As soon as I heard about this fun cake smash theme that mom shared with me… I jumped with excitement. I couldn't wait.
The teepee in this session was the same teepee we used for her lifestyle newborn session a year ago!
Logistically, this cake smash was a little harder to figure out. I was very concerned that the cake could ruin the teepee and I surely didn't want that to happen. It is a big prop to be used in the cake smash session, again, something I was a little worried about. But I never had any doubt that it would be able to be done and done well.
I think that mommy did a great job making this light pink cake. Mom was confident that she was going to be able to make the cake and get it here to the studio. Luckily, they live in Holly Springs and there was not a long transport of the cake. With that pink cake, I knew we needed to have some pink flowers. I spent a great deal of time looking for flowers that would match her floral headband. After 2 hours of searching, I picked these up at Micheals. In my search, I found this beautiful garland that you can see at the very top of the opening of the teepee.
Each and ever cake smash and first birthday session is different. I try and get a clear understanding of moms (or in rare cases dads) vision to help come up with something unique. A different twist, whether its with different flowers, cakes or combinations, every experience is different.
If you have a little one getting ready to celebrate a first birthday, make sure you consider a 1st birthday cake smash session session for them. You won't regret it… but you will probably regret not doing it.
Headshots are so important to update on a regular basis. Your professional headshots are, many times, the first time your customer sees you. You wouldn't want them to see a 20 year old headshot of you and be surprised or taken aback when you don't look like your photo said you did. By having an updated headshot, you are starting out with honesty about who you are and what to expect.
Whether are you are starting your own business, rebranding your current business, looking for career opportunities, or speaking as an expert in your field, there are many reasons to update your headshots. The great news is they don't have to be a hassle and don't have to take a lot of time. Most of my headshot sessions are done within 30 minutes. It is because I help plan your headshot session ahead of time. I help understand your brand or the way you plan on using your headshot to give you direction on what to bring.
I had the pleasure of working with Brian Woomer and his Woomer Insurance team in downtown Apex, NC. They have a quaint, industrial feel business office on Salem Street. It is decorated with watercolor canvases from a local artist of popular landmarks in the community. The texture of the water marks goes beautifully with the exposed brick on the walls. The front of the office looks onto the street downtown. Brian and his team help bring a very personal touch back into the insurance industry. It offers such a unique insurance experience.
If you are in need of a headshot update and are not looking forward to it, let me help! Together we can make the experience way easier and better than it seems. So whether you are rebranding, updating or expanding, let me help you update those professional headshots!
It is so hard to believe that Claire's first birthday photography session is all done. I remember her newborn session like it was just a month ago…. but it hasn't been. It's been well over a year since the newborn session!
Just like most cake smash sessions, Claire started out very apprehensive of what she was supposed to do with this cake, and the flowers on top of the cake. The cake is called a naked cake, it was designed and delivered by Holly Springs baker, BillieJo Cochrane with Baked by Billie.
Once Claire got more comfortable with the cake smash set up, she quickly realized that cake is delicious and this session was going to be so much fun… and… well CAKE!!
I didn't know what to expect, considering she hadn't had cake and the flowers on top of the cake could be a distraction. The hope, was sincerely, that she wasn't going to prefer to eat the flowers over the cake. Although she thought the flowers were interesting, she was wanted to fill up on them. Haha!
Claire didn't mind keeping the beautiful floral crown on during most of her cake smash. She was quick to let us know when she was all done wearing it though.
Then, it was time to clean up!
Most babies at this age love a bath….. but again, they are not used to having a bath in front of someone AND a camera. But once we started the bubble machine she was ready to have some more fun. She splashed around and giggled.
As soon as Claire was comfortable she was reaching for all of the bubbles and even giving us some adorable belly laughs. You can't deny that a baby's belly laugh makes you laugh too.
Someone had a birthday!! It was Hannah!
I remember the day her mommy shared that Hannah was expected to make an arrival. I was so excited for the whole family, including a soon to be promoted big sister.
The beautiful cake was made by Baked By Billie.
I have been working with the Patrick family for a few years now… and every time I have a lovely time and the sessions get better and better. This session was scheduled to document Nora's 2nd birthday. What I loved about this is that it was a "Mommy and Me" session. I loved the idea of an outdoor session, because I have missed photographing sessions outside being that it was such a cold winter and a very rainy spring.
We took these photos at a beautiful park, in the morning here in Holly Springs. About 20 minutes from Raleigh. The sun was shining beautifully through the trees and it gave us such beautiful lighting.
For this mommy and me/ birthday session, mommy communicated with me that she was looking for something delicate, gentle and had a beautiful bohemian feel. This was easier achieved with light colors, especially with the blush pink, long, flowing dress that mommy wore. And I have to be honest, this color pattern is my favorite for these sessions. It truly brings in a feminine feel.
Just to mention it again, this was not just a mommy and me session. This was also a session to help document this sweet little girl's second birthday. What better way to document a girls birthday than with flowers… Big, beautiful, delicate, blooming flowers. It seems as though she liked having the flowers there as well. She spent much of her time inhaling the beautiful scent of them.
I wanted to make sure that they have were able to take these flowers home and enjoy them there. So we didn't spend too much time using them for the session so that they were able to enjoy the flowers after the session, at home. I promise, they smelled beautiful. I wish there was away to share that beautiful floral smell with you through the computer.
After we were all done using the flowers, we got some lovely candid shots of of just Nora. She hammed it up for the camera just enough.
She was such a great sport, considering she had some dirt on her feet that got through her sandals…. She really didn't mind too much. I was far more worried how about getting any of that dirt or mud on their dresses. After all, the colors were so light, it would have showed and given me far more time with edited. Luckily, for all of us, we avoided that concern. Every time she stood on the grass, we wiped her sandals and feet off to keep mommy and daughter completely dirt free.
Here are just a few more portraits from the mommy and me portion of the session.
I hope you love looking at these photos as much as I love taking them.
One of the greatest gifts I have as a photographer is when I get to work with families through the years as the children grow from babies. This sweet little girl was just a baby last year for her family mini session, and in one year – She has grown SO big!
This first photo is a shot from last years family portrait session. I remember her curiosity when her head was played on the plush grass.
AND… this is her now!! She is such a big girl now!
You can tell that she brings so much joy to her family. And you can tell that she loves her mommy and daddy to the moon and back.
She is starting to find her own independence but she still lets her mom and dad love on her, especially for the family portrait shots.
And she surely loves to explore. The family mini session we had this year was at the WRAL Azalea Gardens, in downtown Raleigh, about 20 minutes from Holly Springs. The weather cooperated and the azaleas were in full bloom. And this little miss was all about exploring ALL of the colors on the property. From the reds, blues, purples and even orange – she wanted to see it all. And she did.
This watermelon inspired cake smash session was a blast! At first Jemma looked at it kind of funny… a little unsure as to what she should do with this pink and green "thing". The great news is that she wasn't scared of it and was completely open to the idea of at least trying to eat a little.
And then it was on!!!!!! Jemma tasted a little bit of heaven and went from unsure to ecstatic!! Look at this photo below. This is the shot I got when she realized "this is the good stuff".
She wasn't only curious about the colorful cake in front of her, but Jemma was extremely curious about my camera. She was so funny because every time I would set my camera down or hold it away from my face, she would stare at it. Her mommy told me what Jemma really wanted was to see how she looked in her photos. Haha! She saw that she was rocking the session and crawled back to her cake. It was so adorable!
I always like to tell the parents during a cake smash photography session, you may see the sugar hit them. They get a little twinge of excitement. It's always hard to know when it's going to happen, and it happens so quick the camera doesn't usually catch it. But if you look at the photo below, the camera got it this time!!
The sessions was great, mommy was laughing, I was laughing and so was Jemma. We all had fun and we had tons of frosting on us.
It is also so funny when they feel frosting between their tiny little toes and on their feet. It is a strange texture that most of them have never felt before. It made Jemma curious again.
These last two cracked me up so I just had to share them on the blog.
Thank you for sharing your first birthday with me lil Miss Jemma!!!!!
If you would like to see more 1st birthday and cake smash sessions, click HERE.


