, Tennessee) reside on board vessels at this waterfront boarding school. They gain knowledge of boating on the ocean and rivers while learning respect for self and others, self-reliance, perseverance, and much more. Each teen who graduates from Safe Harbor discovers how to captain his own vessel, both literally and figuratively.

Registering Boys from Memphis, Tennessee, Safe Harbor is Boarding School in Florida with Year-Round Education

boarding school boysAt Safe Harbor, practical knowledge holds as much weight as academic knowledge. Besides all aspects of boating and seamanship, we give vocational training in a variety of topics, like woodworking, boat refurbishing, navigation, log keeping and map reading, welding, boat maintenance and repair, and basic electrical skills.

Normal high school takes place year-round and can be accelerated, letting students catch up wherever they may have fallen behind academically. Boys who complete the Safe Harbor program receive a Florida high school diploma, and a lot of them go on to colleges of their choice.

We also think boys should be able to handle basic life skills. Residents of Safe Harbor are taught to balance a checkbook and handle checking and savings accounts responsibly, find a job using appropriate resume and interview skills, understand basic nutrition, and handle grocery shopping and cooking, to name just a handful of the topics we cover. Our goal is to make your boy respectful, self-reliant, confident, and competent.

troubled teen boarding school

Safe Harbor is a Boarding School that Helps Boys from Memphis, Tennessee Make a Change of Heart and Attitude

Concerning counseling, our program uses group and individual counseling, both from a mental health professional and from a pastoral counselor. The small enrollment in our program ensures plenty of interaction time for boys from Memphis, Tennessee with professional staff and mentors.

As you carry on your search in Memphis, Tennessee and elsewhere, thank you for looking at Safe Harbor Maritime Academy situated on the East Coast in Jacksonville, Florida.

To learn more, we invite you to explore the remainder of our website, then complete our online inquiry form or contact us directly at (904) 757-7918.

Admission is Year-Round. Safe Harbor in Florida
is Affordable Alternative to Therapeutic
Boarding Schools  for troubled boys from Memphis, Tennessee

More about Christian boarding schools in Memphis, Tennessee:
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers.
Memphis had a population of 646,889 at the 2010 census, making it the largest city in the state of Tennessee, the third largest in the Southeastern United States, and the 20th largest in the United States. The greater Memphis metropolitan area, including adjacent counties in Mississippi and Arkansas, had a 2010 population of 1,316,100. This makes Memphis the second largest metropolitan area in Tennessee, surpassed only by metropolitan Nashville, which has overtaken Memphis in recent years. Memphis is the youngest of Tennessee’s major cities. A resident of Memphis is referred to as a Memphian, and the Memphis region is known, particularly to media outlets, as the “Mid-South”.

Excerpt about Christian boarding schools in Memphis, Tennessee, used with permission from Wikipedia.
therapeutic boys home

Should you need help finding schools for troubled teens, Christian schools for troubled teens, affordable boarding schools, homes for troubled boys, please let us know. Safe Harbor is among the top therapeutic schools, our therapeutic boarding schools for boys; one of few residential treatment centers and residential schools for teens that is affordable. As a home for troubled boys it serves at-risk boys, we help boys in Florida, Georgia, in Kentucky, in Tennessee, in Missouri, in Louisiana, in Arkansas, and in Texas. Plus, in the Midwest in Michigan, in Ohio, in Indiana and in Illinois. Mostly, troubled teens from homes along the east coast including in Virginia, in North Carolina, in South Carolina, in Pennsylvania, in New Jersey, in Massachusetts and in New York are provided counseling and therapy.

Boarding Schools for Boys in Memphis, Tennessee

Boarding Schools for Boys in Tennessee -- Safe Harbor is a lower cost alternative to therapeutic boarding schools in Memphis, TN.


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What some of my clients have said

Deep blue sea

“Sally was amazing!! She made me feel so at ease throughout the whole session and explained everything very clearly too me. My anxiety had gotten so bad over the years I could never be a passenger in anyone’s car and with the fantastic help from Sally I am now able to sit in everyone’s car. I would definitely recommend Sally to anyone. She has massively helped me and she is the loveliest person ever! Thank you Sally”

“I found (Sally) to be welcoming, friendly and the consummate professional. I discussed my concerns with her and we chatted for around and hour. The methods Sally used has cured my ‘habit’ and I have no desires to lapse back into it. I am incredibly impressed by the outcome and also Sally’s care and dedication.
I would without any doubt recommend Sally Howard Hypnotherapy.”   GM

“Sally is so lovely! Very talented and most of all cares so much about helping people! She’s always so willing to help and has really helped me out of difficult times.”    JH

