What If You Have Superpowers You Don't Know About?
So a while ago I had a very interesting dream (bear with me; this is going to become very relevant to you very soon).
In the dream, I lived in a world identical to this one. Only some people (but not all) were born with superpowers.
There were major superpowers and minor superpowers.
Major superpowers would be something like flying, teleporting, being indestructible, throwing fireballs etc.
Minor superpowers would be stuff like making feathers levitate or slightly changing the color of your hair.
Under 10% of people were born with a big superpower, and it was extremely rare for any of them to be born with more than one.
I had been born with 3 of the major superpowers and 7-8 minor ones.
My major superpowers were teleportation (I could teleport anywhere, even to other realms), super-speed and telekinesis.
In the dream though, I kept taking three buses to access a portal to a specific realm in order to meet some people that also visited that place from another country on earth. Even though I could teleport there directly. Even though I could -if for some insane reason I wanted to go there through the portal and not directly- use my superspeed -(or even my car!) – to get to the portal instead of taking three different buses packed full of people.
There was more to this dream than that, but the rest is relevant to me only.
What superpowers do I have that I am not using?
What talents do I have that I am not taking advantage of?
What have I created that I never took credit for, never acknowledged, never allowed myself to feel proud of?
Like the portal I went to so much trouble to use when I could just teleport wherever I wanted instead, what gift or creation do I naturally have in my disposal or have created that I refuse to take advantage of?
Every year we write our New Year resolutions. And every year (around this time of the year, in fact) most of us have failed. Or given up on them. Or completely forgotten all about them.
So why not do something completely different instead?
I invite you to make a brand-new list. A very different list.
What did you create so far in 2018 that barely even registered as a success?
Like my superhero self in the dream, what gifts do you have that you take for granted, to the point that you don't even realize they are gifts that not everybody possesses?
Are you a great cook but think it's nothing special and that anyone can cook?
Are you great at organizing things but never saw it as a talent?
Do you make paintings/write music/play an instrument etc but -just because you're not a professional- don't consider this a gift you have but see it merely as a hobby to pass the time?
Are you suffering from anxiety and panic attacks? Do you feel as if part of your power was lost or stolen? Having trouble dealing with pushy people? I got you covered!
Make a list of at least 10 things you created so far in 2018 that you never -until now- took the time to acknowledge as creations, as successes, as a manifestation of your unique gifts and talents.
Instead of making the rest of 2018 yet another year of judgment of ourselves for all the resolutions we failed to keep (gym membership since January that you only used a couple of times, anyone?), let's live the summer and the rest of this year from a place of acknowledgment of our greatness and of all the things we DID create.
Even if they weren't in your resolutions.
Even if you think they weren't so special.
ESPECIALLY if up until now you thought they aren't so special.


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Friday Favourites: Firefly - A Celebration
Published on 6 November, 2015
Authored by Titan Books
This week's Friday Favourite is written by editorial intern Tolly Maggs, who tells us a little bit about Firefly: A Celebration:
"Joss Whedon has become one of the big-hit modern directors, from his work on the acclaimed Avengers films to his TV mini-series Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog. After creating the popular TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Joss went on to create the cult hit science fiction show Firefly, which was cancelled after one season. Despite the lack of views the show got on its run, the demand of the ever-growing fanbase and the growing DVD sales convinced Universal to accept Joss Whedon's proposal for a Firefly movie called Serenity, allowing him to make his debut as a film director.
Titan's Firefly: A Celebration contains all three Official Companion books compiled together. Providing the scripts for every episode in the series, whilst also providing trivia, transcripts of interviews and panels, and looks behind the scenes, Firefly: A Celebration shows the amount of effort and love that was put into this short-lived classic. If you (somehow) didn't feel the magical connection all the characters shared on the show, then this book will cement the strong relationships the cast and crew had, both on-screen and off. From hijinks on set to trivia based on the iconic costumes and props, this inside-look into the series feels like a personal diary of a show that was as iconic to the creators as it was to the fans."
© 2012 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
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Firefly A Celebration (Anniversary Edition)
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Titan's three bestselling Firefly titles collected together at last, just in time for the 10th anniversary of Joss Whedon's beloved …

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Here's your chance to escape reality and jump into an immersive experience with a virtual reality headset! Plus, you have the chance to win up to $1,000 Free Slot Play. There's hundreds of winners every day—so be ready for a new world of adventure!
Swipe your Club M® card starting at 3 pm on drawing days for a free drawing entry. Get a bonus entry for every five tier points earned April 1 through drawing times.
You could be an instant winner or be chosen to play a game on the Club M stage for up to $1,000 Free Slot Play.
Every hour, one lucky guest will be drawn to win a virtual reality headset.
Guests must be Club M® members to participate. Club M membership is free.
Guests must be 18+ and present to win.
Guests must swipe their Club M cards at a promotional kiosk Saturdays through Tuesdays, April 6 through 30, 2019 from 3 pm to 8 pm for a chance to win up to $1,000 Mysticash® or a virtual reality headset.
Guests who swipe their Club M cards will be entered into the drawings.
Select guests will have the opportunity to play an interactive game on the Club M stage for Mysticash prizes.
Select guests will have the opportunity to experience virtual reality at Club M.
Select guests will not win instantly, but will have the opportunity to play and earn their prize.
Guests may receive one entry for every five tier points earned beginning at midnight April 1 through 30, 2019.
One guest will be drawn every hour from 4 pm to 8 pm to win a virtual reality headset.
Drawings will be broadcast throughout the casino. The person whose name is drawn will have five minutes to report to the designated promotional area. If the drawn guest is not present within the stated time, additional names will be called for the drawings from 4 pm to 8 pm.
Winners will be announced in gaming areas only. Announcements cannot be heard in restrooms, food outlets, Mystic Showroom® or the hotel.
The winners' names will be shown on the monitors throughout the casino in The Buffet, Mystic Steakhouse®, Minnehaha Café® and at Mystic Bingo®.
Mysticash winners must activate their free play within seven days of issuance.
Any dispute or situation not covered by the above house rules will be resolved by SMSC Gaming Enterprise management in a manner deemed by them to be the fairest to all concerned, and that decision shall be final and/or binding on all contestants.
SMSC Gaming Enterprise management reserves the right to alter, amend or terminate this promotion at any time without prior notice. All decisions of management are final.


Writers, take note: A certain presidential candidate opined today on an apparent lack of standards over at the paper of record.
They don't write good. They have people over there, like Maggie Haberman and others, they don't — they don't write good," he said. "They don't know how to write good.


Really pleased to see the Safari Ltd prehistoric crocodiles toob, a tube of ten crocodile or crocodile-related models. It is certainly fascinating to see these replicas of prehistoric animals that represent the diverse crocodilian lineage. There is even a marine crocodile – Dakosaurus in the range, along with a Desmatosuchus, Sarcosuchus, a Rutiodon and a Champsosaurus.
Hopefully, this five minute video will give viewers a little more information about the prehistoric animals featured in this, highly collectible set. Most of the models represent animals from the Age of Dinosaurs (the Mesozoic), the exception is the Pristichampsus, a long-legged, hoofed carnivore whose fossils date from the Palaeogene.
Depicted by Safari as a crimson-coloured animal with black stripes along its back, scientists think that this crocodile, unlike its relatives that are alive today, lived mostly on land, pursuing and catching terrestrial mammals. When the fossilised teeth of this animal were first studied, some scientists mistook them for the teeth of Theropod dinosaurs and as a result it was speculated that some carnivorous dinosaurs had survived the Cretaceous mass extinction event. It is always exciting to review a prehistoric crocodiles model tube for all those fans of prehistoric crocodile models.
The models measure approximately nine to ten centimetres in length. The largest model in the set is that of Sarcosuchus, which is very appropriate as this particular prehistoric crocodile that lived during the Cretaceous has been declared the largest prehistoric crocodile known in the fossil record and Sarcosuchus has an entry in the Guinness Book of Records as a result.


