I’m in love. I know all my friends who are reading this are gagging and rolling their eyes, but seriously! Oh my god, I LOVE SOUTH BEACH! Let me start at the beginning.
So my grandmother is cool, I’m sure you’ve caught onto that. She’s pretty young for a grandmother and is hip and pretty with it, which is one reason why I love visiting her so much. But in one way she really is an old lady (sorry, granny) – she goes to sleep freakin’ early, like 8:00 and wakes up at like 2 in the morning, which just doesn’t make any sense to me. And since I came to Miami so that I wouldn’t sit around and waste the day and night away in front of the TV, I decided after a day of shopping at Aventura Mall and walking around the Miami Seaquarium, that I would not call it a night, but rather climb out of my little box and go a little wild.
I drove down to South Beach and sat myself down at a gorgeous art deco outdoor café (see how wild I can get?) on the promenade with a stack of magazines that I was going to pretend to read – you don’t want to pretend to read a book b/c then people might think you’re too engrossed in what you’re doing and don’t want to be interrupted. So, I was sitting, sipping my latte, scanning my literature, and looking, I might add, particularly hot. See and be seen, right?
I know I sound like a babbling fairy tale, but this seriously happened to me! A gorgeous man came up to me and asked if I was waiting for someone. I thought he just wanted to take the chair so I said, “no, go ahead,” motioning to the chair, and he said, “thanks, I’d love to,” and sat down.
And the rest is history, as they say—that applies to one day old history, too, right? We chatted all night, like really talked. We didn’t even move from that spot, except for a roundabout walk to my car, where he dropped me off and made me promise to answer my phone when he called me the next day, which he already has done.
Not to get too much into my personal life, but let’s just say that this is generally not the way I meet guys. Like in college (which was just like last week, so please don’t let me start talking as though it were thirty years ago) I’d go to a party, get drunk, and then end up making out with some random loser. This was so different, so…REAL. He seems like such a good guy.
And I haven’t even told you the best part yet. He actually lives in NYC, right around the corner from Wave Hill in the Bronx. That’s like 100 blocks from where I’ll be living in a month! Ahhh. So we’re going out tonight (after 8pm of course) to some place he knows on the Fort Lauderdale Beach.
I hope he doesn’t read this. Yikes.


Have you ever met a person for the first time and been amazed at how well you connected? How much you had in common? How easy it was to spend time together and how conversation just flowed? It’s wonderful to meet somebody new and just… click.
The notion of ‘clicking‘ with a person is extremely helpful for us when thinking about some of the basic principles of web design. The best web designs are actually inherently personal and create a powerful connection with the visitors to the site. A web designer knows that first impressions are key and will make every effort to compel visitors to continue browsing the site. In short, if you click with visitors to your site, they’re more likely to keep clicking with you.
The power of a click is something that internet marketing gurus spend a lot of time talking about. Quite simply, if your website design encourages people to keep clicking – to other pages on your site, your social media channels, your contact details and maybe even your online store – then your business is heading in the right direction.
A great starting point is to ask what kind of questions are visitors to your website asking? What exactly are they looking for? How much information do they need? How quickly will they make a decision? What kind of things are likely to put them off?
The language that your website uses should be influenced more by how your visitors want to communicate than by how you want to communicate. This isn’t easy to achieve, and it can feel uncomfortable. It’s vital to remember who the website is for.
When you really ‘click’ with a person, you often find yourselves sharing similar interests, passions and skills. Learning to connect this kind of relational warmth with your web design gives you a much better chance to connect effectively with visitors to your website.
When a visitor leaves your website in a hurry there is always a reason! Maybe your web design is uninspiring. Perhaps the content is too technical, too wordy and too much like hard work.
It’s important that you are accommodating to site visitors and help preemptively solve any problems that they might have. Get there first. Demonstrate that you understand their situation. Help them make the decision that you’re longing for them to make.
To find out more about our creating web designs that really click with visitors, why not contact us today?


Instant Pot Asparagus is fresh tasting, and the lemon butter sauce is delicious over it. This is a perfect vegetable side dish for your Holiday meal, or with salmon. Pressure cooker asparagus is super fast to make!
I really enjoy steamed vegetables. Asparagus is one of my favorites! I also love it roasted, in soup, and in risotto! Today I’ll show you how I cook asparagus in the Instant Pot®.
When those fresh green stalks of asparagus start appearing in the grocery store in early Spring, I always buy some. Our Easter dinner is not complete without Asparagus on the table next to my Easter ham!
It’s really easy and fast to cook asparagus in the pressure cooker. The biggest concern will be overcooking it. The cook time will depend on how thick they are.
You can cook more than the recipe calls for at one time. The cook time will remain the same.
What size asparagus should you get?
I have seen pencil thin asparagus, all the way to the size of a medium carrot! I try to get them in between, about the size of my thumb, which are not small for a girl.
See the recipe card for the cook times, and for my lemony garlic sauce that I like to serve over this pressure cooker Asparagus.
Enjoy all different varieties of fresh, healthy vegetables steamed in your pressure cooker. Experiment with different flavors for your sauce, or enjoy them with simple salt and pepper!
You could also try cooking more that one type of vegetable at a time, if they have similar cook times. A steamer basket helps with this.
Instant Pot Asparagus is fresh tasting, and the lemon butter sauce is delicious over it. This is a perfect vegetable side dish for your Holiday meal, or with salmon.
Make sure your asparagus fit in the pot. Trim the ends to make them fit.
Add the water and butter to the pot. Also add garlic, if using.
Press the Pressure Cook/Manual button or dial. Then press the +/- button or dial to select 1 minute. Select 0 minutes for thinner asparagus*, or for crisper results (see note).
When the butter is melted and the water is hot, add the asparagus, laying half in the pot, and the other half crossways over the first layer. You don't need a steamer rack, it is optional.
Close the lid and set the steam release knob to the Sealing position. The pot will take a few minutes to come to pressure.
As soon as the cooking cycle is finished, turn the steam release knob to the Venting position. When the pin in the lid drops back down, open the lid.
Use tongs to gently take the asparagus out of the pot onto a plate.
Add the salt and lemon juice to the liquid in the pot. Taste and adjust salt and/or lemon juice as needed.
Stir in the parmesan and then spoon mixture over the asparagus.
*If your asparagus is really thin, or you like it a little crisper, try using LOW pressure to avoid overcooking it.
I tried this today and it came out perfect! I used the 0 minutes and it was just the way I like it! I will keep this recipe.
That’s wonderful! I’m so happy this worked for you, Linda!
Is the asparagus criss-crossed on a steamer rack or on the bottom in the liquid?
On the bottom of the pot, however you can use the trivet if you want to.


Very nice! I really envy the art of airbrushing! I couldn't draw anything if my life depended on it!

Btw. When you paint letters, like the "BF3" - Do you just use normal paper/cardboard and cut it? Or do you use something selfadhesive?

You def have the creative skills dude! Like anything else, it just takes practice. Get yrself and Airbrush, Iwata's HP-CH airbrush gun is nice..and just play around with it. It's also great for small paint touch-ups, especially for adding tiny details, like the weathered effect on the crevices of the case. Once I got the used to modulating the pressure, it became 2nd nature. You have to remember, that Brad was an illustrator before he started painting, so he can do decent freehand artwork. Altho a great deal of Professional airbrush artists use their own custom made stencils, made on a plotter or professional commercial stencils, not because they can't illustrate, but because it saves time, and time is money... Brad uses them as well, depending on the job.

@RedManc, good tip! thank you! I actually planned to do digi-camo, but I've had a lot of people ask me about doing a video on using those spray bombs in a guide, so the diy guide morphed into this build.

Really Nice Case ! Love the Window Mod,can I ask how the Acrylic Window and that Bracket were installed on the side Panel. I think this is the First time I have seen this and I would Like to learn more about it, Thank You for youre time. Another Great Build


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The history of the Brander family in the New World starts with Fred’s grandfather, Fritz Brander, who emigrated from Sweden to Argentina in the early 1900’s. Fritz completed his studies in economics at the prestigious Handelshogskolan School of Economics in Stockholm, Sweden. His academic accomplishments were recognized by the King of Sweden, who granted him a three-year, expense paid, business scholarship.
Fritz traveled to England for the first year of his post-graduate studies to learn the textile business, then chose France for his second year, where he apprenticed in the wine trade. For his third and final year, he ventured to more distant lands, where he learned the agricultural export business in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
One would think that having finished his post-graduate studies, Fritz would have chosen to follow the wine business in Europe. Instead he set his eyes on returning to Argentina to take advantage of the thriving economy there. With the help of the famed Wallenberg banking family of Sweden, Fritz was able to start an import-export business. During his first years in Argentina, the business prospered by exporting wheat grown in the Pampas to Sweden and other parts of Europe. For the return trip to Argentina, the same ships were loaded with cobblestones mined in Sweden. These cobblestones were then used to pave the many beautiful avenues that one still sees in downtown Buenos Aires.
In 1926, Fritz Brander expanded his import export business, and named it Brander & Co. In addition to representing several industrial Swedish brands, such as Volvo and Saab, he built the first dealership for the Caterpillar tractor company in Argentina. As one of the leaders of the Swedish colony in Buenos Aires, Fritz was appointed Swedish Consul General in the 1940’s by the King of Sweden.
Fred’s father, Erik, who was born in Buenos Aires but did all of his schooling in Sweden, went on to manage the family business. It was during one of his business trips to the USA that he met Fred’s mother, Virginia, and they returned to Argentina to start a family. In 1962, after a long period of political upheaval and economic duress, they decided to move with their two children to Santa Barbara, California.
Erik Brander was a man who possessed many talents, most particularly with his paint brushes and canvas. Erik’s other passion came by chance and was sparked by his son’s suggestion to purchase a plot of land in Los Olivos. In 1975 the first vines were planted, and over the next three decades Erik was the shepherd of the vines. Karl Erik Brander passed away in the spring of 2010, and he will fondly be remembered for his ingenious wit and by the various paintings that adorn the walls of the tasting room.
Fred’s innate enthusiasm for chemistry was recognized by his family, and before entering high school he received his first chemistry set. Fortunately, the family home was never burned down, and his reverence for science went with him when he pursued his college degrees. With such an international background, and with an added interest in art and culture, he spent his summer vacations travelling through Europe, where he fell in love with the culture of food and wine.
His facility with languages afforded him the opportunity to pursue studies on three continents: the University of Buenos Aires in Argentina, the University of Uppsala in Sweden, the University of Dijon in France, Harvey Mudd College for chemistry, and finally UC Davis in California. He is currently a candidate in the Master of Wine program administered from London, and his research on flavor chemistry in wines was published in the American Journal of Enology and Viticulture, which helped him earn his Master of Food Science degree from U.C. Davis.
While completing his enology studies in the early 1970s, Fred began his wine career working at a Santa Barbara wine merchant. During this period, he launched his own wholesale and import wine business, bringing wines from France and his native Argentina into the US. Longing to make his own wines, Fred and his father purchased a 40-acre property in Los Olivos. In 1975, the first vines were planted, mainly to Bordeaux grapes. His first Sauvignon Blanc harvest in 1977 won Santa Barbara County’s first gold medal at a major wine competition. To complete his vision and dream, Fred began construction of his winery in 1979. The three flags that waive proudly over the chateau and tasting room make reference to his family roots: Sweden, Argentina, and the US.
Fred Brander’s pursuit to produce the best Sauvignon Blanc in California is documented in various publications and by the numerous awards that his Sauvignon Blancs have received. He has recently put the same effort, dedication and fanatical fervor into creating exceptional small lots of estate Cabernet Sauvignon that push the quality envelope for red Bordeaux varietal wines produced in Santa Barbara County.
Fred embraces his multicultural upbringing by traveling back to his native Argentina and frequently flying to Europe. He enjoys expanding his cultural background by collecting Latin American art with an emphasis on museum-quality Mexican ceramics. He has earned his place in the wine world, as he is often called the “King of Sauvignon Blanc” in California.
The traditional "asado criollo" or Argentine BBQ is a staple event at the Brander Vineyard.


