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Want to give yourself a present this Christmas? March into your shower recess right now and throw away the 'poo. |
The San Andreas Parkinson's disease and neurological disorder support group will hold a meeting at 10 a.m. Tuesday at the San Andreas Library, 1299 Gold Hunter Rd., San Andreas, to celebrate group birthdays. Participants are asked to bring a food dish. Cake and ice cream will be provided. |
Information: (209) 754-5360 or sanandreasmoversandshakers.org. |
The Jose M. Hernandez Reaching for the Stars Foundation, named after the Stockton astronaut, is accepting applications for its STEM scholarships through July 31. |
Awards range from $500 to $1,000. Applicants must demonstrate financial need and be studying for a degree in the science, technology, engineering or math fields. |
The awards are for students who will attend University of the Pacific; California State University, Stanislaus; or who are enrolled at San Joaquin Delta College and will transfer to a four-year university. |
Information: David Jimenez at dvjimenez@comcast.net. |
Widowed Persons of California will hold a "brown bag" support group at 11:30 a.m. Thursday at the Central Methodist Church, 3700 Pacific Ave., Room 6, Stockton. Bring a bag lunch. Coffee and cookies will be served. The group will discuss how to deal with loved ones' possessions after a loss. |
The Columbia Chamber of Commerce will hold the fifth "sarsaparilla roundup" from 1 to 4 p.m. June 8 at Columbia State Historic Park to celebrate one of the treasures of the old days, "the original soda pop,"-sarsaparilla. There will be horseshoe, bottle cap and ring toss contests as well as a spelling bee. |
Information: (209 536-1672 or columbiacalifornia.com. |
The Master Gardener class, "Pests-Inside and Out" has been changed from June 8 to June 22. The time and location is the same, 9 a.m. to noon at the County Agricultural Building, 12200-B Airport Road in Martell. |
Rep. Alan Grayson (D-Fl.) is urging Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) to propose revisions to the Senate's cloture rules so that only 55 votes, instead of 60, would be required to end floor debate. |
His effort -- spearheaded with the help of an online campaign at StopSenateStalling.com -- takes special aim at the healthcare debate, which Grayson said has fallen victim to countless overused and unfair filibuster threats over the past few months. |
"Why should launching wars and cutting taxes for the rich require only 50 votes while saving lives requires 60?" asked Grayson, who listed a series of important bills that passed with fewer than 60 votes. |
"Join me in calling for an end to this unfair system," he added. "Tell Majority Leader Reid to modify the rules of the Senate to require only 55 votes to invoke cloture instead of 60. Fill out the form below to sign the petition today!" |
So far, Grayson's campaign has netted about 7,000 signatures, though a cursory glance at the names on the list yields a few duplicates. |
The letter included as part of Grayson's petition reveals the congressman's reasoning: A change to the chamber's historic cloture rules would best serve voters, who elected Democrats in 2008 "with a mandate... for major change," he wrote. |
House Democrats for the most part have rallied together to overcome GOP opposition with the help of rules that favor a simple majority, but many of the lower chamber's efforts remain stalled in the Senate because "no-mongering Republicans" have "abused the filibuster rule like never before" and continue to obstruct pro... |
Consequently, Grayson stressed his Senate colleagues would be wise to pursue a change to the chamber's rules that would decrease the number required to invoke cloture from 60 to 55. As Grayson pointed out in his letter, the Senate has previously implemented such a change: Lawmakers reduced the minimum for cloture from ... |
"The filibuster does not appear anywhere in the Constitution. If the Founding Fathers had wanted it, they would have included it," the congressman said. "Instead, this undemocratic rule allows small-state senators representing as little as 11 percent of the country to thwart the will of the other 89 percent." |
Mamoun al-Haj-Mousa, a member of the rebel Free Syrian Army’s political council and spokesman for the Suqur al-Sham rebel group said that rebels had asked that no group be excluded. |
“We saw recently how Aleppo was annihilated because of 200 fighters from Jabhat Fatah al-Sham. This is a fundamental condition for us that no group is excluded be it Fatah al-Sham or not,” he said. |
The ceasefire deal was first announced by Russia, an ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, after Moscow, Iran and Turkey said they were ready to broker a peace deal in the nearly six-year-old Syrian war. |