text:
Timor-Leste a nation born and violently reborn as its people struggle to re-establish themselves
Cecily McNeill10 August 2011 Timor-Leste has transformed from a country whose towns were empty of people – the citizens traumatised by violence and bloodshed 12 years ago – to a…
Cecily McNeill
Timor-Leste has transformed from a country whose towns were empty of people – the citizens traumatised by violence and bloodshed 12 years ago – to a vibrant young nation with numerous signs of hope, according to a New Zealand Army commander, in Dili for a six-month duty.
August 30 is the 12th anniversary of an overwhelming vote for independence which sparked a violent reaction from the Indonesians who had occupied the country for 24 years killing a third of the population in a bloody invasion in December 1975.
Major Andy MacKenzie Everitt was first in East Timor in May 2000 just eight months after Indonesian militia attacks on the Timorese which included a brutal massacre in the Catholic Church in Suai near the border with Indonesian West Timor. When Major MacKenzie Everitt's battalion arrived the situation was relatively calm, perhaps dampened down by a month of heavy flooding.
'As the situation dried out, what we found was a militia group moving from West Timor through the district of Covalima, into Cassa further east. So they were transiting through our zone and en route they were literally terrorising some of the villages in the hinterland – in the foothills of the high mountains. The Timorese appealed to us for help.'
The New Zealand soldiers were part of a United Nations peacekeeping force, UNTAET – there to provide security – 'to create a stable environment but also for governance and public administration, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief'.
'We were having difficulty resupplying our own troops who, by this stage, were up in the hills. The conditions were pretty rough.'
Tamping the violence
The New Zealanders decided to take a slightly different, 'more ambitious' approach to tracking down the militia than the usual checkpoints and static security details. They worked with the local security service – an armed neighbourhood watch – to amass information revealing the whereabouts of militia groups and then disarmed and arrested them.
The unprovoked killing of Private Leonard Manning while on peacekeeping patrol on July 24, 2000, was a tragedy that brought matters to a head. Manning was the first New Zealander killed in a wartime situation since Vietnam. His killing shocked his comrades who were lucky to escape with their lives. 'We were surprised. The militia had not been that aggressive towards us but obviously they felt threatened by us. It was a very sad event.'
The New Zealanders made an armed response 'in accordance with our mission – I will stress that we acted lawfully in full support of the local population.'
It was now clear the militia were not going to leave quietly so the Kiwis worked with the locals to set up a network of observation posts and finally succeeded in intercepting various armed groups. 'We ended up killing three of the militia in three separate incidents over the subsequent six weeks and by doing so – unfortunate but we had to do it – we sent a very strong message.'
The independence-minded Timorese wanted to absolutely prevent the politically-orchestrated violence coming from Indonesian West Timor. 'There was a new international border – we defended it on behalf of the people of East Timor and proudly so – we put ourselves in harm's way for the greater good.'
Major MacKenzie Everitt says the militia the Kiwis met were disciplined soldiers, well trained and well equipped, 'and they moved very well across the country, far easier than we did on those minor tracks'. But he could not comment on whether they were taking orders from the Indonesian military government or acting on their own volition.
A rapid change
Today the country is thriving with a large international presence including from the former colonisers, Portugal. Timor-Leste's official language is now Portuguese and this country has contributed a rich heritage in its cuisine, legal framework and religion (98 percent of the population is Catholic).
Some of the battered houses on the hills in Suai have not been reoccupied – these probably belonged to the Indonesian clerical class and they are not welcome back. But Major MacKenzie Everitt observes that the unpopular colonisers at least ran an efficient infrastructure – the roads are now worse with potholes everywhere and the electricity and schooling systems worked better under Indonesian rule.
The many challenges facing this tiny nation, with a life-expectancy of just 60 and only half of adults able to read and write, may crystalise next year with parliamentary elections. Major MacKenzie Everitt did not want to comment on the challenges ahead but suggested that the sign of a successful democracy would be free and fair elections with any violence kept to a low level.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Digits by Vito Manfredi
Watercolour on paper, 30 x 21cm
Framed in light timber frame and off white mat.
Framed size 46cm high x 38cm wide.
Delirium Catalogue Essay
Vito Manfredi lives in a strange world indeed. Hands, scrotums, nipples and mouths morph and drip. Mountains scream and flesh moans. There is only one thing to be certain of with these works – expect the unexpected.
At first these works cause a shudder of repulsion; their fleshy forms are so unlikely. But his deft, lyrical line-work also contains an element of humour and seduction. While the forms may be initially unnerving, his gentle wash of colour is beguiling. Opting for pale blue and pinks, Manfredi utilises the colours of a children's nursery, restful and serene.
These works are not unlike illustrations for a children's book from another dimension. These are worlds akin to Dr. Suess and Lewis Carroll linked decisively to Freud's notion of the uncanny.
In Siblings we encounter a Rorschach test from a gynecologists nightmare. A bulbous figure, bulging with fatty tissue, is giving birth to two ghost-like forms. The truncated nature of Manfredi's framing gives pause to wonder what the rest of this 'mother' figure must look like.
But these foetus-like urchins must be fed and in Liquid one of them is about to delightfully absorb succor from its mother. A form that is immediately teats, nipples, testicle and finger emerges from a cloud of ectoplasm. What drips towards the hungry infant could be spermatozoa mixed with blood. The grinning infant, already sprouting fuzzy hairs, is clearly a human thumb anticipating the touch of the feminine finger-nipple.
In Manfredi's world a hand has a carbuncle-like spine and webbed fingers. In Formation it drapes elegantly in a gesture of repose, the digits tinged with blue in the brisk cold air of its Spartan environs. In Twobirds and expression he reveals that, not content with one phallus, this creature sports two avian-headed flaccid cocks and ejaculates and/or urinates steam.
Not content to keep these works one dimensional, they creep from the walls to take on full form. Manfredi has always dabbled with sculpture, and as with his previous works on paper his earlier sculptures suggested an element of the slapstick. With his new works, both sculptural and on paper, there is a new subtlety – they are less overt. They could be mysterious deep-sea growths or a strange fungi in the damp environs of the basement.
These works are the poetry of the bizarre. They contain elements of what Sigmund Freud discussed in his 1919 essay, The Uncanny.
"The subject of the 'uncanny'… is undoubtedly related to what is frightening — to what arouses dread and horror; equally certainly, too, the word is not always used in a clearly definable sense, so that it tends to coincide with what excites fear in general. Yet we may expect that a special core of feeling is present which justifies the use of a special conceptual term. One is curious to know what this common core is which allows us to distinguish as 'uncanny'; certain things which lie within the field of what is frightening. …"
In essence Freud describes the Uncanny as something we do not recognise, that is frightening because we cannot easily classify the object or situation around us. Freud uses the German word unheimlich which is clearly the opposite of heimlich (homely): "the opposite of what is familiar; and we are tempted to conclude that what is 'uncanny' is frightening precisely because it is not known and familiar."
But in a strange way Manfredi has found an approach that seems to balance the unheimlich with the heimlich. In part this is the gentle palette he utilises, the cosy and gentle nursery room blues and pinks. And while they may be uncanny in their distinctly alien nature, we can simultaneously recognise their component parts – a finger, a breast, a face.
In many ways Manfredi is creating an entire world here. His work slots into a strange other-worldly aesthetic that is emerging in Melbourne which embraces the ghost-like forms of Rhys Lee, the grotesqueries of Nick Mangan and the peculiar semi-organic structures of Benjamin Armstrong. But Manfredi's gently undulating planet is very much his own.
In many ways this body of work resolves many of the bodily issues raised in Manfredi's last exhibition at Jenny Port Gallery. Conference, in 2007, was in some ways a more playful affair, hinting at a rather nightmarish version of Bananas in Pajamas before veering off into strange mutated amalgams. Here the conference has turned to pure delirium, an element of pure mayhem has entered. But what makes this so wonderful is the 'softness' of the mutations. Manfredi's beautifully crafted creatures hint at family, nurture and reproduction and, finally, a sense of redemption. His critters and the strange world in which they live may be different, they may even in some eyes be hideously deformed. But at the end of the day they want the same things we all want – your compassion.
Catalogue essay by Ashley Crawford


