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Where Can the Denver Broncos Improve Most for 2013?
Scott Kacsmar@CaptainComebackTwitter LogoContributor IMarch 28, 2013
Dustin Bradford/Getty Images
The Denver Broncos are as likely as any team to win Super Bowl XLVIII.
These 2013 team previews have been constructed with a typical beginning, middle and end, but the whole concept is starting to make this analyst feel jaded about how a NFL season actually unfolds. So consider this the conclusion and we will work backwards like Seinfeld once did for an episode.
When it's a non-playoff team, we look at how they can make the playoffs. When it's a playoff team, we look at how they can win the Super Bowl.
But as the 2012 playoffs proved once again, the regular season means very little these days for winning a title. As long as you get into the tournament, you have a chance. Anything can happen in one game, and the Broncos know that as well as anyone with last postseason's most epic loss to the championship-winning Ravens in double overtime.
It's not even April and you can book Denver in 2013's tournament. You can expect a minimum of12 wins and one home playoff game. That was still the real Peyton Manning last year and the league's most consistent player will continue to get it done with the same offense he always runs.
But knowing if we are going to get three to four strong team performances from the Broncos or the next Rahim Moore-type play highlighting an unspeakable playoff defeat is the mystery.
The Broncos are in the position they were in back in 1997. No one is going to care about their regular-season triumphs. Fair or not, they will be judged by the result in the playoffs.
Denver has holes just like every team. The difference is this team can still compete with anyone regardless of deficiencies. It will be hard to improve on some of the specific successes from 2012, but as long as it ends better in the playoffs, no one is going to care if the Broncos are not the top seed in the AFC.
Besides, what good does that top seed do for anyone these days? You have to somehow time it right so that you are playing your best football in the playoffs. The Broncos will give it another shot this year, and as long as they are seeded in the top four they will be in good shape.
This is usually where I would suggest the sting of last year's loss will be enough motivation, but the game just does not work that way. One wrong move and that can be your season.
How does one improve on something like that? You just have to play fundamentally sound football. Denver failed to do so one time too many in 2012.
Broncos Must Elevate Game Against Elite Competition
The new-look Broncos with Manning in his return from neck surgery did a lot of things right last season. Their games followed a few different patterns.
Denver often started slow, but dominated in the second half. The 299 second-half points scored by the 2012 Broncos are an NFL record. The offense scored at least 20 points in all but one game; that was 17 at Kansas City in a game Matt Prater missed two field goals.
Denver had the best record in the league at fourth-quarter comeback opportunities. The Broncos were 3-1 when it was a one-score deficit in the fourth quarter. Manning broke the record for comebacks after completing a 24-0 second-half comeback in San Diego.
When Denver fell behind by three scores, there was still a comeback attempt to make for a tight finish. This team cannot be held down for long.
The 11-game winning streak with every win by at least seven points tied the NFL record (1942 Bears and 2005 Colts). Yet all three of those teams did not win a playoff game. Denver became the fifth team since the 1970 merger to not have any games decided by fewer than six points (until the three-point playoff loss that is).
In an MVP-deserving season, Manning went 13 straight games with a passer rating of at least 90.0; tied for the second-longest streak in NFL history. He led the worst 8-8 team in NFL history to one of the league's elite teams. The scoring differential increase for Denver was the third highest in a 16-game season.
How do you really improve on a season like that?
Well, most people would say the numbers were inflated by playing a weak schedule. The AFC West combined for as many wins as Denver's 13. There goes six of the 13 wins right there.
When Denver played elite teams like Atlanta, Houston and New England early in the season, the Broncos trailed by at least 20 points every time, losing to all three.
When the Broncos played average teams who were competitive at the time, such as Pittsburgh, San Diego and Cincinnati, they needed Manning to lead a fourth-quarter comeback for the win.
That is not a sign of a team holding up against quality competition.
To their credit, the Broncos destroyed the Ravens in Baltimore (led 31-3 at one point) in Week 15. Yet even that game had warning flags. Manning passed for a season-low 204 yards as the Ravens got decent pressure and were not gashed by the run. Denver's offense had a season-worst seven three-and-out drives. No other team forced more than four.
This was in a game that Ray Lewis, Bernard Pollard and Dannell Ellerbe were inactive. All three started in the playoff rematch. All three are also out of Baltimore now.
But it was also the first game for Jim Caldwell as offensive coordinator after the team fired Cam Cameron. Joe Flacco threw a pick-six before halftime that really swung the game for Denver.
So you can see why things would be different in the playoffs when the Ravens had their full complement of defenders.
Baltimore returns to Denver in the 2013 regular season, and looking at the list of opponents, the Ravens may be the only team capable of winning at Mile High.
On the road, the Broncos will try to avenge losses to Houston and New England. Going to Indianapolis and the Giants will be marquee games for Manning's personal life, though it is going to be those key AFC games against the Patriots and Texans that likely decide the playoff seeding.
Denver cannot afford to fall behind by such big margins to those teams again.
But at the end of the day, it will come down to the postseason. Despite their struggles with top teams last season, Denver played the Ravens tough for 76:42 in what was always a one-score or tied game.
The outcome could have swung on so many different plays that day, but that blown coverage by Moore still stands out the most. Despite the pick-six that should have been pass interference, a misapplication of the Tuck Rule and a sloppy 10-penalty day, it was still shaping up as another typical 2012 Denver finish.
Manning had the game-winning drive in hand. The seven-point win was less than a minute away. The game-clinching interception, which Denver got from Ben Roethlisberger, Philip Rivers and Andy Dalton in the regular season, was up for grabs.
But an unbelievable gaffe by a second-year safety changed it all. The Broncos drop an interception in overtime, Baltimore holds onto Manning's bad throw, the rest is history.
When you were that close to hosting the AFC Championship, you cannot overreact to a loss. Denver still has enough of the right pieces to win it all next time.
Defense: Overcoming "The Elvis Dumervil Fax-up"
Baltimore has already taken advantage of another incredible Denver-related mistake. One piece not returning is Elvis Dumervil after his agent missed the deadline with a fax of his contract, forcing the Broncos to release him.
Instead of getting Dumervil at a reduced price, the Broncos will look to block him this season when they play the Ravens (which could be the season opener).
It is hard to believe this would even be possible in this era of technology, but Denver now must work out a backup plan. Dumervil made up a strong pass-rushing duo with Von Miller. While Miller is still going to be great, he is only one player.