•	The date of the work group you would be interested in participating in: April 18 (Detroit), April 19 (Detroit), or April 29 (Marquette).
•	Your name, mailing address, email address, phone number, occupation, job title, and the name of the employer or organization that you are affiliated with.
•	A brief explanation (no more than 150 words) detailing your qualifications for inclusion in the stakeholder work group. Please do not include attachments with your email.
The Bureau will consider all email requests that meet these requirements, and any additional relevant information when establishing the stakeholder work groups. Requests and inquiries made via telephone or to other Bureau contacts may not be accepted. The Bureau will give preference in the selection of participants to individuals who have not previously participated with a Bureau work group.
The deadline to email your request to participate in the adult-use marijuana work groups is Monday, April 8, 2019 at 9 a.m. Selections for the work groups will be announced by Monday, April 15, 2019. If you are chosen for a work group, you will be notified directly by the Bureau.
The purpose of these work groups is to gather information only. The Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA) is in the process of starting the formal rulemaking process pursuant to the Administrative Procedures Act of 1969. To that end, the purpose of the work groups is to seek input on the regulatory topics. All interested members of the public – whether selected to participate in the work groups or not – will be able to participate in the permanent rulemaking process that includes public review and comment.


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Watch Requiem For The American Dream
"Noam Chomsky and the PRINCIPLES of CONCENTRATION of WEALTH & POWER"
Through riveting and candid conversation, Noam Chomsky, regarded as one of the most important intellectuals alive today, provides the definitive discourse on the "Two Americas." Filmed over the course of four years, the Chomsky interviews expose how a half-century of policies have created a state of unprecedented economic inequality: concentrating wealth in the hands of a few at the expense of everyone else. At times deeply personal, these interviews take a closer look at Chomsky's own activism and political involvement as well as diving into his profound insight on the death of the middle class and the end of functioning democracy. Requiem For the American Dream provides a unique opportunity to introduce Chomsky to a broader audience and to widen the discussion regarding events that deeply impact all of our lives.
Where to Watch Trailers & Extras Details
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Requiem for the American Dream
Trailer - 2 min 20 sec
Requiem For The American Dream is a 2016 documentary with a runtime of 1 hour and 13 minutes. It has received mostly positive reviews from critics and viewers, who have given it an IMDb score of 8.1.
Where to Watch Requiem For The American Dream
Requiem For The American Dream is available to watch free on Pluto TV, Tubi TV, Vudu Free, Kanopy and IMDb TV. It's also available to stream, download and buy on demand at Amazon Prime, Apple TV, Amazon, Google Play, YouTube VOD and Vudu. Some platforms allow you to rent Requiem For The American Dream for a limited time or purchase the movie and download it to your device.
Stream Movies Like Requiem For The American Dream
The Silver Linings Playbook
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Manufacturing Consent: Noam Chomsky and the Media
Encirclement
American Music: Off the Record
Left Out: Beyond the Two-Party Horse Race
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Power and Terror: Noam Chomsky In Our Times
Is the Man Who Is Tall Happy?: An Animated Conversation with Noam Chomsky
Rage Against The Machine: The Battle of Mexico City
This Is What Democracy Looks Like


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Real Agent Inc
The premiere coaching blog for realtors seeking success in the new real estate industry. Find the resources, tools, systems, & methods leading to the most successful career foundation. What consumers expect & how to deliver without sacrificing balance in your life!
Making a Good First Impression
How good are you at making business connections? Learn how to make a strong first impression when working the crowd so that you can start building a successful referral business of your peers.
December 2011 | By Melissa Dittmann Tracey
It's much easier to form a good first impression than to recover from a bad one, says Michelle Tillis Lederman, author of The 11 Laws of Likability (AMACOM, 2012). From that first handshake and introduction, you're forming an opinion of that person and they're forming an opinion about you too. Everything from spoken words to posture and facial expressions contribute to that first impression.
"We are judgmental people. Our instinct is to make decisions and assumptions about other people in a minute-and-a-half or so of meeting them, maybe before you shake hands or even say 'hello,' " says Lederman, founder and CEO of Executive Essentials. "It's hard not to make a first impression."
For real estate professionals, making a good first impression isn't important just for building customer relationships but also for building relationships among your peers — which can bring referrals to your business and earn you some extra cash. Whether networking at industry events, conferences, or around your community, you want to make sure you're making a lasting, memorable impression so that it's your name others will pass along to customers. Those first 90 seconds when meeting someone new can be critical in establishing likability, Lederman says.
She offers some of the following tips on how to make a good first impression while "relationship networking":
1. Watch what your body language says.
Your body language can send a lot of signals to whom you're speaking — it can reveal your disinterest or show attentiveness and confidence, Lederman says. Here are some important things to remember in your body language while networking:
• Smiling: "It's the most important thing you can do in a conversation," Lederman says. A smile can communicate openness, approachability, and trustworthiness, and it can be warm and comforting. "A smile is the No. 1 way to reduce misinterpretation and judgment in the wrong direction on a first impression," Lederman says.
• Eye contact: Consistent eye contact can make the other person feel understood, respected, and heard. But don't stare, which can make others feel uncomfortable. Between extended periods of eye contact, take breaks of two to five seconds.
• Nodding: Women and men tend to use "the nod" differently in conversations: Men tend to nod when they agree with something while women tend to nod to show they're listening, research shows. Using a nod to show both agreement and attentiveness can be effective.
• Stand tall: Rolling your shoulders down can make your body appear smaller and send the message you're closed off or lack confidence. Posture is important — broaden your shoulders and pick them up to open up your body frame and exude more confidence.
• Tone: Your voice tone also contributes to your first impression. If you're not naturally peppy, then don't be — you'll come off as insincere. Have a confident voice. Avoid mumbling, using too many "um's" and "ah's", or raising your voice at the end of your sentence like if you were asking a question.
2. Curiosity.
Start the conversation by being curious about the other person — what do you really want to know about her? Where is he from? How long has she been working in real estate? Is there any professional advice you would like to ask her? People love doling out advice, it makes them feel valued.
Keep your questions open-ended — beginning with "what," "how," "how come," and "why," Lederman suggests. For example, the question "What brings you here?" will encourage people to open up more than asking a yes or no question such as "Did your company send you?" Just be careful not to bombard people with question after question or they may feel guarded, Lederman warns.
"Showing genuine curiosity about a person's job, life, interests, opinions, or needs is a great way to start a conversation, keep it going, and create connections," Lederman says. But the conversation doesn't always have to be work-related. Ask about hobbies, sports, interests, or vacations. "Be able to shift from professional topics to talking about anything," Lederman says. "It's over the more personal things that people bond."
3. Listen closely.
So you've demonstrated curiosity — now listen carefully. There are three main levels of listening; a combination of the three can be effective in networking, Lederman says.
• Inward listening: Find a way to relate the information the person is telling you to your own life and experiences. This is how most people tend to listen, and it can be effective because you're relating to other person. That said, be careful you don't take advantage and make the conversation all about you.
• Outward listening: Listen in a way to understand more, with probing follow-up statements like "tell me more about that" or "how come?"
• Intuitive listening: Focus not just on what the person is saying but also the person's body language (facial expressions, tone, and so on) and general "vibe." With this form of listening, you're going a step further by interpreting what you're hearing. But watch out: "It could seem off-putting to people you just met to feel like they are being 'read,'" Lederman says. "Be thoughtful with your tone of voice to make it clear that you are proposing and not assuming."
4. 'You too? Me too!'
People like people like them. Finding similarities and areas of common ground will go far in establishing instant rapport. Discover similarities in your professional experiences, people you know, beliefs, education, or work histories. "When we discover similarities, we form deeper and more lasting connections," Lederman says. "You build a foundation of trust. If we have someone in common or a common interest, that makes me like you a little more and want to chat more."
5. Authenticity rules.
Let's say you're looking for more connections to grow your referral business. If that's your chief motivator when making initial contacts, then you're doomed to fail — people can read insincerity. Passing out your business card before a relationship is even formed and coming across as self-serving in your interactions is going to do more harm than good.
"Make a shift from 'It's all about me' to 'It's all about the relationship,'" Lederman says. "You need to network for a relationship, not just for now or to fulfill a need."
Make the First Impression Count
So maybe you've survived the first 90 seconds and beyond of the conversation by sending off positive body language, being genuine and curious, listening, and finding common ground — but you'll want to keep the relationship going beyond that first meeting. The key to follow-up is giving, Lederman says.
"One of the strongest ways to increase likability and foster a connection is to demonstrate that we understand someone else's needs and are happy to help fulfill them," Lederman says. "Extending a helping hand is one of the best ways to follow up, and it also opens the door for continued contact going forward."
"Giving" could include extending an invitation to a future event, introducing that person to others, or providing resources such as links to information that the person might find engaging (just be careful that it won't be viewed as spam), Lederman says.
"You can still stay in their mind without getting in their face," Lederman says. "Look for genuine reasons to reach out to someone. Whatever you talked about, try to think of a quick follow-up to start building the relationship."
If you don't remotely know how or where to begin with building or re-building your business, come work with us. We already have systems in place that do it all for you!
The best in their field, even professional athletes take advantage of coaching. If you would like the benefit of working with a full time coach, absolutely free to you, please call me directly or email to set up an interview.
Suzanne O'Brien
suzanneo@realestateone.com
Posted by Suzanne OBrien at 6:46 AM
Labels: 2011 Expert Advice, Business Plan, Detroit Area Home Sales, Michigan Realtors, Real Estate, Real Estate Coaching, Real estate news, Real Estate Trends, Realtor Training, Social Media Success
Selling Point: Sit Up Straight and Pay Attention
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Set proper boundaries with real estate clients
Planning Counts: Be Prepared
December 2011 Real Estate Market Update:
The Vote is In: Americans Place High Value on Home...
Local Real Estate Market Update
Top producer tips for work-life balance
Don't Sell Me - Help Me
Think like a top producer
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Marketing Strategies: 5 Tips to Turning a Resoluti...
Commit or be Committed
Surviving in the 'Long Haul' Market
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KCM Quick Tips for the New Year!
Engage Your Prospect's Learning Style
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Suzanne OBrien
Suzanne has grown from actively selling real estate in the regional marketplace to leading the Dearborn branch office on behalf of Real Estate One. After graduating with honors from U of M, and spending several years in marketing and advertising, Suzanne decided that Real Estate might fulfill much of what she felt was unsatisfying in her previous career path. Of utmost importance, was to find a passion that incorporated her love of working with people while providing an important and valuable service to her customers. The most rewarding aspect of her career is teaching and mentoring others so that they may benefit from the same fulfillment and balance in their lives.
2009 Pumpkin Fest for Kids with cancer Special Days by Dearborn Area Board of Realtors