Russia’s defense ministry said the insurgent groups which signed the agreement were: Failaq al-Sham, Ahrar al-Sham, Jaish al-Islam, Thuwwar al-Sham, Jaish al-Muhajidin, Jaish Idlib and al-Jabha al-Shamia. |
Russian President Vladimir Putin said an agreement has been reached on a Syria ceasefire, with Russia and Turkey to act as guarantors. |
Putin reportedly discussed topics including the situation in Syria during phone calls with Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, the Kremlin confirmed. |
Turkey had earlier said that Lebanon's militant Hezbollah group, which has sent thousands of fighters to support President Bashar Assad, should withdraw from Syria as a condition. |
Turkey will serve as guarantor of rebel compliance, while Russia would guarantee adherence by the government. |
UN Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura welcomed the announcement of a Syria ceasefire deal on Thursday and said he hoped it would save civilian lives, enable the delivery of aid and lead to productive peace talks in Astana. |
“These developments should (also) contribute to inclusive and productive intra-Syrian negotiations to be convened under UN auspices on 8 February 2017,” de Mistura’s spokeswoman said in a statement. |
Syria’s foreign minister said on Thursday there was a “real chance” to reach a political settlement of the Syrian conflict, after Damascus’s ally Russia announced a ceasefire deal that was to take effect at midnight. |
Walid al-Moualem also said Syria would attend planned peace talks in Kazakhstan “with an open mind”. |
“Everything is open for discussion, with the exception of national sovereignty, and the people’s right to choose its leadership,” he said in a live interview on state television. |
Putin announced a ceasefire between Syrian opposition groups and the government starting at midnight (2200 GMT on Thursday), and said the parties were also prepared to start peace talks. |
No date has been announced for the talks in Astana, the Kazakh capital. |
Syrian Kurdish groups and their allies said on Thursday they approved a blueprint for a system of federal government in northern Syria. |
“The social contract draft was ratified ... and the executive committee will prepare for elections” first to regional administrations and later to a central body, an official said, without giving a date for the votes. |
Edmonds singer and author Nick Baker has been invited to participate with United by Music North America (UBMNA) in events and activities at the International Blues Challenge in Memphis Jan. 22. The International Blues Challenge is a music competition run by the Blues Foundation. |
The UBMNA ensemble is a unified performance-based program and band for both neuro diverse and neuro-typical people with exceptional musical talent. It appears at various music events like the Waterfront Blues Festival, and most recently at the Special Olympic USA Games hosted last summer at University of Washington. |
Baker wrote his very first song in 2002 titled “Bad Behavior Blues,” which is one of the tracks on his first CD, entitled Think Positive. See www.nickbakermusic.com for more on his music and his books. |
In August 2018 Mascot Books published Nick’s second book, I’ve Got the Bad Behavior Blues. The book tells the story behind his song, along with other tales of mischief from his childhood. |
I heard this guy at Christmas time. He is great.. |
Karl's volunteer staff leaves lasting impact at St. Francis Hospital | HartfordBusiness.com . New to the site? Click here to register. |
Tobye Karl (left) shown helping out with a food bank effort at St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center. |
When social workers at St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center discovered a patient might not be able to give her children a Christmas tree this year, they called Tobye Karl. |
Within the hour, Karl, director of volunteer services, had secured a tree and delivered the good news. |
"I don't know if it's in my job description but I handle that sort of stuff all the time," she laughed. |
Karl is the go-to person at St. Francis Hospital when there's a problem no one quite knows how to figure out. |
"People often call and say 'you're my last resort,' " Karl said. "That's a challenge I'll take on." |
Karl has been taking on those challenges for the past 33 years at St. Francis. Armed with a background in public relations, she started volunteering with the Mt. Sinai Women's Auxiliary where she learned about the importance of infant safety seats, spearheading a campaign that included informational signage on Hartford... |
The group even persuaded the state legislature to pass a bill for child safety. |
"That made me realize the impact volunteers could have, up until then I had been a working woman and didn't understand," she said. |