Dumervil had 11 of Denver's league-leading 52 sacks, though he was invisible in the playoff loss. Well, he did have two offsides penalties. Flacco had all day to throw against what was statistically the best defense in the league at putting the quarterback under duress.
If Denver wants to maintain that type of pass rush, the best option may be 33-year-old Dwight Freeney. Like Dumervil, he will not offer much against the run, but he can still rush the passer and will come at a cheaper price.
This is hardly a deathblow to the Broncos' defense, but it was a situation that could have easily been avoided. No pass-rusher is bigger than a whole defense.
No matter who replaces Dumervil, the idea of Denver as an elite defense takes some getting used to given some paltry units in past years. The defense did very well against the scrubs of the league like Cleveland and Kansas City, but the better quarterbacks and offenses often had their way against the Broncos in 2012 and just about every other year in recent memory.
There is no franchise that has been more decimated in the postseason by opposing quarterbacks than the Broncos this century. Just check the last six playoff losses:
A 144.5 defensive passer rating and 38 points per game? It would be seemingly impossible to allow those numbers in the playoffs. John Elway sounds determined to build a team around Manning to win a Super Bowl based on his experience of doing it at the end of his career.
Someone remind Elway, his defense, allowed these numbers on its seven-game winning streak that resulted in two Super Bowl titles (1997-98): six touchdowns, 12 interceptions, 67.2 passer rating and 14.9 points per game.
As teams like the 2012 Ravens and 2011 Giants continue to show, you need a defense that can stifle the best offenses in the game in the playoffs (even on the road) if you want to win a championship.
Jack Del Rio's defense has not come anywhere close to showing it is capable of doing so for a full month in the playoffs. Keeping Dumervil should have been a bigger priority as they are now stuck with a hole to fill and a conference that will still feature big-game quarterbacks who need to hit in January.
Expect Denver's defense to decline statistically from last year.
The Most Dangerous Team in the League?
The Broncos might have been the most dangerous team in 2012, but that is only if you count the danger they were to themselves.
Denver could not get out of its own way early in the season, losing all 10 of its first 10 fumbles, which is a big reason the team started 2-3 before the 11 straight wins to clinch the No. 1 seed. Even at season's end the team was minus-one in turnover differential.
But this offense, which was already second best to New England, can be even better and more efficient in 2013. The keys are better ball security, the addition of Wes Welker in the slot and John Fox must let Manning be more aggressive.
First, let's look at the drive stats (regular season) for Denver's 2012 offense under Manning. No offense to rookie Brock Osweiler, but those drives where he came in with a huge lead to mostly hand the ball off are of no interest to us. Included is an approximate 2012 ranking based on the drive stats at Football Outsiders.
The numbers for moving the ball and scoring were elite, but the turnovers (TO%) and average starting field position (LOS/Dr) leave much to be desired. Field position is out of the offense's control, but turnovers are all on them.
Denver's ball security was atrocious at points of the season. Manning had that horrific first quarter in Atlanta with three interceptions thrown to the same spot, but he protected the ball well the rest of the season. The bigger issue was fumbling, with 12 lost fumbles by the offense alone.
Here is a breakdown of Denver's 173 drives:
On 82 drives the Broncos were able to score, miss a field goal or run out the clock. That leaves 91 drives when they had to give up the ball.
Twice they turned it over on downs, including an awful fake field goal against Oakland and Willis McGahee, who had four of the team's lost fumbles, dropped an easy pass on 4th-and-1 in the fourth quarter against the Patriots. McGahee also fumbled in that quarter, sabotaging another classic finish in the Manning vs. Brady rivalry.
Manning was sacked in the end zone for a rare safety against San Diego. He lost two fumbles on sacks, which is something he has not done in a season since 2005.
Denver went three-and-out 35 times (20.2 percent), which is slightly higher than that of the offenses led by rookies Andrew Luck, Robert Griffin III and Russell Wilson last season.
However, 13 of those three-and-out drives were with a lead of at least one touchdown and often late in the game. Offenses do like to get conservative with a late lead.
When Denver was not shooting itself in the foot, this offense was very difficult to slow down.
Denver officially ranked third in the league at converting on third down, though it was actually second once you remove those pesky kneel downs.
The Broncos did well at running the ball in short-yardage situations, though they did stall about eight drives in the regular season, a problem in the playoff loss. Adding guard Louis Vasquez is a sign the Broncos are strengthening the interior of their line.
Welker can really help in situations when the team needs 1-7 yards to convert. That was his bread-and-butter zone in New England.
Manning did not have his best season on third-and-long, but he also could have been more authoritative in those situations. Sometimes it was dictated by score and game situation, but Denver actually handed the ball off seven times when it was 3rd-and-13 or worse.
In the 14 times Manning threw in that situation, he converted six times (42.9 percent). That was easily the best percentage in the league with the league-average conversion rate only being 13.6 percent.
As Fox should know, putting the ball in Manning's hands is almost always the best move in any situation.
Denver could rightfully be accused of conservatism last year, such as having a league-low five attempts on fourth down in 2012. One was that fake field goal against Oakland. In four-minute offense situations, Denver went 10 runs and no passes from Manning.
None of those drives were more criticized than one late in the playoff loss before the Moore disaster. If you know a first down or two will put your team in the AFC Championship, are you going to let Ronnie Hillman carry the ball five straight times or let Manning throw a couple of passes?
The only limitation this offense really has is the lack of an athletic tight end. Still, Manning will complete a high rate of passes to Jacob Tamme and Joel Dreessen with the occasional big gain.
The potential for this offense is scary. Demaryius Thomas and Eric Decker are still young receivers that not have reached their full potential. For as deadly efficient Manning was to Brandon Stokley last year, imagine how good he can be with Welker, who has shown he can handle a large workload with durability.
With a draft still to come during which Denver can look at upgrading the linebackers and secondary, this is clearly one of the league's most talented teams and should be a must-watch this season.
But will it be enough to finish games in the playoffs?
Next time the offense should be given the opportunity to end a game on its own terms instead of even giving the defense a chance to have a Moore meltdown. Maybe that is the only improvement necessary for Denver.
What more (or Moore?) can the Broncos really improve on?
Scott Kacsmar writes for Cold, Hard Football Facts, NBC Sports, Colts Authority, and contributes data to Pro-Football-Reference.com and NFL Network. You can visit his blog for a complete writing archive, and can follow him on Twitter at @CaptainComeback.


