Keste delivers proven, award-winning solutions for our Fortune 500 and Forbes 2000 customers. With hundreds of successful implementations completed, Keste is able to deliver complete solutions that bring real business value and accelerate enterprise business strategy. Review the latest case studies from Keste below.


Nozzle thrust tests with altitude simulation.
Direct or reverse jet model engine calibration, with simulation of the wind tunnel test conditions.
Thrust reversers calibrations and jet angularities.
Cylindrical sealed vessel, diameter 2.5 m, length 15 m.
air storage: 9,500 m3 at 9 bar and 109 m3 at 270 bar.
possible vacuum setting by ejector effect (Bertin ejector or using the tested nozzle itself).
Mass flow control and temperature control of the two jets.
Separate control of the pressure upstream of the fan, of the model engine RPM and of the nozzle exit pressure.
Test rigs checking using reference nozzles.
Jet thrust vector measurement (module and angularity).
Steady measurements = 64 analog channels, 16 bits A/D converter, digital lowpass filtering with a bandwidth from 0.01 to 10 Hz. Steady accuracy ±1 mV, resolution 0.3mV.
On demand, unsteady measurements = 64 analog channels at 100 kHz per channel. 12 bits A/D converter, digital lowpass filtering with a bandwidth from 0 to 20 kHz (if necessary the number of channels can be increased).
Steady pressures = 992 channels (by DTC PSI®, system 8400).
Load measurement by ONERA six components balances (decoupling device for air flow crossing through).
Sonic throat mass flow meters for the primary and fan jets.
Thrust coefficient: ± 0,15 % in 81 % of the test cases.


Here's a look at some Sports & Fitness groups near Northport.
Let's Try A Martial Art (Aikido)!
RISING TOGETHER! Hike , Explore , Expand & Share!
Movin' & Groovin' On Merrick Mt.
Westchester Kickball, Volleyball, Soccer, and Much More!
Stamford and Norwalk Kickball, Dodgeball and Soccer!
Healthy Fit for Women in Mamaroneck!
782 Badass Women who want more!


We're excited to announce that we've been named an Applicant Tracking Solutions (ATS) Category Leader by GetApp – a place to review, compare, and evaluate business software solutions. GetApp, a Gartner company, takes into consideration a handful of requirements when analyzing each quarter's top ATS solutions. Below we take a look at a few of those, and the importance of each one when choosing an ATS.
Genuine, real-life user reviews can give you a feel for what a product is really like in it's day to day instance. While a demo can show you all of the flashy features, a user review will give you a true sense of how the ATS will work for you in it's every day and more complex functions. Check out the review from Josh Emkes, a HRIS Analyst, that helped make Jobvite a leading ATS.
Possibly one of the least talked about features, but one of the most important for users and their candidates is security. There is an immense amount of trust placed with any software choice, whether that's an ATS, a CRM, or Marketing Automation – with the emphasis placed on the end user's privacy. Want to learn how we blew the competition out of the water with our security advancements? Click here.
Having a collaborative team, starts with collaborative software. When your ATS is integrated smoothly with other software programs, it adds to your team's overall collaboration and efficiency. We've been working with other key partners in the HR sphere for years. A few of our favorite applications that we're integrated with include, ADP Workforce, BambooHR, Bitium, Facebook, Google Analytics, Google Calendar, Halogen Software, HireSelect, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Workday.
Looking for a new recruiting software? Check out this step-by-step guide that covers all the critical questions you need to ask: 7 Questions to Ask When You're Buying Recruiting Software.


What You Will Get From The Longevity Blueprint?
Does Ben Greenfield The Longevity Blueprint Review Really Work? Is The Longevity Blueprint worth your time and money? Does The Longevity Blueprint Scam Or Really Work? Is it Risky?
Are you waiting for a healthy life? Do you have enough to visit pharmacies and hospitals? A healthy life means a long life. Everyone wants to see their wonderful children before they leave Earth. It might be difficult to spend a lot of time in the gym and also search for an efficient coach to train you. To live your dreams, you need not only knowledge but also health. They should have a solid foundation for the whole healthy life. It's about the longevity plan, Ben Greenfield's source program. So, The author Experience The Rapid Science-Based Biohacks Ben Greenfield Uses With World Class Athletes, Top CEOs, And Other Top-Performers To Effortlessly Level Up Your Health, Wellbeing, And Longevity. This wonderful book, which focuses on everyone, is a matter of health care. All you need to do is review my review and find out more about this application.
However, Lifetime Assessment's goal is to provide a comprehensive health transformation involving four main stones: fitness, health, beauty, and durability. So, This search is an easy-to-follow process of systematically improving your overall well-being to help you build a body that looks, develops and maintains its full potential.
The Longevity Blueprint Quest is an easy way to follow your journey to improve your fitness, health, beauty and life expectancy. So, Every day for 8 weeks you will have a 15-20 minute micro session online or self-study with Ben Greenfield. During the first week of this program, So, Ben will help you prepare for everything you need to make the most of this mission and offer cost-effective solutions. Every day is based on the previous one and enjoy a pleasant sense of progress with minimal time.
The exercise will start in 2019. April 1. From that day and for the next 60 days you will be training every day from Ben and his team in the Mindvalley mobile program or dashboard. So, You will receive an e-mail one day before the program. During each session, you will see a simple strategy, technique or biohack that are fun and can be easily incorporated into your schedule as a normal habit of quickly correcting your important aspect of general well-being.
The program also provides a Mobile App that is supporting Android and iOS.
Longevity Blueprint also provides a free iPad.
It will provide a long lasting result.
This program is able to easily understand and follow.
This program will transform the entire lifestyle.
You can access it only online.
As a result, we can conclude that it is one of the highly recommended programs that will give optimal health and strength to your body. With Longevity Blueprint Quest you will get train one of the world's leading institutions of bureaucracy and longevity. So, The instructors have experience in improving the health of some of the best performers in the world – from NHL and NFL athletes, managers, extreme endurance rivals, and even poker players. They have given you 10 risk-free days to try it and so you can decide if it's for you. So clicking on the below link to access this program.
Does Ben Greenfield The Longevity Blueprint Review Really Work? Is The Longevity Blueprint worth your time and money? Is this The Longevity Blueprint Scam Or Really Work? Is it Risky?


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Packed with rich, essential natural nutrients to nourish and moisturize hair, the Pureology Hydrate Superfood Treatment is a moisturizing hair mask for dry, colour-treated hair that moisturizes and softens. The Superfood recipe works to create a smooth, shiny and frizz-free look and feel.
The Hydrate Superfood Treatment formula is made with essential nutrients such as Avocado Oil and Coconut Oil to nourish and moisturize dry hair while strengthening the surface of the hair. Created with color-treated hair in mind, the exclusive Antifade Complex® provides hair colour protection. The aromatherapy blend of orange, citrus, pineapple and leafy green creates an invigorating experience. Treat yourself with the perfect recipe for dry and damaged hair!


Unbonded flexible pipelines are commonly used in offshore field developments to transport oil and gas to production facilities. Sand is an inevitable byproduct from oil-and-gas production. Sand erosion has become an important concern for both design of new field developments and prolongation of existing oil-and-gas fields, especially for fields with low mixture density and high velocities. Erosion in smooth pipes can be determined with industry-standard erosion-prediction methodologies. However, these models are usually valid for smooth pipes only, with limited information available on erosion in flexible pipes. This paper presents experimental results from a large-scale erosion test of an unbonded flexible pipe. A 9.75-in. inner-diameter (ID) flexible pipe with a bending radius of 2.5 m was exposed to sand and proppant particles at velocities ranging from 30 to 47 m/s. Erosion was determined by performing weight-loss measurements at selected cut-out windows, at 0, 20, 40, 60, and 80° along the outer periphery of the carcass. In addition, microscopy analysis was performed on selected eroded carcass pieces to determine the localized erosion contour of the flexible carcass geometry. Results show that the highest erosion is found at the leading edge of the carcass strip. Experimental results are compared with computational-fluid-dynamics (CFD) simulations and industry-standard erosion-prediction methodologies.
ANSYS CFX Version 14.0. 2011. www.ansys.com.
API RP 17B. Recommended Practice for Flexible Pipe, fifth edition. 2014. Washington, DC: American Petroleum Institute.
Arabnejad, H., Mansouri, A., Shirazi, S. A. et al. 2015. Development of Mechanistic Equation for Solid Particles. Wear 332–333: 1044–1050. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wear.2015.01.031.
DNV GL Recommended Practice, DNVGL-RP-O501. 2015. Managing Sand Production and Erosion, https://rules.dnvgl.com/docs/pdf/dnvgl/RP/2015-08/DNVGL-RP-O501.pdf (August 2015).
Haugen, K., Kvernvold, O., Ronold, A, et al. 1995. Sand Erosion of Wear-Resistant Materials: Erosion in Choke Valves. Wear 186–187 (Part 1): 179–188. https://doi.org/10.1016/0043-1648(95)07158-X.
Levy, A. and Chik, P. 1983. The Effect of Erodent Composition and Shape on the Erosion of Steel. Wear 89 (2): 151–162. https://doi.org/10.1016/0043-1648(83)90240-5.
Oka, Y. I., Okamura, K., and Yoshida, T. 2005. Practical Estimation of Erosion Damage Caused by Solid Particle Impact. Part 1: Effects of Impact Parameters on a Predictive Equation. Wear 259: 95–101. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wear.2005.01.039.
Oka, Y. I. and Yoshida, T. 2005. Practical Estimation of Erosion Damage Caused by Solid Particle Impact. Part 2: Mechanical Properties of Materials Directly Associated With Erosion Damage. Wear 259: 102–109. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wear.2005.01.040.
Parsi, M., Najmi, K., Najafifard, F. et al. 2014. A Comprehensive Review of Solid Particle Erosion Modeling for Oil and Gas Wells and Pipelines and Applications. Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering 21: 850–873. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jngse.2014.10.001.
PSA-Norway. 2007. Flexible Pipes. Failure Modes, Inspection, Testing and Monitoring. Report P5996-RPT01-Rev02.
Tilly, G. 1973. A Two-Stage Mechanism of Ductile Erosion. Wear 23 (1): 87–96. https://doi.org/10.1016/0043-1648(73)90044-6.


