text:
House to House in Malawi
Submitted by Murari Dasa
Iskcon Blantyre
Murari Dasa
Please accept my humble obeisances. All glories to Srila Prabhupada.
A few weeks back we started going house to house on Sundays, here in Blantyre, Malawi. With me was Bhakta Ram, an expatriate Indian professional who started attending Bhagavad-gita classes about one and a half years ago and who subsequently took up the process of Krishna consciousness.
So far we have gone out on 4 Sundays. On the first Sunday that we went out we were used as instruments for giving out two books. I had gone house to house in India for at least about two years in the South. But this was Malawi, in Africa, worlds apart. I didn't know what to expect or what to say or how to present myself and the books. And so I just followed whatever we did in India and then tried to adjust accordingly. Still my mind tried to play tricks on me and questions came up in my mind like; "Why should they take these books when they have nothing in common with the culture philosophy or religion?", "Supposing we annoy some people for coming on their 'rest day'?" and "Perhaps two devotees is not enough, we should be at least 4 or 5 for safety?" So I thought the best thing is just go out and walk quickly and knock on the first gate to remove these cobwebs from my mind. I started chanting all the pranam mantras that I knew starting with my Guru Maharaja and then the Guru Parampara, Nrsimha, and others. We started out in the most posh part of town; Namiwawa. For some reason everyone was out and we didn't know why. And then one of the guards supplied the answer when we told him what we were doing. He said everyone is in church till about 11am or so, so we won't be able to meet anyone. Its better we started at about 11am. Anyway we managed to distribute two books. One to a young couple who it seems had just woken up when we knocked at their door, and the other to an elderly British man who had been in Malawi for many years. He took a Bhagavad-gita for his wife who he says has been doing and teaching Hatha Yoga for many years. He mentioned that he normally doesn't answer when anyone comes on Sunday morning but that when his guard came and told him some from 'ISKCON' came he thought the guard said ISKOR which is a company that a friend of his works for.
On the second Sunday, we were used as instruments for giving out 3 books. This time we made sure we started at the time when the church goers would be back. So we set out at 10:45am on the same street as the last Sunday. The first book, a Bhagavad-gita went to a woman who was exiting her house in her car. I saw her getting in the car just as we were about to knock at the gate and then thought that it was better to just wait for her to drive out and then speak to her here. She was frowning and seemed really stressed out and because of that I almost didn't stop her thinking there was no point. But I started speaking about how the Gita solves our problems in life and she got interested and even asked to see the other books we had (Nectar of Devotion, Srimad Bhagavatam 1st Canto and Krishna book). She took the Gita but then hesitated and told us that she was a Christian and would this conflict with her belief? I told her no this book is for all spirit souls and she was a spirit soul. The second book went to an old Sinhalese woman in her 70's from Canada who was visiting her son in Malawi for some time. He had gotten married to a Malawian lady. She (the mother) was a Buddhist and was surprised to find out that we taught about reincarnation in our books. "Just like Buddhists!" she said. So she ended up taking a book, and said that it was only because we were teaching about reincarnation, which no one else teaches or believes in. She took a Krishna Book. The third book went to a woman who said she heard of Krishna before and she saw it written on the Hindu temple in town. Are we Hindus she asked us? I told her no we were not Hindus but we share similar teachings and scriptures. She took a Krishna Book.
On the third Sunday, we were used as instruments for giving out 4 books. By now Bhakta Ram was relishing Sankirtan and would call a few times one or two days before Sunday to confirm that we were indeed going out and what time should we meet at? This was different from before when I had to call him a few times to check that he hadn't changed his mind about coming yet. The first book went to a Malawian woman who answered the banging on her gate, while carrying her toddler. We gave a small introduction and seeing our tilak and attire began to speak about the time in India she spent recently. She said she had recently visited Kerala in India on the recommendation of some friends, for some health issues and her neighbours there seeing that she was foreign visited her house out of courtesy. In the course of her conversations while in Kerala they spoke on Bhagavad-gita. So we showed her the Gita and she took it immediately and seemed happy to get it.
A few houses from that is where the bomb really blew up. We knocked at the gate and the guard was so favourable and polite and went to call his boss immediately. We peeped inside the compound to see a massive compound with manicured lawns. It was so big that we couldn't immediately see where in the compound the house was. The owner arrived with a jolly smile after a while. I told him we were Hare Krishnas and had he ever met Hare Krishna's before? He said 'Oh Krishna ? That's the Hindu God isn't it? I said no Krishna is a name of God just like Jehovah or Allah. I then showed him the Gita and spoke a little about it as well as the Vedas. He said yes he remembers something about the Vedas from his Indian friends while spending time in New York as a student. Then he looked over at Bhakta Ram who was holding the effulgent Srimad Bhagavatam reflecting the afternoon sun. What about that book? Immediately Bhakta Ram replied that this book has everything about God and all the contents of these other books we were carrying. He seemed interested and took it to have a look. I showed him how the second verse said that when one studies the Srimad Bhagavatam there is no need of any other scripture. Then he said he would take it and we told him the price. He went in and got the money and paid us and then gave us his business card. It turned out that he was the CEO for the Malawi Stock Exchange!
After that we were in a daze. We couldn't walk properly or even think clearly due to being intoxicated and didn't realize while walking after leaving that house we were walking into a dead end. The road had ended after that and there were no houses on either side, so we turned back and tried hard to focus to continue sankirtan. I had taken the Srimad Bhagavatam with us that morning as we seemed low on other books and we didn't really think we could distribute it. We didn't even present it to anyone. But I guess Krishna had His own plans and when the time was right it virtually distributed itself right out of our hands to that fortunate soul. I tried to think how Simon (his name) would change after reading just the first verse and the purport. And what about his family? Maybe there were some future devotees there.
So after that we managed to give two more books by Caitanya Mahaprabhu's mercy. In one house a woman showed up who gladly took a 'Nectar of Devotion' within a few minutes of our speaking about it. Two houses from there another gentleman answered the banging on his gate (these houses were so big that we had to really bang hard for the owners in their houses to hear us), and looked a little surprised to see us in devotional attire and tilak. He seemed nervous and said he couldn't take a book as he was a Christian at the same time he reached out for a 'Nectar of Devotion' and started leafing through the pages and reading the blurb etc. All the while we were trying to tell him to take the book and he was shaking his head, yet still reading passages from the book intently. That was a mistake. These books are like Krishna, all attractive and if one didn't want to take one of these books, then the last thing to do is start reading the book. Sure enough after sometime Srila Prabhupada penetrated the layers to his Soul, through the medium of the words he was reading, and he (the man) took the book. All Glories to Srila Prabhupada !
Last Sunday (Easter) we couldn't go out as the head of state had died of a cardiac arrest and there was a disagreement over who would succeed him. The state media advised everyone to stay indoors. I couldn't help thinking that; "yes, but our mission is an emergency, maybe we should be allowed out?" Anyway we went out the next day, Monday which was a public Holiday. We were mercifully allowed to be a part of the beginning of the spiritual journeys of two fortunate souls.
The first one was a student who seemed to be living in a house full of students. She said she liked the book (Bhagavad-gita) but didn't have money. They had just gone shopping for items for one week. I could see all the bags of groceries and vegetables. Could we come the day after tomorrow to collect the money? So we left the book with her and came to collect the money a few days later. Also on that day we entered a compound and walked up the driveway to see a man reading a small pocket bible on his lawn. I introduced the Bhagavad-gita to him and he looked very serious and sober. He then said; "OK let me see what you people have to say [about God]" and so he took the Bhagavad-gita.
Every time a book goes out here for me it seems like a miracle. In India people know what Bhagavad-gita and Srimad Bhagavatam is and who Krishna is, but what made people here take these books? We hear how even the Muslims and Christians HAVE TO give their books out for free as no-one will buy them. This proves the transcendental nature of these books. A lot of times that we sell books, we have to come and collect the money the next day or even in instalments. That is how much of a problem poverty is here. And yet still they open these books, see the images of Srila Prabhupada, Caitanya Mahaprabhu and Krishna and hear the philosophy and in an instant they are not Malawians anymore but spirit souls who are awakening their dormant yet eternal love and attraction to Sri Govinda.
I feel extremely grateful for being able to participate in this Sankirtan movement in any way that is pleasing to the Vaisnavas and Sri Gauranga. Especially here in Malawi, people are suffering so much from poverty, corruption, etc. The lower sections of society in particular are being manipulated quite badly. We are so fortunate that Srila Prabhupada gave us the antidote for all ill effects of Kali Yuga in one stroke- Sankirtan. Just by distributing these books and the Holy name (in one way book distribution is also distribution of the holy name) I am convinced we can remove poverty, hunger, disease, cow-killing, intoxication, crime etc and all other evils of Kali Yuga without resorting to patchwork fixes to sort out each of these problems individually. All Glories to Sri Guru and Sri Gauranga !
Your servant
Murari Das
Malawi.
Admin April 17, 2012 Book Distribution, Iskcon Blantyre, Krsna Book, Malawi Discovers Bhagavad-gita, Preaching in Africa
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Sending grid data to the server with the sync() method works fine. Doing this in BATCH mode, on some records validations can fail on server side. I would like to mark the failed records inside the grid.
// next step: how to mark records in grid invalid?
I am not sure if this is the correct way. Can I send the error JSON in an other format and EXT marks the failed records per default?
Thanks a lot for any idea or hint.
If errorJson is what you need then this is ok.