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Lindsdal er en by i Kalmar kommune, Kalmar län, Småland, Sverige. Byen ligger 10 kilometer nord for Kalmar.

Byer i Kalmar kommun

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Superdry men's Jared super skinny jeans. Offering the tightest fit in our denim range, the Jared jeans feature the classic five pocket design, button and zip fly fastening and belt loops. With a mid-rise fit and made from a high stretch fabric, these jeans are trimmed with a waistband patch, embroidered logo on the coin pocket and logo patch on the back pocket. For a twist on the classic look, these jeans are finished with a distressed look on the legs.


Flowers have been left at the scene where a teenage boy was killed after being hit by a car in Plympton.
Police were called just after 8.20pm last night after a collision involving a BMW and the boy who was riding a micro scooter on Sandy Road.
This morning, bunches of flowers have been propped against a lamp post close to where the incident happened.
No written messages have been left on the floral tributes.
As a result of the collision last night, the 13-year-old scooter rider, was sadly pronounced dead at Derriford Hospital.


In celebration of our 18th year anniversary, we are excited to announce that we have launched a redesigned responsive website today for SmartCollecting.com.
Visitors may now register to become an official member of SmartCollecting. Members receive a FREE digital copy of SmartCollecting.com's 2011 Price Guide for Ty Beanie Babies and may post comments on our articles and in our database of Ty products.
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Hi. Can somebody help me with valuing two beanies I've got.
I'm looking to sell but there's not many places here in the UK that can help.
I have been collecting Beanies since 1992 and have kept them stored. I have Beanie Buddies (bears) as well to go with the Beanie Babies. I have around 150+ beanies….the earlier beanies with the PVC pellets vs the PE pellets.
I am in need of a double knee replacement and I would like to sell the entire lot of beanies/buddies. I know I have many that are valuable but not sure where to start to sell them?


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Suheli may refer to:
Suheli Par, an uninhabited atoll in the Lakshadweep, India
Suheli River, a river in Uttar Pradesh, India


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Q: Which line graphs of Cayley graphs are Cayley When are the line graphs of  Cayley graphs Cayley?
From this link we can know when the line graphs of complete graphs are cayley. But, my question pertains to the larger class of Cayley graphs. Are there new results in this direction?  Any hints? Thanks beforehand.

A: One would expect few Cayley graphs to have this property, as their automorphism group is just not big enough. Either way, a complete classification is almost certainly out of reach. Even the example you give of complete graphs is far from trivial (the published proof requires on quite a few group-theoretic results, including the Feit-Thompson Theorem).

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Abstract: A growing number of studies on economic development have relied on the premise that international technology transfer provides a mechanism for developing competitive advantages for companies of developing countries, and Africa in particular. In this article, we focus on the explicit nature of technology transferable to LDCs to argue that conventional technology transfer alone cannot create core competencies for African companies that lead to the sustainable economic development of the continent. Drawing on insights from the resource-based view and the knowledge based perspective, we develop a conceptual framework for constructing core competencies for African companies. More specifically, we explore the under-researched linkage between core competencies and knowledge management. By examining the roots of core competency in the resource-based view and knowledge-based perspective, we identify the knowledge underpinning core competencies. We then reconcile diverse knowledge management models to propose an integrative approach towards generating such critical knowledge, based on which we further argue that African companies should build their strategy on the creation of core competencies rather than solely relying on conventional international technology transfer.


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L'assedio di Modena del 218 a.C. costituisce uno dei primi episodi della seconda guerra punica. La diplomazia di Annibale nella Gallia cisalpina spinse i Galli Boi e Insubri alla rivolta. Questi scacciarono i coloni da Piacenza (Placentia) e li spinsero fino a Modena (Mutina) che venne assediata, e poco ci mancò che non fosse occupata.

Contesto storico

L'imperialismo romano portò le sue armate per la prima volta a nord del Po a partire dal 224 a.C.. La lunga resistenza delle tribù galliche, specialmente dei Boi, ci fa capire quanto siano state dure le guerre condotte in questi e nei successivi anni. I comandanti di quell'anno erano i due consoli Tito Manlio Torquato e Quinto Fulvio Flacco.

Questa nuova offensiva romana fu la naturale reazione all'invasione gallica che portò alla battaglia di Talamone (225 a.C.). Subito dopo i Romani attraversarono gli Appennini e si riversarono nei territori dei Boi. Gli anni successivi videro i consoli Gaio Flaminio Nepote e Publio Furio Filo (223 a.C.) battere gli Insubri ed ottenere un trionfo De Galleis, sebbene a Flaminio venne rifiutato per questioni religiose e politiche. Nel 222 a.C. vi furono poi la vittorie romana decisiva di Clastidium (222 a.C.) e la presa della capitale insubre di Mediolanum (Milano).

Per consolidare il proprio dominio Roma creò le colonie di Placentia, nel territorio dei Boi, e Cremona in quello degli Insubri. I Galli dell'Italia settentrionale si ribelleranno nuovamente in seguito alla discesa di Annibale.

Casus belli

Quando giunse la notizia che Annibale era ormai partito per invadere l'Italia, i Galli Boi, dopo aver istigato anche gli Insubri, si ribellarono poiché, come sostiene Tito Livio, non avevano sopportato che fossero state fondate sul territorio gallico nei pressi del fiume Po le colonie latine di Placentia e Cremona.

Essi decisero di assalire quei territori improvvisamente, generando non solo terrore e scompiglio nelle popolazioni coloniche appena insediate, ma anche nei triumviri romani che erano venuti a distribuire i campi. Essi non fidandosi delle opere difensive di Placentia, preferirono rifugiarsi a Mutina (Modena).

L'assedio

Una volta assediati a Mutina, i Galli, che erano inesperti nell'arte di assediare, stando «accampati pigri ed inerti sotto le mura» della città, finsero di trattare la pace. Livio racconta che i capi Galli invitarono gli ambasciatori romani per un colloquio, ma dopo averli fatti prigionieri, violando ogni genere di «diritto delle genti», si rifiutarono di liberarli se non fossero stati loro restituiti gli ostaggi.

Quando queste notizie giunsero al pretore Lucio Manlio Vulsone, preso dall'ira condusse il proprio esercito in modo disordinato nei pressi della città, attorno alla quale si stendevano numerose selve. Egli preso alla sprovvista dai Galli, non avendo per incuria esplorato il territorio preventivamente ed adeguatamente, a stento riuscì a rifugiarsi in campo aperto, subendo numerose perdite.

Posti e fortificati allora i propri accampamenti, riprese coraggio per quanto avesse subito perdite per [500-1.000 uomini]. Quando riprese la marcia, l'esercito romano incontrò nuove selve. Ancora una volta i Galli attaccarono, questa volta la retroguardia, e compiendo nuovamente grande strage: 700 furono le vittime romane e sei insegne catturate.

Giunti nuovamente in una piana, i Romani si rifugiarono nel vicino villaggio di Tannetum, nei pressi del Po. Qui fortificarono nuovamente il campo e provvidero al trasporto delle proprie vettovaglie sulle acque del fiume, grazie all'aiuto dei Galli Cenomani e degli abitanti di Brixia.

Conseguenze

Non appena giunse la notizia dell'improvvisa rivolta dei Galli, il Senato decretò di inviare il pretore Gaio Atilio Serrano con una legione e 5.000 alleati (= un'ala), che erano stati da poco arruolati dal console P. Cornelio Scipione. Così Atilio giunse a Tannetum senza essere attaccato, poiché i Galli si erano ritirati per la paura.