Equity and accessibility, as highlighted in our Tacoma 2025 strategic framework, are among the goals that drive policymaking in the City of Tacoma, and this is as true in the field of broadband as it is in every aspect of community life.
Our Tacoma 2025 strategic framework represents our community's vision for the future and guides where the City of Tacoma is going – as both a local government organization and a community – and helps us direct our efforts and resources in ways that reflect our growing community's evolving needs.
To meet our goals relating to equity and accessibility, we must work to ensure that all residents are treated equitably and have access to key services and facilities, as well as tools to secure financial stability. This includes increasing digital access in an equitable way. And, in an era of growing inequities, the City of Tacoma is engaged in an effort to ensure that our public broadband network, Click!, continues to support our community well for decades to come.
Click! is a city-owned cable and internet network built in the 1990s by the City of Tacoma's municipal utility, Tacoma Public Utilities. It was built to serve internal utility communications needs and provide competitive cable and internet services to the public. Click! reaches throughout Tacoma and into some surrounding areas, and is renowned for its superb customer service, local staffing, and partnerships with private internet service providers who offer competing services over our network.
Unlike in so many American cities where monopoly or duopoly broadband is the norm, consumers in Tacoma have long had a choice among cable and internet providers, with all the pricing and affordability benefits that competition delivers. In the early years of Click!'s development, a Comcast spokesperson acknowledged to our local newspaper that Click!'s existence had led Comcast not only to invest in improving its network in Tacoma, but also to add local customer service staff. Similarly, CenturyLink has substantially upgraded its network in Tacoma to fiber-to-the-premises, a far more sophisticated infrastructure than it operates in our neighboring community of Seattle and most of its markets.
Early last year, we adopted community-focused policy goals for Click! that frame our vision for how this critical public asset should support our community. An extensive community stakeholder outreach process affirmed policy goals that addressed equity, openness, privacy, net neutrality, and affordability for low-income members of the community, with particular emphasis on competition and continued public ownership.
As a means of securing these goals – while reducing financial risk to the City of Tacoma and our utility – we chose to explore the potential of a public-private partnership in which a private entity would lease Click! from us, upgrade and maintain it, and offer services to the public that would compete with Comcast and CenturyLink. Our vision is to realize our goals through private operations, while the public maintains ownership and control of the communications network itself. In this way, we would use our infrastructure investment in Click! as leverage to incent a private partner to advance our goals, while creating an opportunity for this partner to build a robust cable and internet business in Tacoma.
We sought to test whether this vision can be achieved, and, after an extensive process of outreach to the private sector, including an open opportunity for potential partners to offer us ideas and proposals, we are now choosing between two negotiated term sheets with viable and capable potential partners. One term sheet is with Rainier Connect, a local, family-owned telephone and internet business that is more than 100 years old and that already provides internet services over Click!. The other is with Wave Broadband, which is part of one of the largest cable and internet companies in the country with some local operations.
Equity and low-income affordability. The term sheets obligate the private partners to serve the entirety of our community, with no "cherry-picking" of customers or more prosperous neighborhoods that is so common among ISPs in other cities. They will offer the same services, at the same pricing, to all within Click!'s service area—and will offer substantially reduced pricing to low-income consumers. Importantly, the low-cost product will not be lower value; unlike the "inclusion" products offered by some companies, which are very low bandwidth, our partners have committed to low costs for high-speed products—thus ensuring that our lower-income residents have all the education, health care, and other benefits of high-speed broadband, rather than having to settle for subpar services.
Net neutrality and privacy. Both potential partners have agreed to robust guarantees of net neutrality and privacy, securing for our residents and businesses two critical public values that have been eliminated in federal policy in recent years. Regardless of what happens in Washington, DC, or our state capital of Olympia, Washington, regarding these two areas, the Tacoma community will have a net-neutral, privacy-respecting choice of internet service for the entirety of the partnership.
Public ownership. We will retain ownership of Click!, even as we enable a private partner to operate the assets on a leased basis, for a period of 20 years, renewable for two 10-year terms. The length of the lease gives us certainty and stability, while enabling our partner to make substantial investment commitments—committing not only to upgrade our entire network to gigabit speeds over the next three years, but also to make ongoing investments in the network every year for the entire term of the partnership—and to give us ownership of the upgrades and improvements.
Customer service. Both potential partners commit to robust, enforceable customer service standards for internet service. This is unprecedented anywhere in the country, and there is currently no federal or state framework for customer service enforcement related to data services. Our consumers will have a greater degree of protection than exists almost anywhere in the United States.
Competition. Our selected partner will offer significant competition to Comcast and CenturyLink in Tacoma, thus achieving a level of competition – three robust wireline ISPs — that only a handful of American communities enjoy. And competition will be achieved not only through the partner's opportunity to offer services in our community, but also through its willingness to accept limitations on sale or transfer. Both potential partners agree that they will not sell or transfer their interests in Click! to any company that already holds substantial market share in our community. And they agree that we will have the opportunity to oversee and approve any sale to any other entity.
With two options before us, the City Council and Utility Board are now engaged in an extensive process of seeking public input as we consider our next steps, which will likely focus on finalizing complete contracts with one of the potential partners. We have also been working to ensure that our Click! employees find new positions, either inside our utility or with our new partner. We are committed to doing our best for those who have worked for so long to make Click! a vital community asset.
My colleagues and I recognize that we, like all American cities, stand on the front lines of efforts to achieve equity and opportunity. And, as broadband internet becomes a more critical foundational element of our economy and a vital tool for democratic engagement, our efforts must extend to ensuring it is deployed in a way that supports our efforts. Our publicly-owned Click! network helps us achieve our goals, with the full and enthusiastic participation of our private partner. We are proud to stand on the cusp of securing a favorable outcome for our community for decades to come.
Mayor Victoria Woodards has called the "City of Destiny" her home for nearly her entire life. Before becoming Mayor in 2018, she served as a soldier for the U.S. Army, held non-profit leadership positions, and worked for seven years as an at-large member of the City Council. During her years on the Council, she launched the City's Equity and Empowerment initiative which led to the establishment of its Office of Equity and Human Rights and championed paid sick leave legislation.
In Woodards' first term as Mayor, she continues to be a supporter of equity issues while expanding her involvement in regional and national conversations on affordable housing, transportation, economic development, strengthening youth and families, public safety, growing local business, immigration, and the creation of family wage jobs. She has also worked to more fully engage the City's youth in community decisions that impact them every day, by expanding Student Government Day and establishing a Youth Engagement Task Force.