text:
A young woman with an Eating Disorder said:
"One day I woke up and realized I couldn't find myself. No matter what I wore, or how I looked, or who my friends were, myself was nowhere to be seen. I was lost to me, and that's as lonely as it gets."
Avalon Hills has benefitted from ongoing consultation with Dr. Norman Doidge in Canada in the areas of program development, innovation, implementation and continuous refinement. Dr. Doidge is recognized as a pioneer in the field of neuroplasticity, the new area of neuroscience focused on brain change (and its relationship to undoing blocks to mental and emotional flexibility). He is the author of the New York Times best-selling books, The Brain that Changes Itself and The Brain's Way of Healing. The Brain That Changes Itself was chosen by the Dana Brain Foundation's journal, Cerebrum, from among 30,000 books on the brain, as the best general book on the brain. He is also an expert in psychological trauma, treatment and how to put psychological development back on track.
In 2014 Avalon Hills approached Dr. Doidge, to see if he could help us integrate the understanding of neuroplasticity into the treatment of eating disorders, and help us design the world's first eating disorders program that systematically used these new findings, alongside some of our existing treatments. Eating disorders are thought to give rise to very rigid symptoms, behaviors and attitudes. Benita Quakenbush, Ph.D., our founder and CEO realized, on first being exposed to Dr. Doidge's work, that an understanding of brain plasticity might help our residents change some of their more rigid attitudes and behaviors. She was initially struck by his understanding of how negative body images develop in the brain, and also how they can be changed if neuroplasticity is understood.
But what emerged from these many visits to Canada to consult was far more than that. Dr. Doidge is also an internationally recognized leader in intensive, in-depth psychotherapy, and suggested an approach that took not only the best of the latest brain science and plasticity, but integrated it with the best of existing intensive psychotherapies. This kind of integration had never been done, and these in-depth psychotherapies are often not used today in residential treatment for the simple reason that insurance no longer covers this intensity of treatment,. As well, these treatments are complicated for staff to learn, and it takes a lot of time to train staff so the new brand of for-profit residential centers don't consider them.
What emerged was a new model of eating disorders as not just as a collection of symptoms, but rather as a developmental disorder, affecting mind and brain. The symptoms are attempts by the patient to deal with, among other things, the problems in the development of a self, identity, body image, inability to read many of their own feeling states, and discomfort with their own femininity, that underlie eating disorder behaviors. It is often hard for people who don't have these problems, to fathom these disturbances, because normally, psychological capacities, such as having a self, or identity, or having a body image that matches one's actual body, operate automatically. Psychological processes, after all, are not easy to see, and have an intangible aspect to them.
But when these psychological capacities or processes are not yet fully developed, they give rise to problems that are very tangible. The well-known perfectionism of patients with eating disorders, the focus on numbers, calories, inches and weight, the tendency to compete with others about weight, or outdo them with their other accomplishments are attempts to find tangible ways to "measure" and document their worth. Some of our patients do have a more solid sense of self and who they are, but in these people we often find that they can never feel that who they are is "good enough." They are plagued with self-doubt for reasons they cannot comprehend. Sometimes, a patient may fear that if she does find, or expose her true self, she won't like it, or others won't, or that she just won't be "special enough" but instead be "just another boring normal person." Some girls or women who have trouble finding "the core of who I am or want to be" deal with it by emulating others, but that never feels completely right either. And sometimes, a chronic sense of "not liking myself," which looks like depression, really covers over an identity problem. At Avalon Hills, we help these residents undo the blocks that get in the way of them developing their own identity, and get back on track to form a healthy sense of self.
This new approach is a tailor-made therapy for eating disorders. It includes a psychotherapeutic approach that addresses not only the symptoms, but the underlying developmental problems and inhibitions of the self that give rise to them. It fosters psychological development, and turbo-charges it, with our added neuroplastic brain-training. But this new program is delivered in the context of our overall program that has many other elements including direct intervention to help patients nutritionally rehabilitate, that we have refined over the years at Avalon Hills (see our treatment components section of the website). And everything we do is organized around our unique "treat-to-outcome" attitude, which aims to give our residents what they need to be able to recover and return to, and begin to function in, the community.
Dr. Doidge has guided us from Canada, in how to train in these in-depth approaches, and develop these aspects of the program. He's taught us to integrate the five stages of neuroplastic healing that he has described in his work. What follows is an in-depth description of our understanding of eating disorders that has emerged from this work with him, and the treatment that has been developed.
Neuroplasticity and Its Relationship to Development and Eating Disorders
The discovery of neuroplasticity—that thought and mental experience can change brain structure and function—is the most important change in our understanding of the brain in 400 years. For several hundred years it was believed that the circuits of the brain were formed and finalized in childhood, after which they became "hardwired" and unalterable. This gave rise to a kind of "neurological nihilism" about certain psychiatric and neurological conditions. It was assumed that serious conditions, such as eating disorders, were genetically predetermined, and basically "hardwired" into the brain. So, past childhood, if a person had certain tendencies, there was little that could be done about them, except to manage the symptoms. As these ideas took hold, emphasis on managing symptoms with shorter-term, and more superficial interventions, became the predominant approach to eating disorders treatment (and many other conditions). The mantra of the proponents of this more superficial approach was "who cares what causes the symptoms, just fix them." And what have we reaped from this approach?
Of course, this appealed to many insurance companies that often only cover families or patients by the year, and are not overly concerned with long-term effectiveness.
However, for patients with serious eating disorders, these less intensive, and less psychologically and neuroplastically sophisticated approaches have led to a series of "revolving-door" admissions which end up being more costly in the long run, and demoralizing and can reinforce the patient's sense of failure. In the meantime, precious life opportunities are wasted. True, these treatment interventions can sometimes help patients briefly and marginally improve their symptoms (and patients often improve their eating behaviors because they want to leave facilities as soon as possible). But the underlying structure driving the illness is unchanged, and all-too-often relapse follows.
Reopening Blocked Psychological and Brain Development
It has long been known to scientists—and parents—that there are critical periods of psychological development, when certain skills develop very rapidly. (Think of how children are very good at acquiring language, for a period of time, learning many new words a day, effortlessly). In the brain these periods are heightened times of brain plasticity, in which it is easy to alter circuits. So, development is always a time of enhanced brain plasticity. These developmental "windows" tend to close after a while. But by understanding brain plasticity, they can be reopened.
Blocked Development in Eating Disorders; Problems with the Self, and Identity
We don't just develop language, or the ability to walk. Aspects of our self and our identity, our body image, and our ability to love deeply, and most importantly our ability to read a variety of emotions in ourselves, and read and understand our own minds, and the minds of others, have to be developed as well. So does the ability to regulate our anxiety.
But all these developments can be interrupted by a variety of setbacks in life—including severe hypersensitivities in childhood, a depressed caregiver, an absent or preoccupied caregiver, psychological trauma, sensory processing problems during infancy, serious physical illness and other causes.
A very frequent common denominator in our residents, along with the well-known perfectionism and preoccupation with weight, is something that they often only feel comfortable exploring and talking about once they have established trust with their therapists. These are their problems that center around what we might call, "a sense of having a self." One of our clients—whom we have quoted at the beginning of this section—spoke about this problem. Her words are worth repeating:
Of course, each person experiences these problems in her own unique way, and there are many different ways in which a person can feel estranged from her self, her body, and her femininity, another common problem. Problems with being uncertain about one's sense of self, and identity, are often buried under the pursuit of some very "concrete" goals, such as getting to a certain weight, competing and winning in sports, or a achieving a measurable academic, career and social goal. These pursuits all involve ranking oneself in ways that are easier to measure than achieving the more elusive psychological goal of developing "a solid sense of self," and "knowing who I truly am."
Some patients may at times express uncertainty about what it means to love, or who they would like to love, or the kinds of friends they want to have, or their sexual or gender identity, or their values. They may be afraid of loving, and commonly fear they are unlovable. They may spend much of their lives being compliant and living solely for others, uncertain of who they are or what they want. They may feel they are being false in a way, by going along. Or, some may fear being engulfed by others, and their needs. We have found that all these seemingly different problems often relate to underlying questions such as "What is my true self?" and "Do I even know what the word, 'self' means? Sometimes, just thinking about these problems makes patients very anxious.
A Psychotherapy Focused on What Eating Disorder Patients Need To Develop and Achieve Balance
One key focus of the new approach is appreciating that eating disorder patients are very good at doing certain things, which turn out to be what are called "left hemisphere brain functions." They are less so at some "right hemisphere functions," which turn out to be essential to develop a solid sense of self that feels safe, sturdy, and one's own.