Soon after, she was asked to lead the volunteers at St. Francis Hospital. Since then, the number of volunteers at the hospital has grown to near 800 and volunteering has become almost a profession, with 89 job responsibilities. From acting as fall-risk monitors, responding to patient needs, or even taking on care of me... |
"We spend a lot of time making the patient experience better," Karl said. "One of the things important to my work is to make a match between the volunteer and the program so it's a win-win." |
Not only that, hospital visitors and even staff have someone to rely on for assistance. For instance, when doctors realize patients don't have proper equipment at home or have a non-medical need that impacts their health, they now have a corps of people who have the time and capability to help. The doctors can then mov... |
"As health care has changed and there are so many pressures — time and money and energy — it's so nice to know people in the hospital have a heart," she added. "They still want to make things better, big or small." |
One of the biggest programs focuses on the smallest of patients. Karl brought the Books for Babies initiative to St. Francis Hospital in 2003 and watched the program reach significant success. According to Karl, 99 percent of all new mothers leaving the hospital are visited by trained volunteers who go to the home with... |
Kyn Tolson, executive director of Read to Grow and the Books for Babies program, said her staff points to Karl as an ideal volunteer coordinator. |
"She is 110 percent heart, mind and soul involved in her work," Tolson said. |
Thanks to Karl's involvement in a recent St. Francis Women's Auxiliary children's book drive, close to 10,000 books were donated, allowing Books to Babies volunteers to offer books to siblings as well. |
"It's wonderful to have such a supply to draw from," Tolson said. |
Just as important as the access to books is the availability of a volunteer to encourage parents and teach parents reading techniques. |
"We're making a major impact turning around the literacy rate in the state of Connecticut," Karl said. |
Karl is also in charge of the hospital flu vaccine campaign. She organized the flu vaccinations for 11,000 hospital employees and volunteers, pulling together 30 retired nurses, and dozens of volunteer clerical staff over the course of a few weeks to ensure everyone is cared for and protected. |
Karl credits the hospital leadership with inviting her to the table and constantly recognizing the importance of volunteers. And she credits the volunteers for understanding how valuable they've become. |
"It's not necessarily monetary, but I can assure you every volunteer here is getting a reward of some kind," Karl said. |
Commander, Naval Striking and Support Forces NATO (STRIKFORNATO) is the maritime Commander for the NATO Ballistic Missile Defence mission. Maritime Ballistic Missile Defence is a critical element of U.S. European Phased Adaptive Approach, providing the ability to intercept ballistic missiles threatening NATO European T... |
STRIKFORNATO is actively involved in missile defence exercises and initiatives across NATO, including the Maritime Theater Missile Defense Forum At-Sea Demonstration 2015 and STEADFAST ALLIANCE 2016. |
Gambling is a game of chance. It's all about card games, roulette, lotteries, and much more. These games are fun and seemingly harmless. Most believe that there is nothing wrong with gambling as long as it is done legally. But when we talk about religion, is gambling a sin? |
1. The player should engage in a game with full consent and is knowledgeable of its consequences. |
2. All players should have equal chances of winning. |
3. The game must be played fairly. All possibilities of fraud are forbidden. |
4. The player must be allowed to play freely in the game, but he must also take the risk of losing without hurting others or even himself. |
5. The player should not use gambling as a means of livelihood. |
According to a study done by the medical students from Harvard University, 1.29% of the adult population in the US, which is about 2.2 million people, is at risk of being gamblers. From 1999, 37 states in the US and the District of Columbia have been sponsoring lotteries, and 26 of these have already legalized casino g... |
The kind of addiction that gambling brings has both emotional and spiritual aspects. A gambler's emotions heightened at his wins. He might be depressed at his losses and has a high tendency to gamble again to re-live his winning moment. A spiritual difficulty arises once a person thinks that gambling is the answer to g... |
Gambling provokes a person to nurture his love for money, which the Bible says is the root of malignant things. The Bible teaches us that "the love of money causes all kinds of trouble. Some people want money so much that they have given up their faith and cause themselves a lot of pain." (1 Timothy 6:10) The greed for... |