How do you identify the members of your team that could sink it? Get an expert’s tips on the signs you should look for.

Three years ago, I joined the board of a company whose management, I soon recognized, was incompetent. I said so, but I was a new board member and the management had a lot of old friends and allies on the board. I was listened to respectfully but nothing much happened.

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Three years on, the board has recognized that the management is incompetent. The consequences of leaving them alone for three years now threaten to sink the company. We’ve fired one manager and hope to stay afloat long enough to replace the other. A few generous board members, with good memories, have acknowledged that we would not be in this pickle had I been listened to in the first place. But how did I know these managers were incompetent? I’m not a seer and, trust me, I’m not gloating. But I knew they were incompetent because I’ve hired and fired so many incompetent people myself. Every experienced manager has; you probably remember yours. So what hallmarks of incompetence have I learned to identify?

Bias against action:There are always plenty of reasons not to take a decision, reasons to wait for more information, more options, more opinions. But real leaders display a consistent bias for action. People who don’t make mistakes generally don’t make anything. Legendary ad man David Ogilvy argued that a good decision today is worth far more than a perfect decision next month. Beware prevaricators.

Secrecy: “We can’t tell the staff,” is something I hear managers say repeatedly. They defend this position with the argument that staff will be distracted, confused or simply unable to comprehend what is happening in the business. If you treat employees like children, they will behave that way — which means trouble. If you treat them like adults, they may just respond likewise. Very few matters in business must remain confidential and good managers can identify those easily. The lover of secrecy has trouble being honest and is afraid of letting peers have the information they need to challenge him. He would rather defend his position than advance the mission. Secrets make companies political, anxious and full of distrust.

Over-sensitivity: “I know she’s always late, but if I raise the subject, she’ll be hurt.” An inability to be direct and honest with staff is a critical warning sign. Can your manager see a problem, address it headlong and move on? If not, problems won’t get resolved, they’ll grow. When managers say staff is too sensitive, they are usually describing themselves. Wilting violets don’t make great leaders. Weed them out. Interestingly, secrecy and over-sensitivity almost always travel together. They are a bias against honesty.

Love of procedure: Managers who cleave to the rule book, to points of order and who refer to colleagues by their titles have forgotten that rules and processes exist to expedite business, not ritualize it. Love of procedure often masks a fatal inability to prioritize — a tendency to polish the silver while the house is burning.

Preference for weak candidates: We interviewed three job candidates for a new position. One was clearly too junior, the other rubbed everyone up the wrong way and the third stood head and shoulders above the rest. Who did our manager want to hire? The junior. She felt threatened by the super-competent manager and hadn’t the confidence to know that you must always hire people smarter than yourself.

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Focus on small tasks: Another senior salesperson I hired always produced the most perfect charts, forecasts and spreadsheets. She was always on time, her data completely up-to-date. She would always volunteer for projects in which she had no core expertise — marketing plans, financial forecasts, meetings with bank managers, the office move. It was all displacement activity to hide the fact that she could not do her real job.

Allergy to deadlines: A deadline is a commitment. The manager who cannot set, and stick to deadlines, cannot honor commitments. A failure to set and meet deadlines also means that no one can ever feel a true sense of achievement. You can’t celebrate milestones if there aren’t any.

Inability to hire former employees: I hired a head of sales once with (apparently) a luminous reputation. But, as we staffed up, he never attracted any candidates from his old company. He’d worked in sales for twenty years — hadn’t he mentored anyone who’d want to work with him again? Every good manager has alumni, eager to join the team again; if they don’t, smell a rat.

Addiction to consultants: A common — but expensive — way to put off making decisions is to hire consultants who can recommend several alternatives. While they’re figuring these out, managers don’t have to do anything. And when the consultant’s choices are presented, the ensuing debates can often absorb hours, days, months. Meanwhile, your organization is poorer but it isn’t any smarter. When the consultant leaves, he takes your money and his increased expertise out the door with him.

Long hours: In my experience, bad managers work very long hours. They think this is a brand of heroism but it is probably the single biggest hallmark of incompetence. To work effectively, you must prioritize and you must pace yourself. The manager who boasts of late nights, early mornings and no time off cannot manage himself so you’d better not let him manage anyone else.

Any one of these behaviours should sound a warning bell. More than two — sound the alarm!


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Bill pitches incentives for efficient homes

Colorado homebuyers would be eligible for new financial incentives toward the purchase of energy efficient homes under a Democrat-sponsored bill that passed the state Senate on April 30.

The measure now heads to the governor's desk for his signature.

But Republicans opposed the "Colorado Energy Saving Mortgage Bill" the entire way this legislative session, arguing that the bill is another example of Democrats subsidizing tax dollars for a "feel good" program that doesn't really do anything.

House Bill 1105 gives Coloradans up to $8,000 in incentives to either buy or rehabilitate homes that are energy efficient. Homeowners would be eligible to pocket the incentives in multiple ways, including having the option of an interest rate buy-down, or having the down-payment of their mortgage reduced.

Rep. Max Tyler, D-Lakewood, a House sponsor of the bill, said the program not only saves homeowners' money, it can also lead to positive environmental impacts on the state.

"It's an attempt to drive the marketplace, to some degree, to more energy efficiency," Tyler said.

The bill redefines the existing Colorado Energy Star mortgage incentive program — which is administered by the Colorado Energy Office — by creating an energy-saving mortgage cash fund that is made up of state appropriations and matching funds from utility companies.

The bill passed on party-line votes in both chambers of the General Assembly this session, most recently by a 20-15 vote in the Senate on April 30.

Though there was no debate in the Senate, Republicans argued against the bill during a March 26 House debate, where they stressed the bill promotes energy efficiency on the backs of taxpayers, and that the legislation should have been targeted more toward lower-income families.

Rep. Cheri Gerou, R-Evergreen, didn't care how her colleagues voted on the bill because she considered the legislation useless.

"This is a feel-good bill, but doesn't do anything," she said.

The bill is one of several energy-related pieces of legislation that Tyler has been promoting this legislative session.

The legislation includes bills that expand financing of new energy improvements for commercial properties, and separate legislation that expands state contracts that seek energy-cost savings to include those that increase state vehicle operation and fuel cost savings.

Tyler said he's been able to move on energy bills this session compared to years past when Democrats did not have the majority power they now enjoy.

"After playing defense the last couple of years, we're able to move things forward again," he said.


Hi Everybody! This summer vacation we visited my In-laws place in suburban Kolkata from New Delhi, India. We traveled by Rajdhani Express train in AC 1st class. It was a peaceful vacation.


Looking for something unique and unusual for your wedding ceremony? We’ve rounded up our 8 favorite unusual wedding readings to suit all kinds of different and tastes.
Though love as a noun is difficult to define.
love’s … just lovely, isn’t it?
I love love as a verb.
we promise to disturb each other’s peace.
will read our future scratched onto a stone.
and recognize it quicker than our own.
You start and finish me, you’re my extent.
I speak these words to many and for one.
To another – and to one’s inner self.
because you are people, I love you.


I conduct real estate closings and settlements throughout North Carolina and Virginia.
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The Urban Dictionary T-Shirt

This term is often used by some I know as a kind of joke, not implying its obvious reason. Rather than having references to an actual pimp, it's used to describe something that's cool, in style, or amazes the speaker so much they can't think of anything else to say.


A new exciting Indian Fusion Buffet in Restaurant Aberdeen! From an arrangement of cold salads, warm starters and variety of mains. Also delicious desserts.
Our bar serves wide range of liquors, house wine and beer. Delicious choices of cocktails and non-alcoholic drinks.
Copyright @ 2019 Heat and Dust.


You can make your own shop now!
Location : In your kitchen eating your pie!
What do you get if you make one?
» How to create/recognize object element not using recording?
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» A new club thing xD.