It's quick and easy for you to find a dentist in Titusville, FL and save on General Dentistry and more. Enter your ZIP code above to review the leading discount dental plans and participating dentists available in Titusville, FL. Decide on the right plan for your needs and save 10% to 60% on your dental care bills at dentists such as Dr. Morgan Ellis. Visit the dental office of Dr. Morgan Ellis in Titusville and get discounts on General Dentistry and more.
Discount dental plans are alternatives to dental insurance plans that offer great discounts on General Dentistry and other dental care treatments. We make it easy for you to search more than 100,000 participating dentist listings in combined networks, including many general dentists, orthodontists, periodontists, oral surgeons, and more. So if you want discounts on oral exams, cosmetic teeth whitening, braces (orthodontics), root canals, crowns and more, our comprehensive dentist directory is an ideal place to find affordable dental care specialists and dentists in Titusville, FL.


text:
Q: Use Java AST to refactor all literal String in a project to constant I have  big number of source files that I need parse and extract all string literals and put them in a class  as   java constant (similar to this question Extract all string from a java project process that i minded follow next  steps:

*

*read directory (src directory) and go to  each file

*over each file, do a first read  and  check if is there any literal string   inside

*In true case ,  use ast to make the  import of constant´s class .if not  just
skip to next file

*after the import, refactor all the string   using ast in the  source file to
the literal variables

*finally, add the new varaibles to constant class
I have  developed some fuctions usisng some copy/paste code that i found(completly noob with AST) ,  but i dont know how to do  2º and 4º steps
Could someone help me ? Is there anyway to do it better instead AST(i cant use externalize string fuction on eclipse ) ?
pd : sorry for my english , non native speaker
edit :`
public class Main {
    public static void parse(final String str) {
        final ASTParser parser = ASTParser.newParser(AST.JLS3);
        parser.setSource(str.toCharArray());
        parser.setKind(ASTParser.K_COMPILATION_UNIT);
        String identificador="dasiodas ";
        final CompilationUnit cu = (CompilationUnit) parser.createAST(null);
        cu.recordModifications();
        cu.accept(new ASTVisitor() {

            Set names = new HashSet();
            int contadormod=0;

            public boolean visit(VariableDeclarationFragment node) {
            /*  if(node.toString().contains("="))
                int ptoken=node.toString().i

            if(ptoken!=-1){
            String declaracion = node.toString().substring(ptoken);
                if(declaracion.contains("new String ")&&declaracion.indexOf("\"")!=0){
                    declaracion=declaracion.substring(declaracion.indexOf("\""), declaracion.lastIndexOf("\""));
                    String identificador=node.getName().toString()+"ct";
                    System.out.println("he pasod al if ");
                }
            }
            //ASTRewrite rewrite= ASTRewrite.create(node.getAST());
             //rewrite.replace(node,rewrite.getAST().newAssignment(), null);

                String prueba = "mi prueba ";
                SimpleName name = node.getName();
                System.out.println(node.toString()+" esto es el inicializador");
                this.names.add(name.getIdentifier());
                System.out.println("Declaration of '" + name + "' at line"
                        + cu.getLineNumber(name.getStartPosition()));
                */
                return false; // do not continue
            }

            public boolean visit(SimpleName node) {
                if (this.names.contains(node.getIdentifier())) {
                    System.out.println("Usage of '" + node + "' at line "
                            + cu.getLineNumber(node.getStartPosition()));
                }
                return true;
            }
            public boolean visit (StringLiteral node){
            System.out.println(node.getLiteralValue()+" string literal ");
            ASTRewrite rewrite= ASTRewrite.create(node.getAST());
            rewrite.replace(node,
                    rewrite.getAST().new.newName("Constant"), null);
            // 2
            //node.setStructuralProperty(SimpleType.NAME_PROPERTY, rewrite
              //      .getAST().newSimpleName("int")); // 2

                rewrite = ASTRewrite.create(cu.getAST());
               // cu.recordModifications();
                //cu.accept(new XQASTVisitor());
                Document doc =new Document(str);
                //IDocument doc = new IDocument();
                //cu.re
                TextEdit edits = cu.rewrite(doc, null);
                try {
                    edits.apply(doc);
                } catch (MalformedTreeException e) {
                    e.printStackTrace();
                } catch (org.eclipse.jface.text.BadLocationException e) {
                    // TODO Auto-generated catch block
                    e.printStackTrace();
                }
                return false;
            }

        });

    }

    //read file content into a string
    public static String readFileToString(String filePath) throws IOException {
        StringBuilder fileData = new StringBuilder(1000);
        BufferedReader reader = new BufferedReader(new FileReader(filePath));

        char[] buf = new char[10];
        int numRead = 0;
        while ((numRead = reader.read(buf)) != -1) {
            System.out.println(numRead);
            String readData = String.valueOf(buf, 0, numRead);
            fileData.append(readData);
            buf = new char[1024];
        }

        reader.close();

        return  fileData.toString();
    }

    //loop directory to get file list
    public static void ParseFilesInDir() throws IOException{
        File dirs = new File(".");
        String dirPath = dirs.getCanonicalPath() + File.separator+"src"+File.separator;

        File root = new File(dirPath);
        //System.out.println(rootDir.listFiles());
        File[] files = root.listFiles ( );
        String filePath = null;

         for (File f : files ) {
             filePath = f.getAbsolutePath();
             if(f.isFile()){
                 parse(readFileToString(filePath));
             }
         }
    }

    public static void main(String[] args) throws IOException {
        ParseFilesInDir();
    }

`

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
'use strict';

var toInt  = require('../../Number/to-int')
  , value  = require('../../Object/valid-value')
  , repeat = require('./repeat')

  , abs = Math.abs, max = Math.max;

module.exports = function (fill/*, length*/) {
	var self = String(value(this))
	  , sLength = self.length
	  , length = arguments[1];

	length = isNaN(length) ? 1 : toInt(length);
	fill = repeat.call(String(fill), abs(length));
	if (length >= 0) {
		return fill.slice(0, max(0, length - sLength)) + self;
	} else {
		return self + (((sLength + length) >= 0) ? '' :
				fill.slice(length + sLength));
	}
};