text:
"Well, That's It." 96-Year-Old DJ Bids Farewell in Hong Kong
In this photo provided by Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK), Ray Cordeiro, also known as Uncle Ray, gestures after he finished his last show "All The Way with Ray" at the studio in RTHK, the broadcaster in Hong Kong on Feb.15, 2021. (Radio Television Hong Kong via AP)
HONG KONG— After more than seven decades in radio, a 96-year-old Hong Kong DJ bid farewell to his listeners Saturday with "Time to Say Goodbye," sung by Sarah Brightman and Andrea Bocelli.
"Well that's it. Thank you very much for tuning in, goodbye, thank you for coming," Ray Cordeiro said in both English and Cantonese before signing off ahead of the 1 a.m. news.
It was the coda to a radio career that began 72 years ago, and a more than 50-year run for his show "All the Way with Ray," which started on public broadcaster RTHK in 1970. Along the way, he rubbed shoulders with the likes of Tony Bennett, the Beatles and Cliff Richard and nurtured rising Hong Kong pop stars such as Sam Hui.
In 2000, the Guinness Book of World Records acknowledged Cordeiro as "The World's Most Durable DJ."
Affectionately called "Uncle Ray," Cordeiro is known for his deep, calm voice, trademark flat cap, and easy listening repertoire. For his last show, he spun a variety of tunes from the the Carpenters, Perry Como and Louis Armstrong, among others. He was born in Hong Kong of Portuguese descent.
"I think I'm the luckiest man in the world," he said in an interview with RTHK earlier this week. "To do what I want to do, to love what I want to love, and I don't think I have any regrets."
Meat Loaf, "Bat out of Hell" Rock Superstar, Dies at 74
NEW YORK — Meat Loaf, the rock superstar loved by millions for his "Bat Out of Hell" album and for such theatrical, dark-hearted anthems as "Paradise By the Dashboard Light," "Two Out of Three Ain't Bad," and "I'd Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That)," has died.
Spears Case Drives California Bid to Limit Conservatorships

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Q: how to add multiple blocks in tkinter - python i have the following block of code:
ttk.Label(self.tab, text='tab1', width = 10).grid(row=1, column=0)

login1 = Entry(self.tab)
login1.grid(row=1, column=1, ipadx="20")

pwd1 = Entry(self.tab, show="*")
pwd1.grid(row=1, column=2, ipadx="20")

ttk.Label(self.tab, text='tab2', width = 10).grid(row=1, column=0)

login2 = Entry(self.tab)
login2.grid(row=1, column=1, ipadx="20")

pwd2 = Entry(self.tab, show="*")
pwd2.grid(row=1, column=2, ipadx="20")

And don't know why but the second label overwrites the first one, I see only one label in the program.
Does anyone know what's causing this ?
My goal is to display some forms where user can fill up the form and save it into the file.
Will be thankful for your support,

A: The first and the second label are in the same frame (self.tab) and grid in the same row (row=1 for both) and column (column=0 for both):
Please, change the row of the first label:
ttk.Label(self.tab, text='tab1', width = 10).grid(row=0, column=0)

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


It's a travel edition! This time we talk about people who just can't let go.
Ana talks about married couple Xiaoye "Alex" Wang and Tianle "Heidi" Li. With divorce looming, the situation takes a strange turn and it seems like it may be 'until death do us part' after all. Jonatan shares the story of an art heist in Rotterdam involving Picasso, Gauguin, Matisse, Monet, Meijer de Haan and Freud. It may not be murder, but the tale ends in tragedy.
Don't forget to reach out to us on Twitter, @crimebythebar, or share you suggestions and stories by email, crimebythebar@gmail.com.
This week we talk about awful incidents in the workplace.
Jonatan covers the infamous Xerox killer in Honolulu, Hawaii who, after years of odd behaviour, goes on an office rampage killing with a 'to-do' list of co-workers.
Ana shares a case from London: Cathy Marlow heads to the office on a Saturday to catch up on work after returning from vacation. Just before leaving the office she runs into an ex-colleague who shouldn't be there. Things do not end well.
Later, we have English Mojitos (with elderflower, mint and lime) and talk about some stressful jobs.
As usual you can reach us on Twitter @crimebythebar or by email crimebythebar@gmail.com.
This week we're talking about crime movies: those that were inspired by crimes or inspired their own crimes.
Ana tells the real life tale of Frank Abagnale Jr, a con artist and forger whose criminal career started at 15. Frank passed himself off as a teacher, pilot, doctor and lawyer all before he was 21. He later had his story retold in the 2002 Spielberg film 'Catch Me If You Can'.
Jonatan is talking about Anthony Curcio who was inspired by 'The Thomas Crown Affair' to commit a robbery with a slew of decoys. With pepper spray, a tear-off costume and getaway by water Anthony almost pulled off the perfect crime… but it wasn't meant to be.


The National Secretary of the IWW, Dave Pike, introduces the fighting union, what it stands for and how it is winning victories for the working class – like higher wages for cleaners, permanency for temps and safety at work for fast food workers. The IWW sees the world as divided by the boss class and the working class, and no-one will fight for our class other than us. We organise so that workers can win for themselves and are not reliant on Union full timers or politicians to fight for them.
Come along to this event and find out what the IWW is doing in Europe and around the world, and how you can get involved. Fight for your class.
← Quick Win as Newcastle SolFed Launch Building Workers Campaign!