Episode Title Burikko ningyo Marin!
Sorges' spy, the chalk brush, complains that he's all alone in the Banana Class because Rascal-sensei took all his pupils, on a very large flying broom, to the beach today.
At the Dark Castle, the Daimaou looks forward to 'enjoying' what Sorges prepares for Chacha this time. Then a red starfish appears in the blue fire behind Sorges..
The first embarrassing thing Chacha and Riiya do when they arrive at the beach, is to yell, "That's sea!" as many times as they can. Then a very angry Yakko yells at Chacha for not having brought "her beloved" Seravi to the beach. Chacha, Riiya and Shiine don't pay much attention to her as she tells them how deep her love for Seravi is, and leave her behind.
Chacha wants to play in the sea but Shiine keeps staying under his beach umbrella. Riiya, turned into a white wolf, wearing sunglasses and 'Hawaiian' T-shirt and flower collar, throws a ball at Shiine to make them move. Riiya wants to go to the little island he sees off in the distance, but has no broom nor knows how to swim to get there by himself. So Chacha proposes to create a ship to get there.
But her ship rather looks like a clockwork teddy bear, which floats though, so they can have a ride on it. On their way to the island, the teddy bear stops rowing, therefore Riiya has to wind it up. Then a very big wave gets closer, and eventually swamps their little boat. The 3 kids are sinking when Chacha remembers she cannot swim either, so she creates a little raft to rescue herself, while Shiine uses a life buoy of his own. Much to their surprise, they hear Riiya happily yelling out he can swim after all. But Chacha, willing to help her friend, blunders and instead of a buoy, creates a large anchor that knocks Riiya out and makes him sink.
Under the sea, a giant, Umibouzu, is confessing his love for Marin, a cute purple-haired mermaid. But she turns him down, and doing so, digs his own grave. Then she leaves him, wishing him to find another girl to love, and wishing herself to find a more handsome man to tally with her beauty.
On her way to the surface, Marin finds the knocked-out Riiya and immediately falls in love with him. She takes Riiya to the rocks and, wondering if he likes mermaids, gently pats his forehead.. which makes him wake up, wondering where he is, who Marin is, and.. who he is. Being hit by Chacha's anchor seems to have erased his memory. So Marin jumps at the chance and tells him he is her lover. That makes Umibouzu getting out of the sea with anger.
In the meantime, Chacha and Shiine are still looking for Riiya, because, unlike Shiine, Chacha believes in Riiya's strength and is sure he's not dead. She then spots Umibouzu, now arguing against Riiya for Marin's love. Riiya shows Marin his strength by sending Umibouzu flying in the air.
Chacha is very happy to see Riiya again, but Riiya doesn't recognize her, even though he has vague memories about her name. When Marin takes Riiya away, and Riiya tells Chacha he is Marin's lover, Chacha starts crying and falls off her broom. Then she slaps Riiya in the face. Shiine wants to take revenge on Riiya for making Chacha cry, but when Riiya asks him who he is, Shiine sees the chance of his life to win Chacha's heart since Riiya doesn't remember her.
In the sea, Umibouzu complains to himself about Marin's coldness toward him, when the red starfish we saw at Daimaou's castle encrusts itself into Umibouzu's forehead, making him very dangerous and out of control.
Chacha, crying by herself on the beach, still can't believe Riiya claims to be Marin's lover and doesn't remember her. Shiine can't believe in his chance to make up to Chacha and tries to cheer her up, with little success.
Meanwhile while they were on the rocks, Marin uses her own magical stick to turn herself into a very cute mermaid princess with lots of jewels, make-up etc.. but Riiya still doesn't pay much attention to her, because he's still worried about the 'other girl' (Chacha) that he made cry. So Marin, to fool him, forces herself to cry her tears out. But Riiya still worries more about the other crying girl than his own crying fiancee. When Marin asks him what he'd like to do, he replies, "Go to that little island".
Now on the island, Chacha isn't in a better mood, without Riiya. Shiine turns himself into a white wolf like Riiya, but that only makes her cry more. She then dashes away on her broom, yelling that Riiya isn't acting as usual and that she believes in him, leaving Shiine behind.
Flying over the sea, Chacha spots Marin giving swimming lessons to Riiya. But Marin protects Riiya from Chacha's moves, who is suddenly face to face with Umibouzu, his eyes red with anger at her, who tries to knock her down.
Shiine, willing to protect Chacha and show her how nice he is, plans to fight against Umibouzu but the giant kicks him down before he can say his magical spell in full.
Then Chacha and Umibouzu fight against each other, Chacha with a hammer, Umibouzu with a water ladle, that Chacha easily destroys. Shiine wants to do his comeback but is kicked down for the second time by Umibouzu.
Watching Chacha's and Shiine's fight against Umibouzu, a strange turtle family, who is actually made of Seravi, Dorothy, and Elizabeth dressed up as turtles, shows up. Seravi (father turtle) starts kicking Riiya's head to get his memories back.. and Riiya eventually remembers who he is.
In the meantime, Chacha and Shiine are in a pinch, but can't use the Beauty Serein Arrow since Riiya doesn't remember anything. Then Riiya arrives at full speed and kicks Umibouzu in the stomach. Now that Riiya has got his memory back, Chacha can transform herself, and her arrow goes right at the red starfish, who tries to escape but in vain and is destroyed. The Princess' magical powers make Umibouzu return to his normal self, and also make snow fall over the sea.
The end of the day comes, and Rascal brings all his pupils back to school on his broom bus. Riiya spots the turtle family and waves his hand at them. Marin swears she will take revenge and will have Riiya for herself.
In the Dark Castle, Sorges apologizes to the Daimaou, who just witnessed that Chacha wasn't just a normal little girl, and tells Sorges not to worry.


Free gallery of gifs of Bright AlphabetLetters of bright alphabet gif. Free bright letters and animated alphabets. Download animated bright letters.


JACKSON – Dorothy Gale never stepped foot on the tennis courts at Jackson Northwest High School.

If she had, she might revise her statement of “There is no place like home.”

Home is not so sweet for the Mounties girls tennis team. Inch-wide cracks, some running the entire length or width of the court, have forced the team to become vagabonds, traveling from one match to the next due to the courts’ condition.

“It’s hard going into a season knowing you don’t really have any home matches,” Northwest girls tennis coach Nick Lewis said. “Our last (home match) went right up until darkness because we only have four (playable) courts.”

The Mounties have had just three home matches scheduled this season but two were rained out, including Monday’s match against Leslie – which was supposed to be the team’s Senior Day.

Though the location of a tennis match holds little “home-court advantage” other sports might have, constantly playing in unfamiliar territory does take its toll through a season.

“There is a disadvantage to it in that it’s time-consuming, you get home late,” junior Karolina Wozniak said. “At home you get done quicker and you get to go home earlier. More people can come and support you. When you’re away, people don’t ever come out.”

The cracks in the courts occur when water run-off from the soccer field flows underneath the tennis courts. In the winter, the water freezes and expands, causing cracks that grow over time.

Lewis said a one-time repair of the courts costs the school “into five figures,” which it cannot afford to do every year. He said the school is having exploratory talks about finding permanent solutions, but no decision is close.

In the meantime, the Mounties will continue to play and practice around the cracks.

“The biggest thing is it’s hard to travel everywhere and compete everywhere,” Lewis said. “You draw a bigger crowd when you’re home and typically we are out-numbered in number of spectators because we’re always at their court.”


It’s official. I’m calling Bacon out. Bacon is my mother (for anyone who didn’t know or hadn’t figured it out yet) and I think she’s abusing her motherly privilege here with some of these challenges. She’s deliberately calling me out on my childhood traumas for your amusement. I’m going to continue to allow her to do it – but I just wanted to put it out there that I know what she’s up to.
Now, back to the subject at hand. The scariest movie I’ve ever seen. I should start by saying, I really enjoy scary movies. I’m not into slasher/gore films. But a good suspense film, something that keeps you the edge of your seat is totally up my alley. My dad and I used to watch the “31 Days of Halloween” on ABC Family (which has been renamed FreeForm. Which is, perhaps, an entirely different topic for another day…). We’d eat sugar cookies and watch all the movies.
Sure. Jeff Daniels and John Goodman, you’re thinking. They just called this a “thrillomedy” (how is that not a genre that caught fire?), this can not possibly be the stuff of nightmares.
Until you realize that the spiders go around killing people. There are deadly spiders coming out of the sink. Deadly Spiders in their popcorn. Deadly Spiders hunting them, dropping down from the ceiling on their unsuspecting prey. And I was five. And I was sitting in my grandparents old farm house. There was no chance this wasn’t going to scar me.
I slept in my brother’s room (thankfully he had a bunk bed and a very kind heart) for 3 years after that. Seriously. And even then, when I did move back into my own room I slept with a light on until I was a teen.
And, no, don’t bother inviting me on a trip to Venezuela. That’s just out of the question.
Alright, Bacon. Two can play this game. Tell us about your most embarrassing moment.
Glad you’ve been enjoying it! Thanks for reading.


My friend Jessee and I joined the DC Modern Quilt Guild and signed up for one of their swaps right away. I made this travel sewing bag by starting with a design to make a makers tote (love this pattern) but then I made a few changes. I made a quilted front pocket, made the tote a bit longer, and added the zipper along the top edge. I added gummi bears since my partner said they were her favorite, and a few other small goodies which I didn’t photograph.
The swap had some questions to fill out explaining things you liked, and my partner said “bright + saturated colors, neon, linen, chambray, metallic. i like everything from the florals in flower sugar to the minimalism of carolyn friendlander. have fun!” so I wanted to combine chambray and bright colorful fabrics with a little bit of neon. I had to order the chambray and the pink dot because I knew I wanted to use both of those, but the rest of the colorful stuff actually came from my stash. I even had a little bit of neon from the Cotton & Steel fabrics, so it worked out really well.
Tagged quilt guild, sewing, swap. Bookmark the permalink.