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Internet Crimes: Nigeria Rated 16th Worst Country – FBI
March 18, 2021 BossvibeNews2 Comments on Internet Crimes: Nigeria Rated 16th Worst Country – FBI
Nigeria has been listed as one of the countries most affected by internet crime.
This is according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
The 2020 Internet Crime Report of the FBI Complaint Centre (IC3) ranked Africa's most populous nation as the 16th.
In a statement, Paul Abbate, FBI Deputy Director, said IC3 received a record number of complaints from Americans in 2020: 791,790, with reported losses
exceeding $4.1 billion. The figure represents a 69% increase in total complaints from 2019.
The FBI noted that Business E-mail Compromise (BEC) schemes continued to be the costliest. There were 19,369 complaints with an adjusted loss of approximately $1.8 billion.
Phishing scams had 241,342 complaints, with adjusted losses of over $54 million, while the number of ransomware incidents also continues to rise, with 2,474 incidents reported in 2020.
Through the Recovery Asset Team, IC3 worked with its partners to successfully freeze approximately $380 million of the $462 million in reported losses in 2020, nearly 82%. In addition.
The top 20 countries: 1. United Kingdom; 2. Canada; 3. India; 4. Greece; 5. Australia; 6. South Africa; 7. France; 8. Germany; 9. Mexico; 10. Belgium.
The rest: 11. Brazil; Philippines; 13. Italy; 14. Spain; 15. Netherlands; 16. Nigeria; 17. Pakistan; 18. China; 19. Colombia; 20. Hong Kong .
Source: 9jaflavored
Photo of Three Yahoo Boys Sentenced to Prison In Enugu
50 or 60% of girls in Cross River secondary schools are not virgins" – Governor Ayade
2 thoughts on "Internet Crimes: Nigeria Rated 16th Worst Country – FBI"
Nelson says:


text:
The Ethics in Escape from Spiderhead
On September 15, 2022 By Isabelle J.In George Saunders, Short Stories
The first time I read Escape From Spiderhead, I was taken aback at how much had happened in such a short story. Jeff goes from being obsessively in love with not just one but two different people, to feeling an indescribable level of pain that drives him to kill himself. There are many different thought provoking aspects of the story but the one I found most interesting was the drugs that Abensti used, and the way he justified using them. When administering the "love drug" that causes Jeff to love both Heather and Rachel, Abnesti says
"Can we stop the war? We can sure as heck slow it down! Suddenly the soldiers on both sides start fucking. Or, at low dosage, feeling super-fond. Or say we have two rival dictators in a death grudge".
This poses a seriously interesting hypothetical, would it be ethical to use drugs in this way if they existed? If a love drug seriously had the potential to stop wars, genocides, and hateful violence, shouldn't we use it? I would say yes, but then we must also consider where the lines are drawn. Would it be ethical to secretly put some of the drug in my significant other's coffee while they're not looking because I'm scared they're losing interest? What if it's to keep two parents together to raise their child? And even if we are able to look past the various scenarios that test the morality of the use of these drugs, there is always the question of their validity. If Jeff and Rachel were somehow able to escape Spiderhead and begin a life together, would it be real? Does he actually love her and she, him? If he does, then is love just a bunch of emotions in our brains that are stopped as quickly as they started? Or is it more than that? In our reality, love and affection are deeply intimate emotions for most people. Falling in love with someone occurs (usually) over the course of much time getting to know them. Is this type of love more valid than the one Abnesti administered to Jeff? It would seem so but if you were able to ask Jeff when he was on the drug I'm sure he'd strongly disagree. Anyways, I don't have any answers…just some things to think about!
The Secret to "The Secret Woman"
Beauty in Good Country People
3 thoughts on "The Ethics in Escape from Spiderhead"
I agree with your contemplation on the ethicality of administering drugs that affect or alter a person's feelings. I think there's an obvious difference between someone who agrees to the experiment versus giving it to an unknowing person. I think it would be fascinating, but extremely alarming if a drug like this existed.
This is a really interesting take. I agree with Lucy on this, I think it is different when someone has consented to a drug vs. someone who is unknowingly taking the drug. But I also think that in situations like war, or domestic abuse, or genocide, there would be no situation in which consent would be given by the perpetrator. In situations like this, where people's lives at stake, would it be okay to administer the drug? I think in situations like that you would really have to weigh the pros and cons of administering the drug.
I think you pose interesting questions, Isabelle! I think that if our society allowed a drug like that into our world without regulation, our society would function entirely different. I believe everything in our world runs off of love and hate, so to alter the whole dynamic of love would be somewhat destructive. I think more corruption would fill our world by like you were saying, lying, manipulation, etc. Overall, I love your take on Escape from Spiderhead.


I already got a domain name, could I keep using this domain name to apply your eshop service?
we suggest you to get a new one.
Because it is the quickest and easiest way, moreover, no additional cost involved (a "new domain" of .com / .org / .net registration already included in our eshop plans).
That newly registered domain will be directly hosted and merged with the eshop system in a quick and easy way.
But on the contrary, if you really want to keep using the "current domain" for your eshop, No problem!
You can request a "Domain Migration-in" service, we will transfer your existing domain from your exising hosting company to ours.
"Domain Migration-in" service is under promotion, so it is free now (Original fees is $ 250/domain).
For more information or query, please contact us.