In addition to our restaurant and take-away service, The King and I also offers a catering service.
Events can be arranged within the restaurant for parties and groups of 10 or more.
We also cater for external events and parties, typically by setting up a buffet to serve 200-plus guests.
For more information, please feel free to call or email, and we can discuss further.


We accept a company check, or we can bill you.
We accept Amex, MasterCard, or Visa.
The stamp of USACC is well known throughout the Arab countries, however to validate our stamp, just type the stamp number in the validation box located at the top of the Home page. Please notify US Arab Chamber of Commerce if you find any counterfeit stamps.


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ILRI research on big issues
Livestock-based research recommendations for better managing drought in Kenya
Posted on July 18, 2011 by Susan MacMillan
Kenya: drought leaves dead and dying animals in northern Kenya (photo on Flickr by Brendan Cox / Oxfam).
Humanitarian organizations are bracing themselves for the the task of addressing the unfolding crisis in the drought-stricken Horn of Africa, where the rains have failed for two consecutive years and the next rainy season is not expected until September, at the earliest.
The BBC reports that in Kenya's Dadaab refugee camp, to which starving Somali's are fleeing at a rate of some 1000 a day, 'at a makeshift cattle market in the middle of the refugee camp, herdsmen are trying to sell off what little livestock they have left.
'But no-one wants to buy the cattle and goats on sale here, for the chances are that very soon they will be dead.
'There is nowhere for them to graze: the pastures here are parched and arid, and it has barely rained for two years running.
'"I'm selling my cattle at knock-down prices," said one man. "I'm practically giving them away."
'Not far away, the landscape is littered with the carcasses of dead animals.
'In this part of the world, livestock are everything: they represent a family's entire assets, capital, savings and income. When the animals die, it frequently means the humans do as well.'
Read the full article at the BBC: Horn of Africa drought: Vision of hell, 8 Jul 2011.
All organizations involved in supporting these livestock-keeping peoples of the Horn are passionate about not only saving the most vulnerable members of these pastoral communities today, but also about finding long-term solutions to recurring drought in this region. Those solutions necessarily rely on an evidence base provided by scientists, particularly livestock researchers.
Four recent research reports published by the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), based in Nairobi, Kenya, noted and linked to below, assess the effectiveness of past drought interventions in Kenya's northern drylands and offer tools for better management of the region's drought cycles.
(1) Leeuw, Jan de; Ericksen, P.; Gitau, J.; Zwaagstra, L.; MacMillan, S. Jul 2011. ILRI research charts ways to better livestock-related drought interventions in Kenya's drylands. ILRI Policy Brief.
(2) Johnson, N. and Wambile, A. (eds). 2011. The impacts of the Arid Lands Resource Management Project (ALRMPII) on livelihoods and vulnerability in the arid and semi-arid lands of Kenya. ILRI Research Report 25. Nairobi, Kenya: ILRI.
From the abstract: 'There is an urgent need for new approaches and effective models for managing risk and promoting sustainable development in arid and semi-arid lands (ASALs), especially in the face of climate change and increasing frequency of drought in many areas. This study assesses the impacts of the Arid Lands Resource Management Project (ALRMPII), a community-based drought management initiative implemented in 28 arid and semi-arid districts in Kenya from 2003 to 2010. The project sought to improve the effectiveness of emergency drought response while at the same time reducing vulnerability, empowering local communities, and raising the profile of ASALs in national policies and institutions. . . .'
(3) Ericksen, P., Leeuw, J. de and Quiros, C. 2010. Livestock drought management tool. Final report for project submitted by ILRI to the FAO Sub-Regional Emergency and Rehabilitation Officer for East and Central Africa 10 December 2010. Nairobi, Kenya: ILRI.
From the abstract: In August 2010, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) sub-Regional Emergency Office for Eastern and Central Africa (REOA) contracted the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) to develop a proto-type "Livestock Drought Management" (LDM) decision support tool for use by a range of emergency and relief planners and practitioners throughout the region. The tool, which is still conceptual rather than operational, links the concepts of Drought Cycle Management (DCM) with the best practice in livestock-related interventions throughout all phases of a drought, from normal through the alert and emergency stages to recovery. The tool uses data to indicate the severity of the drought (hazard) and the ability of livestock to survive the drought (sensitivity). . . . The hazard data has currently been parameterized for Kenya, but can be used in any of the REOA countries. At the moment, the missing item is good-quality data for sensitivity. Additionally, experts did not agree on how to define the phase of the drought cycle. The tool requires pilot testing in a few local areas before it can be rolled out everywhere.
(4) Zwaagstra, L., Sharif, Z., Wambile, A., de Leeuw, J., Said, M.Y., Johnson, N., Njuki, J., Ericksen, P. and Herrero, M., 2010. An assessment of the response to the 2008 2009 drought in Kenya. A report to the European Union Delegation to the Republic of Kenya. Nairobi, Kenya: ILRI.
In early 2010, ILRI scientists reviewed responses to Kenya's 2008–2009 drought in six arid and semi-arid districts of the country. The authors reviewed 474 livestock-based interventions and came up with the following conclusions, recommendations and lessons regarding the drought management intervention cycle, among others.
The Early Warning Bulletins
Conclusion: . . . To allow sufficient time to scale up livestock based interventions . . . have early warning based on indicators that precede the deterioration of livestock condition, such as rainfall estimates or the greenness of rangeland detected from satellite imagery. . . . Recommendation: Include a separate early warning message in the EWB specifically geared towards triggering interventions aiming at livestock. . . . [Harmonize] procedures used among districts for such a livestock early warning system.
Timing of interventions
Conclusion: The timing of several of the interventions, notably destocking, was too late while vaccination was implemented during an inappropriate phase of the drought management cycle. . . . Recommendation: Strengthen capacity to plan the implementation of each intervention type in view of the phase of the drought management cycle.
Effectiveness and appropriateness of interventions
1 Water tankering and borehole support
Conclusion: Water tankering and support to boreholes were considered effective [but] repair to water infrastructure can be done in periods of reduced stress. . . . Recommendation: Maintain boreholes and other water infrastructure during periods of reduced stress in order to increase drought preparedness.
2 Destocking
Conclusion: An estimated 16,996 TLU [tropical livestock units] were purchased or slaughtered in response to the drought in the 6 study districts. This is higher than the 9,857 TLU were purchased in 2000/1 in 10 districts (Aklilu and Wekesa 2001), but far below what would have been needed. Slaughter destocking interventions . . . were considered more effective than commercial destocking . . . . Recommendation: Make use of existing commercial livestock marketing infrastructure and on site slaughtering to destock during drought. To achieve optimal impact, initiate these interventions early on in the drought management cycle. See chapter 7 and annex 5 commercial destocking workshop section for further recommendations.
3 Health
Conclusion: Over 5.7 million animals were reached by health interventions between July 2008 and December 2009. De-worming was considered effective and appropriate, while vaccination was not. Recommendation: Increase de-worming during drought as it keeps animals in better condition for longer. Restrict vaccination at middle or end drought as it might create mortality with animals in poor body condition
4 Forage and supplements
Conclusion: The provision of feed was far too little and poorly coordinated, overall it was considered among the least effective interventions. . . . It is worthwhile to consider developing hay production and fodder markets locally. Recommendation: Promote initiatives to develop local hay production, fodder markets and strategic fodder reserves.
5 Migration and peace-building
Conclusion: Peace building interventions were generally considered effective; 30% more animals migrated in 2008/9 than in 2000/1. Disease problems reduced effectiveness, which suggests that interventions around these issues should be part of future migrations. Recommendation: Access to disputed land as part of pastoral mobility remains paramount in their coping strategy and more effective means to support this are required. This includes GoK commitment to play their role but specific interventions can be designed in the short and medium term to alleviate this problem as well.
6 Livelihood implications
Conclusion: . . . Interventions that build on and support local livelihoods and link to longer term development are better than purely emergency ones. Recommendation: Build on and strengthen rather than undermine local institution, livelihood strategies and coping strategies.
7 Community involvement
Conclusion: Despite recommendations from past assessments, few interventions involved the community in design or implementation. Those that did tended to have better outcomes than those that did not. Recommendation: Involve communities before the drought in the design of drought contingency plans.