Team UKRM did the Snetterton 8 hour race on the weekend preceding the start of the Manx Grand Prix. While the bike hadn’t been changed much since the previous 6 hour race at Pembrey, it did have a new petrol tank. Insufficient flushing of the contents caused serious problems with the fuel system (blocked filter, knackered fuel pump).
So, for the two days before departure, Alex Ferrier and I went through the whole bike – replacing all the consumables (oil and filter, brake pads, tyres, etc) and replacing the all the fuel lines, connectors and filter, as well as changing the tank for one with a normal filler cap (instead of the twin filler dry-break system we use for endurance racing).
Alex and I are lucky enough to be good friends of Manx residents Keith and Jan, and their near neighbours Sally and Michelle – lodging had been arranged for us with “the girls”, and space cleared in Keith’s workshop for my bike and kit.
Having loaded the van the evening before, today consisted of little more than driving to Heysham, collecting Alex from Bridgnorth on the way, and getting the ferry to the Isle of Man. We arrived in the early evening, driving over the mountain (the “wrong way”) to Ramsey in the evening sunshine. On days like this, the Isle of Man is definitely one of the most beautiful places on earth. After unloading an enormous amount of kit into Keith’s workshop, we ensconced ourselves in Sally and Michelle’s house, and then got a takeaway curry.
A busy, busy day - I had to get to the Grandstand in Douglas and sign on, get my kit inspected, and jump through several other administrative hoops including the newcomers briefing and the newcomers bus tour of the circuit. Meanwhile, Alex took my bike to Slick Bass’s tuning shop and gave it a run on the dyno, to ensure that it was still healthy after all the work we’d done on it. Encouragingly, it still made 130bhp at the rear wheel.
Scrutineering for practice started in the afternoon, with all the newcomers scheduled to do a lap behind a travelling marshal (mounted on a Fireblade) before being allowed to take to the circuit alone. This new measure was introduced this year after a French rider killed himself at the TT last year, on his first lap of practice, on about the 3rd corner. And this was our undoing. Despite the bike having run that morning on the dyno, and run for the best part of 8 hours the previous weekend, it chose this moment to develop a water leak (where the hose joins the water pump) on the start line, just as we’re due to be shepherded round by the travelling marshals. We quickly pulled it off the grid and fixed the problem in about 10 minutes; however by this time the ducklings had all left with their mother goose, and I wasn’t allowed to start – I would have to wait until Monday. This was not a good start to the fortnight. Later, in more contemplative mood, I reasoned that if one were going to suffer a catastrophic water leak anywhere on the Isle of Man, waiting on the start line is probably the best place.
A busy day in the garage. I can’t remember what we did now (two weeks later) but it must have been important.
Because of missing Saturday’s session, I and half a dozen other newcomers were to be escorted behind a Travelling Marshal at the start of today’s practice. Consequently, our presence was requested early at Scrutineering – i.e. around 2:30pm, even though the scrutes don’t arrive until 4pm. There’s a lot of waiting around in this game. And, the weather didn’t look good. In fact, it looked pretty bad – it was raining, so we retired to local hero Tommy Clucas’ awning, for a cup of coffee and a slice of cake. Tom is a mate of Keith’s, and despite being favourite to win the Junior race, and perhaps the Senior too, he is really down to earth, friendly and approachable. I first met him six weeks earlier, when he took time out to sit in the passenger seat of the car and talk me round a lap.
Eventually we got scrut’ed, and then it was another two hours until the roads closed at 6pm, with practice due to start at 6:15. Although the rain had stopped, the weather still looked bad – the problem with the Island circuit is that if the weather comes down, the mountain section is covered in fog/cloud. In the old days, no one cared, but now, if the helicopter can’t fly the whole course, then no one rides.
So, at around 6:30, the practice session was cancelled and we all went home. So, I’d been on the Island for four days now, and still hadn’t ridden the bike. It’s fair to say I was not in a good mood.
In the morning, a group of us stood around in the workshop, wondering why there was so much travel in my brake lever. Alex, Keith and Joe decided to fix the problem, and pulled the brakes to bits, discovering several stuck pistons and some rather dished disks. We got all the pistons moving (with compressed air), cleaned them up, fitted some moderately flat disks and Keith bled the brakes in 10 minutes, and now they felt 10 times better than they ever had before. Why didn’t I do that ages ago? Thanks, guys.
Got to scrut’ing early again, and then had the wait until 6:15 pm for the off. Which, today, actuall happened! Six new boys in orange bibs lined up on the Glencrutchery Road, and off we set behind the Travelling Marshal. It was immediately obvious that this was going to be a sloooooow lap – apparently some of the TMs had been criticised for going too fast on the escorted laps on Saturday. I spent half the time resting my left hand on the tank – I don’t think we went faster than 70 or 80mph down the straights. No matter, my penance was served, and when we got back to the Grandstand I was free to do a solo lap. Which, after a quick look over the bike, I immediately did. This was more like it! I headed off towards St Ninians Crossroads and Bray Hill, aware that I just need to dial myself carefully. But even so, that drop down the hill is quite amazing. Fortunately, having done so many laps of the circuit before on open roads, I had no problem knowing where the course went, and was able to navigate round at a comfortable pace – I got back to the Grandstand to find that I’d done 95mph – I was happy enough with that for my first lap on closed roads. The bike wasn’t handling particularly well either, so I resolved to call Richard at Maxton for some set up advice the next morning.
By now I’m in the swing of things. There are always a few little jobs to do in the morning – checking the bike over, buying fuel, charging the transponder, etc, and then it’s off to the Grandstand in Douglas, and get in the queue for scrut’ing. Now that I’d passed my novice initiation, I was out practicing with the fast boys – practice sessions are divided in two – the first for classic and smaller capacity bikes (125s and 400s), the second for the 600s and 750s (and the odd pukka race 250 two stroke). So now there as an even longer wait until my session started just after 7pm. A fair amount of meaningless wandering around took place to pass this time. I also managed to meet Richard from Maxton in the queue, and he had a bounce on the rear suspension of the bike, and applied a few clicks, and then a few more.
Bikes go off in pairs at ten second intervals for practice, just like in the race, but your starting position depends on how soon you get through scrut’ing and how much you’re prepared to jostle in the queue. I didn’t want to be too near the front, but nor did I want to be near the back either, so I manage to get out about half way. Bear in mind that there are a lot of bikes on the course for a practise session – easily over a hundred. I set off with another rider (can’t remember who now) and immediately felt good – just comfortable and enjoying the speed of the bike. I wanted to do two laps (including a ‘flying lap’ as the second one to actually get into the rhythm of the place, and make sure the bike was ok, as it would need to do this in the race (which is four laps with a pit stop). Of course, there are still some places where I was slowing down despite the fact that I knew I shouldn’t – the flat out kinks at Glen Vine, Crosby, Gorse Lee and the end of Conk-y-Voddy were far from flat out. But elsewhere the suspension felt far better now Richard had adjusted it.
My sense of fun was interrupted at the 13th Milestone, however – coming out of the bottom of Barregarrow, there were waved yellow flags – we slowed down, and coming round the corner there was a scene of carnage. Three bikes were down, riders lying in the road, and straw bales littered everywhere. We had to thread our way through the wreckage at no more than 20mph. It suddenly hit home to me that if there’s an accident here, the bike and rider are likely to stay on the road (rather than slide off the track into the gravel as on a short circuit), and collisions were therefore a real danger (I was later told that the 2nd and 3rd riders had crashed hitting the wreckage of the first one). That gave me pause for thought, but I soon got my head down and got going again.
I was enjoying myself here – there were a few bikes coming past me, but I was catching and passing a few myself, and in some ways was just like being on a ride out with a bunch of fast mates, but with all the road to use, and no concerns about traffic or police. I came flying through and started my second lap. We still had to slow to negotiate the accident at the 13th, but otherwise I felt good, and when I got back to the pits Alex greeted me with a big grin, telling me that my first lap had been 101mph, and the second 103mph. I was over the moon!
Thursday afternoon practise is a little different – it’s in the afternoon, rather than the evening, and slightly longer, meaning most people can get in three laps if they want. Consequently, the whole timetable of the day is moved forward. Fortunately, we had nothing to do to the bike, and so were up, breakfasted and over to Douglas with no rushing around. The bike passed scrut’ing again without trouble (once we’d noticed the missing bolt on the handlebar clamp in the queue! This place really does shake bikes to pieces). Often Thursday produces the fastest times, just because it’s a more congenial time to be riding bikes (with no low sun as in the evening sessions) but the weather was grey with a threat of rain. Still, no problems, and we were all off on time. By now I was feeling pretty comfortable, but I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to find any additional pace. Again, there were a couple of accidents on the course, one at Rhencullen and then, after speeding up again for the Bishopscourt section I came round a corner to find an accident that the marshals hadn’t even got to yet – the rider was on one side of the road, the bike on the other, on fire, with smoke drifting across and obscuring the road. I had no time to do anything apart from scream, and went flying through the smoke to find myself still on two wheels and pointing in approximately the right direction. Now that was scary.
I decided to see if I could up the pace a little, so tried to ensure I got out near the front of the practice group, and found myself lining up with Irish newcomer Andrew Neill, riding TT winner Ryan Farquar’s ZX6RR. As expected, Andrew immediately drew ahead of me on the run down Bray Hill, but I girded my loins and tucked in behind him, and kept him in sight all the way to Cronk-y-voddy (10 miles later), where my bike started to play up, holding back in top gear. This felt exactly like the fuel starvation problems we’d had previously at Snetterton. Through the twisty bits it was ok, and only when flat in top did it show up. I soldiered on, but the bike wouldn’t pull more than 10k in top all the way from Union Mills to the Highlander, or along Sulby stratight, so I knew there was a ‘real’ problem. I must have been yanking on the throttle particularly hard, because on the run down to the Creg-ny-bar the throttle cable snapped. If only we’d listened to the scrutineer. So, I parked by the pub, and a marshal gave me some money to get a drink, and I waited for the roads to open and Alex to come and pick me up in the van. Still, I’d managed a 104mph lap, even with a bike that was a bit slow in top gear. Andrew Neill was 27 seconds faster (106mph) so tagging on to him had been a good plan.