text:
The Empty Envelope
Posted On September 16, 2021 By matchless_iskcon
From Back to Godhead
By Vraja Bihari Dasa
Making sense of Vedic Rituals
Are traditional rituals mere acts of blind faith, or are there scientific reasons behind following them?
An envelope protects and carries something valuable. It is the inner content of the envelope that's actually precious. Similarly empty, meaningless rituals are like an empty envelope: devoid of any substance at best or downright offensive at worst.
Going beyond the externals of religion
Twenty five year old Nitin Sawant, a software engineer, explains why he's skeptical about religious rituals.
"I was at a friend's wedding recently. The priest called upon the bride and the groom to perform holy rites, while the guests watched smoke rise from the sacrificial fire. The hall reverberated with the loud chanting of Sanskrit mantras (hymns) by the priest sanctifying the marriage. Suddenly there was a protest; one of the guests a Sanskrit scholar himself heard carefully the chanting of the mantras, and was upset at the insensitivity of the priest who'd been blabbering hymns not connected to a marriage ceremony; he even offered rapid mantras meant for a funeral service! A bigger shock for me was the callousness of the marriage party; they politely quietened the complaining guest and let the function go on unchanged. I left disappointed at the sham of a sacred wedding where no one understood or cared for the significance of the rituals."
Spirituality or religious hodgepodge?
Nitin's disillusionment with religion and spirituality is not without reason. He has seen since childhood increasing religious intolerance, global terrorism (justified in the name of God), and corruption by the clergy of different faiths. In India, during the annual festivals glorifying Lord Ganesha (a popular Indian demigod), men and women dance passionately to Bollywood numbers while the deity of Ganesha dressed as a popular actor, politician, or a cricketer is worshipped by a lone priest. These ten day festivities centered on vulgar display of wealth, pompous rituals and political sloganeering do not remotely hint at a spiritual experience. Not surprisingly, young and intelligent people like Nitin are put off by these shallow ceremonies.
Goal of rituals reawakening the dormant love
Rituals are performance of certain practices unique to each religious tradition that serves different purposes; they often help a person express his loyalty to a religion, or help gain acceptance within a community. These prescribed procedures, obliging a person from birth to death, consume substantial time, money and energy of the practitioner, who vows allegiance to his respective God through these customs.
However, there's more to popular religions than the elaborate, external rituals. The goal of a religious system is to awaken the dormant love of God that's within every living entity. "The supreme occupation for all humanity is that by which men can attain to loving devotional service unto the transcendental Lord. Such devotional service must be unmotivated and uninterrupted to completely satisfy the self." (Bhag. 1.2.6).
This love, although natural, is presently covered by the thick layer of material consciousness. A set of rituals are thus offered by the founders and teachers of each faith, to help the followers gradually purify their consciousness of material contamination. For example, in the pan Hindu culture, people perform the arati ceremony where a devotee offers fragrant incense, fire lamp, and water to God, Krishna. These rituals are intended to help the devotee realize that God is the source of fragrance (corresponds to the incense offered), heat (connected to the fire lamp), and all other elements in this material creation (Bg. 7.4 & 7.9). A devotee acknowledges God's proprietorship and our dependence on Him for basic amenities. Through the arati ceremony, we offer the elements back to Krishna, reciprocating with His kindness and expressing our intention to love Him. Thus the rituals' purpose is akin to an envelope that carries the letter of our spiritual aspirations. The wrapping of a ritual may be attractive, but it remains a hollow giftpack if it is devoid of our loving offering to God.
Can we manage without rituals?
No! They are essential and even indispensable to a person commonly distracted by worldly affairs. Physical actions and rituals create favorable ambience; gorgeous temples, beautiful deity dresses, congregational singing and dancing, and clean devotee attire, stimulate devotees to go deeper and internally connect to God. An unclean place, whimsical and aggressive behavior, and irregular habits create negative energy and distract a devotee from his spiritual quest. Although the internal mood is critical in our communion with God, the externals do influence the internals. While substance is ultimately important, it is the form that helps to carry and preserve the substance. The "spirit" added to a "ritual" makes it "spiritual."
DISTRACTED BY RITUALS
When we forget this divine purpose of rituals connecting our consciousness with the Supreme consciousness, God and instead get distracted by the loud and grandiose externals, the rituals become an end in themselves. The traffic laws have a purpose: to help the driver reach his destination smoothly. If a motorist is unsure of his destination, he's eventually lost despite his strict following of the traffic rules. Similarly, if the follower of a religious faith is unaware of the goal of going back home, back to Godhead, he's lost in the material world, even in the garb of a religious conviction. Then the rituals have the opposite effect of what they're supposed to achieve: they keep a person bound in material consciousness.
A contemplative and prayerful connection to God helps a devotee see all living entities as children of his all compassionate Lord (Bg. 5.18). This vision dissolves the false ego, softens the heart, and fills it with love and kindness towards all beings. One attached to rituals however is bereft of this experience and instead hovers on the mental platform of sectarian pride. Hence it's not surprising to see many Hindus, Muslims and Christians fight over superficial differences. Even within a religious sect, rituals get diluted, and each faction claims to understand the letter of the law better, but acutely misses the spirit behind them. As a result, the younger educated lot are disillusioned with these empty and meaningless rituals, and dismiss religion per se as a bane to the society.
Remembering God the essence of all rituals
Srila Rupa Gosvami, a sixteenth century Vaisnava saint has given elaborate rules for practicing devotional service. He sums the essence of these regulations as favorable remembrance of God, Krishna.
smartavyah satata m visnur vismartavyo na jatucit
sarve vidhi nisedhah syur
etayor eva kinkarah
"Krishna should always be remembered and never forgotten at any time. All the rules and prohibitions mentioned in the scriptures should be the servants of these two principles." (Padma Purana, quoted in Sri Caitanya caritamrta, Madhya 22.113) By cultivating a desire to serve Krishna while practicing the rituals, a practitioner's heart gets reformed: selfish passions give way to the spirit of selfless service; arrogance transforms to humility; and envy to appreciation of others. If these changes do not take place and love of God doesn't fructify in the heart, the years of practice of religious rituals are declared to be a mundane waste of time. (Bhag. 1.2.8)
A devotee follows the procedures sincerely but is also willing to adjust according to time, place and circumstances. For example, Rupa Goswami lists gorgeous deity worship as one of the rules for practicing devotional service. However, when Srila Prabhupada installed the deities of Lord Jagannatha, Baladeva and Subhadra (Krishna with His brother and sister) at San Francisco in 1967, ISKCON had meagre facilities. In a small but devotionally potent program consisting of chanting, prayers, offering of lamp, and happy feasting on Lord's prasada (food offered to Krishna), Srila Prabhupada had adjusted the details without compromising on the essence. If one can afford, one should offer the best to Krishna. If one has no feasible means, he can still offer Krishna, with love and devotion, a simple leaf, flower, fruit or water. (Bg. 9.26)
Krishna is known as bhava grahi one who doesn't accept the thing we offer but the love with which it's offered. He accepts the substance of our will, of our consciousness. If we increase this awareness while practicing the rituals, we'll eventually achieve the goal of satisfying Krishna. (Bhag.1.2.13)
Simplicity is more effective than elaborate rituals
Our eagerness to please Krishna is more effective in earning the Lord's favor than the strict compliance with rituals. Lord Krishna taught this principle while performing His pastimes as a simple cowherd boy 5000 years ago.
Once Krishna asked His hungry boyfriends to beg for food from the brahmanas (ritualistic priests), who lived nearby. They were busy performing sacrifices and had arranged variety of foodstuffs as a part of the program. When the boys appealed to these men on behalf of Krishna, the priests ignored the request, and instead busied themselves with their sacrificial executions. Krishna is the goal of all Vedic knowledge and sacrifices (Bg. 15.15), but the vastly learned priests missed this point due to their absorption on the form of worship rather than the substance of Krishna. It's like a man working overtime at office; when it's finally time to collect the paycheck, he says he's busy working hard, and has no time to collect the remuneration. The desired result of all endeavors and sacrifices is Krishna's pleasure and His acceptance of our oblations. Here Krishna was willing to reward the brahmanas by receiving their offerings and giving them benedictions, but they were busy working, their vision of Krishna blurred by the false pride of material expertise.
The boys were disappointed, but Krishna encouraged His friends to now approach the wives of the brahmanas,who were simple hearted and not well versed in Vedic rituals. In contrast to the cold response of their husbands, these women were overjoyed to hear the requests of Krishna, and rushed to Him with all of the offerings. Although they were prevented from going to Krishna by their husbands, fathers, and sons all vastly erudite in Vedic rituals the women were unstoppable. Their example proves that simple acceptance of Krishna and an eagerness to please Him attracts the Lord's attention more than ostentatious rituals. Later the men, realizing their folly, glorified their wives and condemned their own learning, for it blinded them to the loving service of Krishna.
Krishna is our eternal loving father, waiting for us to return to Him. Spiritual joy eludes one who ignores reviving this relationship with Him. Despite all his devout and lofty practices, such a person licks the bottle of spiritual honey, only from outside.
Spiritual practice for the modern age
Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, the incarnation of Supreme Lord for the modern age, presented chanting of Hare Krishna as the easy method to revive our relationship with Krishna. As the very first effect of chanting, the heart gets cleansed of material contamination, and gradually pure love of Krishna awakens. Although there are no hard and fast rules, a mechanical, parrot like repetition of the mantras will not award the fruit of love of God. (Siksashtaka.1.2) Srila Prabhupada taught devotees to chant Krishna's holy names in the mood of a helpless child calling for his mother, for the call of a child in danger is never a blind ritual; rather it's imbued with conscious emotion. " . . . there is a quality to such utterances also. It depends on the quality of feeling. A helpless man can feelingly utter the holy name of the Lord, whereas a man who utters the same holy name in great material satisfaction cannot be so sincere." (Srila Prabhupada in Teachings of Queen Kunti)
A need for Spiritual Education
The scriptures are filled with the prayers of great souls: Prahlada Maharaja, Gajendra and Kunti devi, to name a few. A devotee repeats these prayers, not as a stereotype ritual but with a desire to understand the content and feelings of the pure devotees offering these prayers. With an enthusiasm to access the Lord's mercy, a Krishna conscious devotee invests his feelings into these prayers, and simultaneously offers his own personal prayers to Krishna. In an ISKCON centre, knowledge of God and spiritual practices to develop love of God are systematically imparted. Hence Srila Prabhupada compared ISKCON temples to spiritual universities.
If Nitin visits a Hare Krishna temple, his doubts and misgivings of Indian spirituality will be allayed, and even as religious fervor dominates the social scene, he can learn to offer his heart to Krishna through a ritual.
Srimati Radharani's Beautiful Mood
6 Qualities of GOD! The Art of Happiness