“Dear Sally, I’m Finally putting pen to paper to say thank you so much for all help you gave me to lose weight and get my “Bikini Body”. You gave me the power to change my eating habits and view myself in a more positive way.I can’t thank you enough and would readily recommend you to anyone wanting to make a positive change to their life”    HV

“Thank you so much for everything you have done! I’m feeling just a lot happier than I have for a very long time so thank you!!”    Anxiety AS

“Sally! 2 races and no headaches! Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou! The hypnosis is obviously helping. You are a complete star x”    Migraine LB

“Sally has a very calm and soothing voice, which instantly places you at ease. As a fellow professional, I know she cares a great deal about her clients and her passion to deliver positive change shines through.”    DH

Please contact me for more information or to make an appointment.


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3 responses to “Movie Review: Non-Stop”

  1. Didi Dobbs

    I have to admit that the trailer didn’t look promising. I think Liam Neeson is such a fine actor, but since his wife’s death, he takes these really angry man, “action” roles, almost exclusively. I havn ‘t seen him smile in years. His characters always require him to be furious about something. I think Mr Neeson needs to do a stupid silly comedy or musical.

  2. yjdtymtsdm,sm

    I’m fucked up. I only had seething hatred when the commercials came on during the Olympics. Seattle was a nice place to be all those years, cause we watched the Canadian channel mostly.

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Roman Holy Day

Unassuming and shy, Ava Zeteo is happy as the daughter of a famed academic. Her peaceful life is shattered when she is abducted by warring religious groups. She is shocked to learn that she is worshiped by academics living in the style of Ancient Rome. All Ava wants is to commune with a good book, but instead she is thrust into a conflict two thousand years in the making. She’d leave the religious groups to their nonsense, but a certain priest made a vow of celibacy and she’d like to test his resolve. Can an atheist reconcile religious belief when she’s the object of worship?

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Neon [and Paleo Fudge]

“She’s always buzzing just like neon…” Oh John Mayer, if you only knew. Some days I don’t feel like I take a breath until I lay down, but I love the busy. I love the whirlwind. I love learning and growing.

This semester I have two clinical placements. One off campus, 8 hours a week and one on campus, for 3 hours a week. So where the class load has backed off, the client load has grown! This is what I was waiting for all last semester. A chance to take some shaky baby steps into the field and see if I can fly. Was that too cheesy? Sorry, I just can’t help it sometimes.

I love to eat. I love good food. I love to cook. So I’ve had to learn how to make good food at home, and quickly. Easily. So I’ve decided to share my quick recipes with you in a little series. And why not start with dessert first? That’s the best way to live your life!

This recipe was born out of experimenting with different ways to “take” raw local honey for my allergies. Because you might like to eat a spoonful of honey on it’s own, but I’ll pass, thanks. So single-serving Paleo fudge was born! It’s great for a quick chocolate fix, or multiply it to make a fruit dip or to share with a friend!

Paleo Fudge for One

1 tsp cocoa powder

1 tsp raw local honey (if you multiply it, adjust to your taste)

1-2 tsp Tropical Traditions Coconut Cream Concentrate, melted

a dash of cinnamon

Directions: Combine everything!

Enjoy! It’s just over a tablespoon. A perfect little treat!

[If you order by clicking on any of my links and have never ordered from Tropical Traditions in the past, you will receive a free book on Virgin Coconut Oil, and I will receive a discount coupon for referring you.]

One thought on “Neon [and Paleo Fudge]

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SATs Companion KS2 Year 6

5 best ways to help your child with SPAG KS2 SATs

Posted on October 22, 2018 Grammar, KS2, Punctuation, reading, SATs, SPAG, Spelling, Writing, Year 6,

  Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar is a key part of the Year 6 SATs. But how can you help your child with SPAG? All it takes is lots of practice and a bundle of SATs Companion! Help your child reach that 100 on their KS2 SATs SPAG test with our 5 top tips.   1. SPAG-tastic Spellers! […]

Copyright © 2019 Sats Companion


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Emergency Hotline for Dog & Cat Rescues

Call : (888) 440-6467

Save the Strays Animal Rescue

Camden, SC, USA
1670-9 Springdale Drive, PMB 143 Camden SC 29020 United States

We are 4 people rescuing and trying to re-home abandoned dogs in a very rural area. We also do outreach to people who don’t have the education / means to take good care of their dogs, providing vaccinations, occasionally spays/ neuters, dogs houses, etc. Our board of directors includes a veterinarian.

Post as a guest by filling out the fields below or if you already have an account.