Note

Bibliografia

Fonti antiche
  (traduzione inglese ).
  (Iscrizione latina  e traduzione inglese).
 (testo latino  e versione inglese ).

  (testo latino).
  (testo greco  e traduzione inglese).
 (traduzione inglese qui e qui).
  (testo latino).
  (testo greco e latino, traduzione francese ).

Fonti storiografiche moderne

Voci correlate
Storia di Modena

Mutina, assedio
Mutina
Storia di Modena


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The essence of leadership
— Psychochild @ 6:24 AM
Blaugust, day 20
I find the concept of leadership to be fascinating. It's a lot like the concept of "game design", where it's incredibly important but it can be hard to really pin down and describe. A lot of how you learn either skill is through a series of best practices and direct observation.
We usually focus on the single leader, but there are obviously other structures of leadership. For example, it's often more common to have a group of leaders who lead a larger group. A group can be self-organizing and share leadership duties just like any other duties. The guiding force could even be a thought or philosophy instead of a single person. But, our culture tends to focus a lot on the individual leader.
Today, let me share some of my observations.
Leadership is emotional
I'm typical of an introverted, nerdy computer geek in that I rarely wear my emotions on my sleeve. I'm quick to laugh and share a joke, but otherwise I'm pretty reserved. One thing that Storybricks allowed me to do was to dive a lot more into the concept of emotions in an academic sense. I'm hardly an expert, but I learned more about the source of emotions and how they shape the personality.
When I saw the online course Inspiring Leadership through Emotional Intelligence, the name alone had me hooked. I signed up for the course, and while I didn't get a chance to do all the exercises, I did watch the videos. The core of the class is about understanding emotions, both your own and the emotions of others. I think one of the fundamental lessons boiled down to the over-simplified essence was, "Other people are emotional beings. Understand them and treat them as such."
One thing I did notice was that the video lessons assumed that you have had a particularly good leader in your past you could consider for some of the exercises. As I said, observation seems to play a big role in how you learn leadership.
Leadership is cognitive dissonance
Cognitive dissonance is holding two contradictory beliefs at the same time. From a logical point of view this sounds horrifying, but it's actually pretty common; it's a big reason why logic can't always predict emotions.
I've worked with a few leaders in the past that typified this. I think just about every startup leader keeps two contradictory thoughts in their head at all times:
"Everything is going great and we're doing the best we possibly can." This is the "don't give up hope" and "what I really want to tell my investors" thought. It lets you make hard decisions without being in a state of panic. Essentially, it's the carrot that allows you to keep going on.
"Everything is terrible and we're so close to failure." This is the "don't rest on your laurels" and "the investors will flay me alive if I screw up" thought. It stops you from just floating when you could be striving for more, stretching yourself a little more to reach that next level. In contrast, it's the stick that keeps you from getting too complacent.
The reality, as usual, is probably somewhere between the extremes. And, focusing too much on one or the other leads you to make a decisions that are not optimal.
Even the very nature of leadership can be seen as a contradiction. A leader is the driving force for a group that keeps it going; "I am the group." But, the leader is not a leader without that group; "We can only accomplish this together."
My personal bit of cognitive dissonance? I'm the extroverting introvert.
The best leadership is also service
There are certainly leaders who boldly accept all the credit. Our culture seems to want to ascribe behaviors to a single person because sometimes it's really hard to understand group dynamics. Take Steve Jobs, as an example. The press liked to paint him as a hard leader who made the tough choices to take Apple to the dizzying heights it has accomplished. But, the reality is that Apple has tens of thousands of employees, and leadership came from many sources. Even if those leaders were informed by Job's decisions, they still needed a measure of leadership themselves. And, while the single leader in the limelight can work, I think the best leaders are also those that serve.
Perhaps the clearest example would be the leader that helps the people he or she leads. When you're in a visible leadership position, it's possible to reflect a bit of that limelight to others. Some leaders are jealous about this, thinking that sharing credit diminishes their own worth. But the best leaders highlight how awesome the team is, and how they worked to contribute to some amazing thing. Even away from the limelight, taking the time to nurture and let people grow is incredibly important as a leader. Particularly when it comes to leading others, the best experience is actual leadership opportunities.
I believe that if you're not helping others to grow, then you are actively harming others.
Leadership is a lot of work
Going back to the comparison between leadership and game design, I think both are also easy to underestimate when it comes to how hard the work can be. People see a game designer as a person who spits out game ideas for others to make. People see leaders as someone who barks orders for others to follow. People observe how "easy" things look and believe they could easily do either role.
Yes, this simplified view can be true for the worst examples of each, particularly for people who have "paid their dues" and gotten to an established position, but a good game designer or leader does a lot of work beyond that. And, a lot of times that isn't always immediately visible to people on the outside.
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While I talk a lot about the business side of leadership here, I think a lot of these lessons can be applied to other areas as well. Particularly to guild leadership in MMOs.
Comment by Psychochild — 20 August, 2015 @ 6:43 AM
I've fallen into a leadership role at my current place of employment and one of the books I've read on the subject is Principle Centered Leadership, it's pretty solid. Thanks for the link to the Emotional Leadership class!
Comment by Dan C (sanguinius) — 20 August, 2015 @ 9:44 PM
So many things about this topic! :)
My line of work today revolves around coaching/consulting management on a daily basis. It's kinda weird because as their consultant, I often know a lot more about leadership, people management and communication psychology than they do, without being anyone's superior myself. I know the theories for de-escalation to motivation and team building, and I have a good foundation of experience from my years as a teacher (and honestly also guild leading but it's not like I advertize that). On a personal level, to me the greatest leaders are those who can spot skills/resources in others and then make them thrive. People who have a keen sense for diversity and get the most out of a team in which every person is allowed to be different. Also: "A good leader takes a little more than his share of the blame, a little less than his share of the credit." I have mad respect for that, even if it is asked a lot of any human being. ;)
Comment by Syl — 21 August, 2015 @ 12:34 PM
Dan C wrote:
Principle Centered Leadership, it's pretty solid.
Thanks for the recommendation! I added it to my Amazon wish list.
Syl wrote:
It's kinda weird because as their consultant, I often know a lot more about leadership, people management and communication psychology than they do, without being anyone's superior myself.
Yeah, one other interesting thing is that we tend to view leadership as a reward for being good at your job. I think it does help to have a certain minimum amount of competence before you start leading people in a specific area, but just because you're an amazing artist doesn't necessarily mean you'll be a great Lead Artist. I think it's because we pay the lead artist more and view the person who isn't advancing a "dead" in their career. Some places recognize this and have positions that recognize seniority without necessarily thrusting leadership upon the person.
I've felt that because I don't excel at any particular area, that sometimes I've been held back from leadership opportunities.
Comment by Psychochild — 21 August, 2015 @ 8:12 PM