We all have two brain hemispheres, the left and the right, and each are important, and each are good at different things.
The left hemisphere, for instance, is good at paying attention if one needs a narrow focus, or to use certain kinds of abstraction, categories, or to focus on things we already know. It also sees things "out of context" because its focus is so narrow.
The right hemisphere has a more broad-minded focus, is interested in novelty, and is curious about the unknown. It's not focused on categories, but on understanding individuals, and relationships between people and things. Because it has a broad-minded focus, and is interested in relationships, it sees things "in context." And, most important for our purposes, it processes much of our emotion, and allows us to understand what others, and we ourselves are feeling, including what we are feeling in our bodies. A number of things can interfere with its development.
In trauma, or chronic severe stress (be it mental or physical) the right hemisphere's ability to process feelings may be partially blocked, and the person is numbed or dissociated, or can feel cut off from her body. But there are other things that can inhibit its proper development.
Our first two years of life are primarily about right hemisphere development; the left starts later after that. During these two years, and later, the right hemisphere needs exposure to people to develop properly. (The brain is plastic, and it is through experience that its circuits develop) Thus, we learn to read emotions by being with others, who help us understand, in real time, what we are feeling. If anything interferes with that development, our right hemisphere will be less able to fulfill its potential. Dr. Doidge pointed Avalon Hills to a scientific literature that shows that eating disorder patients can have interesting imbalances in how these two hemispheres function. In eating disorders, the left hemisphere is, in certain ways, more active than the right, which under-performs on certain tasks. As well, on brain scans, patients with eating disorders tend to have a more distorted body image in their very active left hemispheres, for instance, than in their right hemispheres.
The over-reliance on left hemisphere functions contributes to the illness. For instance, a blood supply problem in the right hemisphere (causing it to under-function, compared to the left) can lead to the spontaneous development of an eating disorder. When it is treated, the eating disorder goes away.
Of course you don't have to have a blood supply problem to the brain for this imbalance to occur. All you have to do is overuse one hemisphere's functions, and underuse the other's, and the balance goes off, because the brain is neuroplastic, and it is a use-it-or-lose-it brain.
There are many clinical examples of how people with eating disorders show high left hemisphere function, and lowered right. Eating disorder patients often show left brain tendencies, by being narrowly focused on abstract goals such as getting to a certain weight. One thing that baffles those around them, is that this focus can often lose the larger context: if they achieve that goal they might just die. And they have trouble using right hemisphere functions, such as monitoring their bodies and subtle emotional reactions, or seeing the big picture.
The individual psychotherapy that we use is an insight and emotion-based, neuroplastically-informed, hemisphere-balancing psychotherapy. It really stimulates the right hemisphere functions. It takes some of the best of what is called psychodynamic psychotherapy, and attachment, and teaches the client to activate her right hemisphere skills, in the sessions, in the context of a caring relationship with our individual therapists, who have been trained in this approach.
Our individual therapists are empathic, and trained to undo developmental inhibitions and conflicts, treat trauma, self-fragmentation, and defenses in the therapy of eating disorder patients. They are trained to deal with some of the common personality organizations that eating disorder patients can often have, including, among others, what is called the borderline personality organization.
One of the things that happens at Avalon Hills is that our residents have "aha" moments, where they start to get in touch with the sense of self, read their own minds much better, and develop more empathy for themselves and others.
At the Same Time…Depth-Neurofeedback and All Our Other Modalities
At the same time our residents are working to lower their anxiety and raise calm focus with neurofeedback, stimulate brains areas that allow them to read their emotions and mental states, develop better body awareness, and self-development.
Everyone who comes to Avalon Hills gets a highly specific kind of non-invasive brain map, called a Quantitative EEG, which can show them how their brain is firing, and what areas are hyperactive, what areas are less active, and how the different areas of the brain talk to each other. Then we design a tailor-made Neurofeedback program to address these problems. Patients can see their progress over time, by looking at pictures of their brains as they change. And they can take heart, that they are, through their training, driving that change in a direction that they want.
For instance, we have found that many of our patients, when they come to Avalon Hills, have difficulty entering a calm, open state of mind, where they can make new connections and be creative, and with the training they can improve that. Or, they can also learn to be more aware of their bodies, lower hypersensitivity, and lower impulsivity.
The neurofeedback helps the psychotherapy, and the psychotherapy helps the neurofeedback. And, we might add, while recently some programs have begun to offer neurofeedback in a non-tailor-made way (one-size-fits-all) we have one of the world leaders, Dr. Ed Hamlin, reading over all our measures, and following our patients, and then we integrate a client's brain findings with our assessments, psychotherapy and all the other therapeutic interventions that we do. While some Eating Disorder Programs now give clients one-size-fits-all devices to help calm them (as can we) our in-depth neurofeedback training is one-on-one, using programs specifically designed for our patients, and changed as they need it, and they each have their own neurofeedback trainers. Meanwhile, behind the scenes, we have Dr. Hamlin analyzing the data, and then we discuss it with the primary therapists. Because Dr. Hamlin also understands intensive psychotherapy, our insights from our client's neurofeedback are truly integrated into the psychotherapy. For us, neurofeedback is time-intensive work, and not an "add on" or afterthought, or a marketing scheme.
Or course, all residents are undergoing other intensive forms of therapy at Avalon Hills, such as family therapy, body image exposures, work with the animals, martial arts training, and yoga that allows them to get access to parts of themselves they didn't know they have.
Summary: What We See With This New Approach
In this program, we understand that while eating disorder behaviors and attitudes may be rigid, this does not mean that the brains of patients with those disorders are rigid or lack plasticity; the illness is in part a product of how they use their plasticity, which is a product of their development.
Working with all our modalities—the best of the most in-depth therapies combined with the best of the new brain science—we help patients access their full psychological and neuroplastic potential, by stimulating dormant psychological and brain capacities, that have been just waiting to develop. They improve emotional self-regulation, so that they are less prone to emotional ups and downs. On follow-up brain mapping scans and psychological testing, we see that their brains are much better at modulating themselves, and more balanced. Above all, in many cases they develop a more integrated, differentiated view of themselves.
When this occurs, patients can develop more life-affirming goals that make eating disorder behaviors less necessary or attractive to them, so that they can grow out of a reliance on them, and mature psychologically at the same time. And their whole relationship to their body begins to change to one that is more wholesome and loving.
Avalon Hills has benefitted from ongoing consultation with Norman Doidge, MD in Canada in the areas of program development, innovation, implementation and continuous refinement. Dr. Doidge is recognized as a pioneer in the field of neuroplasticity, the area of neuroscience focused on brain change (and its relationship to undoing blocks to mental and emotional flexibility). He is the author of the international and New York Times best-selling books The Brain that Changes Itself and The Brain's Way of Healing.
The Brain That Changes Itself, on neuroplasticity, has been described by the London Times as, "Brilliant…Doidge has identified a tidal shift in basic science…The implications are monumental." The New York Times Science Times has written that The Brain That Changes Itself, has "implications…not only for individual patients with neurologic disease but for all human beings, not to mention human culture, human learning and human history." Neurologist Oliver Sacks called it, "Fascinating… a remarkable and hopeful portrait of the endless adaptability of the human brain." It was chosen by the Dana Brain Foundation journal, Cerebrum, from among the 30,000 brain books as the best general book on the brain.
Bessel van der Kolk, MD, author of The Body Keeps The Score, on psychological trauma, has written, "The Brain's Way of Healing is a stunner…[and] opens up so many novel and startling avenues into our potential to heal. Norman Doidge enthralls us with a rich combination of lucidly explained brain research and pioneering … approaches to recovery. With an eloquence reminiscent of Oliver Sacks, Doidge bolsters the latest advances in brain science with a series of extraordinary case histories of people for whom all hope seemed to be lost, but who healed…."
Dr. Doidge is a psychiatrist and psychoanalyst, on the Research Faculty at the Columbia University Department of Psychiatry, Center for Psychoanalytic Training and Research, in New York, and the University of Toronto's Department of Psychiatry. He is a Training and Supervising Analyst at the Toronto Institute of Psychoanalysis. He has authored over 170 scientific and popular articles, as well as intensive psychotherapy guidelines. His research is credited with helping preserve these treatments as part of the Canadian and Australian health care systems. He is former head of the Psychotherapy Center, and the Assessment Clinic, at the largest psychiatric hospital system in Canada, CAMH.
He has presented his work on five continents, at neuroscience institutes, at the U.N., the White House, and produced 3 documentaries, showing people undergoing neuroplastic change. He has won scientific and clinical awards, including election to the American College of Psychoanalysts for "many outstanding achievements in psychiatry and psychoanalysis… and national leadership in psychiatry." He was awarded the Mary S. Sigourney Prize, the highest award in international psychoanalysis, and the U.S. National Association of Mental Illness Ken Book Award, and the Special Recognition Award from Brain Injury Canada for his "heroic contribution to the cause of acquired brain injury in Canada."