8 Triggering of interventions
Conclusion: As yet there are no agreed upon triggers for the release of contingency funds. Furthermore access to these funds is often delayed due treasury related constraints. Recommendation: The drought contingency plans should be regularly updated and contain agreed upon quantitative triggers for the release of funds to implement interventions. Creation of a sufficiently endowed national drought contingency fund deserves the highest priority.
9 Climate change adaptation and drought interventions
Conclusion: There is a danger of duplicating efforts already implemented under the drought management strategy and it is advisable to implement climate change adaptation through these existing institutional arrangements. Recommendation: Implement climate change adaptation policy through existing institutional mechanisms aiming at better drought cycle management.
Among the more generic lessons learned are the following
The continued implementation of a basket of suitable preparedness activities remains the most cost effective approach to reduce the impact of shocks.
. . . Emergencies of this nature . . . are increasingly caused by a basket of factors whereby reduced access to previously accessible high-potential grazing is the single biggest contributor to stress. This is heavily exacerbated by a relentlessly increasing demographic pressure, thus creating a cadre of the population who have limited access to any livestock at all and who are consequently extremely vulnerable to shocks.
The most effective interventions remain those where facilitation to access grazing and watering resources, which had hitherto not been accessible, was made accessible.
Increased semi-permanent presence of key non-governmental organizations in critical areas which are able to encompass a realistic drought management cycle approach has substantially improved information and speed of response. This, in combination with a vastly improved collaboration between agencies, together with improved coordination has at face value provided improved response in both quality and timeliness. The net impact of this is however largely negated due to other factors such as reduced line ministry capacity and related administrative/institutional developments such as the relentless creation of new districts and conflicts. . . .
So-called commercial de-stocking remains the least cost-effective intervention. Distance, timing and economies of scale play an important role but more than anything else the lack of a dynamic and lively existing marketing system in many places virtually precludes the creation of a commercial de-stocking operation that will have the required impact at an acceptable cost.
'Livestock-fodder-aid' comes a close second whereby substantial quantities of bulky commodities such as hay are shipped to some of the furthest locations at huge costs with very little if any measurable impact.
Slaughter-off take, preferably carried out on the spot with meat being distributed rapidly to presumed needy families is popular with beneficiaries and . . . can have considerable benefit on nutrition while maintaining a limited purchasing power of those affected.
This entry was posted in Animal Feeding, Cattle, CRP11, Drought, Drylands, East Africa, Food Security, ILRI, Kenya, LifestockFutures, PA, Pastoralism, PLE, Report, Spotlight, Vulnerability and tagged 2011 Drought In Horn, DroughtInHorn2011 by Susan MacMillan. Bookmark the permalink.
2 thoughts on "Livestock-based research recommendations for better managing drought in Kenya"
ernest on July 22, 2011 at 8:36 pm said:
suggestion given are very pracical only if the government is committed. however all development agent should commbine effort to facilitate community sensitizations which paramount for them to develop some preparedness mechanisms based on the experiences the have gone through.
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From the Principal: Mr Chris Caldow Vol 18
New Governance Model for Catholic Schools
In Term 4 of last year, all school principals of Catholic Primary schools and Regional Secondary Colleges were asked to attend a meeting at CEM where it was announced that Archbishop Comensoli was responding to the recommendations relating to school governance made by the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse by …
From the Deputy Principal Head of Broadmeadows Campus: Ernie Pisani Vol 18
As the 2020 year nears completion, students are preparing for the introduction of the 2021 program. Today we end the year with end of year assemblies designed to celebrate great achievements despite the recent challenges. There is a sense of optimism in the air and as we prepare to start a new year via the Headstart program it …
From the Deputy Principal Head of Glenroy Campus: Stuart Harrison Vol 18
While it was disappointing that our Year 8 students could not have their Year 8 Social the Year 8 Coordinators Mr Lentini and Ms Murray tried to make their final day one of celebration. On Monday the 30th our Year 8 students will transition to the Broadmeadows Campus. Their homeroom will begin at 9.00am in the McCormack Centre (Year 9 …
From the Deputy Principal Head of Faith and Mission: Robert Dullard Vol 18
AJASS Student Leadership Formation Day
Last Monday, 23rd November, our 2021 College Captains and Portfolio Captains were involved in the AJASS Student Leadership Formation Day. Usually this is a combined schools' event, however, this year, we ran a slightly different structure due to Covid-19 restrictions. The day commenced with a combined Zoom link up with the other AJASS schools in …
Student Tuition Fees - 2021
The Penola Catholic College Board has approved that the school fees for the 2021 school year will remain the same as the fees in place for the 2020 year.
Year Level Annual Fee
Year 7 $3,050
Year 9 and Year 10 $3,620
Year 11 and Year 12 $4,140
A family concession will be granted to all families who have two or more students enrolled at Penola Catholic College. A discount of 10% for the second child, 50% for a third child and 100% for the fourth and subsequent children will apply. At present, the maximum family fee is $8000.
A compulsory Building Fund contribution of $200 will be charged annually for each student enrolled at Penola Catholic College.
Penola Catholic College offers a choice of plans to pay Tuition Fees. The option of fortnightly, monthly, by the term, or one off payments are available. Fees can be paid by cheque, money order and eftpos. Payments through Centrelink are also accepted. Direct bank deposits and BPAY facilities are also available.
To enrol online please visit:
http://penola.vic.edu.au/enrol-online/
Alternatively you can download a hard-copy here and post to:
For any inquiries please email marketing@penola.vic.edu.au
Sustainable School Shop
The Second-hand Uniform Shop will no longer be operating at the College.
We have now subscribed to the Sustainable School Shop where parents can buy and sell school uniform books calculators online. Please see the below information regarding the Sustainable School Shop.
Second-hand Uniform and Textbook Trading details here!
Click here to view available Penola Catholic College Uniform stock
Jenny Vinten
Penola Catholic College
All students and staff have access to a range of ebooks and audiobooks.
Simply download the ePlatform by Wheelers app from your app store. Find Penola Catholic College library and log in using your school username and password.
Accounts Office now open!
The College is NOW OPEN for all payments
Alternatively you can still make payments using the following:
Direct Deposit/Internet Banking - please contact the Accounts office and we can provide the details you need to make payment this way
Bpay Payment – details are on your Statements to make payment or please contact us and we can provide the details
Bpoint Payment – details are on your Statements and can be paid by going to our Website and choose the e-payments link
Credit Card - phone the College on 93012777 and select the School Fees Option between 8:30am-3:30pm.
If you have any other school fee inquiries you can email schoolfees@penola.vic.edu.au
2020 Camps, Sports and Excursion Fund (CSEF)
The eligibility date to qualify for the CSEF has been extended to Monday 5th October 2020
To submit a CSEF Application in 2020:
If you have applied for the CSEF in a previous year, you do not need to complete an application form in 2020. Unless there has been a change in your family circumstances the school will apply for the CSEF on your behalf.
You will ONLY need to submit an application form in 2020 if any of the following changes have occurred:
• New student enrolments: Your child has started or changed schools in 2020 or you did not apply at the same school in a previous year.
• Changed family circumstances, such as: a change of custody, change of name, concession card number or new siblings commencing at the school in 2020.
CSEF Flyer:
English, Arabic and Vietnamese
https://www.education.vic.gov.au/Documents/about/programs/health/csefflyer.pdf
https://www.education.vic.gov.au/Documents/about/programs/health/CSEF_Flyer_Arabic.pdf
https://www.education.vic.gov.au/Documents/about/programs/health/CSEF_Flyer_Vietnamese.pdf
CSEF Form Here:
https://www.education.vic.gov.au/Documents/about/programs/health/CSEF-Application-Form-2020.pdf
The CSEF applications will continue processing until Friday 27th November 2020
All Academy Uniform purchases can now be made online or in-store at Academy Uniforms in Thomastown.
To order online:
- Go to Academy Uniforms
- Select 'Order online'
- Choose Penola Catholic College
- Enter password Broadmeadows
Orders can be sent to the College or your home address.
Please note: Academy Uniforms will no longer hold a store onsite at our College.
Academy Uniforms
238 Wolseley Place, Thomastown
Community News (Adverts/Sponsors)
There is no Community News.