Branding is an essential strategy tool that businesses, organizations and individuals use to stand out from a competitive market. Brand is useful in presenting ideas, identity and proposal to the world.
If you take a critical look at big corporations around the world, you will realize that their names are associated with logo, colours, sign, tagline etc., and these attributes have garnered loyalty and sort of emotional attachment for them from their customers. No, it does not involve magic or voodoo, it is simply the power of branding.
Branding is not limited to businesses, corporations and organizations only. Individuals in politics, sports and entertainment have optimized branding to achieve success in their fields. However, branding is not an autopilot tool. You have to create, promote and invest in branding, to get the best of it.
This post is a guideline on how to create and promote your brand, to give you a competitive advantage.
Naming your business is as important as presenting your product or services to the public. There is more to a business name.
It is necessary to make your brand name tell a story about what you do. A pharmaceutical company would not want to name its business 'Pharmnopoison' The real interpretation of the brand name may not mean harm, it may be interpreted to 'Pharm, no poison' but the fact that 'Poison' is included in the name, it raises a red flag for company that dispenses consumable product. Choose a simple, unique and short name that is dynamic in nature and will be easily remembered.
Although brand naming is a complex subject which can take a separate article on its own, but to save the topic for another post, logo, images and taglines would be collapsed under brand naming. Researches have it that it is easier to remember a name or company that has specific attributes compared to common name amidst billions of businesses and individuals around the globe.
A short and memorable name, unique logo, fascinating colours, inspiring and informative slogan could be your brand's selling point. These identities are what first time customers will remember about your business. I would suggest you employ the service of professional in this area, if you really want to create a big brand for yourself in your industry.
There are firms that have won the hearts of people through their branding concept, you are just one of the many others brands wanting people to subscribe to what you offer. There is competition, what makes you get noticed is the way you present your brand to the world.
It is embarrassing to keep pushing your name, product or service to people. It may spell doom for your business if you start by telling them about your product and services without offering good value. People are already familiar with a lot of similar products and services. They are more interested in the value you are offering, especially if it comes with no commitment.
You may add value to customer experience in your industry, by giving tips and advice i.e how-to buy quality products at low-cost, how to avoid being cheated, list of accredited dealers etc.
Talking about your industry and giving advice to potential customers or clients will make people have a level of trust in you, for giving them information they need to know about the industry.
Even when you are giving general information about the industry, you are doing a good work for your brand because they are better informed about the industry through you. They will easily remember your name among the number of businesses in your industry.
Let your brand been visible to everyone; at least the target market. Investing part of your business capital on brand naming and logo may not bring automatic positive result. Quality time and strategy should be planned to make the brand visible to the public.
Print and electronic media have been the traditional ways of creating visibility for brand. But recently, social media has been very useful and effective, especially on a low-budget plan.
Use these mediums to promote your brand. Make advertisement on TVs, magazines, dailies, billboards, radio and the internet. Place your logos and brands in strategic locations where your potential customers would be, but avoid constituting nuisance while trying to be visible everywhere.
go and whenever you meet new people.
in some of your conversations.
People tend to forget names and incidents easily, when they encounter related situation often. It is more productive to pin your brand identity to people's mind.
You can make your brand stay at the top of their mind by following up on your branding strategies. Conducting research on their perception towards your identity and how you can improve on impression about the brand.
Criticism, advice, tips and contributions from readers are what makes this platform grows. Feel free to drop your view in the comment box below.


Welcome to Delhi: - Royal Rajasthan tour will start with your arrival at Delhi the capital of kingdoms and empires is now a sprawling metropolis with a fascinating blend of the past and the present. It is a perfect introduction to the composite culture of an ancient land. A window to the kaleidoscope - that is India. Get grand reception at airport arrival by Trojan Holidays representative. Later, get transfer to the hotel. Spend the day at leisure and enjoying shopping. Come back to hotel for an overnight stay.
After healthy breakfast in the morning check out from the hotel and drive to airport to board your flight to Srinagar, Arrive Srinagar, meet assist at the airport and transfer to Deluxe Houseboat. Afternoon at leisure. In the evening Shikara ride on Dal Lake to enjoy the sunset. Night stay at Houseboat.
Day 03: Local Sightseeing - Srinagar - 50Kms.
After healthy breakfast in the morning check out from the hotel and proceed to Gulmarg reach there and check in at the hotel, afternoon full day tour of Gulmarg which is one of the most beautiful summer resort in the valley. It is also popular for its golf course (in summer), the highest in the world and skiing during the winter season. Enjoy the splendor of nature and the snowy mountains. One can have Gondola ride (cable car) from Gulmarg to Khalinmarg. In the evening come back to the hotel, Night stay at Hotel.
After breakfast leave Pahalgam and drive to Srinagar, and transfer to airport to board your flight to Delhi. Reach Delhi and check in at the hotel, evening free for own leisure activities. Overnight at the hotel.
Shimla: former summer capital of British India & now a capital of Himachal Pradesh, set amidst the snow capped shivalik mountain ranges offering some stunning views of the mighty Himalayas, it is surrounded by pine deodar, oak and rhododendron forests. Towards the north lie the snow-covered high-ranges, while the valleys breathe whispering streams and swaying fields. Shimla offers a variety of shopping, sport and entertainment activities. Arrive Shimla Check in to the Hotel. Rest of the day is at leisure, evening enjoy at mall road. Later back to hotel. Overnight stay at hotel in Shimla.
After breakfast visit to half day city tour visiting Indian Institute Of Advanced Studies, Sankat Mochan Temple and Jakhu temple, Afternoon visit to excursion tour of Kufri & Chail, Kufri: a popular ski resort in winters, which offers some stunning mountain views, Later drive to Chail: The Chail Palace is well known for its architecture. The cricket ground and a polo ground which is there at an altitude of 2,444 m was owned by erstwhile royal family of Patiala. It is the world's highest cricket ground. In 1891, Maharaja Bhupinder Singh of Patiala incurred the rage of Lord Kitchener. It led to the restriction of his entry into the summer capital, Shimla. This incensed the Maharaja and he vowed to build a new summer capital for himself. So he rebuilt the place (Chail) as per his requirements. There we will visit the Palace of former Maharaja of Patiyala. Later back to hotel. Overnight stay at hotel at Shimla.
Manali: at the northern end of the Kullu Valley in Himachal Pradesh, is a hill station situated at a height of 2050 m (6398 ft) in the Himalayas. Situated on the Beas river (Vyaas in Hindi) and near its source, it is a popular tourist spot for Indians in summer and a magical, snow-covered place in winter. A staging point for a number of treks (Beas Kund, Chandrakhani Pass) and sports such as white-water rafting, Manali is also on the road to Ladakh via the valley of Lahaul and Spiti and rohtang pass which is main attraction near Manali. Arrive at Manali and check in the hotel, Rest of the day is at leisure to visit the local markets overnight stay at hotel at Manali.
After early breakfast visit to excursion visiting Kothi Gorge, Gulaba, Marhi, Rohtang Pass (Upto Snow Line in case Rohtang is closed due to snow fall) Carry warm clothes like hand gloves, muffler, sweater, shawl, socks & sports shoes etc. Enroute overcoats and shoes are available on hire. Please note that Rohtang Pass (altitude 3940 mts.) is actually 51 kms. far from Manali, due to heavy snow covering the road, this pass is not accessible during heavy snow fall for Snow Point, and Solang Valley.
After breakfast visit to city tour. Visiting Hadimba temple, the 450 years old Hadimba Devi Temple, the oldest temple in Manali, Vashisht Temple, Manu temple and picturesque Naggar Valley. Later proceed to Chandigarh: Picturesquely located at the foothills of Shivaliks, the Union territory of Chandigarh serves as the capital of Punjab and Haryana. The city derives its name from the temple of ""Chandi Mandir"" located in the vicinity of the site selected for the city. The deity 'Chandi', the goddess of power and a fort 'garh' beyond the temple gave the city its name ""Chandigarh-The City Beautiful"".Known internationally for its architecture and urban planning, in the afternoon Visit Rock Garden, Rose Garden And Sukhna Lake also visit to Pinjore Garden, also visit Zakir rose garden, in the afternoon check out from the hotel and drive back to Delhi, overnight at the hotel.
After breakfast check out from hotel, proceed for Delhi.
Welcome at Delhi: - On arrival at the capital city of India get welcome by the Trojan Holiday's representative and later get transferred to hotel.
5.	Rickshaw ride in Delhi.
6.	01 mineral water bottle per person per day.
7.	Surface Travel by exclusive air-conditioned car Air-conditioned will not work in hilly areas.
8.	All transfers & sightseeing as per the itinerary.
9.	All taxes, driver allowances, Parking etc.
5.	Any item not shown in Cost Includes.