text:
Archive for the category "tennis"
A Tragic Tale of Alcoholism
Alcoholism is an insidious disease. Those with the hubris or self-delusional thinking to believe they can confront it and defeat it or manage it without professional help and community support, or who are oblivious, willfully or otherwise, toward recognizing their problem, invariably lose. That's not to say that people with alcoholism who choose to go it alone are senseless, just that they are human and flawed, and as such, stubborn, prideful, in denial, and resistant to surrender. This is the tragic story of one of them.
*Names have been changed.
I received a text message overnight from Monty*, the head tennis pro at a community recreation center near where I was teaching tennis for the summer at a seaside resort. We had met early in the vacation season to talk about whether he had need for assistance and whether I could work around my schedule to teach at his club.
As a last-minute replacement hire, Monty also struggled to find housing for his three-month gig, which is prohibitively expensive and scarce at the shore. So throughout the summer, it was common for him to text me to help him with his housing search or to let me know his teenage assistant wasn't working out and to ask whether I had any availability to teach.
But this text was different. It was shocking, but unfortunately, not entirely surprising: "Adam, I heard your friend Kevin* is no longer with us. If it's true, I'm sorry for your loss."
I didn't see the text until the morning, just before I started teaching for the day. When I got home, I searched online to see if I could find any confirmation of what Monty had relayed to me. I did. It was a sad, bizarre and surreal article in a Caribbean newspaper, but rang true to what I knew about my friend Kevin. Alcohol did him in.
The article described how Kevin had traveled to the Caribbean island from the U.S. Heartland in hopes of securing a tennis teaching job at an island resort. In unusually detailed reporting, the article also explained that Kevin was unable to land a job because he remained drunk all day and night, and had numerous cuts stitched up on his head from falls as testament to his non-stop drinking. According to the article, Kevin drowned in shallow waters beneath a coastal town's popular boardwalk, lined with restaurants and bars. By the time passers-by spotted him and pulled him out, he was gone. He was 61.
Kevin and I not only were roommates for summer 2016, but taught tennis alongside each other at the large coastal resort. We spent more time together than a married couple, especially since Kevin did not have a car. He said his car had some mechanical problems and that he did not want to take it on the long trip from the Midwest to the Atlantic shore. I took him at his word at the time, but now I suspect he might have lost his license due to drinking-related violations. It might have been one of those little lies he told others and himself to mask an unpleasant truth.
I took him on shopping and banking errands, restaurant outings and side trips, and we usually drove to work together, with his bike on the back of my car in case our departure times were different. He called me his "wing man" on social outings. We shared lunch breaks at the tennis center and barbeque dinners at home. When it rained, we sometimes taught side-by-side on the same indoor court. Together, we watched his favorite Midwestern teams compete in the NBA Playoffs and hockey's Stanley Cup at restaurants until our cable TV got hooked up, then from our couch.
When I first made Kevin's acquaintance by phone, I got the impression that Kevin, at age 60, was mellow and wise, a sage who would bring harmony to any situation. While that impression wasn't entirely inaccurate, it missed the mark. From the moment I met Kevin on my first day at the tennis resort, when he burst through the clubhouse doors sweaty and pepped up from his bike ride to the facility, and zeroed in on me immediately as his new roommate, colleague and man he had communicated with by phone and email for several months, I knew he was more like the proverbial "real pistol," a whirling dervish, belying his near-senior citizen status.
We were The Odd Couple – he the big-talking extrovert prone to braggadocio, the raconteur of uproarious stories, the unabashedly gutter-mouthed chatterer, the lifelong bachelor, the conqueror of beautiful women, the bon vivant, the energetic go-getter, the confident expert in his field; me the introvert, the married man with kids, the calm and contemplative one, the boring one satisfied to do solitary things at home and rest, the relative newbie at big-time tennis teaching who didn't know if he fit correctly within the zeitgeist of the profession. But somehow, the yin and yang worked; we played off each other like Felix and Oscar.
I've Got to Get out of this Place
Kevin – who introduced himself as "Coach Kev," the same as he was called by his students — got in touch with me in spring 2016, several months before we both showed up in the beach town as seasonal tennis instructors, to make my acquaintance and discuss strategies for searching for a place to live for the summer. We talked numerous times about our backgrounds and experiences, and our prospects for securing housing.
In the course of those discussions, Kevin revealed that he was an alcoholic, had attended Alcoholics Anonymous, had a sponsor, and had been sober for three years. He said he had been sidetracked from his tennis teaching and coaching career by an illness and death in his family, forcing him to return to his Midwestern hometown after globetrotting for two decades, bouncing around among eight states from the Southeast to the Mid-Atlantic to the Midwest to the Northeast, with an interlude in China.
In hindsight, I suspect that transient existence may have had something to do with Kevin's battles with alcohol.
He was eager to get away from what he called his "gloomy" Midwestern home state and a grunt-labor factory job he worked while caring for his family member to "build a nest egg" to jump-start a better life doing what he loved. The tennis court was his sanctuary.
"Can't wait to get out of here and to the beach!!!" he wrote in one email.
"Let's work hard and have some fun and learn something about each other and the rest of the team this summer," he wrote in another.
I secured a room for rent in a homeowner's house two miles inland from the beach, and connected Kevin with the homeowner Steve*, who rented Kevin the other available room.
The three of us became friends during the summer of 2016, engaging in fraternity-like banter about each other's social lives, eating and shopping habits, athletic prowess, and quirks. Kevin told stories about living with a trio of Swedish girls while working in a ski resort town and adventures in Alaska, where he claimed to be a friend of singer Jewel. We all laughed at Kevin and Steve's evening rituals of lawbreaking, when they would walk through neighbors' property to fish in the adjoining private golf course's pond and play the closest three holes as freeloading non-members, both activities prohibited.
Steve and I cracked up as Steve recounted Kevin's reaction when admonished by a golf course superintendent that fishing was not allowed on the golf course.
"What do you MEAN there's no fishing?!" Kevin bellowed incredulously to the golf course official, fishing line dangling in the water from the bank, as if those golf course fish were Kevin's God-given right to catch.
I still have the hilarious image in mind of Kevin striding purposefully down our neighborhood street, wearing his floppy fishing hat and fishing vest with dangling lures and hooks, wading pants and boots, fishing pole carried erect, looking comically out of place amid the trailers and modular homes with no river or lake within proximity. Invariably, he would come home in darkness with a fishing tall tale, immediately pulling out his cell phone to show me photos of and describe in vivid detail his evening's triumphs.
The Big Dog
On the tennis court, Kevin was intense and driven – perhaps too much so for a resort environment. He had a strong desire to demonstrate his knowledge and skill, and seemingly to show he was superior to other tennis coaches, The Big Dog, which appeared true but may have rubbed some the wrong way.
He sometimes became frustrated with lackadaisical players on his court during clinics, urging them, "Move, players, move!" Some liked to be pushed; others felt browbeaten – after all, they were on vacation, not training for Wimbledon. On occasion, when players failed to listen or couldn't understand instructions, Kevin would turn his back to players and perform the religious ritual of crossing his chest and looking toward the heavens in mock – or in his case, perhaps all too real — despair.
Kevin was an excellent tennis coach, with a knack for explaining technique, strategy, shot selection and court positioning in simple, succinct and understandable terms. Players who were truly interested in improving their games gravitated to him, booking private lessons. Parents who wanted to help their kids compete at a higher level often sought out Kevin to be their coach for a week or two, or intermittently during the summer, deeming him the instructor who could produce the most results.
I learned a lot from Kevin about tennis coaching and teaching. I often watched his lessons and took notes on his sayings, advice, instructions and drills. Invariably, Kevin would bring his day at work home with him, recounting each teaching hour of his day, analyzing individual players on his court and their idiosyncrasies, describing what went well and what didn't, and sharing his observations of other coaches, administrative staff and the entire tennis resort operations. He assumed the role of self-appointed management consultant and evaluator, seemingly unsatisfied to limit himself to his more narrow daily duties.
He would ask me about each of my clinic hours and students, and offer commentary on what he observed of my on-court performance. We often engaged in hours-long discussions on the finer points of tennis stroke production, doubles strategy and movement, ball-feeding patterns, purposeful drills, and how to keep clinics fast-paced, engaging and informative. He used his fingers to diagram and explain drills on our kitchen counter, moving them along the Formica® to demonstrate the flow.
His intensity and high standards often extended to the tennis club's administrative staff, which caused him anguish when he believed they were lax or did not communicate well, especially about scheduling and booking issues. "They're taking money out of my pocket," was Kevin's frequent refrain. As a result, tensions mounted between some of the young desk assistants, who may have felt intimidated or unfairly criticized, and Kevin, who expected a high level of professionalism. His reasonable but firmly delivered demands for accountability may have hurt him in the end.