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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Wandboard Discussion Forums • View topic - Linux 4.1.15 sources - where are they?
Linux 4.1.15 sources - where are they?
I've searched git and FTP, but cannot find 4.1.15 sources. I'm using Wandboard + Ubuntu 16.04 image and would like to tweak kernel settings.
1) Does anybody know where to get the sources against which Ubuntu 16.04 image got it's kernel (Linux wandboard 4.1.15-134094-gd28f9da) ?
2) Is it by any chance a vanilla kernel?
3) Is the toolsuite Linaro (Linaro GCC 5.1-2015.08) ?
Re: Linux 4.1.15 sources - where are they?
1) The linux 4.1.15 source code is on wandboard github.
There is a linux repository called "linux-fslc". This is Linux Kernel mainline with backported fixes (kernel.org).
3) I also use Linaro GCC 5.1-2015.08 (hardfloat). It's works pretty well.


Although the surname of Ainslie is of great antiquity in Scotland, it was already prominent in England before the Norman conquest.
The Saxon Lords of Annesley in Nottinghamshire held large estates, but they fled in the face of the advancing forces of William the Conqueror to Scotland, where they were received generously by Malcolm III.
They soon became settled around Dolphinstone. William de Ainslie, a canon of Glasgow Cathedral, witnessed a charter by Walter, Bishop of Glasgow, around 1208.
In 1221 Thomas de Ainslie was one of the mediators appointed to settle a dispute between the monks of Kelso and the bishopric of Glasgow. Sir Aymer de Aynesley was a Borders Knight sent to treat with the English to settle the marches in 1249.
There are two references to the family in the Ragman Roll of 1296. Robert de Ainslie, Baron of Dolphinstone, accompanied his kinsman Patrick, Earl of Dunbar and March, on a crusade to the Holy Land between 1248 and 1254.
The Ainslies were opposed to Robert the Bruce in his campaign to win the Scottish Crown and paid for this by forfeiture of their estates. However the family returned to favour w hen William de Ainslie, who had married Helen Kerr became a favourite of Robert II.
The estates of Dolphinstone were restored to him in 1377.
Robert Ainslie became a friend and confidant of Robert Burns. Sir Robert Ainslie was the British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire at Constantinople from 1776-1792. He also served as a Mp and was created a baronet in 1804. He is now best remembered for a series of 3 volumes of sketches of Egypt.
The Ainslie arms clearly allude to their early crusading exploits but eve in more recent times they have enjoyed high military rank.


5. Use security tinted envelopes for your outgoing and return envelopes. Ensure that your return envelope is big enough. The miniature 5.5x3.5 envelopes so many US hams are fond of using is too small and many cards will have to be chopped , folded, or thrown away. Do not use a return envelope that has to be folded inside the outgoing envelope. Lumpy envelopes invite curiosity. I have used Number 10 business envelopes with security tinting for all outgoing cards for years with excellent results. I have an "Air Mail" stamp from the office supply store I use on the foreign envelopes. For return envelopes, we have manufactured a security tinted 3 7/8" x 7 1/2" white 22lb reply envelope that we sell in a pack of 25 for $3.00 plus $2.000 s/h. We also have them in a pack of 100 for $10.00 plus $8.00 s/h. This envelopes works great for Asian, European and Domestic replies.
I pulled the following off the DX Reflector a while back. I think Doug has some great ideas here.
Many sending SASEs either leave the return address on the SASE blank or they place the dx station's address.
Well, since I want the dx station's QSL card, I for years have been placing my address in both the addressee and addressor's positions on the SASE.
This way, once placed in the mail, I will receive it. Should one of the addresses become unreadable then it will go to the other and either way I receive it. Once in the mail stream I do NOT want it to go back to the dx sender.