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
package sheetkram.io.ooxml

import java.io.File
import java.io.FileOutputStream

import org.apache.poi.xssf.usermodel.{ XSSFWorkbook => XlsxWorkbook }

import sheetkram.io.WriteWorkbook
import sheetkram.model.Workbook

object WriteXlsx extends WriteWorkbook with WriteOoxml {

  def toFile( workbook : Workbook, file : File ) : Unit = {
    val xlsxWorkbook : XlsxWorkbook = new XlsxWorkbook()
    doWrite( workbook, xlsxWorkbook )
    val out = new FileOutputStream( file )
    try {
      xlsxWorkbook.write( out )
    } finally {
      out.close()
    }
  }

}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


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Home Events Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Cast & Producer Interviews from Comic-Con!
Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Cast & Producer Interviews from Comic-Con!
We had a chance to sit down with the cast of Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. at the Comic-Con press room. Check out what they had to say about this past season and what they could tease about their characters for the upcoming season.
Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Season 4 premieres on September 20, 2016!


Timeless elegance with exquisite detail describes this lovely custom 4 bedroom + study, 4.5 bath home constructed by award winning Harwick Homes. As you enter, the breathtaking lake views are seen beyond the spacious patio with its vanishing edge pool, spa, seating areas and outdoor kitchen. This home offers neutral decor throughout, a double-sided fireplace between the pretty living room and very spacious family/great room, handsome study, 3 ensuite guest bedrooms and an expansive master suite overlooking the pool and lake and includes a luxurious bath, spacious his and her closets plus exercise room. The desirable kitchen opens to the family room and beyond the French doors to the patio. Other amenities include: marble flooring, new AC units, gorgeous moldings and finishes, Pecky Cypress ceilings, bar area, great storage including pantry, hurricane shutters, 3 car oversized garage with storage and epoxy floor coverings, west/northwest exposure for great sun and sunsets, impeccably maintained and landscaped and so much more. The outdoor entertaining areas are designed perfectly for the Florida lifestyle.


In 1992, I took the path followed by many young Irish people at that time and emigrated to the United States. In my case I left Dublin for Berkeley, California to get a Ph.D. in sociology. Within a year or two I found myself beginning to study the Irish software industry from 6,000 miles away in Silicon Valley. Through interviews with managers in Silicon Valley companies with operations in Ireland I investigated the dynamics of foreign investment in the Irish software industry. E-mail correspondence with managers of Irish companies in Dublin directed me to their Silicon Valley offices where I learned the basic history of the emergence of an Irish-owned software industry which was now itself becoming increasingly globalized. These contacts and other Irish people I knew in California put me in touch with Irish software developers working in the Silicon Valley area.


Can I connect any external speakers?
Yep. Pocketalk is compatible with Bluetooth® 4.0, so you can connect to speakers that support Bluetooth. Connecting external speakers via Bluetooth might be useful if you want much higher volumes on the audio output. Please note that Pocketalk does not come equipped with any audio jacks.
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VR Regatta official v1.0 release coming in just two weeks!
VR Regatta has been on a long journey, but we have a big milestone coming up that we're really excited to tell you about. The game's early access period is about to come to an end, and we are about to officially release version 1.0 of VR Regatta: The Sailing Game!
Find out more in our Steam launch date announcement.