One of the 10 Commandments stated in Book of Exodus says that one should not covet anything that belongs to the other. Moreover, the Bible also encourages to avoid being selfish and to always think of the other person's condition. But, for a gambler, his focus and his desire will always be set on winning, never on losi... |
The Bible also warns against acknowledging other gods. In the Old Testament, some Israelites lost their faith in God and began worshipping other gods. According to the Bible, God is displeased with these acts. In gambling, a person tends to worship the god of luck and fortune. |
Furthermore, in some countries, the money that the government collects from legalized gambling funds public programs for education, economic developments, housing, and health. Nevertheless, the means of how the money was obtained, which was through gambling, is not changed however it might be used in the end. |
Because of the guiding principles found in the Bible, most faithful individuals believe that gambling is sinful. Why? |
In Isaiah 65: 11-12, God cautioned his people about being greedy and said, "What will I, the Lord, so if any of you reject me and my holy mountain? What will happen to you for offering food and wine to the gods you call 'good luck' and 'fate'? Your luck will end! I will see to it that you are slaughtered with swords. Y... |
Millions of people are tempted into giving in to gambling and eventually are enslaved by addiction to this fun and exciting activity. This addiction is observed not only in the US but also in other countries around the world. A famous proverb states that anything that is from greed is not a blessing. (Proverb 20:21) Ga... |
What Should a Person Do? |
1. Always be an advocate of temperance. Play the game in moderation and make sure to keep your emotions under control. Some bookmakers offer no deposit bonus deals, which could be a good opportunity for playing without any risk. Choosing to play with no deposit makes a lot of sense for anyone wanting to keep control ov... |
2. Be just and play fair. Make sure to follow all the rules and remember that everyone has an equal chance of winning. Also, keep in mind that gambling must not hinder a player from doing all his responsibilities to provide for himself and his family. He must also be able to pay all his duties like debts and the like. |
3. Make sure to be cautious with getting addicted to gambling because of producing quick and big money. You must not use any money that is allotted for your livelihood and more importantly, those to be used to support your family. |
Against the backdrop of Columbus’s voyage to the Americas, an age of exploration, Michelangelo took on the Sistine Chapel at the age of 33, commissioned by Pope Julius II in 1508. 133 by 46 feet with a 62-foot ceiling, the chapel was a vast undertaking, even despite the earlier additions by artists like Botticelli and ... |
The ceiling is arguably the most well-known feature of the chapel. Nine panels make up the central progression, which contains episodes from Genesis. The ceiling itself, not counting the artist’s work on the altar wall, took 3 1/2 years, during which he spent many long hours painting above his head with a sparse team o... |
Eve (arguably). Michelangelo, The Creation of Adam, c. 15081512, fresco. |
The stories of man and woman–part of the theater of life, as Lev calls it–are intertwined from the start. Clinging to the arm of God, Eve looks down the outstretched arms into the eyes of Adam. In the central panel of the ceiling, she is drawn from his side at her creation. In every scene, the two are inseparable, even... |
Lev then moves to the altar wall, the Last Judgment scene. Upon Michelangelo’s return to the Sistine Chapel in 1536, some 24 years since the painting of the ceiling, the Reformation has shaken the world, and so the artist took on the theme of destiny. Juxtaposed above a crucifix, the image of a glorified Christ, assumi... |
The Sistine Chapel, Lev says, is like a mirror. As the viewer gazes at the various scenes along every surface, they wonder their role in the great human drama that Michelangelo depicted nearly 500 years ago, a drama that continues into today. |
Watch Elizabeth Lev’s TEDTalk here. |
I just bought this thing. |
That bit is removable, feels like, I dunno, hard cardboard? I presumed it was something that was meant to be removed (behind it is some sort of cavity/vent. Since it's not mentioned by the manual, I decided to phone the shop I bought it from and was assured it needs to stay there "to keep the radiation off the food". |
So now I'm just confused. |
keep the radiation off the food - that is the last thing it does. |
Edit: It keeps the food off the radiation. |
Yeah, that seems to be the consensus. Cooking a meal now, fingers crossed. |
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