Kevin was full of bluster and confidence. Even though he was 60, he approached the tennis teaching gig like he was 25, insisting with bravado that long hours on his feet in temperatures hovering around 90 were "a piece of cake." Recognizing his desire to work and customers' appreciation of his coaching skill, the club worked him hard. Some days, Kevin would start with an 8 a.m. lesson, and would finish with the 6 p.m. evening clinic, arriving home by bike at 7:30. The grind finally wore on him. "They're riding me like a mule!" he would confess, sweaty and red-faced.
Voluntary and Involuntary Transitions
As the summer wore on, Kevin realized it was time for him to search for his next gig, as our tennis center dramatically cut its teaching staff after Labor Day. After several weeks of negotiations, Kevin proudly announced that he had secured a tennis teaching job at a large Florida facility. Kevin, who came from a family of eight siblings, called one of his brothers to share the good news, and became frustrated when he was met with skepticism and disapproval.
Late at night, after the phone call, he knocked on my bedroom door, wanting to talk. He lamented that his brother and other siblings didn't share his joy in nabbing the Florida job, but instead seemed to want him to head back to his Midwestern home base and hunker down with something more stable and secure. He assured his brother that he was doing well, was happy and sober, and was excited about the new opportunity. Sad and reflective during our conversation, he seemed distraught by how difficult it had become to relate to close family members and their seeming lack of confidence in him and support for him, and needed an ear to bend. Coach Kevin was headstrong. He wasn't the kind to do what others wanted him to do with his life, and resented the insinuations that others knew what was best.
Soon after Kevin scored the new job and his distressing phone call, things began to unravel. I'm not sure if a slip from drinking abstinence precipitated trouble at our tennis club or trouble at the club precipitated drinking. As far as I could tell, Kevin had done a fantastic job staying sober, resisting temptations, grinding on the tennis court and keeping himself on track all summer.
But in August, Kevin was let go from his job. He received a call one morning, and left home early for work. During busy morning clinic hours, when Kevin typically could be heard five courts away barking instructions and exhorting his players, Kevin was nowhere to be found. At lunch, the tennis director and head pro pulled me aside, as a courtesy since I was Kevin's roommate, to let me know they had let him go that morning.
Relapse came fast and hard for Kevin, and with it, the ravages of alcoholism. Within a few days, his descent was so steep I couldn't even recognize the Kevin I knew, from confident, energetic, strong and outgoing to weak, bumbling, indecisive and lost. He was a shell of his former self. For several weeks after his firing, with nothing to occupy his time, Kevin's days revolved around drinking and were spent secretively in a drunken fog and the throes of violent physical illness, and in desperate but futile attempts to stop.
He knew he was sick and needed help, but refused to accept help from his roommates and a few other friends, always appreciating and thanking us for offers but never following through. He resisted regularly attending a nearby Alcoholics Anonymous meeting. He stubbornly persisted in his effort to slay the dragon on his own through sheer force of will, or maybe perversely preferring to wallow alone in misery as a form of self-punishment, shame and guilt. He startlingly and rapidly declined physically, lacking sleep and nutrition and looking like he had been in a barroom brawl from numerous cuts on his head, hands and legs incurred from falls, similar to what was reported in the Caribbean newspaper about his final weeks.
With prompting and help from Steve, Kevin got his act together enough to pack some of his stuff, buy a bus ticket to Florida, and hitch a ride to the bus depot with Steve for departure. But I suspected in his condition, his new venture would be doomed from the start.
An Unexpected Reunion?
Kevin and I left messages for each other several times in the fall, but had difficulty connecting. In messages and short conversations, it wasn't clear exactly what he was doing, but I gathered that Florida had not worked out and he ended up back at his Heartland home base.
Then, in spring 2017, he contacted me to let me know he was making a comeback, literally. He was up for two seasonal tennis director jobs at a country club and the planned community recreation center along the same stretch of Mid-Atlantic shore that we both worked the previous summer. He offered me to be his assistant during my off times at wherever he landed, knowing that I was returning to the bigger tennis resort at which we both had worked the previous summer as my main job. I said I was interested, but couldn't guarantee him anything, owing my allegiance contractually to my employer and working unpredictable schedules day-to-day.
He took the job at the community recreation center, keeping me updated on his programming plans and anticipated needs for an assistant pro. Once again itching to leave the gloomy Midwest behind, he arrived at the shore a good two months before the busy summer season began in earnest.
In one phone call before the summer season started, Kevin sounded particularly anxious and downbeat about his inability to find a reliable assistant, a lack of support and tennis industry knowledge on the part of the recreation center management, and the challenges of designing a schedule, implementing programs, establishing a budget and purchasing equipment. The responsibility all fell to him as a one-man operation, and he seemed to be feeling the pressure.
Within days, I got a call from Steve saying that Kevin had fallen off the wagon, had been hospitalized and had lost his tennis director's job, replaced in an emergency hire by Monty. He hadn't even made it to Memorial Day.
Kevin eventually caught a bus back home to the Midwest. I talked to him a couple of times while he was there. He told me ruefully that he "screwed up," that he was depressed and about to enter a 30-day rehab program, that if he didn't he feared he would die. But about a week later, I received a voice message from Kevin. In our previous conversation, he said he wouldn't be allowed to have a cell phone in rehab. I concluded he had decided not to attend rehab at all, or bailed or got kicked out after a few days.
I didn't hear from or about Kevin again for the rest of the summer, until I got the text late at night on September 1 from Monty, who had heard the news from the board president and manager of his recreation center/tennis club, where Kevin had preceded Monty as the short-lived tennis director.
In an odd and admittedly delusional way, I feel like maybe, just maybe, I could have changed the course of Kevin's life and saved him from his drunken stumble to his death off the gorgeous island's boardwalk. Maybe if I had been able to offer him more assurance that I could assist him in his new job at the shore, relieving some of his anxiety. Or perhaps if I had been in touch with him more frequently over the summer, providing him someone less judgmental than family members in whom to confide or vent fear and frustration. But I know that is unrealistic, fooling myself about having any power or influence over the death grip of alcohol and its captive. Without the alcoholic's full surrender to the indomitable potency of alcohol and to a power greater than oneself, bystanders can do little to save the alcoholic from himself. Lord knows, Kevin's many family members must have tried mightily to exert power or influence over the years, only to be rendered helpless in the end.
This is speculation, but my best guess is that Kevin had a tennis industry contact on the Caribbean island who encouraged him to relocate with the promise of leads for tennis teaching jobs. The newspaper article said Kevin stayed at a private residence on the island before moving into a hotel, a possible indication that drinking may have disrupted his stay with someone he knew.
Maybe Kevin wanted to make the ultimate escape, leaving behind the U.S. mainland, family, friends and acquaintances, and past job failures and bad memories, all together for a tropical paradise, where everybody is in good spirits, the slate is clean, and beauty abounds. Problem was, he couldn't escape himself and his disease. Ultimately, it appeared, he ended up in a place where nobody – or perhaps practically nobody — knew him, where he could blend into the scenery and surrender, willfully or not, to his vice and disease unfettered, instead of to a higher power, without the watchful eye or emergency intervention of anybody who cared, a paradise that paradoxically turned ultimately into his own private hell.
I haven't been able to stop thinking about Coach Kevin since I heard the news and found the article. It doesn't seem real, but more like "fake news." I keep thinking that I will hear from him again, about his next stop in his series of adventures, and to check in on me. But his disease was all too real.
Though he could drive me a little nuts with his hyper-analysis of our tennis teaching days and critiques of my performance – often backing off later saying, "Ahh, don't listen to me…I'm just trying to help ya" – I appreciated Coach Kevin as a one-of-a-kind character. I've never met another Coach Kevin in my life – the intensity, the bravado, the humor, the sailor's mouth, the entertaining stories, the wide-ranging opinions, the passions, the insights, the hard-learned wisdom, the friendliness, the complexity of his personality and being. He was one of those people you come across in life who you never forget, who makes an indelible impression. I was glad to call Coach Kevin my friend and I'll always remember him, even though we were so different and entered each other's lives late and for only a brief period.
I am deeply saddened by the loss of my friend. It would have been wonderful to keep in touch for years to come, sharing tales of new adventures and offering support and encouragement. The only solace is that Coach Kevin is free from the demon that he just could not tame despite what had to be many repeated Herculean, gut-wrenching efforts.
I imagine him looking down at me during my last few days teaching in the summer of 2017 and saying in his own inimitable, blunt-spoken way: "That lesson was miserable! What were you doing? I could have had that woman ripping topspin forehands into the corners in five minutes! Pow, pow, pow. Ahh, but don't listen to me…"