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E. Scott Jones
Writer / Minister / Activist
E. Scott Jones was raised a Southern Baptist and felt the call to ministry at the age of five. He was ordained in 1997 and joined the United Church of Christ in 2005.
He has previously served churches in Fayetteville, Arkansas; Dallas, Texas; and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
Since 2010 he has been the Senior Minister of the First Central Congregational United Church of Christ in Omaha, Nebraska. | Watch his sermons.
Being a minister has led Scott into activism on behalf of LGBT rights, interfaith relations, reproductive justice, and support for refugees and immigrants.
He is part of Heartland Clergy for Inclusion, was an author of the Heartland Proclamation, and coordinated the #ReadyToMarry campaign for marriage equality in Nebraska. Scott was also a leader of the Equal Omaha Coalition that lobbied successfully in 2012 for the passage of Omaha's Equal Employment Ordinance.
In 2009 he received the Torch Award from the Cimarron Alliance Foundation for his leadership and contributions to the LGBT community in Oklahoma.
On Easter Sunday 2008 he appeared on Flashpoint opposite infamous homophobe Rep. Sally Kern. | Watch the show.
Scott completed a Bachelor of Arts in Religion and Philosophy at Oklahoma Baptist University and a Ph. D. in Philosophy from the University of Oklahoma. In 2010 he delivered the annual alumni lectures at OU. He currently serves as a Lecturer in the Philosophy Department of Creighton University.
His essay "On Being an Openly Gay Minister in a Red State" was published in Prism: A Theological Forum for the United Church of Christ, Volume 23, Number 2, Fall 2009.
A few of his presentations:
"The Pizzazz of Creation" delivered at Wake Forest Divinity School in April 2008.
Interview on Homebrewed Christianity podcast in June 2008.
Emergent Village Conversation 2012 appearance with theologian John Cobb.
Copyright E Scott Jones 2018


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Q: Custom Errors tag not working[Server Error in '/' Application.] I don't want to remove the error, I just want to hide this error (Server Error in '/' Application). but in web.config my (customErrors mode="Off") is not working .
  <configuration>
        <system.web>
            <customErrors mode="Off"/>
        </system.web>
    </configuration>

This is the error when i applied customErrors mode= "Off"

HTTP Error 500.19 - Internal Server Error The requested page cannot be
  accessed because the related configuration data for the page is
  invalid.

A: Without seeing the rest of your configuration file it's not possible to know what is wrong with it but apart from that I think you are misunderstanding what <customErrors mode="Off"/> does. It will actually show the most detailed "yellow screen of death" of all the custom error modes. From here:

CustomErrors supports the following modes:

*

*On – If defaultRedirect is specified, they will see that content.    Otherwise the default error screen with fewer details.

*Off – Detailed    error details will be shown to the user. (the "yellow screen of death    screen")

*RemoteOnly – Default value. Detailed errors only are shown    to local users. Remote users receive custom error screens or fewer
  details.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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Morgane Stapleton and Chris Stapleton Perform "You Are My Sunshine" on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
Morgane Stapleton and Chris Stapleton performed "You Are My Sunshine" on last night's "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon." Watch the full performance HERE.
The Stapleton's rendition of the classic song appears on the acclaimed Southern Family compilation, which is out on Low Country Sound/Elektra Records (purchase here). Produced and conceived by Grammy, CMA and ACM Award-winning producer Dave Cobb, Southern Family is composed of twelve songs rooted in country, blues, folk and rock.
In addition to Morgane and Chris Stapleton, the all-star album features recordings by Zac Brown, Brandy Clark, Brent Cobb, Anderson East, Jason Isbell, Shooter Jennings, Jamey Johnson, Miranda Lambert, Rich Robinson, John Paul White and Holly Williams.


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Explore: Tanjung Pinang (Bintan Island, Riau Islands)
Tanjung Pinang is the ferry port on the western side of the large island of Bintan, which, itself lies immediately east of Bantam Island. It is the largest city on Bintan island and a useful provisioning stop with its wonderful market, however, be warned, the port itself is extremely dirty with a great deal of debris in the water.
Position: 0°56'N, 104°27'E. (Tanjung Pinang)
The most straightforward place to complete both inward and outward clearance is at the Bandar Bentan Telani Ferry Terminal on the north coast of Bintan, now called Bintan Resorts Marina. However, there is an agent fee here for clearance.
Contact Mr Machsun via email at the Bandar Bentan Telani Ferry Terminal At least 12 hours notice is requested preferably by email. It is also advisable to arrive during daylight hours to avoid overtime charges. For more information on procedures and fees, please refer to the Bintan Resorts Marina Guide.
Bintan Resorts has installed marina pontoons, suitable for private yachts up to 25 meters and draft of up to three meters. There are a total of 14 berths at this facility. Boats with a draft of more than 3.5 meters can anchor off and come ashore for CIQP clearance.
See the Formalities section for full details on the requirements for clearing into or out of Indonesia.
Note: Cruisers have reported to Noonsite about being turned away when trying to clear in/out at the port of Tanjungpinang so it may be wise to consider alternative options, such as the Marina or even Belitung. (Noonsite is endeavouring to independently verify the current situation).
Previous reports from 2017 (see this report) indicate a less than easy process at Tanjungpinang.
Last updated: July 2019
Photo of the port of Tanjung Pinang, courtesy of Chris Marchant
The harbour approach is straight forward and easily navigable, however, ferry traffic can be heavy depending on the time of day. The many fast ferries will indicate the route in, but the buoyage is clear and the leading line accurate.
There is an anchorage in good firm mud near the fuel barge at 00° 56.17'N, 104° 26.267'E (fuel for ferries only, not possible for yachts).
Protection is good and the wash from ferries is not a nuisance as the ferry terminal is slightly downstream. Tugs and tows use the river so it is important to keep the airway clear.
Fuel is not available at the barge for yachts, only by jerry can at a stilt house with plants on its boards, 250m up the river.
Getting Ashore
Landing can be made at one of the small piers used by local ferries. Either the one painted yellow or at the excellent Chinese fish restaurant just north of it.
It is easy to get a water taxi ashore during the day (just flag one down) but more difficult at night. Security might be an issue, as it has been in the past, so take normal precautions.
The locals are very welcoming.
The Bintan Resorts Marina on the north side of the island has marina berths or head to Nongsa Point Marina on the neighbouring island of Batam.
Bintan Resorts Marina
Indonesia, Tanjungpinang (Bintan Island and Riau Islands), Western Indonesia - Bintan/Lingga/Riau and Anambas Islands


The Optik View DC21210 2MP 21.3" Color Diagnostic Display takes high resolution imaging to the next level. This display is designed for imaging professionals who require consistent image quality and reliable operation. The Optik View DC21210 display offers unique processing abilities to faithfully display organs, tissue, bone and fluid in minute detail, providing radiologists and clinicians with the most accurate color and monochrome images for analysis and diagnosis. The display is ideally suited for traditional radiographic images such as chest CR, DR, and other imaging modalities requiring higher brightness and contrast performance. This high-definition display features DICOM Part 14 compliant calibration to ensure consistent image quality over the life of the product and can be used as a PACS/HIS/RIS point-of-use display.


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Odilon Redon was known as "the prince of mysterious dreams" for his enigmatic and imaginative paintings, drawings, and prints that mined fantasy, literature, and the subconscious. The Cleveland Museum of Art was among the earliest American museums to collect pieces by this groundbreaking 19th-century French artist. Beginning nearly a century ago, in 1925, the institution's early supporters made landmark donations of artworks by Redon, such as his darkly evocative lithograph Parsifal and his pastel masterpiece Orpheus—described by one art historian as the artist's finest work. These early acquisitions earned the CMA an international reputation as the most important repository of works by Redon outside France, and the museum continues to augment its remarkable collection to this day.
Collecting Dreams: Odilon Redon celebrates the CMA's exceptional holdings by Redon, including a newly acquired charcoal drawing. It also features one of the artist's most significant late paintings, Andromeda (1912), a special loan from the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts that was exhibited for the first time in the United States at the CMA in 1926, alongside the museum's own works by Redon. Together, the objects on view reveal the legacy of this influential Post-Impressionist artist in Cleveland.
Vase of Flowers,1916 Tall Latte Mug
Vase of Flowers, 1916 Two-Tone Mug
Violette Heymann Tall Latte Mug
Violette Heymann Tote