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Pair of Perching Chairs

Perching Chair

Perching Chairs are a wonderful way to add seating to a small space. Pull a pair of these up in front of a fireplace or spacious window and keep your view. Pearson’s Perching Chairs can be seen in our Winnetka gallery.

Call us for a quote.
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Please call or visit our gallery to learn more about this exceptional line.

Pearson Personal Choice line features:
Eight way hand-tied springs
Individually wrapped coiled springs
Steel rods in frames
Dressmaker detailing and precise pattern matching
Rock maple frames
Double-doweled joints

Since 1941, Pearson Upholstery has been building high quality, bench-made upholstery items in North Carolina.  They offer hundreds of fabric and leather choices as well as cushion options and a variety of trims and finishes. We invite you to visit the Pearson website, Pearsonco dot com, to see all of the possibilities!

Our custom furniture is handcrafted for you. Normal delivery is 12-16 weeks. When you place your order, a 50% deposit will be charged to your credit card and the balance upon delivery. We will personally contact you with details when you place your order.

Shipping charges are not included with our furniture deliveries. Please read our Shipping and Delivery Policies.


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Saturday, February 04, 2006

My First Swing Migration

This weekend was my first Swing Migration. I have to say that I'm impressed with the process. It's kind of nice not to have to touch all the clients after a migration.

We had a few minor snags, and didn't optomize the process as much as we could have, but we got through it and things are in good working shape again. If you haven't checked out the Swing Migration process, you should, it's worth the time, and along the way during the migration, you might actually learn something: I did.

So what problems did we have? Well, the first problem was we hit a replication problem from the production SBS server to the temporary DC. It must have been something in the steps that we missed, because after fighting for 5 hours to try to get it to work, we started over with a restored VPC image of the Temporary DC and things went much according to plan. In Jeff's first version of his documents he says to watch the event log to tell when replication is done. In speaking with Jeff and actually doing it myself, we discovered to use the command net share from a command prompt to look for the SYSVOL and NETLOGON shares to appear, some rebooting may be required. We can probably also blame the slow replication on the old server, it was fairly slow and had some hardware issues slowing it down even more! (Yes, it was definitely time to migrate!)

Once we got past this hurdle, it was smooth sailing, the replication from the temporary DC to the new SBS server was a snap! Following that install of SBS, followed by the SP1 and the premium CD, then the Todo list, Trend Micro AV.

Last but not least, we had the Exchange Fork-Lift and data migration. In order to leave the previous SBS server exactly intact, we decided to move the data through other means than the network, that being a USB disk. We copied the MDBDATA folder from the old server to the USB disk in 10 minutes, then there must have been only USB 1.0 on the new server (odd yes) but it took upwards of an hour!!! Once that was done, we copied the files over and the mount failed!!!.

Luckily, reading Jeff's documentation we realized that we needed to have the databases and log files in exactly the same position as they were on the old production server. Fixing this the store mounted immediately.

Finally (and still currently pending) is the restore of the use data to the new server from the same USB disk. Of course we have to do this around the Seattle SeaHawks in the SUPERBOWL!!!!, but that's ok, the restore will probably take 9 hours!

Let me tell you what I find most impressive about this process.

  • On the first reboot of the new production SBS server, we checked out the eventlogs, only to see a failure of the Folder Redirection. After the installation of all the SBS 2003 parts, this error went away, and the folder of the server was actually already redirected, exactly as it was in the old domain!

  • After we finished the ForkLift of Exchange, we quickly browsed to https://localhost/exchange and logged in as a user of the system, the mailbox already contained over 6000 email messages! How is that for cool!

So there you have it. If you've got the extra hardware for a Swing Migration, you should definately give it a shot, if you're having trouble, just check out the You Can Swing That - SBS Migration website for updated documentation.

Anonymous said...

Hi Jeff,

Wonder if you could give me a hand in a problem I am having using the swing migration method.

I have got the TempDC set up and want to replicate it on the new SBS sever. When I run the dcPromo I can't seem to log onto the tempDC, what is funny is that I can browse the tempDC from explorer and ping it etc.

Could it be a SBS License problem?

Sean Daniel said...

Hi, I'm Sean. :)

You're probably looking for the Swing Migration Website.

Try posting your comment there.

damion said...