Posted in addiction, addictions, addictive behavior, alcohol abuse, Alcoholics Anonymous, alcoholism, anxiety, battling adversity, beach life, confidence, death, depression, drug abuse, fear, gig, gig economy, God, grace, higher power, job, job loss, mental health, midlife, moving on, passion, personality, recovery, rehab, relapse, seasonal job, struggle, substance abuse, summer job, surrender, tennis, tennis teacher, tennis teaching, tragedy, Uncategorized and tagged Alcoholics Anonymous, alcoholism, death, depression, drinking, friendship, higher power, substance abuse
Do the Limbo. Or, How to Be 'Comfortable with Ambiguity'
I am in limbo. Complete and utter limbo.
However, the bar is not set low and I am not trying to shimmy under. The bar is high and I am aspiring to clear it like a Fosbury Flop.
It's not supposed to be like this as a 54-year-old, according to societal expectations. I'm supposed to be settled, stable, predictable, a rock, boring in my steadiness. I chose another path, paved with uncertainty. It's come with a loss of income, stability and predictability. But I expect the payoff will come in the form of greater life and career satisfaction, and income growth ultimately will follow as I hopefully find passion in my work.
My limbo status is largely of my own design and in small part due to the bugaboo of bureaucracy.
I have 11 days left until my second summer teaching tennis at the Sea Colony resort in Bethany Beach, DE runs out on Labor Day and I return home, jobless and anxious but optimistic. I have spent nearly two years in the Gig Economy, ever since a non-amicable parting with a former employer allowed me to place more focus on a master's degree program in clinical mental health counseling and the two years of internships required to complete it, as part of a midlife career transition from public relations to counseling. I have been scrambling to piece together part-time, temporary and contractual jobs since I dropped out of the routine 9-to-5 world.
I graduated in May 2017, and expected that tennis teaching for 3 ½ months would provide the perfect bridge to the new career, allowing enough time for me to obtain the state license I need to be eligible to practice, get hired and begin work. But bureaucracy has brought that plan to a grinding halt, possibly leading me to the unemployment office rather than a counseling office, at least temporarily.
A long waiting period to get access to my "official verified" National Counselor Exam report has left my state license applications – and thus job prospects – in limbo, even though I have already been notified that I passed the exam. The blood pressure ticked a little higher each day over the last six weeks as I awaited an email notification from the national counselor certification body that my school transcript met all requirements, along with my exam score, for certification.
One former boss wrote in my annual performance review that I needed to be "comfortable with ambiguity." That was corporate speak for an organization refusing to accept accountability for its disorganization, poor leadership and incoherent, vacillating strategy. Ironically, now that I've left that organization, the advice applies.
My immediate future is ambiguous. I don't know where I'll be working as a counselor, or when. I don't know how long it will take state licensing boards to review my applications and grant a license. I don't even know what state I will be living in, as I have applied for license in Maryland and South Carolina.
So, what have I learned about being "comfortable with ambiguity?"
Take things one day at a time, as cliché as that may sound. Thinking too much about unknowns in the future produces excessive worry but no solutions.
Pursue aggressive actions whenever possible to address things over which you do have control, such as making networking contacts, applying to jobs and following up on leads. Taking action tends to boost motivation, confidence and attitude.
Detach from the cell phone and computer for periods of time. It's tempting when living with job and income uncertainty to obsessively check for email and phone contacts, which increases anxiety each time none have come through.
Have faith that putting what you want to attract into the universe ultimately will materialize for you, with persistence, patience and a positive outlook.
Continue doing things you like to do (that are free or low-cost) to keep your spirits high and take your mind off worries.
Squirrel away your nuts (money). Live cheaply (the Minimalist lifestyle) while dealing with ambiguity, to reduce financial pressures.
Limbo is not a comfortable place to be when you have financial and family obligations, when you feel like you should be occupying a certain status and you're not, and when you like to plan and predict your life with a high degree of certainty. But for me, my current state of limbo is a necessary part of the process of getting where I want to be, just another stage of the journey, another bar to traverse.
Posted in ambiguity, anxiety, career, career change, career changer, career path, career transition, change, choice, confidence, counseling, counselor, employment, finances, frugal, gig economy, Gig Economy, happiness, job, job loss, limbo, living cheaply, living on the cheap, midlife, minimalism, minimalist, money, moving, passion, persistence, positive thinking, predictability, public relations, purpose, Sea Colony, seasonal job, stability, summer job, tennis, tennis teacher, tennis teaching, transition, Uncategorized, uncertainty, unpredictability and tagged career, career path, career transition, gig economy, job, job search, limbo, unpredictability | Leave a comment
Tennis Teaching and Counseling: Immersion in "The People Business"
This summer, I made the seemingly stark transition from working as a counseling intern in an outpatient mental health clinic serving low-income clients to teaching tennis at a large beach resort . One would think the two jobs would have nothing in common, both in clientele and job requirements, but that's not the case. What's the common denominator? Quickly evaluating, working with, and constantly interacting with people and all their personality types, moods, behaviors, idiosyncrasies and expectations.
In my previous job and career in public relations, I could frequently go a whole day with minimal direct interactions with people, if I wanted to. People in those jobs often interact mostly through their computer and e-mail and may even intentionally avoid personal, face-to-face conversations.
But that's not possible as a counselor or as a tennis professional. Tennis is a form of therapy for many people, a way to escape stress, immerse in a physical activity and release tensions on the ball and endorphins in the body. The tennis pro is the counselor on the court. Part of the pro's job is to figure out what makes people tick, what they want, how to engage, encourage and motivate them, and how to make them feel good about themselves. And that's just referring to the paying clients. At the resort, there's a large staff of tennis teachers and administrative workers, all with their own personality quirks, with whom I must interact personally every day.
I've learned there's also some personality diagnosing taking place on the court, and learning how to interact with people differently. Some players are easy going and just happy to be playing; others are more demanding and have certain expectations – in other words, more difficult to please and more apt to complain or emphasize the negative. Many are happy; others crabby. Many are classic high-achievers; some are overly self-critical. Some players are filled with doubts while others have over-inflated egos. Some players like to talk a lot; others rarely utter a word.
Most parents are charming, but a few can be insufferable, as most tennis pros can attest. Most kids are a joy and are eager to please, while a few find pleasure in defiance and pushing limits. Some kids are more fragile than others. A few kids have emotional or behavioral challenges that present on the court.
While I doubt I will have any significant impact on anybody's life this summer in my role as a tennis pro, like I felt I did as a counseling intern, I believe I am getting great practice at interacting with strangers and seeking to get a sense of who they are and making a quick connection, skills that translate directly to the counseling environment and relationship.
I never thought these two seemingly disparate professions would have such similarities until I became immersed in the tennis resort environment. In many ways, it has been just as challenging as counseling because of the need to develop fast interpersonal relationships, with both my fellow teaching pros and clients. For an introvert like me, that is a skill I am going to be constantly honing, on the court or in a counseling session. In each profession, I am in "the people business."
Posted in career transition, counseling, introversion, introvert, personality, tennis, tennis teacher, tennis teaching, transition, Uncategorized and tagged career change, career transition, counseling, personality, tennis, tennis teaching, therapy, transition | Leave a comment
Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes: The Midlife Transition
At midlife, I'm in transition…constantly.
Over the last year, in my early 50s, I've faced more challenging transitions than any other year of my life. It keeps me always somewhat on edge.
My life has been like a David Bowie song, minus the stutter:
Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes
Turn and face the strain…
As my kids reached the ages of 20 and 18 and I pursued a second career change, I have:
Left a full-time job in public relations after seven years, been unemployed and learned to live without a steady paycheck
Become a full-time graduate student
Scrambled to find part-time work, even trying out as a "coach" for a company that teaches soccer and educational skills to pre-school kids, something out of my element
Completed an internship in a new field, mental health counseling (therapy)
Adopted, to some degree, the minimalism approach to life
Switched from graduate school and the counseling internship to a six-day-per-week job as a tennis instructor for the late spring and summer months for a much-needed cash infusion
Moved from the D.C.-Baltimore suburbs to a Delaware beach town to work as a seasonal tennis instructor
Transitioned from married and family life to bachelorhood, living with two single roommates for my summer hiatus at the tennis resort
Adapted to an empty nest, with one child in college and another entering this fall
Acknowledged that my 20-year-old daughter really has become an independent adult, observing her navigate a semester abroad in France and travel around Europe
It's been a lot of change for one year; most of it was of my own volition and some of it was thrust upon me. Overall, encountering transitions has been positive, though sometimes admittedly nerve-racking. It has kept me motivated, challenged and stimulated. One thing's for sure: I have never been bored or complacent during this transitory period.