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


First off, there are a couple of things that need to happen. The theme is providing support for featured images (in posts, pages, etc.); and, the post has been broken down into parts (or pages) using the WordPress core <!–nextpage–> marker and the wp_link_pages() function.
Here's the basics, as it applies to post templates (similar code could be used in page templates), such as index.php, single.php, etc.
* @param array $haystack the body classes.
That's it … although I'm sure it could be better written, it does work; and, it will be part of the next theme I publish.
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is a Rinzai Buddhist temple of the Kenchō-ji school in Yamanouchi (a.k.a. Kita-Kamakura), near Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. It lies between two Kita-Kamakura landmarks, the entrance of the Kamegayatsu Pass and Kenchō-ji, the oldest Zen monastery in Japan. Chōju-ji is one of two , or funeral temples, dedicated to Ashikaga Takauji, founder of the dynasty of shōguns that carries his name. (The other is Kyoto's Tōji-in.) In its garden there are a gorintō dedicated to the shōgun and a hōkyōintō containing some of his hair. Chōju-ji has recently opened for the first time its doors, and receives visitors from Friday to Sunday, 10 AM to 3 PM. The temple allows the use of pocket cameras, however professional and semiprofessional equipment are forbidden, the reason being that visitors should not visit the temple to take photographs.

History

Much about the temple's history is unclear. According to the temple's records, Chōju-ji was founded in 1358 by Kamakura's Ashikaga ruler, Kantō kubō Ashikaga Motouji, son of Takauji, on the grounds of a former family mansion. It was the second of his father's so-called bodhi temples, institutions dedicated to ensuring as much as possible his happiness in the next world.  Takauji died in Kyoto at the beginning of that year at the age of 54 and was given two posthumous names (also meant to ensure his happiness in the beyond), one in Kyoto and one in Kamakura: the first was Tōji-inden, the second was Chōju-inden, from the names of his two funeral temples.

This version of the birth of the temple however has problems. Takauji himself mentions Chōju-ji in a 1336 document, declaring it was "Kenchō-ji's archives". This highly trustworthy letter makes it likely that the founder was Takauji himself, and that the foundation date is at least 1336 if not earlier, thus contradicting the foundation date given by the temple's own records. It is likely therefore that the whole story of its foundation as Takauji's bodhi temple was simply a ruse by his son Motouji to symbolically tie rebellious Kamakura to the founder of the new dynasty of shōguns.

Because it had such deep ties with the Ashikaga who had again usurped the power Emperor Go-Daigo had briefly managed to recover during the Kenmu Restoration, Chōju-ji for a long time faced the open hostility of the Imperial House. For this reason it had great difficulty surviving the Meiji Restoration.

Structure
Like many other Buddhist temples, Chōju-ji used to be much larger and have a complete "shichidō garan" (the set of seven buildings that constitute the core of great temples). The bell now at Engaku-ji's Butsuden was originally built here at great expense.

It now includes a Hon-dō (Main Hall), a Shoin ("drawing room"), a Kaisan-dō (Founder's Hall), and the Shohōjō (the chief abbot's living quarters), all recently restored and open to the public. (The Kaisan-dō houses a statue of goddess Kannon and is therefore also known as a Kannon-dō, or "Kannon's Hall".) Visitors are invited to sit anywhere they wish within the temple, relax and enjoy the atmosphere. Between the main hall and the abbot's residence lies the temple's Zen garden. In the front garden can be found a yagura containing Ashikaga Takauji's grave (as already mentioned, there is another in Kyoto's Tōji-in) and a great gorintō erected in his memory. The grave's hōkyōintō contains some strands of the shōguns hair.

The temple owns several statues, all made during the Muromachi period, among them one of Ashikaga Takauji, one of his son Yoshiakira, one of goddess Kannon, and one of the temple's founder, Kosen Ingen.

See also
 The Glossary of Japanese Buddhism for an explanation of terms concerning Japanese Buddhism, Japanese Buddhist art, and Japanese Buddhist temple architecture.

Notes

References

 English language pamphlet from Chōju-ji, March 10, 2009

Buddhist temples in Kamakura, Kanagawa
Kenchō-ji temples
Rinzai temples


You know that phrase they always spit out in movies? "Failure is not an option!" the typical action hero protagonist shouts to his plucky sidekick. It's a normal thing, really. But, how many people actually take that phrase seriously? Sure, it depends on the context, but you hear it enough times, and you get to actually start believing it yourself. This is especially harmful for a writer. For writers, we have to deal with a lot of things. I mean, I've dealt with very little in comparison to a few writers I know, but I've heard of stories where writers give up after a few failures. Why? Because failure isn't an option, apparently.
But, according to the title of this post, it is not. (And we all know post titles do not lie) I'm going to talk about why it is an option.
A few days ago, I made a movie. It was pretty terrible. When I first watched it, I thought it was awesome. But, as time passed, I grew more and more dissatisfied with what I had created. No one that watched it really liked it, but they didn't have the heart to tell me that it was… well, terrible. So, of course, I was a bit sad. When you spend the time to create something, you put a lot of yourself in it. And, subconsciously, we think that if people don't like something that we make… that makes us an unlikeable failure.
Sad, but true. However, I snapped out of that thinking and decided to make a new movie. A better one. Because I realized that while shouting that failure isn't an option in movies is the coolest thing ever (although it depends on the movie), it is an option in real life. Some may say that you make a mistake on a job, and that's it. Failure isn't an option there.
But, because of my little experience in other occupations, I'm talking about life for a writer. Awhile ago, I submitted to a literary agent. In fact, I talked a little about rejection/failure in this post.
Looking back on it now, I was a bit too flippant about it. Failure is a serious thing, and I've matured since then. (That was practically a month ago..) Now, it's okay to fail in writing. I've failed a ridiculous amount of times.
My first book was a failure, but I learned from my failures each time. For example, the movie I made? My failure in that was that it was pretentious and boring. (My worst enemies) So, now I know where the line between brilliance and complete nonsense is. Some may say that you'd have to be blind not to know the difference, but I actually did not know. Now I do. I worked hard on it for an hour, it was horrible, but I learned from it. That's the point.
Here's another tale of love and redemption, except without the love and redemption. I submitted a short story, Rakhul, set in the world where my book, the Line of Corruption, currently resides to this fantasy anthology. I didn't get in. I wasn't even shortlisted. And the short list was actually pretty big. Now, am I saying I wasn't bummed out when I found out? Of course not. I was really sad. I had waited so long, and I wasn't accepted. Acceptance is everything to writers.
But, I still wrote a short story that I was proud of. I wrote a short story where I had fun, managed to explore the past of one of my coolest characters… Yet I was bummed out? Looking back on it now, I realize I should've smiled and patted myself on the back. Because I was able to experience what being a true writer felt like. Sanderson wrote the entire Mistborn trilogy before he was published, and that's how I get inspired from each failure. I think about the failures of my idols, and then I think about my own failure. In comparison, mine is miniscule. Not important. I'm very young, and I can say that I have written a book. The literary agent rejected me? So what! It's cool.
All I know is, failure, in the life of a writer, is plentiful. And it is an option that we can take. We aren't bad writers if we fail, and we aren't amazing writers even if we get accepted. The point is, writing is hard work. Failing is just another part of it, and that's what interested me about it. All my life, I've heard about how depressing a writer's life can be.
I think that the challenge that every writer should tackle is to take all that troubles head on and come out smiling. If not for yourself, then do it so you can win. That's how I get inspired. I imagine that every page I write is another victory. I realize I sound like I'm giving a motivational speech, but… So what if I am? I like motivational speeches. And, I really think that every writer should remember the things I've said. I'm quite sure that someone has already said all of this, but if not, then I don't want to take the chance of an aspiring writer giving up after one failure.
To which I say: Bring it on.
EDIT: A writer friend gave me the link to a post that surmises what I feel, most times, after finishing a story. You can check out her blog here.