text:
Mann's has served the Island since 1903
Imagine living on an island in the early 1900s. Roads were not good and there were no cars. Getting supplies of any k...
Mann's has served the Island since 1903 Imagine living on an island in the early 1900s. Roads were not good and there were no cars. Getting supplies of any k... Check out this story on greenbaypressgazette.com: http://gbpg.net/1isQkun
Ramelle Bintz, Door County Advocate Published 8:10 p.m. CT June 20, 2014
Inside Mann's Store, items were simply displayed on flat tables with canned goods and shoes on shelves against the wall. (Photo: Submitted )
Imagine living on an island in the early 1900s. Roads were not good and there were no cars. Getting supplies of any kind was a major undertaking.
It was 1902 when George O. Mann arrived on Washington Island to work as a teacher. The next year he gave up teaching and established what still operates 111 years later in the same location — Mann's Store Inc. at 1290 Main Road.
Even more remarkable than the grocery store's longevity is how it has continued to be run by members of the Mann family. Jerry and Marlene Mann now run the store with a brother, Orion Mann, as produce manager with his wife, Jill. A fifth generation of Manns, Jerry's son, Jeffrey, also works at the store. He and his wife, Carissa, already started a sixth-generation with their three children. Orion's daughter, Alissa, a recent college graduate, is helping out this summer.
Jerry's brother, Keith Mann, built Mann's Mercantile and moved the hardware division of the original general store down the road to 1176 Main Road.
A sister, Bonita (Bonnie), also branched out from the original family tree to grow another Door County mainstay. Bonnie and her husband, Charles Voight, run the Island Clipper and sell whitefish and salmon from her husband's namesake Charlie's Smokehouse in Gills Rock.
Buying and selling in the Mann family goes back as far as the county's earliest archives. The first newspaper mention of Charles Mann, George Mann's father, is in the Jan. 18, 1883, Door County Advocate column from Ellison Bay. The column notes Charles was in Door County buying logs from John Ellison for Two Rivers Manufacturing Co.
By 1900, Charles was married and living with his wife, Elizabeth, and eight children, including George, in Baileys Harbor. George graduated from eighth grade in Baileys Harbor and began teaching there, in Brussels and eventually Washington Island.
George married Pearl Richter, whose parents were from Iceland. Charles' parents, James R. Mann and Elenor Rogers, both appear to have come from England. The 1870 census shows James and Elenor in Sevastopol and James working as a farmer. James' Civil War enlistment records place him in the Town of Gardner in 1864. Both James R. Mann and Charles E. Mann were buried in Baileys Harbor.
At 63, Jerry Mann, who still cuts up meat for customers as they stop by and plan their summer barbecues, remembers his father, Jerome, and grandfather, Fred, running the store. Jerry was not yet in school when he tagged along on his father's delivery route. It started with a big breakfast at his grandfather Fred's house — usually bacon and eggs and homemade doughnuts made by his grandmother, Lettie.
People were always happy to see them, he said, as he fondly remembers people giving him cookies when they arrived with eggs, milk, fish or ice.
Fred was one of four children of George and Pearl. George built the store with his brother, Edward, who was also a teacher. Just two years later, George bought him out and ran it until Fred took over in 1956.
Jerome and Lavaun Mann managed the store in the 1960s, and after Jerome died in 1992, Jerry and Orion took it over. At 88, Lavaun still helps out. Images of great-grandfather George are among old photos in the store along with framed art and yardsticks and other mementos people have dropped off of old store patronage gifts found in attics and garages bearing the Mann Store name.
The original store was two stories high and included an elevator, which was needed to move everything from caskets to farm equipment that was sold in what was truly a "super store." Besides selling groceries, Mann's was a lumber yard, ice house, furniture store and dairy and sold rifles, lamps, milk cans, shoes, clothes and, later in back, automobiles.
"We sold tractors at one point," Jerry said, "and owned a garage next door — a service station — and owned a farm on Jackson Harbor."
The store burned down in 1932, but as it slowly burned, people carried supplies to the dance hall across the street, and Mann's never closed. The one-story building there today was rebuilt on the same spot as the old store.
"All the general merchandise was laid out on flat tables," Jerry said, except for large items like big rolls of linoleum that leaned against the wall.
If people needed it and the store did not yet carry it, it soon did. The variety of items today continues to surprise visitors of the little store. From early on, Mann's Store bought fish direct and in bulk from fishermen and schooners of potatoes from farmers who delivered to the docks. In the 1950s Jerry delivered groceries on routes for year-round Island residents, but by 1970 those were discontinued.
One of the biggest changes for his business was when the first flat-top boat began deliveries to the island in the late '60s, Jerry said. That allowed trucks to bring their load directly to the store.
"Before that you had to go to the dock, unload the ferry and load a truck," he said.
Jerry has also seen major food suppliers go out of business and said their business also ran into rough times in the early 1960s. But Mann's Store weathered through not only that era, but the Great Depression of the early 1930s. It extended credit to a lot of Islanders to help the community flourish.
"People have told us if we wouldn't have given them credit during the lean times, their family wouldn't have made it," he said.
Jerry said one of things he is proudest of is the commitment his father and other family members instilled in them to serve on local boards for art, culture, church, recreation and other concerns. Jerry is a hunter safety instructor and Orion is president of the electric coop. His great-grandfather, George, was a charter member of the Lions Club, first president of the telephone company, the Washington Island Airport Company and the Electric Co-op.
How does he do it all?
"A lot of nights you don't get supper," he said.
Contact Ramelle Bintz at rbintz@doorcountyadvocate.
Read or Share this story: http://gbpg.net/1isQkun


imageinstitute.org is a wholesale/ retail online store which offers premium products like android cellphone phones, tablet, cars and truck gadgets, Apple & Samsung gadgets, design clothes and more. imageinstitute.org helps customers to shop low-cost electronic gadgets with self-esteem. As a popular electronic gadgets supplier, imageinstitute.org hosts over 80000+ products in a large range of categories with free shipping, store now to find the favored deals for you and your home. Whether you want to find daily requirement electronic products or memorable design presents, you can buy them at imageinstitute.org with the discount rate.
imageinstitute.org is an online shopping website who concentrates on using worldwide a huge range of affordable electronic products and other associated items. A few of the most popular gadgets easily offered on imageinstitute.org include toys, cellphone and computer system gadgets, rechargeable batteries and battery chargers, and other novelty items.
With over 3 thousand new products sent monthly, imageinstitute.org is one-stop shopping website for all electronic gadgets fans. Most considerably, while people from countries close-by are enjoying the large variety made items at a low rate, we are dedicating ourselves to bring the specific very same products to another side of the world at the similar expense.