Alex went through the fuel system this morning, checking the tank, fuel filter and hoses. Meanwhile, I dashed from Ramsey to the paddock in Douglas, got some new throttle cables made up, and dashed back to Ramsey to fit them. The new inner cables were slightly too long for the new outers, so we had to get them shortened in the paddock again anyway. I also got a new chain fitted, as recommended by all the old Isle of Man regulars – the course is so bumpy it plays hell with chains. We then went through the by now regular routine.
This was the last practice session, and several people advised me to just take it steady, and to just bed in the new chain. Which is what I did, posting an easy 102mph. Unfortunately, the fuelling problem was still there. Oh dear.
Sunday 29th August – Day before Newcomers Race.
So now we had a problem – the bike had a fuelling problem, and there was no more practise time. The problem could only be down to two things – either the fuel pump couldn’t supply the peak fuel demand, or the one-way valve on the tank breather (which lets air into the tank, but not fuel out) was causing a restriction. So, I borrowed a fuel pump from local rider Derren Slous, and we threw away the one-way valve and replaced it an old fashioned length of hose, curled up several times. We took the bike to Slick Bass’s dyno and ran it before and after the changes. While the dyno couldn’t re-create the problem (it’s not able to put the engine under load for long enough) we could at least check that it still ran as well as it did before. And it was still making healthy horsepower.
But, before all this, there was more admin to do. Keith and I had to go to the race office at the Grandstand to sign on, and I had to go to the Newcomer’s race briefing, which was really just about how to do a pit stop. Having done three seasons of endurance racing, pit stops held no fears for me, but they’re something new for riders who’ve only done short circuit races.
It was while having a cup of tea in the paddock with Keith that we heard that fellow newcomer Gavin Feighery had died overnight from the injuries he sustained when he crashed at the Mountain Box in the last practice session. It was the first fatality of the week.
Scrut’ing is done slightly differently for the race – batches of bikes have a time slot, and ours was 7:00 to 7:30. This meant the van had to leave Ramsey at 6:30am! We’d loaded the van the evening before, and Alex and Michelle had volunteered to take it over, giving me an extra hour in bed. Thanks guys! I arrived with Keith at 8:30 and had to get my riding gear scrut’d again. And then it was just a question of waiting for the off, and the weather, which again didn’t look good. While the cloud was quite high (so no mist over the mountain) several showers had blown over the course, and much of it was reckoned to be wet. I collared two guys from Manx Radio, and they told me the entire Glen Helen section was soaked. So, that decided it – we swapped the wheels to run intermediate tyres, as did about 90% of the field.
The roads closed at 10am, but a 30 minute delay was announced immediately, putting the start back to 10:45. At 10:30 we started moving the bikes up to the Glencrutchery road, but just as it looked like we were going to get away, another 30 minute delay was announced. So, we all milled around on the grid, chatting to each other and offering clichés and platitudes. And then the time went, and the start procedure was underway.
Racing on the Mountain Course is essentially a time trial – riders set off in pairs at ten second intervals, and race the clock. I was number 29, meaning I would start some 2 minutes and 10 seconds behind the starting pair. Alongside me was a chap called Dave Saxby, who coincidentally was from Gloucestershire too, and was riding a GSX-R 600 from Fraser’s Motorcycles. We got a clean start, and the extra few ponies in my 750 got me ahead of Dave on the run to St Ninian’s crossroads, and that was the last I saw of him. When I spoke to him later he told me his intermediate tyres we sliding all over the place.
The run down Bray Hill, for the first time in a race, for the first time in the wet, was scary. And, on the approach to Quarter Bridge, I, like the most of the rest of the field, had the warnings ringing in our head not to overcook it on cold tyres, with a full fuel load. And the same advice applied through Braden Bridge, which was also wet. In fact, the road was wet all the way to Glen Vine, but my tyres felt great, and I was already catching people – coming round the bottom of Union Mills and seeing someone ahead of you on the straight run to Glen Vine is a great feeling. I passed a couple of bikes on the way to Crosby, and caught a couple more through Greeba Castle, passing them on the run down to Gorse Lee and Ballacraine.
And then we were into the Glen Helen section. Normally I love this part of the course, tho I’m not sure I’m particularly quick, but with very wet roads it needed some care. Still, I seemed to be going OK, and the tyres weren’t moving around at all, so I burst out of the climb up Creg Willys Hill onto the Cronk y Voddy straight, and onto completely dry roads for the first time, enjoying myself. And, the bike pulled top gear along the straight with no problems, meaning the fuelling problem was sorted.
At the time of writing (10 days after the race), my memory has already faded too much to give a corner by corner write up. In fact, I found earlier in the week that even after two practise laps, I had pretty poor recall of when things happened – the brain is just too busy to file stuff away. The rest of the first lap went well, and (tho I didn’t know it at the time) I’d moved into 15th place. The mountain was mostly dry (apart from Bungalow Bridge, which stayed wet for the whole race), and my bike definitely pulled well over the top. The second lap was much drier, tho still wet through Glen Helen and the 13th Milestone, and a few other places under the trees. It was on this lap that I caught number 28, Vince Prevett, who’d started 10 seconds ahead of me. It took me a little while to get past him, eventually doing it at Bishopscourt. I thought that was the last I’d see of him, but blow me if he didn’t outbrake me into Parliament Square, some 6 miles later. I followed him up the mountain, getting past on the Mountain Mile, but he came alongside me in the stop box on the way into the pits.
The pit stop was smooth, but slightly slow – our petrol tank had explo-safe expanded foam in it, and it slowed down the petrol going in (we pulled this out for the Senior race). Two or three bikes I’d passed got out of the pits before me (including Vince) but I soon caught and passed them again, although Vince took a while. The next two laps were a bit of a blur – each lap was drier, though it remained wet in parts of Glen Helen, the 13th Milestone, Quarry Bends and Bungalow Bridge. Vince and I had a right old ding dong, passing each other two or three times a lap, but I got the result in the end – as I’d started 10 seconds behind him, I knew that I only had to keep him in sight, but I managed to finish 1 second in front of him on the road too.
I was greeted by Alex and Keith in the paddock, with big grins on their faces. I experienced an odd combination of emotions – relief, euphoria, achievement, all overlaid with a severe overdose of adrenaline. The results were available on a computer in the rider’s centre, and it turned out I was 11th, and had earned a replica (by finishing within 110% of the winner’s time). While there, I learnt another quaint part of the Manx GP tradition – riders get a free sandwich, piece of cake and a cup of tea!
We took the day off, and did nothing.
I wanted to watch the Junior race, so borrowed a car and drove down to Quarry Bends. Unlike the TT, it is possible to get a decent view even at the popular viewing places at the Manx Grand Prix, and I sat on the bales and watched as the front runners came flying through. Tommy Clucas got off to a storming start, setting a new MGP record of 120mph on his first lap. He continued to open the gap over the next two laps, but on the last lap he didn’t come through Quarry Bends. At the commentary point at Ramsey, he was reported as missing, but no other word came, which I knew meant he’d had a serious crash (breakdowns and minor accidents are usually reported quite quickly on the commentary).
I went back to Ramsey and had a beer with Keith in the Central Hotel as the 350 Classics came through. Apparently Tommy had crashed on the run down to Ballaugh Bridge.
Alex, Sally, Michelle and I went to the Villa Marina in Douglas for the presentation of the awards for Monday’s and today’s races. The sense of pride I felt hearing my name read out by Geoff Cannell (the voice of the TT, for me), and going on stage to collect my replica was enormous, as can been seen in this picture.
I went round to see Keith and show off my replica, to find him very quiet – Tommy had died overnight. The second death of the meeting. Keith knew Tommy very well, and was talking about not even riding in the senior the next day. And, the weather forecast was awful.
Just to contradict the weather forecast, the day dawned bright and sunny. The senior race was in the afternoon, after the Lightweight/Ultra-Lightweight race. Despite dire predictions, it stayed dry, and the cloud stayed high, and the first race got off on time. And then it was our turn. This time I was starting number 92, over seven minutes behind the guys at the front of the grid. Which was a good thing, because those guys were going to be going a lot faster than me (fastest lap in practice had been 118mph). Number 91 was a non-starter, so I set off by myself. Strangely, I got passed by a few people on the first lap, even though I didn’t feel I was going slowly (turns out I was – first lap was only just over 100mph). The second lap I got my head down a bit and did 103. Although the roads were dry, it was incredibly windy over the mountain, and the bike felt pretty flat in place, and was hard to steer in others. Still, it was the same conditions for everyone. At the pit stop, Alex employed his trusted motivational technique – “Why are you going so slow?” he asked. “Come on, get your finger out!” It must have worked, because I picked up the pace and gained some places. Also, about here, I started racing with Simon Briggs, on his old steel framed 600 Honda. He was riding as if on a short circuit, out-braking me into the slow corners, but I mostly stuck to my line and usually out accelerated him down the straights. Of course, it helped having more horsepower! Simon had a lower starting number than me, so I knew I was ahead of him on time, but it was good fun racing on the roads. In the final run down the mountain Simon got in front of me and I thought he was going to win the race on the road, but he outbraked himself into Govenors Bridge and I rode through the huge door he left open for me and beat him over the line. We grinned at each other as we rode back up to the paddock.
I got the results shortly afterwards – 60th, from some 100+ starters. And a best lap of 105mph, which had been my target speed from the beginning. Not too bad, tho I must admit that I felt slightly disappointed – if I’d gone faster on the first lap I’d have been a few positions up, and my mate Keith had posted a new personal best of 107, and I’d not been able to go with him. Still, not bad for a newcomer.
Alex and I got the ferry that evening, and drove home through the night. I got to bed at 4am. The next day I was up, changed the oil, filter, brake pads and tyres on the bike, fitted the endurance petrol tank and drove the van to Donington. The next day, Team UKRM did the final six hour race of the season.
too many others to mention for help large and small.