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Three dark social channels with a billion active users & how to use them
By Patricio Robles	 February 17th 2016 08:40
While marketers are justifiably attracted to the Facebooks and Twitters of the world, stats from Radium One show that nearly 70% of global sharing activity takes place in dark social channels.
These are channels in which sharing activity takes place out of public view.
But just because dark social channels are harder to work and track doesn't mean that marketers should ignore them.
In fact, there are now a number of dark social channels that are just as big – and even bigger – than Facebook.
Here's a run-down of these channels and how marketers can use them.
Email is the most prominent dark social channel, and arguably the most powerful.
Although marketers in some industries, such as ecommerce, already rely heavily on email and appreciate how it can be used as a social channel, many others underestimate it altogether.
That's a mistake because although it's not the only game in town, email is still one of the most common ways individuals communicate digitally.
Gmail alone recently surpassed 1bn monthly active users.
Knowing that emails are frequently shared, marketers can, where appropriate, include calls to action that encourage sharing.
For example, some retailers incentivize subscribers to share with friends to receive discounts.
On the analytics side, with properly tagged email links and a proper analytics program, it's possible to get a general sense of email sharing activity.
And there are even email analytics services that can track specific activity, such as forwards.
To learn more about this channel, check out our range of Email Marketing Training Courses.
SMS might be the most underrated and overlooked dark social channel.
How underrated? Consider this: late last year, BuzzFeed revealed that SMS often generates the greatest percentage of shares in the company's iOS and Android News apps.
While more sophisticated messaging apps have surged in popularity in recent years, billions of people around the world on mobile devices and platforms of all kinds have access to SMS.
Therefore it's not surprising that other publishers that have encouraged SMS sharing, such as Gannett, have also seen this dark social channel outperforming popular platforms like Twitter.
Coupled with the fact that SMS messages are opened more often than emails, and quickly, SMS is a channel marketers are wise not to ignore.
SMS is one of the easiest dark social channels to take advantage of. All that's required to add SMS sharing is a link with the sms scheme.
On devices with an SMS client, links with the sms scheme function similarly to links that use the mail scheme.
In 2014, Facebook acquired cross-platform instant messaging service WhatsApp for more than $19bn and less than two years later, WhatsApp has joined the billion active user club.
Much like SMS, some publishers have found that WhatsApp is a very productive social channel and, in some cases, it can even be more productive than popular channels like Facebook and Twitter.
It's possible to create custom WhatsApp share buttons, and there is open source code to help with this.
Popular third-party sharing services like AddThis also offer the ability to include WhatsApp share buttons.
Future billion user club members
For most marketers, email, SMS and WhatsApp are the dark social channels most worthy of investigation and investment.
But marketers, particularly those active in Asia, should keep an eye on Tencent QQ and WeChat. These popular messaging programs are on their way to the billion active user mark.
And because they incorporate innovative features not yet seen or popular in the West, marketers able to capitalize on their growth may find that they have access to unique opportunities they don't yet have in other dark social channels.
Blog APAC Content marketing dark social Data and Analytics Email and eCRM Facebook sms Social Tencent QQ US WeChat WhatsApp
The three biggest challenges in influencer marketing
The rise of influencer marketing doesn't seem to be slowing, and it's easy to see why.
It is the inevitable result of content and social coming together, and many brands have already seen some impressive results from this channel.
But with it comes a number of challenges that many marketers are struggling to overcome, as outlined in our recent report, The Rise of Influencers, in collaboration with Fashion and Beauty Monitor.
Our take on the top 10 most controversial ads of 2015
Some of the ads on this list might surprise you. What won't surprise you is the British public's unwavering ability to be offended by the innocuous, but let's not get into all that.
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) recently released its list of the 10 most complained-about ad campaigns in 2015, and while I find some of the inclusions quite surprising, I thought marketers could perhaps learn a thing or two from this list.
Why do law firms use Twitter as just a press release distribution system?
I conducted a little experiment.
I looked at the Twitter accounts of the UK's top 10 law firms and scrolled down the list of 'tweets and replies' to see which firms engage directly with other users.
All 10 accounts offered a combined total of just two tweet replies in 2016. Why?