The transitions have required me to look within and summon my confidence and belief in myself, which has been something I've often struggled with. I've had to do this on a daily basis in both my counseling internship and tennis teaching job, working in environments that were completely unfamiliar and in positions where I've had to try to project confidence immediately with strangers.
The transitions will keep unfolding. I expect to graduate with the counseling degree in May 2017, and then embark on the new career for real, but in what capacity, I'm not sure. My son will move out for good to his campus dorm in August. I'm even thinking of moving from the area I've lived for the past 28 years to a smaller locale in the South, as I transition to the new career and seek a warmer, slower-paced, more gracious lifestyle more befitting of the minimalist philosophy.
Transitions have been healthy for me. At a time of midlife when many may be stagnating and biding time until a retirement of unknown purpose and activity, I feel optimistic and excited about my future and the opportunities and meaning transitions will bring.
For anyone contemplating a meaningful transition in midlife, I recommend taking the risk, or you may regret missing your window down the road.
Posted in career change, career changer, career transition, change, counseling, empty nest, independence, meaning, mental health, midlife, minimalism, minimalist, purpose, Sea Colony, tennis, tennis teacher, tennis teaching, transition, Uncategorized and tagged career change, career transition, change, counseling, midlife, minimalism, transition, transitions
Since I left my full-time, public relations job last October to focus on my unpaid counseling internship and a full-time course load as a master's degree candidate in pastoral counseling, I've adapted to living on the cheap.
I can't say I'm living a deprived life or even struggling. I have everything I need and much more. I can't say I have any idea what it's like to live day-to-day, hand-to-mouth, wondering where the next meal will come from or worrying about losing my shelter. Comparatively, I'm well-off, not one of the "1 percenters" but probably closer to that than the bottom 75 percent.
But I am more aware of, and closely monitoring, my discretionary spending, much more than when I knew my bank account would be replenished with an equal amount every two weeks. I am subscribing to minimalism, at least to some extent, as described in the book, Everything That Remains by The Minimalists.
Still, just as I'm transitioning careers in midlife, I've hit a time of financial stress and challenges. In addition to my own graduate school tuition, I'll have two children in college in the fall. Three simultaneous higher educations will blast a cannonball-sized hole in any family budget. I am not so many years away from typical retirement age – though with my new career, I plan to work as long as I want and don't ever envision really retiring. And if the theory holds true that you will need $1 million in retirement to last, I have a long way to go. And I have an aging parent who could need financial help in the future.
Despite my income needs, I reached a point where I knew I couldn't adeptly handle a full-time job, a part-time internship and graduate school classes, and perform any of them well and with full focus, without suffering from stress, exhaustion and dissatisfaction. Trying to handle them all might have doomed completion of the counseling master's degree after a four-year investment.
Luckily, I have a wife with stable employment (though with a company known for frequent layoffs and restructurings) that has provided a financial anchor while I scramble to produce more erratic income from various sources.
That's what brought me to the Sea Colony Tennis resort in Bethany Beach, DE to work as a seasonal tennis instructor for the summer. Though it required me to be away from home, it provided the greatest earning potential for the short period between internships and semesters.
I found the cheapest place I could rent, no easy feat along the shore, and am living with two roommates. One roommate is another tennis instructor who is living similarly frugally. He turned me on to the Dollar Store, where we've bought a lot of our food, toiletries, medications and household items at half the cost of the grocery store. We found the Atlantic Community Thrift Store, where I got a cool Old Navy bathing suit for $2 and he found a Pinehurst Golf jacket for pennies on the dollar and a desk chair for $3. My roommate has found a way to play several holes of golf for free by walking onto a course near our house after regular hours.
I've been here for 15 days, and have gone out for a meal only once, my first night. It's tempting, with all the restaurants, seafood and pizza joints and junk food establishments at the beach, but I've held off so far. I question each expense to determine if it's necessary, while still allowing certain indulgences like Dollar Store sale-priced Doritos and ice cream bars.
The tennis teaching season has started relatively slow, while school is still in session and most tennis-player vacations are planned for July and August. That's when I'll make my money and the investment to live away from home pay off. I'm conscious that going out for a beer and appetizer plus tip can wipe out the earnings of a one-hour tennis clinic, and what would be the point of that?
My one other indulgence was the clunky, antique, heavy-as-hell cash register I bought on a whim on my way to move to the beach at a roadside antique and junk shop. Even then, I bargained the proprietor down from $50 to $20. I have no idea its worth and it needs some refurbishing, but it looks retro-stylish. I think the guy just wanted to get rid of it, an indication it's not worth much in its worn condition.
Living cheaply means living more simply. I like it. As long as I have enough income to meet my needs and preferably a few wants, I'm happy. It's less stressful than trying to make more money so I can live bigger, have more and maintain more. Living cheaply, I can focus on the things that matter – relationships, pursuing fulfilling work, helping others and doing things I enjoy with my time, which will be more possible when my income needs are less.
Living on the cheap was brought about for me largely by necessity. But it is a lifestyle choice that I embrace.
Posted in career change, career changer, career transition, counseling, frugal, frugality, living cheaply, living on the cheap, midlife, minimalism, money, retirement, tennis, tennis teacher, tennis teaching, Uncategorized and tagged career change, career transition, counseling, frugality, living on the cheap, midlife, minimalism
Tomorrow I leave home for my summer job. It feels like I'm back in college, when I worked one summer in Nantucket, MA and another in Los Angeles. Except now I'm 53.
I'll be working as a seasonal tennis pro at a large tennis resort in an East Coast beach town. I already had a taste of the resort tennis teaching life for my first long weekend in May. It was a welcome break from the career grind and mundane office environment.
This summer's job reflects the saying, "Necessity is the mother of invention." It certainly was not part of a long-term plan, but born out of necessity to change course, re-imagine life and re-adjust on the fly in response to circumstances.
At midlife, I'm embracing the idea that life does not have to be lived only one way. You can have a grind-it-out, 40-hour per week job, year-in and year-out. Or you can find another way to make a living in this gig economy, while trying to steal back more time, flexibility and independence. And with that, more purpose, meaning and passion.
I'm also embracing the philosophy of minimalism, or at least trying to limit my spending, cut costs, reduce my income needs and live a simplified life that maximizes enjoyment and meaning and minimizes stress. That's what this summer will be all about.
My full-time employment in public relations ended in October 2015, for various reasons. One was that reality sunk in about the challenges performing a full-time job, working a part-time internship in a new field as a counselor at an outpatient mental health clinic, and taking graduate school classes in counseling, not to mention trying to function as a father and husband. I soon realized that trying to do all of these would be to do them all half-assed, and be constantly exhausted and over-stressed. My job had gone south anyway, so the break was a relief.
But I left that job with no clear plan on how to produce income while I completed the final two years of my counseling program, including two intensive nearly year-long internships. I fell back on teaching tennis, which I had done during previous job layoffs. I was lucky to pick up weekend hours with a Baltimore-based tennis academy. Then the idea occurred to me: Why not apply to resorts that need additional instructors for busy summer tennis seasons, while I was in between semesters with no internship or classes? With the help of a good connection, I landed the Sea Colony position.
I'm looking forward to it. It should be a great summer. Being at the beach in a resort town, working outside doing something fun, working with a team that has a passion for tennis, getting paid to help people improve at what they enjoy, meeting many people, making new friends. Hard to beat that, and sure as hell beats sitting at a desk in a stuffy office staring at a computer screen for eight hours a day.
Of course, it won't be all fun and games. I need to make money to fund me and my wife's living, my education and my two kids' college educations. So I'll have to hustle and promote myself to line up as many private lessons and clinics as I can, in addition to the many clinics the resort schedules every day. That should be great practice for the when I become a counselor with an independent practice.
A friend referred to this time in my life – a summer teaching tennis sandwiched by counseling internships, classes and part-time jobs with no full-time job as an anchor – as a "reset." It sure feels like a step back in time for me, all the way to the relatively more carefree and low stress days of college. Make no mistake, there's some scrambling and anxiousness involved. But I'm grateful for the respite, happy, excited about the challenges, and optimistic about the future. You can't really relive your youth, but if you can add some youthful exuberance and new experiences to your life – and even some motivating uncertainty — you can recapture some of those feelings. And that's healthy at any age.
Posted in career change, career changer, career transition, gig economy, midlife, minimalism, reliving youth, Sea Colony, seasonal job, summer job, tennis, tennis teaching, Uncategorized, youth and tagged gig economy, midlife, minimalism, reliving youth, transition