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2015 Schedule
Interactive: March 13–17  •  Film: March 13–21  •  Music: March 17–22

Friday, March 20
8:45PM - 9:15PM

Listen to Purple Heart

Kamron Robinson, better known as Waldo, is a Michigan-native recording artist with origins dating back to middle school, where he met his friend and producer Sango. Waldo and Sango are two founding members of the Michigan-based collective/label AGO, alongside The SEVENth, Joose and Amos Rose. Many describe Waldo’s sound as experimental hip-hop, coupled with coherent lyricism. To date, he has captivated listeners worldwide with two free releases “Pick Your Own Poison” and most recently his widely acclaimed two part EP “NSDE/OUTSDE”. 2014 has alot in store for Waldo including new releases, collaborations and worldwide appearances. If you haven’t yet, we suggest you get familiar because everything is AGO.

Music Badge, Platinum Badge, Music Festival Wristband, Artist Wristband
Grand Rapids, MI

Thanks to our sponsors

Esurance AT&T IFC Mazda USA Monster Energy McDonalds logo CapitalOne logo PepsiCo logo Austin Chronicle

Music sponsor

Sonic Bids

Interactive sponsor

Phillips logo


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Missions - Darrk/Blakk

Missions is the solo effort of Josh Mills from projects such as Lou Rebecca & Silk Rodeo. One man, a vocoder and a barrage of synthesizers make up the dark electronic onslaught of sound. Missions plays with tempos both fast and slow as well as themes both light and dark to create atmospheric soundtracks for the dance floor. Active in Austin, TX since 2009, Missions recently relocated to Los Angeles to prepare a full-length for Holodeck records.

[Programming descriptions are generated by participants and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of SXSW.]

Artist is seeking the following professional connections: Management, Gear Endorsement, Booking Agent - Worldwide, Sync/Music Supervisors

Genre: Electronic
Subgenre: Synthpop
From: Los Angeles, CA


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Making Government Better with Better Technology

Recording: Making Government Better with Better Technology, Mar 10, 2018

Statistics show that new business formation and entrepreneurship in America are falling behind and losing talent to countries overseas. What can Congress do to reverse these trends and craft policies that allow better opportunities for someone to take an idea, bring it to market, and create jobs? Our panel will feature U.S. Senator Jerry Moran of Kansas, author of the Startup Act, and a group of industry and policy experts examining the current environment for startup businesses and ways to make certain America remains the land of opportunity for innovators and job creators.

[Programming descriptions are generated by participants and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of SXSW.]

Primary Entry: Music Badge, Platinum Badge, Film Badge, Interactive Badge
Format: Panel
Event Type: Session
Track: Government


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Will Theakston

Head of Licensing
Warp Records

Based in London looking after Sync licensing, creative services, original scores and brand partnerships across Advertising, Film, TV, Trailers, Videogames and VR Worldwide representing artists such as Aphex Twin, Boards of Canada, Flying Lotus, Grizzly Bear, Danny Brown, Brian Eno, Battles, Hudson Mohawke, Gaika, Kelela, Oneohtrix Point Never and Squarepusher. Will joined Warp in 2011 having previously held positions at BMG Chrysalis, Chrysalis Music and Bella Union where he first started in 2006. Recent work at Warp has included  campaigns with clients such as Apple, Adult Swim, Amazon Studios, Fox, Google, HBO, Netflix, Rockstar Games, Sonos, Vice and more.

Recent Scoring Projects incude Gaika's Live re-score of Black Mother (d. Khalik Allah) which premiered at Sheffield Doc Fest 2018; Oneohtrix Point Never's original score for Good Time (d. Safdie Brothers) (A24) and Hudson Mohawke's original score for Watch Dogs 2 (Ubisoft.).

Programming descriptions are generated by participants and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of SXSW.


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NAS Server Synology ds415+

I searched a long time for the right NAS, because it should need some things that important for me :

  1. Terminal SSH
  2. DNLA
  3. 4 HDDs with 4TB
  4. apache
  5. very fast connection
  6. encryption

And I choosed the ds415+ for 513€ because it seems the best solution for me.Because its have a very fast XOR(for RAID5) and AES(for encryption) performance, is based on Linux Kernel and seems one of the best NAS Systems on the market.After some days I got it and here it is:

  • INTEL Atom C2538(4×2.4GHz)
  • 2 GB DDR31600 CL11
  • 4GB internal store

2015-03-16 17.09.51 2015-03-16 17.10.122015-03-16 17.09.07 2015-03-16 17.11.392015-03-16 17.11.57

Then I upgraded the RAM with a “Kingston 8GB DDR3 1600MHz Non-ECC CL11 SODIMM” for 70€, that is not really necessary but I need a big cache for my database.This is the ram usage just with some apps running:

Bildschirmfoto vom 2015-03-26 08:42:47

Hard disk

I created a RAID5 with 4 WD40EFRX.One of them cost about 170€ that’s not cheap but for 4TB at this good quality it is okay.I chose the RAID5 over RAID10 because so i get the size of 3 disks and not only 2, the performance is more than the network can handle.