Itinerary

1st Day - Rio de Janeiro

Arrival in Rio de Janeiro. Meeting at the airport. Private transfer to the Hotel with Portuguese speaking driver. Check-in and accommodation. Overnight.

2nd Day - Rio de Janeiro

Breakfast. At the right time, pick up from your hotel to visit the Sugar Loaf with an English speaking guide. The ascent is made by cable car to the Urca Hill, 215 meters high, and to the top of the Sugar Loaf Mountain, 395 meters high, where you can see the Rio-Niteroi Bridge, the Santa Cruz da Barra Fortress, Copacabana Beach, among others places of the Wonderful City. After the descent you will go on a panoramic city tour through the Rio de Janeiro Downtown, where you will visit the Sambodromo, the Metropolitan Cathedral, Cinelandia, the Municipal Theater, the National Library and the National Museum of Fine Arts. At the end of the tour you will be taken back to your hotel. Overnight.

3rd Day - Rio de Janeiro - Sao Paulo

Breakfast. At the right time, pick up at the hotel for private transfer to Rio de Janeiro Airport with Portuguese speaking driver. Arrival in Sao Paulo, meeting at the airport and private transfer from the Airport to the Hotel with Portuguese speaking driver. Overnight.

4th Day - Sao Paulo

Breakfast. At the right time, after pick up from your hotel, you'll visit the main points of the city of Sao Paulo as the imposing Catedral da Se and the Pateo do Collegio, place of foundation of this huge metropolis. At the downtown you'll visit the Liberdade neighbourhood, the Japanese side of the city of Sao Paulo, the region of Paulista Avenue where is the MASP (Sao Paulo Art Museum), which has the largest art collection in the southern hemisphere, and the neighbourhood of the Jardins district with its fantastic designer shops and imported cars shops. Continuing the tour you will visit the Ibirapuera Park with its huge green area of 160 hectares and one of the city landmarks like the Monument to the Bandeiras and works of the famous architect Oscar Niemeyer as the Oca and the Obelisk. At the end of the tour you will be taken back to your hotel. Free night. Overnight.

5th Day - Sao Paulo - Foz do Iguassu

Breakfast. At the right time, pick up at the hotel for private transfer to Sao Paulo Airport with Portuguese speaking driver. Arrival in Foz do Iguassu, meeting at the airport and private transfer from the Airport to the Hotel with Portuguese speaking driver. Check-in and accommodation. Free night. Overnight.

6th Day - Foz do Iguassu

Breakfast. At the right time, pick up from your hotel to visit the Brazilian side of the Iguassu Falls with english speaking guide. After arriving in the Iguassu National Park, considered the largest reserve of subtropical rainforest in the world, you will take a panoramic bus to Iguassu Falls. With about 275 waterfalls approximately 70 meters high each - the largest is the Devil's Throat with 85 meters in height - the Falls are a nature spectacle. You can observe them from several suspended walkways that exist near the falls. At the end of the tour you will be taken back to your hotel. Overnight.

7th Day - Foz do Iguassu

Breakfast. At the right time, pick up at the hotel for Private transfer from the hotel to Foz do Iguassu Airport with Portuguese speaking driver. End of the program.

Tour Includes

TOUR INCLUDES:

Hotels accommodation in Superior Category

2 nights accommodation in Rio de Janeiro

2 night accommpodation in Sao Paulo

2 nights accommodation in Foz do Iguassu

Private transfers IN and OUT (GIG Airport/Hotel/GIG Airport) in Rio de Janeiro with Portuguese speaking driver

Private transfers IN and OUT (GRU or CGH Airport/Hotel/GRU or CGH Airport) in Sao Paulo with Portuguese speaking driver

Private transfers IN and OUT (IGU Airport/Hotel/IGU Airport) in Foz do Iguassu with Portuguese speaking driver

Regular/shared Excursion to Sugar Loaf Mountain with English speaking guide. Ticket included

Regular/shared City Tour in Sao Paulo with English speaking guide.

Regular/shared Excursion to Brazilian side of the Iguassu Falls in Foz do Iguassu with English speaking guide. Ticket included

Buffet breakfast in Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo and Foz do Iguassu

TOUR DOES NOT INCLUDE:

Air tickets and airport taxes

Visa support

Personal expenses

Insurance

Not mentioned tickets

Entrance tickets

Early check-in and Late check-out

Hotels

Hotels

CITIES

HOTELS

Rio de Janeiro

Mirador Rio Hotel or similar

Sao Paulo

Estanplaza Paulista or similar

Foz do Iguassu

Continental Inn or similar

Conditions

Notes

Prices are NET in US dollars

All prices are NOT valid for Events, Congress and Other special Holidays. (UNDER REQUEST)

Prices and conditions may change without previous notice.

Prices will be confirmed upon booking.

The program on the dates above are subject to availability and change without notice

Packages are subject to availability

Check-in at hotels: 14h. Check out the hotels: 12h

Cancellation Policies

The Cancellation Policies listed below apply to all reservations unless the reservation booked has specific rates or fees listed in the Invoice.

Cancellation Made Within:

7 Days Prior to Departure Date - Non-refundable

8-14 Days Prior to Departure Date - 50% of payment is refunded

15-29 Days Prior to Departure Date - 75% of payment is refunded

30 or More Days Prior to Departure Date - 90% of payment is refunded

Cities Info

Rio de Janeiro

Rio de Janeiro is one of the most magnificent cities in the world. The city has been blessed with a warm climate and an endless coastline of magnificent beaches, palm strewn islands and mountains covered with tropical rainforests. Rio's world famous beaches of Copacabana, Ipanema and Leblon welcome visitors from all over Brazil, Latin America and the world. The city is a capital of sports such as surfing, hang gliding, jetskiing, fishing, sailing, beach volleyball, soccer, jogging, hiking and rapelling. The local restaurants and cafes offer a variety of fresh seafood and meats as well as drinks made from exotic fruits and berries. Rio's bars and music clubs offer cocktails, music, dancing and fun into the late hours of the morning.

Rio served as Brazil's second capital and contains a vast quantity of architectural masterpieces such as palaces, cathedrals, churches, monasteries, fortresses, mansions and municipal buildings from the 16th century to the present time which played an important role in the country's history. It is the only Latin American city to have been the capital of a European empire. This occured in 1808 when the Portuguese royal family and the entire court fled Lisbon as Napoleon's troops were approaching. Thus, the capital of the Portuguese empire moved to Rio de Janeiro for eleven years.

The New Year's celebrations witness 2 million revelers who gather on Copacabana beach all dressed in white for an unforgettable night of musical shows, dancing, fireworks and merrymaking. The world famous Carnival takes place at the Sambadromo (a stadium built for this event) where the city's samba schools compete and dazzle audiences with luxurious costumes and incredible decorations. There are also more than 400 samba bands that take to the streets all over the city in processions that are followed by thousands of masked and costumed revelers. Some of the other must visit tourist attractions include the world famous Maracana stadium, Sugar Loaf Mountain, the Botanical Garden and Corcovado, the mountain which holds the statue of Christ the Redeemer. This statue was voted as one of the Seven Modern Wonders of the World. Corcovado contains the only tropical rainforest in a metropolitan area and is full of a rich variety of flora and fauna such as banana palms, mango and papaya trees, orquids, bromeliads as well as parrots, monkeys and ant eaters. Come and experience the wonders of this marvelous city for yourself. Your only problem will be deciding what to do first.

Sao Paulo

Sao Paulo is a cosmopolitan, most populous city and financial center of Latin America. The inheritance of immigrants and the richness of Brazilian culture form a unique diversity in this city where many parts of the world meet.

The city of Sao Paulo was founded in 1554 by Fathers Jose de Anchieta and Manoel da Nobrega after deciding that the region was suitable for the installation of a college for the catechization of indigenous people. Most of the Bandeiras, exploration expeditions in the Brazilian territory in search of mineral riches, began in the city, constituting itself like one of its symbols.

The importance of Sao Paulo in the national context began with the planting and the sale of coffee in the late 19th century, when this commodity became one of the main pillars of the Brazilian economy. Because of this, immigrants from various countries settled in the city and in neighboring cities in search of a better life in the coffee plantations; most of them were Italians, Germans, Arabs and Japanese - it is in Sao Paulo that the largest Japanese community outside Japan is located.

Foz do Iguassu

Foz do Iguassu is located in southwestern Brazil near the borders of Paraguay and Argentina. This picturesque area which is set deep in the heart of the tropical rain forest contains the largest series of waterfalls in the world. There are hundreds of waterfalls (up to 275) set in a pristine forested national park which teems with exotic animals such as jaguars, pumas, deer and tapirs. The area was sacred to the Guarani Indians who lived here and named it Iguassu, meaning Big Water. The waterfalls cascade down over fast rapids into the Iguassu river. There is an exhilarating optional excursion to go rafting with the Macuco Safari Boat to Devil's Throat, the largest of the waterfalls whose roar can be heard several miles down river. The Bird Park is another interesting attraction which shows exotic bird species such as macaws, flamingos, ostriches, parrots and storks in a 12 acre subtropical forest location. Another place worth visiting is the Itaipu Dam which is located on the Parana River, one of the largest hydroelectric plants in the world. So come visit Iguassu Falls, a unique destination you shouldn't miss!


The rhetorical tradition, Michelle Ballif asserts, is based on the systematic exclusion of sophistry. In keeping with Aristotle’ s prescription, rhetoric continues to be a counterpart to dialectic, a handmaiden to the pursuit of truth— even if that truth is merely probable.
According to Ballif, this search for truth manifests itself among current rhetoric and composition scholars in the form of an assumption that language is primarily communicative (i.e., that language can represent truth more or less faithfully). Ballif shows how invested we are in the notion of truth, in the idea that language represents truth, and in the assumption that the speaking/writing subject has, or should have, some essential relation to truth.
Provocatively, Ballif questions why the profession wants to retain these beliefs in the face of vociferous arguments from "new rhetorics" that the discipline no longer posits a foundational self or truth, and in the face of the poststructuralist critique, which has demonstrated that founding truth is always accomplished by first positing and then negating an “ other.” As an alternative to this negative and violent rhetorical process, Ballif suggests a turn to sophistry as embodied in the figure of Woman, one with the power to seduce us (literally, to lead astray) from our truth and our demand for it.
This figuration of Woman, however, is not the dialectical other used to sustain the identity and privilege of Man. On the contrary, this Woman is an Other Woman: A Third Woman as a Third Sophistic practice that escapes Plato’ s binary (philosophic rhetoric vs. sophistry) and renders the distinction between truth and deception incalculable. Ballif examines three figurations of the Third Woman as Third Sophistic as offered by Gorgias, Friedrich Nietzsche, and Jean Baudrillard.
Michelle Ballif is an assistant professor of English at the University of Georgia. She is coeditor (with Michael G. Moran) of Twentieth-Century Rhetorics and Rhetoricians and (with Victor J. Vitanza) of Realms of Rhetoric.