text:
Michelle Okvist of Long Island, N.Y. hoola hoops in the grassy field across from the Beech Mountain Chamber of Commerce. Photo by Jesse Wood
Aug. 10, 2012. "It's been interesting – to say the least."
Referring to The Festival of Gnarnia taking place until Sunday morning, that phrase is recurring among locals atop Beech Mountain.
With an influx of 5,000 people, many of them out-of-state tour kids travelling the festival circuit, Beech is experiencing a bit of a culture shock.
"I don't think Beech Mountain has seen anything like this before," said one woman standing outside the Beech Mountain Chamber of Commerce.
Although the Land of Oz attracts 7,500 people in the fall, she said most of those people are little girls in Dorothy outfits – not necessarily adults with green and purple dreadlocks.
"It's always a shocker for local communities to see 5,000 hippies come out and have a good time," said Katie Bange, of Missouri and owner of Festi-Cab, a taxi-service that follows the festival circuit around the country to offer rides to attendees.
She said business has been good so far, and she expects much more clients by the end of the weekend. Not knowing what the festival would be like in its first year, she only brought three "taxis" to Beech Mountain; next year she plans to bring 20.
With the influx of people, law enforcement has increased its presence on the mountain. Beech Mountain Police Department Chief Jay Hefner said "lots of patrolling" is occurring and the department called in additional help from Avery and Watauga counties and Boone. Hefner added that Alcohol Law Enforcement with N.C. Department of Public Safety has "several" agents in the area.
Hefner said the department has seen a "major increase" in busts – pretty much all being drug related.
"LSD, mushrooms, DMT, Ecstasy," Hefner said. "You name it's here."
Katie Bange, owner of Festi-Cab, is from Missouri and lives on the road. She travels the festival circuit and offers transportation to those attending festivals. Photo by Jesse Wood
John Hoffman with the Beech Mountain Volunteer Fire Department said extra staff was on duty Thursday night "just in case anything happens." He said the only two calls his crew responded to were for a minor cut on a woman's foot and a propane tank that had a smell and turned out to be empty.
If anything, the influx of thousands of people, who don't seem to be concerned about the dreary weather, are bringing money to the Town of Beech Mountain, which is historically more of a winter town, in the summer season.
On Friday morning, a steady stream of people was carousing Fred's General Mercantile, buying up much of the store's inventory.
"Today, it's beer and ponchos. Yesterday, it was hot dogs and bread," said Peter Patton, a long-time employee with Fred's. "It's been great. We're happy everyone is here. These are some of the nicest people I've come across. Everyone is smiling and having a good time."
Fred Pfohl, owner of Fred's General Mercantile, was sitting inside his office on Friday figuring out what items needed to be ordered and said, "It's hard to keep up with what needs to be stocked."
"[The festival has] been a good boost for business [especially those catering] to public lodging, restaurants and people like us. In this economy, we need all we can get," Pfohl said.
Festival goers with Georgia license plates sleep in their SUV in the grassy field turned into a parking lot that is across the street from Beech Mountain Chamber. Photo by Jesse Wood
Pfohl joked that the weekend's clientele looks no different than the snowboarders in the winter and called them the "summer's snowboarders."
"We were all kind of apprehensive at first – not knowing what the situation would be like," Pfohl said. "So far, so good after 24 hours. I hope the next 48 hours are as good as the last 24 hours."
He added that he woke up this morning, and the "store was still standing," so everything must be okay. Aside from the noise of the music festival, he said he hasn't heard many complaints from the locals.
The production company Upstanding Entertainment is leasing property amidst the Beech Mountain Resort to hold The Festival of Gnarnia. Sue Donnell lives above where the festival is taking place and the music in the middle of the night has been a source of contention for her family.
"I now fully understand and sympathize with all the folks from Woodstock, N.Y. I can totally relate to what those people went through back then in my day, which was my heyday. It's amazing until three o'clock in the morning," Donnell said. "It's pretty loud to the point that you have close every window in the house and sleep in the room on the opposite side of the house and then put on the radio very quietly to drown out the bass."
She added, "I don't know how Beech Mountain did this. They've never done anything like this before. I think the sensible solution would be for the music to be done at midnight. Three in the morning is a little much."
See more current article dated Monday, Aug. 13, about the drug busts – and the good times and so forth – here: https://www.hcpress.com/news/mixed-emotions-revolve-around-festival-of-gnarnia-at-beech-w-drug-arrests-and-increased-business.html
For more information about the festival, click to gnarniathefestival.com or see our previous article previewing the event here.
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We have added Issue 65 of "A Minute with the Masons" to our newsletters page. You can read it here.
The entire student body of KCS went to a youth center in the mountains for a 2-day campout retreat. Everyone had a wonderful time (except for those unfortunate few who were sick) as we played and hung out together. During the weekend, Michael had the chance to give two messages to the students as he challenged them to worship Jesus with undivided hearts.
A long-time friend joined us at church today. For many, many years Shibuya was a key leader and the main translator at SIBC before moving to Australia with his family a couple of years ago. This week he is back in Japan on business and stopped by on Sunday to worship and fellowship with us. It was so good to see him again. We truly miss him. In the photo, Shibuya is front and center.
The annual KCS Fall Field Trips were held today. As homeroom teacher for the 5-6th grade, Chris took the class to the Osaka Science Museum and Planetarium. While there, they met a volunteer who was able to give them a tour of the museum...in English. Everyone seemed to have a good time, especially when they passed through the gift shop at the end!
Today was Sports Day at KCS. The school was divided into three teams and competed against each other in various athletic events. Everyone did their best, but in the end it was the blue team (Luke's team!) that came out on top.
Back in July we went to Nagashima Spaland, an amusement park with some crazy roller coasters. The highlight was clearly the Steel Dragon 2000, but Shoot the Chute was pretty fun (and wet!) and the White Cyclone is the largest wooden roller coaster outside fo the Unites States. Oh ya, Michael does NOT recommend the Flying Frisbee! Here is our YouTube video of some of the attractions we were brave enough to ride.
It has been about a month since the church has started meeting in a home. We are still adjusting to the new way of having a worship service, but so far the people seem to be enjoying the more intimate, relational atmosphere. In the coming months we will continue to seek the Lord as to HOW He wants us to gather each week.
Today was the first all-school chapel of the year at Kansai Christian School. Serving as chaplain again this year, Michael will be doing a message series called "Following Jesus: Responding to the Invitation of Christ." When Jesus invites us to follow Him, He is not inviting us to join a new religion or follow a new religious teaching. Rather, Jesus is inviting us to walk in friendship with Him. This year Michael hopes to challenge the students to consider what it really means to have an authentic relationship with Jesus.
School started today, YEAH! Today was the first day of the new school year for Luke and Chris. Luke is entering the 6th grade and Chris is starting her new role as homeroom and Bible teach for the 5th-6th grad class (Yes, that's Luke's class!). After school Michael asked Luke, "How was it having your mother as your homeroom teacher?" Luke responded, "Not as bad as I was expecting." From a 6th grader, that is a rave review!
In preparation for the new school year at Kansai Christian School (KCS), the teachers had a staff retreat (aka 2 full days of meetings) up in the mountains of Nara Prefecture. Even though Michael and Luke did not participate in the meetings they also joined the retreat and hung out during the day. The scenery was gorgeous (when it wasn't foggy) and everyone (especially those not in the meetings!) had a good time.
Today we handed over the keys to our old church facility. We thank God for 6 wonderful years in the Shin-Nikken Building. Here is a final "before & after" photo of our sanctuary. It sure looks different when it is empty!
We took a day-trip to Amanohashidate. This is a small town in Northern Kyoto that is famous for it tree-lined sandbar that stretches across the bay. Actually, it is considered one of Japan's "Three Most Scenic Views." It was really hot, but we had a good time. To see more pictures, check out Michael's Facebook page.
We heard about a LEGO exhibit in Osaka, and since Luke is really into LEGOS, so we went to check it out. It was really cool! The exhibit was called "Piece of Peace" and consisted of about 25 models of World Heritage sites made completely out of LEGOS. It was kind of dark inside, so it was hard to take photos, but the detail was amazing! You can see a couple of the models on Facebook here.
We rented a truck today in order to move all of our stuff out of our old location and bring them to Noji's house. We had already given away some stuff (tables, desks, chairs, etc...) to our sister church and Kansai Christians School. Other large items were hauled away last week by a salvage company. We are thankful for the small group of people who came out to lend a hand.
Today was the first day for the church family to gather in our new location. Obviously, it will take some time to adjust to meeting in a home, but I think that today was a good first step as people seemed to enjoy the time together. For these first 2 or 3 months, we really want to seek the Lord about HOW He wants us to gather together each week.
Today was our last worship service at our current location in Sakai City. The message was called "Packing for the Journey" as Michael talked about six things we need to bring with us as we embark on the next stage of our journey together. We also had an extended time of worship as well as time for prayer in small groups. After the service, we had a potluck lunch together, and then started to pack up the church to prepare for our move. From next week, will begin the transition to a simple-style, organic church at the home of a church member in Izumiotsu City.
After spending the night with fellow JEMS missionaries Kevin & Nozomi West (below left), we met up with the Holiness Youth Choir (below right) that was visiting Japan. The choir comes from one of our supporting churches, and we knew a number of the leaders and choir members. They performed at the Heart & Soul Cafe (below center), an outreach ministry of Christ Bible Institute. It was a good time to connect with old friends, and see the wonderful coffee house ministry in Nagoya.
On our way to see some friends in Nagoya, we stopped off at Nagashima Spaland, an amusement park with one of the top roller coasters in the world. The ride is called Steel Dragon 2000 and it was a lot of fun. We all did it once, and them Michael and Luke did it again at the end of the day. Amazingly, the line was only 10 minutes!
We have added Issue 64 of "A Minute with the Masons" to our newsletters page. You can read it here.
We had a congregational meeting today after our worship service at SIBC. The purpose of the meeting was to discern how we felt the Lord might be leading us in terms of a future location for the church. After a week of prayer and fasting, there was unanimous agreement that Jesus was leading us to meet in the home of a church member! This is a BIG step for us as it will mark a huge change from the way we have been "doing" church for the last 15 years. However, we are also excited that the Lord is leading us in this new and exciting direction. See the SIBC homepage for more details.
Happy Easter! We had a good turn-out at church this morning which was a big blessing after the smaller-than-usual crowds we have been having lately. After the service, we walked to the park for a picnic, Easter egg hunt and games. The weather was nice and the cherry blossoms were in bloom. Thanks to Fifi, Howard and their whole gang for arranging the activities in the park. It was a nice time of fellowship.
Although Michael is currently not serving at chaplain at Kansai Christian School, today he gave the message at the All-School Chapel. It was nice to be back and have the opportunity to share with the students and staff.
Michael performed his first bilingual wedding today. The bride has been coming to SIBC for about a year and a half, and the groom is currently stationed in Germany with the U.S. Air Force. Dressed in traditional Japanese kimonos, they both looked really nice. We wish them the best of luck as they start their new life together...in Germany! We'll miss you guys!
We have added Issue 63 of "A Minute with the Masons" to our newsletters page. You can read it here.
The SIBC Moving Committee went looking at possible facilities today. We saw a 3-story building that we could rent on a monthly basis, as well as a live house that we would just rent on Sundays. Our initial impression was that neither place was what the Lord had in mind for us. However, as we were eating lunch together (Indian food!), some people expressed and interest in possibly holding our worship service in a church member's house. Hmmm, this is something to consider.
For a few months Luke has been praying for a piano (a REAL one, not the electric one he has used until now). Well, today the Lord answered Luke's prayer by providing a piano...for FREE! It is used and needs a little repair, but since it is a Yamaha, it is still a good piano. Now Luke can really get ready for his recital in March!
Today Luke's school (Kansai Christian School) held a Walk-A-Thon to raise money to put the finishing touches on the elementary building. Luke walked a total of 13k. In all, the students raised about ¥770,000 (about $7000!). Great job everybody! Hopefully they will be able to do the necessary construction work during summer vacation.
Every January we take a group photo at SIBC. Here is the church family for 2012!
For the last few years, SIBC has been struggling to meet its monthly financial needs. Although we have often sought the Lord as to whether or not we should consider moving to a cheaper facility, we always had the sense that we were supposed to remain in our current location. However, as the financial has continued to worsen, we once again took time to seek the Lord's direction in this area. After a week of praying and seeking the Lord whether we should STAY or GO, we had a Congregational Meeting after the worship service today. As each person shared what they thought the Lord might be saying to us, the general sense was that maybe now is the time that the Lord is wanting us to move from our current location. So, after 5+ years in the SHIN-NIKKEN Building, it looks like God has a new plan for us in 2012. Exciting!
The day after Chris and Luke arrived back in Japan, we once again went to the Outback Steakhouse to celebrate Chris' birthday (a day early!). After that we went Shinsaibashi to attend a "Trick Art" exhibition, where to take pictures while interacting with the paintings. If you want to see a few of the "tricky" photos that we took, you can see them here.
Happy New Year! Michael began the New Year by himself as Chris and Luke were on their way back from a two week stay in America. Being that New Years's Day fell on a Sunday, we had an intimate time of worship at SIBC. We spent our time in worship, prayer and celebrating communion together. It was a nice change from our usual style of worship. After the service, Michael went out to Thai food in Dontonbori with a few church friends. As you can tell from the photo, it was good! Mmmm.