Here we see that volume1 has a size about 10.8T that’s very much space.

Here we get a little Benchmark about the Hard disk, we see reading is more than enough, and the most of the time i read from the disk.

For more Information about Benchmarks see Benchmark Your System.

This is the Writing, we could see the network is the bottle neck, I use only one LAN Port because my main board cant handle I moved a file via FTP to my NAS its only writing:

Bildschirmfoto vom 2015-03-26 08:55:05

Its about 75MB/s what’s a good value is for a RAID5.

I have the problem that every connect to my homepage lets my HDDs spin up, so I tried to mount a USB into the File system to host my Page and MySQL on it.

At first we need a USB stick and change the File system, make 2 Partitions.One of them for the database one for the Web page, I choose 1/3 to 2/3 of the Stick size.And its better if the USB supports USB 3.0, now we connect to our NAS via SSH and look what’s the name of our Stick:

Before we make some changes shut down your word press, phpmyadmin and database !

Okay now we copy our web and mysql folder to our USB stick.Importand is to only move the mysql database and not the postgress because the postgress is needed in the start-up and your NAS would crash.

Now we make a copy about our Directory’s, if it crash we could move it back.

Okay now we need a folder to mount our new files from the stick.

Now we could mount the Stick, its important to mount it after every reboot.

Now we could turn on our web services.If you use phpmyadmin and MariaDB it could be useful to take a look at phpMyAdmin and Mysql Cache tuning.

If you have it in a room where you work its no problem, if its completely silent you can hear it a little bit.I turned it on silent mode.

The Power usage is between 12W and 40W.

working 30-50W
 start up 38W
 waiting  32W
 sleeping  20W

All together its a very good NAS and I would buy it again.But if you look at a cheap solution for backup and web space look at Silent PC for 260€ it also need less power.


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Depressed and a prayer…

Dear readers,

I am forcing myself to blog today. Depression is overwhelming me.

But I am not giving up! Not suicidal happy to report because that would suck even more.

Just not motivated to do anything productive.

The sad part is that today is my 27th marriage anniversary and I am going to have to fake it over dinner. We have a good strong marriage despite our failings, but far from being in a celebratory mood. I put up twinkling lights in our home and got my hair styled and plan to get all gussied up for our night out at dinner…

Haven’t shared this with my hubby and spent money today that we don’t have.

Sorry this is a down post but I promised to share the good, bad and ugly and I feel all three right now. Good that my marriage is strong and that he provides me more support than i feel I deserve, bad that I feel like life is so bleak right now and I feel fat and not necessarily ugly but don’t feel pretty.

Listening to sad music today but will perk it up when my hubby gets home.

When we are depressed we are drawn to sad music me thinks.

But I did call my psychiatrist today to get in to see him about changing my anti-depressant meds as I have been on the same one for ten years so maybe it stopped working?

Trying to reward myself for getting little things done but all I want is sugar and fat, so must come up with some new rewards that don’t involve that.

Smelling my aromatherapy, lavender and bergamot, which helps but overwhelmed by these feelings of sadness and depression.

Must try to lighten my mood now so will leave this blog with a prayer.

Dear God,

I am sad and depressed right now but believe in your goodness for all including me. Please help my doctor and all our doctors figure out the best medication to be on today and every day. I love you God. I adore, hope in you and love you and I beg pardon for those who do not love, adore, and hope in you. For what else is there if we don’t???

Leave a Reply

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Article Title

My Second Life

Lisa Packard

Excellent, Intermediate, Young Adult, Faye Bird, Reincarnation, Memory, Death, Suicide