Play the "Pop a bubble" game.
Pop to reveal 2 bubbles showing the same Liese product.
Every friend you successfully invite and who takes part in the contest earns you one additional chance to 'Pop' the bubbles per day.
Visit Liese Malaysia Facebook fan page for more detail.


text:
Honoring SNU Veterans for Homecoming
By Courtney McDaniel November 9, 2017
This year at Southern Nazarene University, the homecoming football game falls on Veteran's Day. Heather Hawkins informed me that close to 25% of SNU's total population is made up of veterans, so they deserved to be recognized for their service.
The Vet's Center and Disability Services at SNU are partnering together this year to make sure we do everything we can to honor our veterans even during homecoming.
The Vet's Center, also known as the Veteran's Educational Transition Success Center, is federally funded through a grant that was only awarded to thirteen schools this past year, SNU being one of them. SNU was also the only school in the state of Oklahoma that was awarded the grant.
This grant allows the center to extend resources to military members and their families while they receive an education.
"Any present, past military member, or military child or spouse, including the reserve and guard are eligible to visit the Vet's Center and use it as a resource," stated Heather Hawkins.
Joe McDaniel, a 1985 SNU graduate and a former US Navy Medic, said, "I am really happy to hear about all the Vet's Center is doing for our military students. I wish we had a resource like this when I was a student at SNU."
Heather Hawkins works in the SNU Vet's Center office. Hawkins began working in the Vet's Center after she was finished traveling as the Director of Marketing for The Language Company. She wanted to make sure she was going to have a job where she could give back and contribute to someone else, and the Vet's Center has made that possible for her.
"I want to give back a portion of the enormous sacrifice that they've (veterans) made for their country," said Hawkins.
This year, the Vet's Center at SNU is planning some events throughout the week leading up to Veteran's Day that anyone on campus can be a part of. On Friday, November 10th, there will be therapy dogs at the Vet's Center that you can visit. The Vet's Center will also be passing out facts to give awareness about veterans throughout the week.
Another thing the Vet's Center is doing is hanging up pictures of students who are veterans or other veterans that students may know. The pictures will be displayed in the Vet's Center throughout the month of November.
If you have a picture that you would like to have displayed, please email Tabitha Pope at tpope@mail.snu.edu or Heather Hawkins at hhawkins@mail.snu.edu.
[author image="http://echo.snu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/IMG_4213.jpg"]Courtney McDaniel, Staff Writer
Courtney is junior majoring in Nursing. Courtney grew up as a Navy brat but now her family currently resides in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She is apart of the SNU Speak House on campus that works with an non-profit to end sex-trafficking in Oklahoma City. Courtney loves listening to some Judah & The Lion, going to hit some dingers at the batting cages, and hanging out with people. She hopes to be a Nurse in the US Navy after graduation and to continue serving others through her profession. [/author]
By Courtney McDaniel
Courtney McDaniel, Staff Writer Courtney is junior majoring in Nursing. Courtney grew up as a Navy brat but now her family currently resides in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She is apart of the SNU Speak House on campus that works with an non-profit to end sex-trafficking in Oklahoma City. Courtney loves listening to some Judah & The Lion, going to hit some dingers at the batting cages, and hanging out with people. She hopes to be a Nurse in the US Navy after graduation and to continue serving others through her profession.
Prev PostThe Storm Builds
Next PostNo Shave November or No Women November?


I was exited to see this new element 41682 (https://brickset.com/parts/design-41682). There's gotta be other people like me :). You know...like when all the new brackets came out in 2012. Oooh, I just found https://brickset.com/parts/tag-Bracket. Thank you Brickset DBA. Anyway, brackets are fun to play with just a few parts to see how many ways you can arrange basic pieces. Ok, peace out!
41682 isn't tagged as a Bracket. I think it should be. I'll post on the right forum if I find one.
It is tagged as a bracket now. I just checked.


text:
What Does a Civil Litigation Attorney in Miami Do?
by Romy Jurado | Nov 11, 2021 | Litigation | 0 comments
In essence, the primary role of litigation attorneys is to represent plaintiffs and defendants in civil lawsuits. In the Miami-Dade area, civil litigations encompass a wide array of legal conflicts involving parties who seek compensation or other forms of legal relief in court.
Keep reading to discover the role of a Miami civil litigation attorney.
The Role of a Civil Litigation Attorney in Miami – An Introduction
Typically, people who need to file a lawsuit against another person or defend against allegations in civil litigation will seek guidance from an attorney. As its name suggests, attorneys who specialize in this segment focus on cases of civil litigation.
In most cases, the civil litigation attorney is responsible for managing all phases during litigation, which includes the investigation process, pleadings, discovery, pre-trial, trial, settlement, and appeals (if necessary).
As the legal scope of civil litigations tends to be very broad, the work of civil litigation attorneys varies depending on the nature of each case and whether the client is the plaintiff or the defendant in the case.
What Does a Civil Litigation Attorney in Miami Do? – An Overview
Case Assessment and Investigation
Before proceeding with a lawsuit, a civil litigation attorney will sit down with a prospective client to assess the case in detail. If the client is a plaintiff, the attorney will determine the existence of sufficient evidence to file a lawsuit.
On the other hand, if the client is a defendant, the attorney will evaluate the existing evidence to defend against potential or existing claims against the party.
During the investigation, the attorney will gather witness statements, reunite all necessary documents, interview the interested parties, and investigate the situations that led to the lawsuit.
Drafting the Paperwork
Many people associate the work of a civil litigation attorney with handling a lot of documents and drafting a lot of paperwork – and they are just right. Civil lawsuits involve various pleadings and motions, and it is the attorney's responsibility to file them with the court.
Conducting the Discovery Process
Typically, civil lawsuits in Miami involve a discovery process. During this phase, the attorneys of both parties will exchange all relevant information. In this sense, there are several methods to obtain information employed by expert attorneys.
For example, a civil litigation attorney must know how to use interrogatories. During an interrogatory, the other party to a lawsuit (either a plaintiff or defendant) must answer a set of questions asked by the lawyer.
Another common method of obtaining further information is to utilize a request for admission. In such a case, the lawyer asks the other party to admit or deny specific parts of the case. Most importantly, it is done in writing and under oath.
Pre-Trial, Trial, and Settlement
A Miami civil litigation attorney has an essential role in the lawsuit's development, both prior, during, and after the judge's decision. During the pre-trial phase, the attorney will wrap up information obtained during the discovery process and prepare everything for the trial.
If the case proceeds to a court trial, the attorney will represent the client in front of a judge or jury. At this moment, it is crucial to work with an experienced Miami lawyer to guarantee the attorney will:
identify the strengths and weaknesses of the case precisely
utilize the witnesses in your favor during testimony
conduct the case strategically and craft a favorable version of the case
Post-Trial
Occasionally, things may not go as expected, so it may be necessary to appeal the case in court. In such cases, it is fundamental to work with a seasoned attorney who knows the courts in the Miami-Dade region to tailor the best strategy to ensure a positive outcome.
At this phase, the attorney will take care of post-trial motions, identification of issues for appeal, the recording of evidence to present in the appealing, handling the necessary paperwork, and oral argumentation before appellate courts.
Work with an Expert Miami Civil Litigation Attorney from Jurado and Farshchian, P.L.
Whether you want to file or defend against a civil lawsuit in Miami, waste no time with uncertainty. Contact Attorney Romy B. Jurado by calling (305) 921-0976 or emailing Romy@juradolawfirm.com to schedule an initial consultation.