Called “OS X Lion Ultimatum”, it may be one of the most advanced iOS themes that’s available out there. It’s currently in beta but will cost $3.50 and require Dreamboard and a jailbreak.
You can follow development over at MyMyi Forums but it should be released soon.
Screenshots don’t do it as much justice, be sure to watch the two videos embedded below to get a full grasp on how convincing the theme is.
Hopefully the themes Mission Control function will also turn into an application switcher, making it even more authentic, but it’s still very impressive as is. No wonder Apple is busy hiring people out of the jailbreak scene!
That’s nice but the buttons and navigations are too small for fingers.
@Parakeet: How does somethnig “Look” buggy?
it looks good on the demo, but its very very not user friendly to the finger, the buttons are all just toooo small and hard to press, it’s a good buy but trust me, you wont be using it for long. There must be reason why apple wont make the exact same design on iPhone. 1st, due to iphone small screen ! 2nd, its 2 different devices !
Hi and warning to all reading this article..
i would whole heartedly request this item is removed from all blogs soonest before more people are ripped off.
This is not a polite request….
my email is included so feel free to email me about this.
Add to that this would be illegal because they are ripping off Apple’s Mac OS interface and making people pay. No one has the right to reproduce the Mac interface except for Apple.
First of all, Cydia is illegal.
Second of all, the creator never said he created Mac OS X and he doesn’t own the rights.
Lastly, google “hackintosh”. That’s illegal. But it still exists.
Does it also work with the iPad?
I need help! I purchased this theme, but as a novice I have absolutely NO idea how to install it and get it running!
I bought sirtimothy1’s Dreamboard theme when it got released and got so pleased with it !
– this theme is very RAM-greedy (Dreamboard themes are RAM eaters) due to the extensive coding done within to tweak IOS.
The graphics are soooo well achieved, the menus very nice too. It is true that the menus require petite fingers, or several attempts to launch some of theme, but it definitely is a must buy. Specially if you’ve become Mac addict. I am.
can this be done on the ipad?
It seems no. I browsed through dreamboard’s ipad theme, os lion is not on the list.
I would only put this on my ipad if it is possible. Seems to small for a phone but on the iPad it would be perfect.
Looks so cool! I tried to buy it but it just said “We are unable to complete your requst at this time. Please try again later.” Did this happen to anyone? If so what do i need to do to get this theme!
same problem encountered. My Pay Pal account is fine on its own.


‘Tis the season for giving and that’s just what Robert “Kid Rock” Ritchie did! 350 Nashville-area families got the surprise of a lifetime when the musician paid off more than $81,000 in layaways at his local Walmart.
Kid Rock was inspired by actor and producer Tyler Perry who recently spent more than $430,000 worth of layaways at two Atlanta-area Walmarts. The actor had hopes of his good deed remaining anonymous, but word quickly spread of his generosity. Perry took to Twitter to confirm the rumors and wish the recipients of his gifts a Merry Christmas.
Kid Rock responded to Perry’s tweet with a message of his own letting everyone know that he followed Perry’s lead and extended holiday blessings to some of his fellow Nashville residents.
One of the recipients of Kid Rock’s kindness responded to his tweet and revealed that they were going to have to forego their children’s Christmas gifts that were on layaway in order to pay rent. But, thanks to Kid Rock their kids were going to have Christmas gifts and a roof over their heads.
Numerous other layaways around the country have been paid off by anonymous donors in recent weeks. In Reno, Nevada, a secret Santa paid off more than $46,000 worth of layaways. Another generous individual spent nearly $30,000 to pay off layaways at a Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, Walmart. A mystery donor last week paid off all of the Christmas layaway items at a Walmart in Uniondale, New York. Another donor did the same last month at a Walmart in Derby, Vermont.
The surge in secret Santa layaway payoffs coincides with Walmart’s deadline. The store only offers layaway from September until mid-December. This year’s payoff deadline is Monday, December 10.


A few miles from downtown is true, but far away from the hustle and bustle too! This restful, waterfront cabin is on Lost Lake…a lake known for its natural beauty, good fishing and is much quieter than the chain lakes. Clean, rustic 2 bedroom, 1 bath cabin that comfortably sleeps 4 but can handle 6 with the pull-out sofa. Enjoy the screen porch, fire pit, and docking space for you own boat. Gone Fish Inn boasts of a sandy swimming area and tremendous views of the entire lake. Have a large group wanting to rent? In addition to Gone Fish Inn, we have two other rentals available…The Otter Place and our newly constructed lake home…Whitetail Ridge. We have been vacationing at Lost Lake for many years with family and friends and hope you’ll make this your getaway location for years to come. Gone Fish Inn is non-smoking.


If you use Outlook 2007 or newer, you can enable the spam filter to label unwanted email as spam. VIPRE uses a built-in anti-spam engine and allows you to add specific email addresses and domains that will also filter Spam. When an email is received from an unwanted source, VIPRE will prepend the Subject of the email with "[SPAM]."
Note: Spam filtering is available with Outlook only.
2. Once Email Protection is on, switch on Spam Filtering for Outlook.
3. Click Manage Filters to label specific domains or email addresses as Safe or Blocked.
5. Enter an email address or a domain. For example, sender@domain.com or domain.com.
6. Designate the sender as Safe or Blocked.
Safe: VIPRE's built-in engine will not label a Spam email as Spam. This is only necessary if you are receiving email that is labeled as Spam.
Blocked: VIPRE will prepend the Subject of this email with "[SPAM]."


Homes For You are to offer A Newly refurbished 3 Bed terrace house located in the Ifield with good access to Gatwick, the property comprises of 2 doubles, 1 single bedroom, large living room, modern and spacious kitchen /diner room leading the sun room and comes with a modern bathroom with a shower over the bath, rear garden and a shed for storage .The property benefits from new lighting, and new flooring, gas central heating and double gazing. Available 05/03/2019. Unfurnished. PETS WELCOME.


Trading on the stock market remains a great way to make money in the long run. It can seem impossible to achieve success, however, given the difficulty of predicting market fluctuations. This article will give you a variety of tips that you can implement to become more successful in the stock market.
Make a habit of buying good stocks and holding on to them. Rapid trading can rack up costs, fees and taxes very quickly. Traders who engage in this kind of behavior also tend to try to time fluctuations in market pricing to capitalize on short-term gains. In addition to being risky, this means investing in companies they have not researched, which you probably do not have the time to do every day.
When it comes to purchasing shares, there are two distinct types to choose from: preferred shares and common shares. There is a greater risk factor of losing money with investing in common shares if the company you own shares in goes out of business. The reason for this is that bond holders, creditors and those who own preferred stocks will be first in line to regain some of their money from a company that stops functioning since they have a higher ranking than a common shareholder.
A general tip that all beginners should use is to avoid buying stocks that cost less than $15 per share. When starting out, you generally don’t want to invest in companies that aren’t leading their field and those companies that are, are most definitely going to cost much more than $15 a share.
Stocks are much more than just pieces of paper, and you need to keep this in mind. When you’re buying a share, you are buying a share of the ownership in that company. Collectively, all of the shareholders own the company, and every share represents a claim on their earnings and assets.
Be clear headed and grounded in your investing. Cold truths and hard realities will present themselves often in market swings, and accepting them calmly is a better investing tool than any trading platform can ever be. Identify your goals, know exactly what has to occur to get you to that milestone. Plan your journey and start walking.
Set-it-and-forget-it might be a great mentality for the percentage of your income you invest and how often you invest, but not if you are choosing your own stocks. Always keep your eyes open for new investment possibilities. Twenty years ago, the world barely knew what the Internet and wireless phones were, and now they are commonplace. Do not miss out on rising companies and sectors.
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This recipes serves 4 people.
Cover the buckwheat in a generous amount of salted water, place on a moderate heat and bring to the boil. Simmer gently for 14 minutes, and then add the peas for a final 2 minutes. Drain and allow the steam to billow off as much as possible. I find it really helpful to spread the buckwheat and peas onto a few squares of kitchen paper to dry out, avoiding a soggy salad.
If the almonds need toasting preheat the oven to 180 degrees and toast for 6 minutes. Allow these to cool slightly before coarsely chopping.
Bring a generous amount of salted water to a rapid boil for the asparagus, and have a bowl of iced water at the ready. Remove the bottom inch of each asparagus if needs be, and blanch in boiling water for 45 seconds before draining and shocking in the iced water. Spread these on kitchen roll too.
Finely chop the fresh mint and crumbled the feta.
For the lemon vinaigrette simply shake up all the ingredients in an old jam jar.
When you’re ready to eat simply dress combine all the ingredients in a large bowl (with the exception of the almonds, a little of the feta and the micro leaves). Pour over the vinaigrette and mix well before transferring to your serving bowl.
Garnish with the chopped almonds, micro leaves, and a little sprinkling of the reserved feta cheese. This salad is entirely brought to life by this pea and mint hummus; serve the two together for the perfect veggie summer lunch.


Taste of Newark

Taste of Newark

9/24/17, 12 - 3 p.m.

Old College Lawn (Rain location: Clayton Hall)

Taste buds will be happy at the 14th annual Taste of Newark. Delaware’s premier food and wine festival will take place on Sunday, September 24, from noon – 3 p.m. on Old College Lawn at the University of Delaware. Guests will enjoy a wide variety of culinary delights from more than three-dozen of Newark’s restaurants, as well as tastings from local vineyards and breweries.


Who is the Chief Minister of Jammu & Kashmir ?
Omar Abdullah is the Chief Minister of Jammu & Kashmir since 05 Jan 2009.
UMAR ABDULLAH is the chief minister of Jammu & kasmir.
Who is the Chief Minister of Meghalaya ?
Who is the Chief Minister of Goa ?
Who is the present Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh?
Who was the first women Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh?
Who sworn in as the 27th Chief Minister of Karnataka?
Name the former chief minister of Meghalaya who passed away recently.
who is the chief justice of India.
Who is the Reliance ADAG chief?