Are you aware of the change in media? It can affect you if you are now in the business of blogging. The profit you earned from blogging is getting lower and lower. Do you know that building authority sites is a high profitable business? As mass media gets to be more social, the way in which you catch the attention of your target audience changes. In order to develop your reputation on the web, don't assume that the outdated way of talking about yourself will continue to work. It won't get the job done any longer.
One interesting fact you should know. The more you talk about yourself on your websites, the more you turn your readers off. Whenever you only discuss yourself, you place the emphasis on you, but your target market may well come to feel that you're self-centered and don't care about others.
The secret to harness the power of social media is to promote others, not just promote yourself. When you focus on other gurus and exactly how well other industry professionals are doing, you show your audience that you have got your finger on the pulse when it comes to your specific discipline.
By making use of this guidance, you set yourself apart from every other business that is just talking about themselves. Rather than only blogging about what you are able to offer, become an authority, and share a much more rounded view of your community.
Surely you've heard of blogging by now. Basically a blog or a weblog is like an online journal devoted to a subject of interest to you. In many ways, it is a very personal way of communicating. It can actually be considered "social media". If you want to start or improve your blog, read on for some helpful tips.
Try to always be available to your readers. Ensure that they can reach you in many different ways, such as through comments or social media. Consistent communication with your readers can help establish a strong connection between you and your readers that results from the exchange of ideas with one another. You have an obligation to your readers if your blog really takes off. If you get frustrated, think of your readers.
Be authentic. Don't pretend that you know everything there is to know about your niche. Act open, honest, and transparent. Keep this in mind all the time. Remember that blogging is primarily an expression of a person's personality. Don't try to reach a state of perfection; simply get better at what you do daily. If you make a mistake, so be it. You are unique, and no one can duplicate you.
Make sure you write about things people find interesting and useful. While you might want to blog about vacuuming your house or washing your dishes, these are tasks that almost everyone does. Such content would have to be presented in a unique way to get readers to care. Pick topics that people will be intrigued by. The main goal of blogging is to get readers to your site.
Make sure that you add to your blog on a regular basis. In order to maintain and increase the amount of traffic that your blog receives, you must constantly provide new content. If you do not offer new content often, readers will have no motivation to keep visiting. A general rule of thumb is to post new content no less than once, daily.


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Chris Jericho Westwood One Podcast Network
Chris Jericho Westwood One Podcast Network public [search 0]
Talk Is Jericho
He's a multiple world champion pro wrestler, lead singer of Fozzy, and a New York Times best-selling author. Listen in as Chris Jericho interviews some of the biggest names in wrestling, entertainment, comedy, and the paranormal. Don't miss his unique, engaging, weekly take on all things pop culture.
Inside of You with Michael Rosenbaum
I'm Michael Rosenbaum, I've spent the better part of the last two decades in and out of film and television - mostly known for playing the bald dude on the show Smallville. I'm the guy that you probably don't know by name, but when you see my face you might say "oh, that guy from that thing." I've befriended some of the most talented people in the business, but it wasn't until I started inviting them into my home that I realized, I didn't really know these people. What started as me having s ...
OG Ghostbuster Ernie Hudson 1:09:38
Absolute legend on the podcast this week. Ernie Hudson (Ghostbusers) joins to share his story of overcoming adversity early in his life and chasing his passion for acting while scraping by to provide as a father and husband. Ernie opens up early in this episode on the importance for him to be a good father, because of the lack of one he had growing…
99 Reasons Why Anna Jay is the Queenslayer of AEW 52:38
Anna Jay is number 99 in the Dark Order, a number given to her by the late, great Brodie Lee. Anna talks about joining the Dark Order, the impact that Brodie had on her career, the lessons she learned from him, how she was able to keep a straight face during all those BTE vignettes, and the Dark Order's future. Anna also talks wrestling school, her…
The Forecast & Future of COVID-19 for 2021 with Dr. Alex Patel 1:00:39
Dr. Alex Patel, a critical care ICU doctor based in Toronto, Canada, has been on the frontlines of the coronavirus since the pandemic's first days, and has treated the sickest patients. He returns to talk about what the healthcare industry has learned about the virus in the last 10 months, the winter COVID surge, the ongoing importance of mask-wear…
Smallville's Clark Kent/ Superman is Back... Tom Welling! 1:18:05
Smallville's Clark Kent/ Superman Is Back... Tom Welling joins the show this week and opens up a ton on the idea of creativity, and the lack of that when operating out of anger and being in survival mode. Tom talks about opening up to the idea of being genuine and authentic and shedding the false idea of perfection. We also get into trickle down em…
Cody Rhodes Goes Big With AEW 1:08:22
Cody Rhodes had a pair of great matches, including a dog collar match, with Brodie Lee just before Brodie's tragic passing. Cody talks about planning those two matches, how NJPW's Big Van Vader vs Inoki factored into the squash, the back-up plan for the dog collar match, and why it's so bittersweet for him to have had the last match of Brodie's car…
The Conspiracies of 2020 56:42
David Weiss of the Flat Earth Podcast returns to talk about conspiracies of 2020 which include everything from COVID19 to QAnon, and of course the Flat Earth! He shares his thoughts on the pandemic (and why it's not a real pandemic), what he thinks about the vaccines and the vaccination process, depopulation theories, and the great deception! He ta…
Wrestling Legend Chris Jericho 1:06:38
WWE Legend Chris Jericho (WWE, Talk Is Jericho) joins me this week to talk about his experience throughout his life overcoming peer and public stigmas while pursuing his dreams in wrestling, music, film, and more. Chris really hammers home the idea of passion fueled perseverance in this episode, so for anyone looking for a little boost, this is a m…
Brodie Lee - A Celebration of Life 2:14:02
The world lost the great Jon Huber (aka AEW's Mr. Brodie Lee and WWE's Luke Harper) unexpectedly on December 26th, and so today, many members of his AEW family come together to celebrate his life! Chris Harrington, Brodie's childhood friend from Rochester, NY, and current AEW Vice President of Business Strategy recalls their backyard wrestling show…
I'm Too Old For This Shit - The Heavy Metal Fairy Tale of Siren 1:14:05
Heavy metal band Siren are living, breathing proof that dreams can and do come true at any age! And now there's a documentary called "I'm Too Old For This Shit – A Heavy Metal Fairy Tale," produced by Chris Jericho, that chronicles their unlikely 30-year journey from early-80s struggling band in Brandon, Florida to playing the Keep It True Festival…
World Famous Voice Actor Clancy Brown 1:10:24
Clancy Brown (Shawshank, SpongeBob) joins me this week to share his personal experience with impostor syndrome throughout his career from its inception to highlights like The Shawshank Redemption. Clancy talks about how the industry had changed over the decades and how he feels blessed to have found voice acting for the presence it allows him to ke…
Le Q&A for Le Champion - Live On The Jericho Cruise 1:02:21
Happy holidays! It's a special treat delivered straight from the 2020 Jericho Cruise – a fan Q&A for Christmas! Chris answered a bunch of questions that covered everything from WCW to AEW to the Festival of Friendship and Fozzy. He talked about career catch phrases that bombed, the inspiration for the Painmaker makeup, pro wrestlers who should have…
Classic Album Clash - Anthrax's "Disease" vs "Among"... with Anthrax! 2:01:10
Merry freakin' everything! And how's this for a holiday gift?! It's the return of the Classic Album Clash, and for the first time ever, actual members of the band who made two said albums are taking part in the great debate! Anthrax guitarist Scott Ian and drummer Charlie Benante join CJ and Eddie Trunk to discuss "Spreading The Disease" and "Among…
Kenny Omega and Don Callis Make AEW History 1:07:19
Three guys from Winnipeg are revolutionizing the wrestling industry, and making history in the process! Kenny Omega, Don Callis, and CJ discuss their recent impact (pun intended) on the biz, the origins of this master plan, the painstaking way in which Kenny's current AEW World Championship has been brought to fruition, and what Kenny's Uncle, the …
Ted Irvine - 30 Years of Wrestling With Jericho 1:25:01
The 30 Years of Jericho celebration wraps up with this special episode with Ted Irvine! He was there from the beginning, literally, and shares his recollections of CJ's career! He remembers when Chris first told him that he wanted to pursue wrestling, the road trip they took to Calgary to check out the Hart Brothers wrestling school, his first intr…
Erica Durance 1:14:49
Erica Durance (Smallville, Saving Hope) joins me this week to share the anxiety and stress of going behind the scenes working in casting to in front of the camera on Smallville. Erica opens up on the different ways that she's felt that she didn't belong both in her personal and professional life. We also get into her thoughts and experience with po…
Angus Young & Brian Johnson Power Up! 47:41
Angus Young and Brian Johnson of AC/DC "Power Up" TIJ with a special episode in celebration of the release of the new AC/DC album, "Power Up" (available now at acdc.com). The Rock & Roll Hall of Famers talk Malcolm Young and his contributions to the new record, Malcolm's role in the band, and having Stevie Young step in for Mal on rhythm guitar. An…
KISS Animalize Live - 36th Anniversary Watchalong 1:51:13
It's the 36th Anniversary of the KISS "Animalize Live Uncensored" concert, so that means it's watchalong time with KISS fanatics (and likely KISS Army members) Chris, Fozzy drummer Frank Fontsere, the mysterious Chris L. from the "Pod of Thunder" podcast, and ZO2 drummer extraordinaire Joey Cassata! Grab a drink, crank up the sound from the infamou…
Pat Patterson Is Pro Wrestling's Jedi Master 1:23:58
Pat Patterson was Chris Jericho's wrestling guru, a skilled singles worker and tag team wrestler during his performance days, and the creator of the Battle Royal! He was a great karaoke singer, loved comedy, and spent years behind-the-scenes at WWE as an agent and coach. Dave Meltzer from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter joins to remember Pat's da…
Nathan Fillion 1:13:01
Nathan Fillion (Castle, Firefly) joins me this week for an episode largely centered around the idea of managing expectations throughout life. Nathan shares how he's had to manage expectations of new projects after personal experience with disappointing ones that he thought would be hits and others that were surprise cult classics. He also talks abo…
Christian Metal Pioneers Bloodgood... Detonate! 1:17:57
The new Bloodgood documentary "Trenches Of Rock" is available at BloodgoodBand.com, and chronicles the band's 30+ year career! Founding bassist Michael Bloodgood and singer Les Carlsen talk about the band's early days, how they formed and came up with the name, what it was like playing their first-ever gig opening for Stryper, and the stigma they f…
QT Marshall - The Unsung Hero of AEW 1:11:17
QT Marshall is half of the Natural Nightmares tag team with Dustin Rhodes, and he's also the behind-the-scenes rock star of AEW! QT's talking about his journey to AEW which includes a near-detour through WWE, a stint on the indies, and a couple of stops at Ring of Honor. He shares what inspired him to start a wrestling school in Atlanta, how that c…
Timothy Omundson (ft. Selma Blair) 1:38:37
Timothy Omundson (Psych) joins me this week and pours it all out about his heartbreaking experience with the freak accident stroke he suffered during the zenith of his career and the best shape of his life. Timothy opens up on making the conscious decision to stay strong and overcome this obstacle for the sake of his family and the desire to not le…