Document Type

Book Review

Ana Ross is fifteen years old. Surrounded by friends, family, and her boyfriend, you would think she has a normal teenage life. But she also has a deep dark secret she hasn't told anyone, and doesn't plan to ever tell: she remembers being alive before--in a different life, but not as Ana Ross. She was Emma Trees. She remembers her mom and dad and that she loved them very much. One day while she's visiting her grandma in the hospital, she sees Frances. Frances was a neighbor of Emma's and she had a daughter named Catherine who had drowned. Ana starts to remember more and more about her life as Emma, but can't seem to remember a particular horrible event that happened. Even though she doesn't know what it is, she is determined to find out. As she meets with Frances, she's gets closer to the truth. She meets Emma's parents and learns that she didn't kill Catherine, she killed herself. Emma's parents tell her to live out her life as Ana Ross and forget about her life before, so Ana does. She can live a normal life as a teenage girl--happy and at peace. Faye Bird tells a story of a girl lost in memories. As you read more about Ana's life and what she's feeling, you get sucked into her emotions. Ana is a typical teenage girl who gets butterflies when she's around the boy she likes. You can't help feeling that same way, bringing you back to when you felt that same way for the first time. When she feels angry and upset at the adults around her, you can feel that anger with her. As the story progresses, Ana starts to grow up and realize that not everything you are told is the truth. When Ana gets flash-backs as Emma, you can form your own opinions of Frances and how she treats people. It turns out Frances wasn't everything you thought she was and you become afraid and even angry at her for what she has done to Ana/Emma. Like any teenager, Ana does get a bit disrespectful with her mom, deliberately calling her by her first name. Ana does start to get a little whiny as well and feeling sorry for herself, which distracts from her overall development. Bird brings to light how hurtful suicide is to the people who know and love you. This book may be a good resource to help explain what suicide is and how damaging it is to the people around you. *Contains mild violence and sexual content.


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Oncolytic viruses preferentially infect and replicate in cancerous cells, leading to elimination of tumour populations, while sparing most healthy cells. Here, we study the cell cycle-specific activity of viruses such as vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV). In spite of its capacity as a robust cytolytic agent,VSVcannot effectively attack certain tumour cell types during the quiescent, or resting, phase of the cell cycle. In an effort to understand the interplay between the time course of the cell cycle and the specificity of VSV, we develop a mathematical model for cycle-specific virus therapeutics. We incorporate the minimum biologically required time spent in the non-quiescent cell cycle phases using systems of differential equations with incorporated time delays. Through analysis and simulation of the model, we describe how varying the minimum cycling time and the parameters that govern viral dynamics affect the stability of the cancer-free equilibrium, which represents therapeutic success.

Document Type

Publication Date

Publisher Statement

Copyright © 2012 Taylor & Francis. This article first appeared in Journal of Biological Dynamics 6:Supp 1 (2012), 104-120.

Please note that downloads of the article are for private/personal use only.


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Honors Projects

Relatively little research currently exists on the subject of homosexuality and LGBT rights within the present People’s Republic of China. Homosexual behavior itself has only been legal in the country since 1997, and it was only removed from the Chinese Psychiatric Association’s list of disorders in 2001. While a few studies are beginning to examine current Chinese attitudes towards the subject of homosexuality, it is not yet enough to get a rounded view of the subject, and more research must be done in order to provide more accurate data. It is to this purpose that this survey of Shandong University students was conducted, that it may add to the existing data on Chinese university students’ perceptions of and attitudes towards homosexuality. This paper will present the data obtained from the survey, highlighting patterns within the data and providing comparisons based on three separate variables: parents’ occupation, gender identity, and major at university. The goal of this paper is not to provide analysis as to why these students answered in the way that they did, but rather to add one more resource on the subject for future researchers to examine and analyze, in hopes of expanding the information base available for this area of study.

Asian Studies

Asian Studies

First Advisor

Yiju Huang

First Advisor Department

Asian Studies

Second Advisor

Walter Grunden

Second Advisor Department

Publication Date

Spring 3-1-2015


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JAMB CAPS Issues | We would like to explain some few things concerning  “NOT ADMITTED”, “ADMISSION IN PROGRESS” etc candidates see on their CAPS portal.

Though JAMB has not made any official remark on this recently, however, we can deduce the possible meaning of these terms from what was said during the CAPS sensitization programme earlier this year.

If your Admission Status on the CAPS Portal reads “NOT ADMITTED”, it could be that your school of choice is yet to send the proposed the list of admitted candidates to JAMB. However if your school of choice has released its admission list and your admission status on CAPS Portal still shows “NOT ADMITTED” then it simply means that you have not been considered for admission in that school.

For those that their Admission Status reads “RECOMMENDED”, the possible meaning to that is though your school of choice has considered you for admission, JAMB is still reviewing your admission to ensure it complies with all the necessary criteria put in place by your school of choice and JAMB.

On the other hand, if you see “ADMISSION IN PROGRESS…..” it is likely that you have met the requirements to be admitted in your school of choice but not yet considered for admission due to issues like admission quota, ELDS, Male to female ratio etc. This means you may have a chance of being admitted if some other candidates that were offered admission in the school decides to reject the admission.

So if you are yet to be admitted, the best you can do is keep checking back on the portal and hope your admission status changes.

For those who have been admitted, congratulations! Please go ahead to accept your admission unless you no longer want the admission; in that case, you can reject it.