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Denis Leamy
Eddie Connolly
Loughmore-Castleiney
Tipperary GAA
Worthy Cause
'Eddie's shown a huge amount of courage and bravery, he's been an inspiration'
Former Ireland international rugby star Denis Leamy is in awe of his first cousin Eddie Connolly, who is battling cancer.
By Jackie Cahill Thursday 27 Aug 2015, 11:31 AM
Aug 27th 2015, 11:31 AM 9,202 Views No Comments
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Eddie Connolly (4) in action against Waterford IT's Timmy Hammersley during the 2011 Waterford Crystal Cup clash.
Image: James Crombie/INPHO
FORMER IRELAND AND Munster rugby star Denis Leamy has hailed the "courage and bravery" of his first cousin Eddie Connolly, who is battling cancer.
Leamy is one of the main driving forces behind a special 'Night at the Dogs' at Thurles Greyhound Stadium on Friday 18 September, a fundraiser for the Eddie Connolly Trust Fund.
This Trust Fund has been established to help finance special cancer treatment for Connolly (29).
Loughmore-Castleiney stalwart Connolly has represented his club and county at all grades of hurling and football, and captained Tipperary to the All-Ireland intermediate hurling title in 2012.
In late 2013, he was diagnosed with brain cancer and since then, he has been bravely and courageously battling to overcome his illness.
Remarkably, Connolly returned to club colours last October when Loughmore-Castleiney booked their place in the county senior hurling final.
He has recently undergone a new form of cancer treatment in Spain, which is not covered by medical insurance.
"Eddie's shown a huge amount of courage and bravery, he's been an inspiration an anyone who's met him over the last while," says Leamy.
"Just to sit down and talk to him really gives you a great insight into what a character he is.
"He continues to show that bravery and fight that's been there all his life, he's an incredible man.
"I spoke to him recently. He's at home now in Tipperary at the moment, he had been out in Spain for treatment."
Eddie Connolly challenges Aherlow's John Hennessy during the 2010 Tipperary SFC final. Source: Cathal Noonan
Leamy, now heavily involved in rugby coaching with Rockwell College and Clonmel RFC, is looking forward to the massive fundraising event and has called on sports fans from around the country and beyond to throw their weight behind it.
"It's a fantastic cause and it will be a great night.
"We'll have a lot of of sports stars there from the various codes and our hope is that we can get a massive turnout and have a good night.
"It's a great way of showing our support."
And Leamy expects the tight-kint community of Loughmore-Castleiney to rally around one of its favourite sons.
"It's a great community in Loughmore, a great tightness and bond within the parish.
"You see that in any sort of event, there really is a fantastic community spirit.
Eddie Connolly gets in a hook on Cork's Mark Sugrue during the 2012 Munster intermediate hurling semi-final. Source: Lorraine O'Sullivan/INPHO
"There will be no shortage of effort and hard work being put into this, you can be sure of that.
"There's a great tightness there and they row in behind each other, which is evident in the support for Eddie from his immediate family, the parish, people in GAA and sports circles.
"Eddie's so well-known in Ireland, he's worked in Dublin and been based in Dublin for a long time now. He has friends in all four corners of the country."
Denis Leamy carries the fight to Russia during the 2011 Rugby World Cup. Source: Dan Sheridan/INPHO
Leamy admits that Eddie's plight has touched the wider family circle.
"Eddie's father is my mother's brother," he explains.
"We'd have been very tight growing up. On a Sunday, all the families used to go Granny's house in Loughmore.
"Our family is very close as well and it's had an effect beyond Eddie's immediate family, his brothers and sisters, into the extended family."
Denis Leamy is Eddie Connolly's first cousin. Source: James Crombie/INPHO
The 'Night at the Dogs' will be a night of fun for all the family, including a monster auction.
The event was recently launched at Thurles Greyhound Stadium by Leamy and Connolly's Loughmore-Castleiney clubmate Noel McGrath, who went through his own cancer battle this year.
Paul Collins of Today FM will be MC for the evening and this worthy cause can be supported in a number of ways.
There is a buster draw with a top prize of €500 for €10, including entrance fee.
You can sponsor a race for €500, nominate a greyhound for €100 or sponsor an item for auction. Children can attend for free.
Eddie Connolly Family Race Night Fundraiser http://t.co/lFV20RNvRN
— Tipperary GAA (@TipperaryGAA) August 25, 2015
Source: Tipperary GAA/Twitter
There is also a bank account to which donations can be made directly:
Bank: AIB Thurles
Name: Eddie Connolly Trust Fund
Account: 23828075
Sort Code: 93 53 01
IBAN: IE19AIBK93530123828075
BIK: AIBKIE2D.
'I haven't even thought about it since' – Uncertainty continues on JBM's Cork future
This Kilkenny All-Ireland winning star has had his intercounty career cut short by injury
Jackie Cahill
jackie@the42.ie
See more articles by Jackie Cahill
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Minnesota roundabout accident leads to DWI charge
On Behalf of Bauer Law Office | Jun 6, 2019 | DUI/DWI Charges, Firm News |
Roundabouts are structures used in Minnesota and other areas of the world that are believed to help with the flow of traffic. However, they can be confusing for those who have little experience with them. Unfortunately, one man now faces multiple criminal charges, including DWI, after he was allegedly involved in an accident in a roundabout.
The incident reportedly happened on a day in late May. According to reports, a 38-year-old man driving a recreation vehicle drove through the roundabout before driving into a ditch. Witnesses claim that the man then fled the scene on foot before being stopped by a rescue worker.
The man originally claimed that someone else was driving the RV; however, witnesses claim that there was no one else at the scene, and the man was reportedly unable to provide a full name. Police said that the man admitted to consuming alcohol and methamphetamine prior to the accident. His blood alcohol content, according to reports, was over the legal limit, and he had methamphetamine in his possession.
In addition to the felony DWI charge, the man is also charged with driving after license cancellation and drug possession. Reports claim that the Minnesota man has six previous convictions related to driving while intoxicated, the last one occurring in 2014. While his legal situation may seem overwhelming to him in the aftermath of his arrest, there are professionals who can help from the earliest stages of an investigation — including during initial questioning when no charges have been filed.