The gig economy that generates the talent startups can afford depends upon health insurance freelancers can afford.
The Open Enrollment Period is underway in the United States, but judging by the news coming out of Washington, you'd hardly know it. While recent economy-related headlines have been around schemes to spur economic growth through mechanisms like corporate tax cuts, it's worth recognizing exactly how and where Americans have been earning their living and what will truly help them succeed.
Harvard and Princeton economists Lawrence Katz and Alan Krueger did a study about a year ago, finding that 94 percent of net job growth over the last 10 years had come from alternative forms of work. "Alternative work" essentially meaning non-traditional, nine to five employment. Of that 94 percent, 60 percent could be considered freelance or contract work.
There are more than a few books dedicated to why alternative work has grown so quickly, but the bottom line is that it's happening and doesn't appear to be slowing down. Intuit has gone as far as predicting that independent work will make up over 40 percent of the U.S. workforce by 2020.
Not to be lost in the rise of the independent worker is the makeup of those small businesses that rely on them. Based on research Fiverr did earlier this year, nearly two out of three entrepreneurs and small businesses said they rely on freelance help to keep their businesses humming. Over 24 million of America's small businesses are non-employer businesses themselves, and over 97 percent have less than 20 employees. Essentially, many of the same entrepreneurs that rely on freelancers are the ones who themselves function independently.
When it comes to independent work and its increasing impact on the U.S. economy, it's clear that the inflection point is coming. Warren Buffett once said, "Predicting rain doesn't count. Building arks does." How can companies, communities and entrepreneurial ecosystem start to build arks? It starts with informing and increasing access.
Keep the independent workforce healthy.
Simply put: the availability of and access to healthcare coverage has played a big role in creating opportunity for independent workers and entrepreneurs, and the numbers back it up. In 2014, the first year the Affordable Care Act went into effect, 1.4 million people purchasing coverage through the newly established marketplace were considered a small-business, self-employed, or both. That was one in five of all the people buying insurance on the exchange.
Part of broadening access to affordable care is simply making sure those who rely upon it are aware of it. Last year, the Department of Health and Human Services (DHS) spent $100 million to create awareness around Open Enrollment, the period of the year when Americans can sign up for or alter their health coverage. That outpouring resulted in 11.5 million people using the federal marketplace to buy health insurance. Of that number, 8.9 million people renewed their coverage or bought new plans to replace existing plans, and 2.6 million were brand new to the marketplace.
This year, DHS has slashed its marketing budget 90 percent, leaving little opportunity to spread the word about the upcoming enrollment period. Aside from limiting awareness and education efforts, the Administration has created a fair amount of fear, uncertainty and doubt around healthcare; a move that will undoubtedly leave fewer independent workers and non-employer businesses enrolled and more without coverage.
Fiverr has led the creation of a coalition of like-minded technology companies and communities, focused on broadening access to care. Dubbed "Tech United for Independent Access to Healthcare," Fiverr, DoorDash, Postmates, Etsyand Care.com are launching a coordinated effort to reach as many people as possible with the most recent, pertinent and up-to-date information regarding the 2017 Open Enrollment period for state healthcare exchanges, created under the Affordable Care Act.
Through our partner Stride Health, we're helping our communities gain streamlined access to personalized guidance, picking the right plan, and enrolling in health coverage with tax credits.
But, even with efforts like ours, entrepreneurs, freelancers and individuals within the U.S. economy risk being uninformed about their options.With that in mind, we wanted to provide some simple guidelines for finding care this Open Enrollment Period.
Recognize the shorter timetable this year: The Open Enrollment Period is from November 1st until December 15, 2017 (in most states). This is roughly a month shorter than last year, and with entrepreneurs and freelancers often laser-focused on their business, the deadline will sneak up on you.
Buying insurance is often less expensive than the tax penalty itself: If you don't buy health insurance either as an active decision or because the deadline has passed, the government will fine you -- last year's fine was either $695 per person ($347.50 per child under 18. or 2.5 percent of your income, whichever is greater (so enroll in health insurance by December 15 to avoid this fine!).
Recognize your options and get the right plan for you: Most of us have expertise, but it's rarely in healthcare benefits. It's in our business or our field. Picking the right plan can be confusing for everyone. There are countless disclaimers and acronyms (HMOs, PPOs, EPOs, APTCs, MAGI and many more) standing in your way, so find a benefits professional or a platform like Stride to provide the guidance you and your family need to succeed.
The lowest premium is not always the cheapest plan: It's easy to see a low number and assume that's the right way to go. For many people -- like those who have frequent doctor visits, complicated medical conditions, or expensive prescription drugs -- out of pocket costs can add up quickly, so it's often more affordable to pay a higher premium for a plan that provides more coverage.
Don't assume coverage is unaffordable: Too many of people fail to account for all of their business deductions when they check to see if they qualify for the tax credits that lower premium costs. Basically, the lower your taxable income, the higher subsidy you are potentially eligible for. Taking the time to correctly estimate your income might mean thousands in annual savings or the chance to buy-up to a better plan for your family.
The way people work has changed. It's incumbent on our system to recognize how people are working in the 21st century and to adapt, and that means finding a way to take independents and entrepreneurs and create sustainable access to care. Fiverr and a coalition of our peers have stepped up to the task during this Open Enrollment Period, and our hope is that more will join us.