Finally, for those that say they were unable to see anything when they log on to their CAPS portal through their JAMB Profiles, please try using a computer system or change your browser.

CONNECT WITH US: Like our Facebook Page, Follow Us On Twitter, AND also Subscribe to Our Feed. Stayed Blessed!

REMEMBER!!! There is No Joy without Sharing, Be social by sharing this post with Others using the Sharing Buttons Below.

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The Running Man +TALK: Dystopia Now

In July we’re thrilled to be a part of ‘The Warning’, a weekend of films at the East End Film Festival which look at the world’s ills – past and present – and set up the various possibilities of our future.

Curated by Cigarette Burns Cinema, these stories form one large narrative, starting with a voice from the past, following through unease, unrest and the inevitable resistance. Sadly this tale takes a dark turn where warnings were ignored and we end up in a dystopian future where the struggles, though different, have continued headlong towards collapse

The Running ManOriginal poster design // Vienna Man
Prints // shop

In 2017, America is a capitalist mediacracy and the populace is distracted by gameshows where criminals fight for their lives, the most popular of which, ‘The Running Man’, pits ‘Runners’ against ‘Stalkers’ in a gladiatorial arena. The latest contestant is Ben Richards (Arnold Schwarzenegger), a police helicopter pilot falsely accused of a massacre. But with the support of an underground resistance movement, Richards intends not only to win, but to prove his innocence and incite a popular uprising…

Paul Michael Glaser, USA 1987, 18, 101mins

“A brainless, breathless thrill”

“An engagingly mean, cruel, nasty, funny send-up of television”
The New York Times

The screening will be preceded by a talk from Jeremy Gilbert, Professor of Cultural and Political Theory at the University of East London, who will examine whether the dystopian futures depicted in science fiction films and books of the 70s and 80s were just satires on their time, or accurate predictions of what our culture would be like…

Big Brother and X-Factor may not actually physically murder their contestants, but these public exercises in ritual humiliation are in other ways scarily close to the future which those science fictions were predicting. Can we learn anything about the changing dynamics of our own culture from these historical visions of the future? And what capacity does cinema have to intervene in a culture saturated by younger media forms?

Where: Masonic Temple, Andaz Liverpool Street, EC2M 7QN
When: Sunday 3rd July 2016 // 4:30pm
Tickets: £12.50 (double feature w/Things to Come) // Full line-up and ticket options
Event page: Join us on Facebook


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Posts Tagged ‘trick or treat’

What is the real meaning of Halloween? Halloween was originated with the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, when people would light bonfires and wear costumes to ward off ghosts. … The evening before was known as All Hallows Eve, and later Halloween. Who started Halloween? Halloween began as the festival of Samhain. It was part of […]

All Candy. All Science. All FUN – Make Your Halloween Scientifically Spooky!

Drop a Warhead in baking soda water, and bubbles erupt. Leave a Skittle in water, and the S floats to the surface. Melt a Starburst, and shiny oil spots form. That’s right, next week is Halloween which means – All Candy. All Science. All FUN!  Candy experiments are a great way to use up all […]


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Evoking everything from rage to euphoria, menopause can debilitate women at the top of their game. So, why is it still the elephant in the room?

It’s 7am on a Friday and I’m in the showers at a public pool, discussing this story with a friend. The previous evening I’d been reading a doctoral thesis on women leaders and menopause by Dr Pip Gavranich, and it is this that sparks the conversation. “I’m writing a story on menopause,” I say. “Sounds like a tough road. Sleeplessness, hot flushes, anxiety, depression, moods, heavy bleeding, exhaustion… and it goes for years.” When my friend asks how long, a voice pipes up from further down the showers: “You’d be lucky if you got away with 10 years.” Yikes.

How can it be that two professional women in their mid-30s know next to nothing about menopause? Over half the population goes through this life transition, so why are we learning about it at a public pool? There is a lot of embarrassment and shame about what is, after all, an entirely normal process, and many women take a ‘just get on with it’ approach.

For women in the process of menopausal transition, it can be a confronting experience, and one that they are often ill-prepared for. Symptoms usually begin to occur in the mid-40s. Hot flushes, night sweats, headaches and joint pain can all herald the so-called ‘perimenopause’, a stage that usually lasts between four and six years and ends with a woman’s final menstrual period (which signifies the official start of menopause).

Surprisingly, it can sometimes take time for patients and doctors to realise what is going on. “A lot of these women don’t understand what they are experiencing,” says Pip Gavranich. “They have stories about not sleeping, being depressed – so their doctor would usually want them to be put on antidepressants.”