Do you know who the meanest person you'll ever meet is?
It's your own inner critic and I came face-to-face with mine this week.
Now why in the world would I say that a part of you is meaner than anyone else? I'm sure you can think of a time where you've said some nasty things about yourself that you wouldn't dare say about someone else. Why do we beat ourselves up when we are such a nice person?
Our relationship with ourselves—how we talk to ourselves and the self-perception we have —impacts both our well-being and the actions we take more than anything. That's why I am so passionate about encouraging you to tone down the fierceness and volume of your inner critic.
Last week I had a (painful) reminder of this when my inner critic got super loud. I was totally beating the crap out of myself regarding a situation. I was also getting some external criticism that only gave my inner critic more material to use against me. OMG it was brutal. I wanted to go back in time and get a do-over.
Can you relate to that??
But not only did this fierce self-critic not feel good, it sidetracked me from the blessings in the situation. Thank goodness this was not a long diversion. After a few perspective check conversations with friends and my own inner coach, I was able to shift.
Please for the love of your sanity and your emotional health, shift yours!
Consider the energetic contribution you are making. Your self-talk not only influences YOU but influences the vibe you are broadcasting. The more negative you are on the inside, the less likely you are to be able to attract what you want. Plus, most people really do not like to be around other people who are criticizing themselves all the time.
What will support you is listening to the voice of your heart; that voice that speaks truth to you with love. That voice is always there. I promise. And the more you silence the criticism, the louder the voice of love will become.


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The Significance of Number 1 Ranking for Pakistan
With rain preventing any significant play at Port of Spain, Pakistan has become the number 1 ranked Test side in the world. Although, the tag of "the best in the world" needs no additives to make it sweeter but in case of Pakistan, the rarity of this occurrence is what magnifies the significance of this feat for the Pakistan Cricket and its fans.
It is the first time for Pakistan to stand as officially the best Test side in the world since the introduction of ICC official ranking in 2003. During this period of just over 13 years, only four teams have claimed the custody of that MACE and not surprisingly, Australians held it (83 months) longer than everyone else combined (76 months).
But Test Cricket has been around since much earlier than 2003, in fact, till mid 70s – before the start of ODI World Cups – Test Cricket was the only format of Cricket to gauge the brilliance of Cricketing nations. Naturally, other teams also feared better than the rest during that pre-2003 era and it may look harsh not to acknowledge the teams who performed the best in that era, especially the West Indies of late 70s and 80s. Additionally, it also helps in benchmarking the performance of leading sides of last two decades with that of teams of previous decades and century.
To address the same thought, ICC did apply its current rating system, some years ago, to results since 1952 providing ratings for the end of each month back to 1952. 1952 was chosen as the starting point as prior to this date, the number of competing Test teams was small and the frequency of matches was quite low as well. The information used to be available on ICC official website till few years ago but it is not available there any more. Fortunately, found that table in one of the archives that looks like this:
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ICC_Test_Championship#Historical_rankings
This retrospective listing shows that although Pakistan has claimed the MACE for the first time in its history but, had the ICC Test Rankings were in place since Pakistan started playing Test Cricket, it would not have been the first time. Pakistan would have claimed it earlier as well, though only for a brief period of 2 months – from August 1988 to September 1988.
Both of these listings also provide a good opportunity to measure the share of dominance of different teams in the last 64 years (since 1952). In case all the months (in which a team remained number 1 in Tests) are added together, it gives a good measure of the period of dominance of specific teams.
This concluding picture highlights the significance of 'Number 1 Test Team' tag for Pakistan. For Australia, losing the MACE may not be as significant as it is for Pakistan to get hold of it. After remaining acknowledged as one of the most competitive sides in the Test Cricket Arena since admission to it, the title of 'The Best Test team in the world' has eluded Pakistan for a long time. Admiring and seeing the talent and excellence of their players getting admired by others as well, Pakistani fans have longed for it for too long. So long, that it has almost become a life long wish for quite a few fans.
Finally, the wait is over and Pakistan is crowned the new holder of the throne. That MACE is Pakistan's to hold, at least for some time and celebrations have just begun. To make it all even more prestigious, who better to receive that MACE than Misbah ul Haq – the rightful custodian of the MACE – without whose custody of the Team Pakistan, it would have self-destructed itself yet another time before achieving this feat. Well done Misbah, Well done Team Pakistan.


Nominations for the 2018 A. John "Jack" Vogt Award for Outstanding Commitment to the Advancement of Local Government Budgeting and Evaluation are now open. This career award is the highest annual award presented by the North Carolina Local Government Budget Association (NCLGBA) to recognize individuals who have served during their careers as innovators and leaders in advancing budget and/or evaluation practices in North Carolina local government. In 2006, Dr. Jack Vogt became the first recipient of the award to honor his thirty-four year legacy as an innovator, teacher, mentor, and consummate student of local government budgeting and evaluation.
Nomination applications and a list of previous award winners can be accessed on the award page. Completed nomination applications should be submitted via email to vogtaward@nclgba.org by 11:59pm on Friday, November 9, 2018. A committee from the NCLGBA Board will review the submissions and present the award at the 2018 Winter Conference during the Thursday luncheon on December 13th, at the Pinehurst Resort in Pinehurst, NC. If you have any questions about the nomination form or process, please feel free to contact NCLGBA President Stephen Hawryluk at stephenh@cityofws.org or (336) 747-7093.
North Carolina has a strong, national reputation as a leader in local government budgeting and evaluation. Please take this opportunity to recognize those who have helped us earn this reputation and charted new paths for all of us to participate, learn from and benefit.
The Board is pleased to present the final draft of the new NCLGBA strategic plan. The result of over nine months of work, the draft plan – complete with revised mission, vision, core values, and performance measures – came about as a result of a NCLGBA membership survey that went out in January and February. Member comments were the foundational element used to create the Strategic Plan.
We are now asking for your input! Please take a moment and review the work that has been done to date. If you have any questions, comments, or feedback, please send your thoughts to Justin Amos, Immediate Past President, or Steve Hawryluk, President, by Friday, November 16, 2018.
At the upcoming Winter Conference, the Board will host a concurrent session to share the plan in more detail. Formal board adoption of the strategic plan will also occur at the Winter Conference.
The Board would also like to thank Rebecca Jackson from the City of Fayetteville for assisting with the creation of this plan. Her guidance and expertise were invaluable.
Please note that every attendee needs to fill out a registration form individually.
After you complete the form, a copy of your registration should be e-mailed to you (check your spam filters).
If you are paying by check, please include the e-mailed registration form with your check when you mail it to our Treasurer, Teresa Fulk, Carteret County Finance, 302 Courthouse Square, Beaufort, NC 28516.