Cambee's very own bookkeeper, Bertie, also works as a proof reader and wanted a special kind of camper that would transform into a workspace during the day. The idea was that, with a fully-fledged office in the back, he could fly the coop on trips round France and Blighty without having to drop everything.
Bertie spends his days keeping us on budget and wasn't going to let us overspend on his own project. So, for our base we sourced a low-cost Vauxhall Movano (under £4,000) to keep us in the black. Despite the strict budget Big Red is huge, actually has 5 belted seats, sleeps 5 and has been kitted out with everything an office could hope for. That includes a fridge, microwave, 240v electrics and a double bed which folds away in the day.


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Sponsored Content: How to Heal Like an Athlete
Even well-trained athletes get injured. In the second piece of a three-part series, Seth L. Sherman, MD, a board-certified orthopaedic surgeon specializing in sports medicine at the Missouri Orthopaedic Institute, shares advice on how you can help your own recovery when the unexpected happens.
What to do when injury occurs
Pain during or after exercise is not normal (see Sherman's previous blog on "How to Train Like an Athlete"). If you're experiencing pain, Sherman recommends using the R.I.C.E. protocol.
Rest: "Don't keep pushing through pain," Sherman said. Modify your activities, and take it easy for a few days.
Ice: Regardless of the severity of the injury, icing the affected area can bring down swelling and ease pain.
Compress: Wrap the injured area firmly — but not too tightly — with an ACE bandage or other wrap to reduce swelling.
Elevate: Raise the injured area above heart level. This will reduce inflammation and force you to keep the area immobile. Taking an anti-inflammatory medication, such as ibuprofen, will help manage pain and swelling.
When to seek treatment
Taking stock of when the pain started can help you decide when it's time to see your doctor.
"If you had no traumatic injury and just started experiencing pain with repetitive activity, this represents more of an overuse type injury," Sherman said.
This type of injury still needs attention, but it may improve on its own through home treatment with the R.I.C.E. protocol.
"If it's a minor traumatic injury — meaning you fell or felt sudden pain — and there's no swelling and you have full motion, then just follow the R.I.C.E. protocol and use anti-inflammatories," he said. "If it's trending toward improvement within the first 24 to 48 hours, then I think you can safely wait it out."
However, if range of motion is limited or pain and swelling worsen, then it's time to see an expert.
Staying fit during recovery
While recovering from injury or surgery, you can still work muscle groups that aren't affected.
"If you have a lower-extremity injury, you can continue to maintain fitness for your upper extremities and your core," Sherman said. "Vice versa, if you have an upper-extremity injury, you can cross-train with some low-impact biking or things of that nature."
Pool therapy and the "alter G" machine simulates a low-gravity environment to decrease the forces acting on the injured joint. Biologic injection options such as platelet-rich plasma may also aid in the healing process. Always consult your doctor for the best way to stay in shape while you recover.
'Go slow to go fast'
It is vitally important to not rush your recovery. Use crutches, braces and other prescribed aids for as long as your doctor recommends them. Rushing back into full activity, Sherman said, "can cause re-injury, or it can set your recovery time frame back further."
"If you're fighting through pain and swelling, it will shut your muscles down more, starting a vicious cycle, whereas if you go slow to go fast and you hit every checkpoint with good confidence and without overdoing it, then you're going to achieve your end goals much faster," Sherman said.


NEWCASTLE's Matt Ritchie has heaped praise on team-mate Miguel Almiron and predicted him to become a firm fans favourite.
The Paraguay international has started his career on Tyneside well after hitting the ground running right from the word go.
While he is yet to find the back of the net for his new team, he offers something different for Rafa Benitez in attack.
What Almiron has brought United is additional pace and a willingness to take on opponents with the ball at this feet, something they were missing before.
The 25-year-old joined from MLS team Atlanta United in January for a club record fee of around £21m, breaking a long-standing record held my Michael Owen.
Already the St James' Park crowd have been thrilled by watching the forward in full flight, and Ritchie predicts that the playmaker will become a firm fans' favourite.
"He's a threat and [gives us] something we haven't really had," Ritchie told talkSPORT.
Almiron has assisted two goals so far and has got himself in some great positions in the final third.
His first game against Huddersfield could have ended up in tears after he was subjected to an awful challenge in the first-half which could have been a leg breaker.
While Terriers defender Tommy Smith was sent off, Almiron shrugged off his 'welcome to the Premier League moment' and was a continued threat throughout the game.
Toon fans will be hoping for much more of their new man in the coming weeks.
In fact, his arrival has coincided with an upturn in form for Newcastle and they are now looking like staving off relegation this season.
The Magpies are currently 14th in the Premier League table, seven points above the drop.
And Ritchie heaped more praise on Venezuelan forward Salomon Rondon, whose goals have been vital in recent weeks.
"He's been fantastic for us," Ritchie added. "He's a great character, and his goals are priceless.
Rondon is only on loan from West Brom but fans will be hoping for him to remain next season.


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The Legends TDY house is centrally located in Sierra Vista near City Hall, and is just five minutes to the East Gate of Fort Huachuca. The Legends has 3 bedrooms + Office, and 2 baths. This large home has tile flooring and carpeting throughout most of the house with a large open kitchen with a bar and small dining table. The backyard is fully landscaped and the patio has a barbeque grill and seating.
The Legends is located only 10 minutes to the Fort Huachuca Main Gate, and just minutes to the East Gate. This fully furnished TDY house rental includes all utilities, cable in every bedroom, and high speed Internet. Each bedroom has its own television and cable box, and the living room has a large entertainment center with surround sound speakers and a large LED TV. The Legends is a great short term house rental option for a few classmates or co-workers interested in an alternative to a hotel, short term furnished apartment, or MWR post lodging on Ft Huachuca.
Since 2005, TDY Stay has provided all inclusive fully furnished apartments and short term house rentals in Sierra Vista for military and government travelers. We offer a great selection of all inclusive house rentals to the government and military community at Fort Huachuca and look forward to meeting all of your needs during your TDY stay. The Legends offers plenty of space with three bedrooms, two baths, and a separate office, and it's conveniently located just minutes to Fort Huachuca.


The department offers major programs in four areas: Art History (BA), Design (BFA), Studio Art (BA or BFA) and Art Education (BA). The Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science programs provide training in their disciplines within the framework of a liberal arts curriculum, as does the more intensive Bachelor of Fine Arts program. The undergraduate degrees prepare students for professions in the arts or for further study in graduate programs.
With a Bachelor of Art degree in Art History, students will learn about the art and artifacts from a broad range of time periods, geographic regions and art historical styles. The study of art history creates connections between cultural movements and the works they conjure, and students will learn to think critically about these movements through multiple lenses and ways of seeing. This degree prepares students for careers in museums, galleries and other cultural institutions as curators, researchers, archivists, restorers, teachers, and consultants.
The department offers a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) degree in Design that prepares students for careers or graduate study in the rapidly evolving field of design. Students in the major learn visual communication using industry standard technology across interactive, time-based, digital and traditional media. Students have the option of pursuing a concentration in Communication Design, Interaction Design, or Animation and Illustration.
The department offers a major in Studio Art leading to a Bachelor of Arts in Fine Arts (51 credits in the major), as well as a more intensive Bachelor of Fine Arts (72 credits). Both prepare a student for creative or professional work in various media. The Fine Arts concentration (painting, sculpture, drawing, printmaking, ceramics, and photography) gives a balance of theory and practice, an understanding of the intellectual and technical skills required in the fine arts, and preparation for a creative professional life as an artist.


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