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Maximus' Wunderball is een attractie in het Nederlandse attractiepark Toverland. De attractie bevindt zich in het themagebied Wunderwald.

De attractie is gebouwd en geopend in 2022 samen met de verbouwing van de boomstamattractie Expedition Zork.

De attractie bestaat uit 14 hindernissen en heeft een lengte van 125 meter.

Attractiepark Toverland

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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Folk embroidery
Folk embroidery is a traditional Chinese handicraft, which integrates traditional folk art, folklore knowledge and traditional handicraft. It has high ornamental value, practical value and collection value. Over the past three thousand years, through successive generations of folk artists'inheritance, continuation and continuous innovation, gradually formed its own unique style and complete system.
Folk embroidery heritage includes Gaoping embroidery, Ma Liu embroidery, Western Qin embroidery, Chengcheng embroidery, Hongan embroidery and Yangxin cloth paste. On June 14, 2008, it was selected as the second batch of national intangible cultural heritage list. Heritage number: _-77.
"Folk embroidery" is our traditional folk handicraft.
In the Han Dynasty, there was a custom of painting tigers on New Year's Eve in China, which was the first time for Chinese folk New Year's pictures. Later, the folk custom of painting tigers to ward off evil spirits has become a tradition among the people. After a long time and rich cultural filling, the image of tiger has been simplified and symbolized: exorcism and praying, which is the folk implication of the image of tiger.
Embroidered insoles are authentic folk embroidery, with a long history, which began in the Guangwu period of the Eastern Han Dynasty, flourished in the Tang Dynasty and flourished in the Qing Dynasty. It is a folk craft with a long history in Eastern Hubei, which integrates daily use and aesthetics, and is a folk female worker's skill with regional representation in Eastern Hubei. She is well-known both at home and abroad for her brilliant artistic features, rich cultural connotations and various practical values, and is favored by experts and scholars in the field of literature and art.
The artistic characteristics of embroidery are bright colour and strong contrast. It has local characteristics in colour collocation. Black, blue, red, purple, or light blue, gold and silver are generally used as the main colours. In the long-term practice, a set of intuitive and unified color matching rules are summarized, in order to enhance decoration in the way of expression. As a result, the content of embroidery is often boldly exaggerated and deformed, without seeking resemblance, paying attention to appearance and full composition, which is in line with the expressive techniques and aesthetic connotations of traditional Chinese art. The long history and rich content of embroidery are of positive significance to the supplement and perfection of the history of Chinese folk art.
After pasting scraper, pasting upper, blanking, scraping upper cloth, polishing sole, covering sole, design (cut sample), sticky pattern, embroidery, along the shoe mouth, rolling edge, rolling edge and other processes. The patterns chosen or designed are generally propitious and safe.
The traditional folk embroidery in Huai'an City is mainly made of tiger-head shoes. There are also other styles, such as goldfish-shaped, lotus-shaped, rabbit-shaped moon worship, longevity zigzag, tiger-head pillow, tiger-head cap and so on. Cotton wool fabric is the main material.
Yangxin cloth patterning pattern has a wide range of materials and rich connotations. Birds and animals, flowers and trees, daily necessities, myths and legends, folk tales can be included in the picture. The main characters in the pattern are Guanyin, Luohan, fairies, children, etc. The main animals are Phoenix, Tiger, Kirin, carp, butterfly, bat, magpie, etc. The main plants are lotus, peach, plum flower, pomegranate, peony, golden melon, etc. The other objects are vases, flower baskets, Ruyi, Bagua, etc. Each pattern uses metaphor, homonym, analogy and other techniques to express certain implications. For example, tigers are used to alleviate evil spirits and dispel disasters, gourds are used to express "fortune", magpies and copper coins are used to express "joy in front of us", and pomegranates are used to express many offspring and grandchildren, etc. Patterns are exaggerated and deformed. They only seek to resemble gods. The shapes of objects are primitive and childish. The colors are strongly contrasted. The combination constitutes freedom and uninhibited. The theme is romantic and auspicious. The overall style is simple, rough, open-minded, free and easy, and full of local flavor. Because Yang belongs to Chu in the Neo-ancient times, Chu culture in cloth pasting has obvious characteristics, such as red and black cloth pasting background, and various Phoenix patterns, which are all related to the tradition of Chu people worshipping phoenix, red and black.
Although the composition of Yangxin cloth paste is complex, its theme is very distinct. Generally speaking, the theme of performance is festivity, auspiciousness and blessing. But the subtle distinction, its theme is also varied, mainly carp leaping dragon gate, lion rolling embroidery ball, golden thread hanging gourd, Phoenix wearing peony, tiger You Ping'an, magpie climbing plum, fish play lotus lotus, durian Kaibaizi, Guanyin sitting lotus, Tiannu scattered flowers and so on. A few cloth stickers are directly embroidered with Chinese characters, such as "good luck", "full of gold and jade", "rich flowers" and so on. Generally, each set of cloth stickers expresses a theme, or prays for a happy life, or wishes for a happy marriage, or implies the reproduction of future generations, or hopes that future generations will soon become successful and so on. These themes reflect the people's desire for happiness and happiness in Yangxin.
The basic characteristics of Chengcheng embroidery are exquisite needlework, simple and generous flower lines, harmonious color matching atmosphere, fantastic and rich imagination, full composition, no big red and green rendering, but elegant and moderate, elegant and vigorous, lively and vivid, with a wide range of decorative themes, needle thread and color matching, in order to serve the needs of various themes.
Embroidery with special features
Gaoping Embroidery
Declaration area: Gaoping City, Shanxi Province
Gaoping embroidery is one of the traditional folk arts and crafts in Gaoping City. It inherits the development of Gaoping civilization and is closely related to the costume culture and living customs of Gaoping people. It is a wonderful flower in traditional folk art gardens in Gaoping City.
Gaoping embroidery has a long history, and there are still remains, which can be traced back to the mid-Ming Dynasty according to expert textual research. Gaoping embroidery can be divided into silk thread embroidery and cloth paste embroidery. Silk embroidery includes flat needle embroidery, seed-beating embroidery, Pan-Gold embroidery and gilded embroidery. Flat needle embroidery is the most expressive, seed-beating embroidery is strong and wear-resistant, Pan-Gold embroidery, gilded embroidery makes the picture look magnificent.
Embroidery is different. The remaining colorful cloth heads are good materials for embroidery. When making cloth heads, they are cut into figures, animals, flowers, plants and other shapes according to the design requirements. Then they are stacked on the bottom and embroidered with lock edges. The finished products are simple, generous and colorful.
In 2006, "Gaoping Embroidery" was announced as "the first provincial intangible cultural heritage in Shanxi Province".
Chengcheng embroidery
Declaration area: Chengcheng County, Shaanxi Province
Chengcheng embroidery is a traditional folk handicraft art with ornamental and practical value. While beautifying life, she also imperceptibly cultivates people's sentiments, and is widely used in various traditional folk activities, such as production, life, marriage, funeral, festival sacrifices and so on. She carries a heavy traditional culture and life concept, which has a long history of thousands of years and is a precious intangible cultural heritage.
Chengcheng County in the northeast of Guanzhong Plain is the birthplace of this traditional folk art. Since the Qin and Han Dynasties, there have been counties in Chengcheng County, where ravines are vertical and horizontal, grazing is suitable for farming, and the common people live a farm life of man-farming and woman-weaving. The simple folk style here, Chengcheng people are called "Chengcheng elder brother", is a manifestation of Chengcheng people's moral character, and the precipitation of agricultural cultivation history is the product of Chengcheng embroidery. Health and development provide fertile soil, but also to Chengcheng embroidery with a deep brand of farming civilization.
There are many kinds of embroidery in Chengcheng embroidery, which can be divided into more than 40 kinds according to their functions. There are more than ten kinds of pillow top, quilt cover, insole, apron and so on. Walking into an ordinary family in Chengcheng, you will find that it is like walking into a palace of folk art. Embroidered on pillow top and quilt surface, you can't catch your eyes because of the "beautiful moon" and "auspicious dragon and phoenix", embroidered on apron and letter insert, the "wind wears peony" and the Four Seasons flower sketch. If you are lucky, the dowry of the previous years embroidered with the shoulders of "fish play lotus" and the wrapped stomach of "fish lotus turn into dolls". Pines, cypress and cranes, which imply the longevity of the elderly, are the "five sons" embroidered for the hope of their son's growing up, and the "official plus official" horse clip to protect the healthy growth of their grandchildren and grandchildren.
Hongan embroidery
Declaration area: Hongan County, Hubei Province
Hongan embroidery is a traditional folk embroidery art popular in Hongan area of Hubei Province, with socks embroidered insoles as a prominent representative. According to legend, Hongan embroidery began in the Han Dynasty, better than the Ming and Qing Dynasties. In Hong'an, socks embroidered insoles are not only a common life utility, but also a folk art with special significance. Women use it as a platform to show their talents, as gifts for social exchanges and as a token of love. Hongan embroidery involves a series of activities, such as embroidery, communication, exhibition, gift, and so on. It has greatly stimulated the enthusiasm of the people to participate in the production.
Yangxin cloth sticker
Declaration area: Yangxin County, Hubei Province
Cloth stickers, also known as patches, are a form of embroidery. It makes use of the remaining corner debris of the quilt, carefully collages the colorful patterns on the black or dark blue fabric undercloth, pastes them firmly with paste, and then latches the embroidery along the edge with needles and threads.
Yangxingu belongs to Chu. It was founded in 201BC. Yangxin is the central area of "cloth pasting culture". Although there is no text to study, it is often found in unearthed cultural relics. Below are the Jingchu relics of 1000 years ago on display in the Capital Museum - cloth stickers and embroidery.
It is used for decorating clothes, shoes, hats, shawls and other wear and curtain edges, ribbons, cloth pillows and children's play. Most of the rural girls in Yangxin District of southeastern Hubei are married with a chic "cloth corner bag" which contains all kinds of remaining cloth heads when sewing dowry. After the door, sewing clothes and stickers, skirts, salivary pockets, shoes and hats for the unborn baby seldom costs money, and the work is beautiful, strong and wear-resistant. Yangxin cloth sticker presents the color characteristics of black lacquer and gold dots. Its shape is wild and plain, its composition is romantic, regardless of time and space, heaven and earth, unconventional and random combination. In the production of elaborate embroidery, many patterns, forming a rich system, from crown to footwear, from children's clothes to toys, from bride's wedding supplies to women's household, as well as temples, cattails, etc., practical items up to 5 series of more than 30 varieties, dazzling, beautiful. The works are mostly based on traditional folk stories, opera characters, folk customs and rural scenery, such as Guanyin Sitting Lotus, Fengxi Peony, Fushou Babao, Golden Rooster Carp, Peach-pomegranate Tea Orchid, etc. There are also daily life, crops, mountains, forests and rivers, and so on. There is no need for a spectrum book, no need for a pen, no need for mental imagery, no difference from hand to hand.
At the age of 12 or 13, girls in Yangxin countryside began to sew by collage under the guidance of their elders. When they get married, they will put the remaining corners of their wedding clothes into the "corners bag" and take them to their mother-in-law's house. When they are happy, they will make all kinds of beautiful cloth stickers. In the family of relatives and friends, children can also be given as gifts when they do festive things such as full moon, birthday and so on.
Maliu embroidery
Declaration area: Guangyuan City, Sichuan Province
Maliu embroidery is a general term of embroidery spread in Chaotian District, Guangyuan City, Sichuan Province. It is a traditional folk art inherited and carried forward by generations of relatives. It is a simple and exquisite folk art treasure created and invented by the ancestors of Maliu in the leisure life of self-sufficiency. It is a national intangible cultural heritage.
"Maliu embroidery" takes materials locally, using simple needles, threads and cloth. Through black, white, red and blue earth cloth and colored cotton thread, it is equipped with different bright and dark cold and warm color blocks. The embroidery products, detailed needles and threads, bright colors, ingenious combination, pleasing to the eye. Embroidered patterns, or farming and harvesting, or marriage etiquette, or love, marriage, or people, birds and animals, have a variety of colors, with a strong local flavor, national characteristics and typical customs of northern Sichuan.
Western Qin embroidery
Declaration area: Baoji City, Shaanxi Province
Western Qin embroidery cloth art is the general name of plane embroidery and then made into various craft articles. It is a traditional folk embroidery with a long history in the northern plateau area of Baoji, Shaanxi Province. It has strong traditional style and distinct local characteristics. Embroidery includes traditional auspicious patterns, dragons, phoenixes, lions, tigers, birds, fish, insects, vegetables and fruits, opera characters, idioms and allusions, couplets of calligraphy and painting, etc. It not only ornaments and beautifies people's lives, but also closely combines with the local people's lives and customs. It penetrates into all fields of people's life, marriage, longevity, sacrifice, religion and daily life.
Xia Fabric Embroidery
Declaration area: Xinyu City, Jiangxi Province
Xia cloth embroidery is developed from traditional folk linen embroidery and has a history of thousands of years. Xia Bu Embroidery is a local traditional art rooted in the city. It is a perfect combination of material art and embroidery art. It not only has distinct local characteristics, but also has prominent value to show the creativity of traditional culture. With the passage of time and the development of modern science and technology, Xia Bu embroidery, as a traditional folk art, is gradually disappearing. After four or five years of hard work, Xia Bu embroidery has been listed in the national non-material cultural heritage representative project list, and won the national recognition of this traditional culture, which will vigorously promote the protection and inheritance of Xia Bu embroidery traditional skills.
List of Heritage
Number: _-77
List of the Second National Non-material Cultural Heritage
Gaoping embroidery, Ma Liu embroidery, Western Qin embroidery, Chengcheng embroidery, Hongan embroidery, Yangxin cloth paste
Declaration area or unit: Gaoping City of Shanxi Province, Guangyuan City of Sichuan Province, Baoji City of Shaanxi Province, Chengcheng County, Hongan County of Hubei Province, Yangxin County
List of the Fourth National Non-material Cultural Heritage
Declaration area or unit: Xinyu City, Jiangxi Province
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