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# frozen_string_literal: true

module Jobs

  class ConfirmSnsSubscription < ::Jobs::Base
    sidekiq_options retry: false

    def execute(args)
      return unless raw = args[:raw].presence
      return unless json = args[:json].presence
      return unless subscribe_url = json["SubscribeURL"].presence

      require "aws-sdk-sns"
      return unless Aws::SNS::MessageVerifier.new.authentic?(raw)

      # confirm subscription by visiting the URL
      open(subscribe_url)
    end

  end

end


WASHINGTON — People who believe Princess Diana was murdered or that John F. Kennedy's assassination was an elaborate plot are more likely to think that vaccines are unsafe, despite scientific evidence to the contrary, according to research published by the American Psychological Association.
"Vaccinations are one of society's greatest achievements and one of the main reasons that people live about 30 years longer than a century ago," said lead researcher Matthew Hornsey, PhD, of the University of Queensland. "Therefore, it is fascinating to learn about why some people are so fearful of them."
The study is the first to test the relationship between conspiracy beliefs and antivaccination attitudes among a global sample, according to Hornsey. The research was published in the journal Health Psychology.
Hornsey and his co-authors surveyed 5,323 people from 24 countries on five continents using online questionnaires between March 31 and May 11, 2016, measuring antivaccination attitudes and belief in four conspiracy theories: that Princess Diana was murdered; that the American government knew about the 9/11 attacks in advance and chose to let them happen; that a shadowy group of elites exist to plot a new world order; and that John F. Kennedy was murdered as part of an elaborate plot.
Those with strong beliefs in conspiracies were most likely to hold antivaccination attitudes regardless of where they lived. For example, the more people believed that Princess Diana was murdered, the more negative attitudes they had about vaccinations. In contrast, level of education had a very small impact on antivaccination attitudes.
"People often develop attitudes through emotional and gut responses," Hornsey said. "Simply repeating evidence makes little difference to those who have antivaccination attitudes."
Large pharmaceutical companies, which profit from selling vaccines, are often targets for conspiracy theorists, said Hornsey. "For many conspiracy theorists, profits gained are a sign that the system is broken and the truth is being covered up by vested interests."
"Trying to reduce people's conspiracy beliefs is notoriously difficult," Hornsey said. "An alternative possibility is to acknowledge the possibility of conspiracies, but to highlight how there are vested interests on the other side too; vested interests that are motivated to obscure the benefits of vaccination and to exaggerate their dangers."
Anti-vaccination attitudes were also associated with intolerance of those who limit their freedom, disgust toward blood and needles and an individualistic worldview, according to the study.
Article: "The Psychological Roots of Anti-Vaccination Attitudes: A 24-Nation Investigation," by Matthew Hornsey, PhD, Emily Harris, PhD, and Kelly Fielding, PhD, University of Queensland. Health Psychology, published Feb. 1, 2018.
The American Psychological Association, in Washington, D.C., is the largest scientific and professional organization representing psychology in the United States. APA's membership includes nearly 115,700 researchers, educators, clinicians, consultants and students. Through its divisions in 54 subfields of psychology and affiliations with 60 state, territorial and Canadian provincial associations, APA works to advance the creation, communication and application of psychological knowledge to benefit society and improve people's lives.


Tips for Sellers

Thinking of Selling your Home?

1. Just Want To Do It: You want some new features in a home to improve your family’s quality of life, but you don’t want to leave your current home.

2. Really Need To Do It: You want to make your home more marketable to maximize return (or minimize loss) and speed up the sale process.

In the right market conditions, a project might fit into both categories. Other times, though, the two approaches will conflict:

Just Want To Do It: In situation A, the project is perceived as a necessary or worthwhile improvement to your family’s lifestyle. Say you have two or three teenagers in the family and the morning bathroom situation is completely out of control. It doesn’t matter if an additional bath generates a 150 percent return on investment or actually decreases the value of the home (unlikely, unless you’re a completely incompetent do-it-yourselfer with a bizarre design sense). The economic impact just doesn’t matter. If you have the money for a new bath and you don’t want to move, you add the bath. It’s that simple.

Or say you’re a barbecue fanatic and the only feature missing from the dream home you’ve just purchased is a sprawling backyard patio with a natural-gas grill custom-built with flagstone and river rock. Again, return on investment just isn’t going to be a critical question. The improvement becomes more comparable to purchasing a depreciating asset that you feel is a necessity for your lifestyle, such as an automobile. When the barbecue aficionado adds a deluxe patio to a home that’s already the most expensive property in the neighborhood – perhaps destroying the entire backyard in the process – there’s a good chance that very little of the cost will be recouped in a subsequent sale.

An even better example might be a pool. If you’re a person who simply has to have one- fine. Put in a pool. But it’s probably worth checking with a real estate professional first, just to make sure you fully understand that adding the pool might actually lessen the property’s value and make it more difficult to sell should you later decide to move. That’s the reality in many markets. That doesn’t necessarily mean you shouldn’t do it, especially if you’re planning to live in the home for the rest of your life. It just means it’s worth knowing the cost and salability impacts at the front end – even if they’re not going to deter you from pursuing the project.

Really Need To Do It – The “type-B” home improvement project is pursued primarily to increase the property’s salability. In turn, this often increases your return on investment. A good real estate agent can advise you of possible improvements that will attract more potential buyers and also pay for themselves either through increasing the home’s value or through shortening the time it takes to sell the home.

Here we’re typically talking about projects such as: painting – either because the existing paint is in bad shape or is an unusual color; replacing carpets – again because of age, color or style; repairing or resurfacing a cracked driveway or sidewalk; refacing kitchen cabinets; and trimming or removing overgrown or unattractive landscaping.

While spending several thousand dollars on your home right before you sell it might not sound very appealing, it’s not uncommon for the right work to more than pay for itself in a higher selling price and shorter marketing time.

Consult with an experienced real estate agent to learn what improvements will make your home more marketable in comparison to similar properties that are now – or recently have been – on the market in your area.


Eric Hobsbawm, who died on October 1, 2012, was one of a handful of extraordinary labor historians who emerged from the British Communist Party Historians' Group in the 1940s and 1950s. Today he is widely acknowledged as one of the great historians of our era. His influence is truly international. For a long time, a significant limitation on the extent of his renown was the USSR where, during the era of “actually-existing socialism,” his works were never translated or published. This was ironic since he was a card-carrying member of the Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB) from 1936 until its dissolution in 1991.
1. Shortly after the interview was transcribed, it was edited and approved by Eric Hobsbawm.
2. Hobsbawm, Eric, “The General Crisis of the European Economy in the 17th Century,” Past & Present 5 (1954): 33–53 and “The Crisis of the Seventeenth Century,” Past and Present 6 (1954): 44–65. For the modern state of the debate, see Parker, Geoffrey and Smith, Lesley M., The General Crisis of the Seventeenth Century, 2nd edition (New York, 1987).
3. Hobsbawm, Eric, “The British Standard of Living Debate, 1790–1850,” Economic History Review 10 (1957): 46–68.
4. Hobsbawn, Eric, Bandits (New York, 1969), 30.
5. Hobsbawm, Eric and Rudé, Georges, Captain Swing: A Social History of the Great English Agricultural Uprising of 1830 (New York, 1968), 15.
6. Primitive Rebels: Studies in Archaic Forms of Social Movements in the 19th and 20th Centuries (Manchester, 1959); Hobsbawm, Eric and Rudé, Georges, Captain Swing (New York, 1968).
7. For some critiques of Hobsbawm's approach by social and economic historians and anthropologists, see Blok, Anton, The Mafia of a Sicilian Village, 1860–1960: A Study of Violent Peasant Entrepreneurs (New York, 1975) and Mintz, Jerome R., The Anarchists of Casas Viejas (Bloomington, 1994).
8. Hobsbawm, Eric, The Age of Revolution, 1789–1848 (London, 1962); The Age of Capital, 1848–1875 (London, 1975); The Age of Empire, 1875–1914 (London, 1987); The Age of Extremes, 1914–1991 (New York, 1995), 178.
9. Hobsbawm, Eric ed., Pre-Capitalist Economic Formations: Karl Marx (New York, 1964); Marx, Karl, Grundrisse (New York, 1968).
10. Forgacs, David, ed., The Antonio Gramsci Reader Selected Writings, 1916–1935 (New York, 1988).
11. Cohen, G. A., Karl Marx's Theory of History: A Defence (Princeton, 1978).
12. Eric Hobsbawm, “Interview,” 7.
13. Hobsbawm, The Age of Extremes, 178.
14. See the accompanying interview.
15. Hobsbawm, The Age of Revolution.
16. Hobsbawm, Eric, Interesting Times: A Twentieth Century Life (New York, 2002), 291.
17. Hobsbawm, Eric, “From Social History to the History of Society,” Daedalus 100 (1971): 20–45; and Hobsbawm, Eric, “Looking Back Half a Century,” in Histories of Labour: National and International Perspectives, eds. Allen, Joan, Campbell, Alan, and Mcllroy, John (London, 2010), 1–5, 5.
18. Industry and Empire: From 1750 to the Present Day (London, 1968); His three volumes, The Age of Revolution: 1789–1848, The Age of Capital: 1848–1875, and The Age of Empire: 1875–1914) along with its sequel, The Age of Extremes: The Short Twentieth Century, 1914–1991.
19. Hobsbawm, The Age of Capital, 2.
22. Hobsbawm, Interesting Times, 86.
23. Bobbio, Norbert, Which Socialism? Marxism, Socialism and Democracy (Minneapolis, 1987).
24. Hobsbawm, Eric, “The Forward March of Labour Halted,” in The Foreign March of Labour Halted, ed. Hobsbawm, Eric, (London, 1978), 1.
25. Hobsbalm, Eric, Politics of a Rational Left (New York, 1989), 165.
26. Hobsbawm, Interesting Times, 276.
27. Eric Hobsbawm, “Eric Hobsbawm: A Life in Quotes,” The Guardian, October 1, 2012.
28. Hobsbawm, Eric, “The Prospects for Democracy,” in Globalisation, Democracy and Terrorism, Hobsbawm, Eric, ed. (New York, 2007), 95–114, 113.
29. Eric Hobsbawm and Jacques Attalli, “The New Globalisation Guru?” The New Statesman, September 27, 2010.


This Table is meant bring us into communion, and we don’t get to choose who eats here.
In your feeding and healing, you sat your people in green pastures feeding them the Bread of Life and leading them to the Living Water.
The meal has been prepared and you are invited to come and take your place at the table.