For many, the solution has been hormone replacement therapy (HRT). As a method of treatment, however, HRT has become something of a divisive issue in medical circles.

In 2002, the Women’s Health Initiative in the US released a controversial study linking HRT use with increased risk of blood clots, stroke, breast cancer and heart attack. Understandably, women stopped taking HRT in droves. A second WHI report in 2004 qualified this, showing women receiving oestrogen without progestogen had a reduced incidence of breast cancer, bone fractures and heart attack, yet this report wasn’t widely publicised.

The 2002 study was also criticised because participants did not represent normal users of HRT. It was claimed that most had started using HRT up to 14 or 15 years after menopause, and that many had pre-existing problems such as hypertension, diabetes and elevated cholesterol; many were smokers and many were obese or overweight. In addition, a different type of hormone is used in Australia compared to the US study hormone.

So-called bio-identical HRT is a preparation tailored to an individual’s hormonal deficiency, which is determined by a blood test. This is made up by a compounding pharmacist and delivered via a topical cream or a lozenge called a troche. While not all doctors love these hormones, for PR consultant Carol Turner* they were life-changing.

“I tried conventional HRT, but it came with side effects, including crippling depression,” she says. Then a friend told her about bio-identical hormones. “Within a few weeks, I had more energy than I’ve had in years. My whole system felt like it had been rebooted. I was concerned about breast cancer, but my doctor assured me that the risks were actually quite low. Truthfully, I don’t know how or why anybody puts up with the misery of menopause, especially when it’s as intense as mine was. I have tried weaning myself off the hormones – it’s been 10 years – but the flushes return, so I suspect I will be on them for a long time to come.”

“GPs are still ill-informed (about HRT),” says Pip Gavranich. “Women won’t talk to their GPs about it, and GPs aren’t game to recommend HRT in case they get sued.”

Ultimately HRT remains a personal choice, many women choosing to allow their bodies to go through the process without intervention, and others, such as renowned Perth gynaecologist Dr Margaret Smith, saying she will wear an HRT patch for as long as her memory lasts and she is “able to stick a patch on”.

Says Pip Gavranich, the HRT debate has had a knock-on effect on women in the workforce, not least those who have ascended to board positions or leadership roles. She notes that most women come to such positions in their mid-to-late 40s, coinciding with the arrival of perimenopause’s dramatic and challenging symptoms. “Once HRT wasn’t an option due to bad publicity, these women were stuck. What’s more, they often lacked peer support and worked in male-dominated environments, adding a layer of complexity.”

A 2013 study showed that 17 per cent of the Australian workforce comprises women aged 45 and over – a clear indication that this problem goes beyond individual suffering, and into the broader issue of economy and society. It means that our workforce has around one million women aged between 45 and 54 who are currently experiencing or have recently experienced menopausal symptoms at work. If these women can be kept in employment during this time, it represents a boon to Australia’s ageing workforce by retaining knowledge, experience and resilience.

A 2014 report from La Trobe University (womenworkandthemenopause.com) found that some women experiencing menopause felt it was a positive time of change in their lives – they felt independent, renewed and ‘ready to go’ with the next stage of their career. The flipside of the report, however, was the finding that for those who don’t fall into that category, work could become a problem: the more difficult the menopausal symptoms, the less engaged a women feels at work, the less satisfied she is with her job, the greater her intention to quit and the lower her commitment to the organisation. Negative managerial and organisational messages about older women had significant impacts across these factors.

Organisations could respond effectively, the report says, by employing simple solutions, such as individual temperature zones in offices and flexible working hours so that symptoms could be managed at home.

The good news is that menopause need not be all doom and gloom – even if you aren’t one of those women who experience it as a new lease on life. For many women, not having to worry about birth control or periods is a considerable upside. And not all women will experience the long or severe symptoms with their menopausal transition that our disembodied voice at the pool suggested. While the main two symptoms – hot flushes and night sweats – affect 75-80 per cent of women, that means there’s almost a one in four chance you’ll dodge them altogether. And even if you’re not a believer in studies like the one from 2005 showing that HRT is 85 per cent effective in treating hot flushes, natural solutions do exist. Something as simple as eating a balanced diet, combined with getting enough rest and exercise can greatly assist the body in managing menopausal symptoms.
*Name has been changed.

When perimenopause begins, a variety of symptoms can occur, including:

• Night sweats
• Hot flushes
• Sleeplessness
• Loss of sexual desire
• Anxiety
• Headaches
• Memory loss
• Fatigue
• Pain in joints
• Unpredictable periods
• Depression
• Heavy bleeding in periods
• Dry vagina

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