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History papers are oftentimes difficult to write especially at the undergraduate level. Students are required to not only write about historical events events but also to focus on the historiography of those events in order to come up with the most objective version of events. Here at Termpaperchampions.com, we offer reliable services on history assignments. It is now easy to buy academic papers online and our writing service is testimony to that. You may get an idea about the quality of our history papers by reading the sample paper below. For ease of evaluation and analysis, the question based on which the paper was written has also been presented.
The goal of this assignment is to analyze these sources and use them to construct
an argument regarding the theme or region under consideration. Remember not to
summarize your sources, but to treat them as pieces of historical evidence. The paper
must employ critical analysis and should consider both the text and context of the sources.
Helpful questions to keep in mind as your work on your paper:
Who is the intended audience of your sources?
Is your source prescriptive or descriptive?
What are the biases inherent in your sources?
What are the limitations of the particular genre of your sources?
What questions do your sources leave unanswered?
Look at the primary sources. Either deal with the geographical region (for example: Jews in Iraq) or deal with the same theme (for example: regeneration, Zionism).
When dealing with these two primary sources: Developing a solid argument is very important and it should be stated in the introduction paragraph.
The aim of this paper is to provide an analysis of two historical sources. The first one is entitled "Kurdish Jews of Northern Iraq, 1934" and the second one is "Excerpts from a Zionist Pamphlet exhorting Iraqi Jews to Learn from the Lesson of the Farhud", and it was authored in 1941. These two articles provide an idea on the suffering that Jews in Iraq endured during the 1930s and 1940s. The paper sets out to examine the sources in terms of their content, intended audience, inherent biases, limitations, and the questions that they leave unanswered. The thesis of this paper is that although Jews in Iraq have suffered untold suffering in the hands of Muslim Iraqis, their plight has often been treated with a lot of subjectivity with a view to promote Zionist objectives. Accounts of this suffering need to be reexamined in order to verify the information provided and achieve the goal of objectivity. In other words, historians must be careful to achieve an objective voice in their assessment of sources that narrate problems that Jews have suffered in the hands of Muslims in Iraq.
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In the context of this paper, the two sources act as crucial sources of historical evidence about the suffering of Jews in Iraq. In "Kurdish Jews of Northern Iraq" (1934), the author examines the relationship between the Jews and their aghas, or masters in remote villages in Iraq.[1] In this article, Jews are viewed as slaves who live and work at the mercy of the aghas or masters. The masters treat Jews simply as their personal property. The image created here is that of Jews who seem free but in fact are not.
The second source, which is in the form of a pamphlet, also provides gory details of the kind of suffering that Jews in Iraq have had to endure in Iraq.[2] The pamphlet focuses primarily on killings that occurred in two frightful days. The author of this pamphlet argues that Jews have bowed into slavery in the hope that this will protect them from being killed, discriminated against, and annihilated. From the evidence provided, the author argues that this strategy has simply failed to work. In both articles, there is reference to the subject of slavery. The difference is that in one article, slavery was taking place in rural areas while in the other, it was taking place in a city.
See also: History Papers
You may also review this Art History Paper
The environment of segregation in which Jews live in the city is evident in the description provided. As attackers descend on Jews, they know where the Jewish quarters are located. They target these quarters at night with a view to cause death and untold destruction. The following day, the attackers know where the Jews' commercial stores and shops are located and they attack them too. This description creates an impression of a community that is unwanted in Iraq.
A major concern for the author of the pamphlet is that Jews in Iraq seem to have done virtually everything under the sun to secure the trust of Arabs. All these efforts seem to have failed miserably. Some of the efforts that the Jews made included abandoning the Hebrew language, halting activities involving donations for the sake of promoting the Land of Israel, and participation in efforts to build the nation of Iraq. A case in point is that of rich Jews who generously contributed towards a fund for the Palestinian Patriotic Fighters. This way, the Jews, particularly the rich ones, seem to have attempted to buy their way to safety in Iraq.
In rural areas, submission to slavery seems to have been the best way through which poor, uneducated Jews could buy their safety and win the trust of their Muslim masters. The typical Jew in the rural areas is a small merchant, weaver, dyer, or farmer. He or she occupies the lowest tier in the social-class hierarchy of the Kurdish society. The agha is the Jews protector but sometimes turns into his tormentor, robbing him of his priciest valuables. The agha also acts as a judge whenever disputes arise and always delivers ruling in favor of his fellow Muslims. Going by the historical information provided in the articles, many things have gone wrong for Jews in Iraq. However, for a historian, one of the issues that deserve to be observed from a critical perspective is the objectivity of the sources. One of the ways of assessing objectivity is by examining the intended audience.
The article entitled "Kurdish Jews of Northern Iraq" is intended primarily for the Jewish community especially in Iraq, or so it seems. This is evident in the recommendation that the author makes towards the end; the author recommends that Kurdish Jews should gradually move to Palestine. In light of this recommendation, the main question that arises is on whether the accounts of suffering among Kurdish Jews have been exaggerated to justify this recommendation. This question is important particularly when assessed in the context of the second article ("Excerpts from a Zionist Pamphlet"), which provides accounts of wealthy Jews living and owning shops and commercial stores in Iraqi cities. In both articles, there is no reference to other sources. For this reason, scholars may be reluctant to approve of these articles as credible scholarly sources.
The Jewish Zionist cause especially in relation to migration to Palestine is at the heart of discussions made in the article "Kurdish Jews of Northern Iraq". However, it is worthwhile to note that the article does not offer a solution to the problems being faced by Kurdish Jews. The author admits that even the best solution, which involves migrating gradually to Palestine, may hit a snag because of the Palestinian government's move to impose restrictions on Jewish immigration into the territory. However, by targeting the Jewish community, sympathizers, commentators, and scholars with a moving account of the suffering of Jewish people in the rural areas of Iraq, the author sets the stage for an important debate. At the start of this debate, the commentators, sympathizers, commentators, and scholars would first and foremost need to address the issue of objectivity. They would be expected to verify the information provided in the article for authenticity and credibility.
Similarly, the second article, "Excerpts from a Zionist Pamphlet", was seemingly intended primarily for the Jewish community in Iraq. The objective of the author is evidently to awaken the consciousness of the Jewish people and to influence them to embrace Zionism. The aim is to trigger renewed enthusiasm for efforts to develop and protect the Jewish nation of Israel. Again, historians may want to crosscheck facts presented in the article to ensure that they are credible and authentic. It may have been convenient for the author to adopt a subjective view of the circumstances of Jews in Iraq in efforts to create a sense of urgency in the Zionist cause.
The articles are biased in several ways. For instance, it may not be true that the Jew who lives in rural areas in Iraq under the control of aghas has no recourse to any authority. Before agreeing to such a claim, a historian may first want to examine the likelihood that the Iraqi national government may have been making some efforts to address the plight of Kurdish Jews. It may also be inaccurate for the authors of these articles to paint a picture of complete helplessness without proper justification. For example, the pamphlet contains information about rich Jews living in urban areas in Iraq. These Jews, by virtue of their elevated status in society, were in a position to exert influence and provide help to their kith and kin.
A historian who is adept at examining even the most biased articles for information will notice that these two articles give an idea of the kind of suffering that Jews in Iraq have had to endure. The bias in the articles is evident in the answers that they provide to the solutions being considered Jews. According to the article on "Kurdish Jews of Northern Iraq, 1934", the best solution is for Iraqi Jews to gradually move to Palestine. However, this solution also poses new challenges for the Jews, for instance the imposition of restrictions on immigration by the Palestinian government. The second article is more straightforward in terms of its Zionist inclination: Iraq Jews should establish a Hebrew National State with Hebrew Power. In conclusion, the circumstances of Jews in Iraq motivated adherents of Zionist to adopt a subjective voice while narrating their ordeal with a view to promote efforts to establish a Jewish state.
Franco, Y, Kurdish Jews of Northern Iraq. Mosul, 26 June 1934, Archives of the AIU, Irak.
(No author) Excerpts from a Zionist Pamphlet exhorting Iraqi Jews to Learn from the Lesson of the Farhud. Translated from "The Tragedy of 1st and 2nd June 1941 in the Capital of Iraq", PRO, London, 1941.
[1] Franco, Y, Kurdish Jews of Northern Iraq. Mosul, 26 June 1934, Archives of the AIU, Irak.
[2] (No author), Excerpts from a Zionist Pamphlet exhorting Iraqi Jews to Learn from the Lesson of the Farhud. Translated from "The Tragedy of 1st and 2nd June 1941 in the Capital of Iraq", PRO, London, 1941.
Here's an MS Word copy of the paper:


Many individuals seek out opportunities to use their talents and love for writing as a means to make a profit. A career in writing is not always easy to access but there are many different writing jobs available if the right venues are found. If you are interested in a writing job but are unsure of where to go to find it, the following explains more about popular locations for finding writing jobs.
One location where writing jobs can be found are at newspapers. Many regions and communities offer local newspapers that speak to the issues happening locally. They can offer opportunities for writers to join their ranks and get their feet wet in the writing world. These writing jobs will send individuals chasing stories and information and have them write about them in an informative tone. There are also opportunities for creative writing jobs at newspapers as well. These are creative in the sense that newspapers often offer individuals the chance to provide opinions or editorials that are driven by an opinion rather than strictly reporting duties. Aside from local newspaper writing jobs, there are also national papers as well. Writers can find great and lucrative success through these venues.
Much like the writing jobs offered at newspapers, there are magazines that offer jobs to aspiring writers as well. Magazines can be geared toward a certain subject matter, such as cars or fashion, and often require writers who know information regarding a specific topic. These jobs can be hard to come by as they are highly competitive. However, local magazines can be a great resource for those starting out because they may be less competitive than the national magazines that are available all over the country.
Writing jobs can also require technical expertise as well. Technical writing jobs are those that require an in-depth knowledge of a product or an industry. These jobs require individuals to write in detail about how to build something, install a product, or how to use one. They are driven by a need for detail because these writing jobs must provide information and translate that information to another individual who may have no experience with the topic. These writing jobs are often tedious but they are beneficial in that they can be very financially lucrative.
Blogs also offer individuals the opportunity to find writing jobs. Blogs or online magazines utilize the same idea as traditional print media but in a nontraditional setting. The result is a process in which individuals find themselves using the internet to share their works. There are many different ways to make money from this venture. First, an individual working for an established blog or online magazine may gain access to funds by being paid per article. If they are running the blog themselves, they may also get paid for their efforts by providing advertising opportunities on the site. Sponsors can provide money to advertise on popular blogs and this increases the bottom line.


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[log ind for at se URL] Need you to set this up with the domain provided and ssl cert with postgres. KAUI has been enhanced to support multi-tenancy. In order to benefit from that mode, remove the properties KillBillClient.api_key and KillBillClient.api_secret from the config/initializers directory.


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Tag Archives: Away from her
Front Page, Industry News
At 77, Pinsent on brink of international attention for role in 'Away From Her'
April 25, 2007 admin	Leave a comment
TORONTO (CP) _ As Gordon Pinsent opens the door of his downtown condo with a welcoming smile, it's easy to see why he was Sarah Polley's first and only choice to play Grant, the devoted husband who watches his wife of 45 years sink into the thick fog of Alzheimer's disease in "Away From Her."
The native Newfoundlander has all of Grant's grace, his soft-spoken kindness, his gentlemanly manners despite still grieving the death in January of his own wife of 45 years, Charmion King.
Pinsent is even wearing the very same navy cable-knit turtleneck he wears throughout the powerful "Away From Her," a film adapted by Polley from an Alice Munro short story that's already wowed critics at the Toronto, Berlin and Sundance film festivals in advance of its mainstream release May 4.
"She didn't have much convincing to do," Pinsent, 77, says of Polley's push for five years to make the film with him and iconic British actress Julie Christie in the lead roles.
"You know, you can be a working actor in this country all your life, and it's just terrific, but you don't always get the stuff that's a bit more challenging."
He bursts into laughter when told audiences at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, were buzzing about his performance after taking in the movie there in January, wondering aloud where this unknown first-time actor had been discovered.
The notion that Pinsent, three years away from his 80th birthday, could be on the brink of international attention after 40 years as a stage and screen legend in Canada both tickles and astounds him.
"It's a bit weird, actually, and funny," he says of the attention. "It feels fabulous. But I felt strange after the Toronto film festival as a matter of fact. At the time, I was saying to Sarah: 'This is not right.' We're used to a little more negativity. I said: 'My God, it seems abnormal. Nobody is saying anything bad about it."'
Talk that he and the luminous Christie _ the duo is perhaps one of the most attractive elderly couples to ever be seen on the silver screen _ could be in the running for recognition come awards season in Hollywood is now causing Pinsent to prepare for some hard work promoting the film.
"Lionsgate is certainly going to push it," he says. "As for nominations, who knows about all that except I do know that you have to be in shape to chase it down. I don't feel like going to L.A. to stay, but if it's useful to Lionsgate I'll do whatever I have to do to push the piece."
Would he go to the Oscars?
"Oh sure!" he says as his blue eyes light up. "Even if Julie just wanted me to accompany her, I'd go."
"Away from Her" is a true tour de force for Pinsent, who's in almost every scene playing Grant with a quiet and dignified despair. The one-time philanderer watches his wife, Fiona, immediately fall for another man after her dementia worsens and she asks to be admitted to a care facility.
Grant is haunted by suspicions that perhaps Fiona isn't sick so much as she's trying to get back at him, many years later, for his dalliances. But when Fiona falls into a life-threatening depression following her boyfriend's departure from the facility, Grant unselfishly does what he can to save her.
"It's a bigger job and a tougher job than maybe anything he's ever done," Pinsent says. "And where does it go? Where does love go? Where do you go, the leftover?"
Those are questions that Pinsent is now intimately familiar with following King's death on Jan. 6 after a battle with emphysema.
"It was something I wasn't necessarily drawing on except in a general sense of how anyone must feel at a certain time of life after spending so many years with a partner," Pinsent says, blinking back tears. "It's almost impossible to grasp. It was something that was absolutely unexpected and Grant was not necessarily equipped; nobody would be. How do you prepare?"
He admits he initially felt hopeless when his own wife died.
"When this happened in the family, I thought to hell with everything, I am going to run away from it all, nothing else could be important, it truly couldn't," he recalls, again fighting back tears. "But I thought: I can't do that. It will lessen her importance if I give up, because she wanted me to go on and do things and so on. And so I am writing and staying busy."
What attracted him to Polley's script, he says, is how realistically it portrays the vagaries of a long marriage and how every union goes through good times and bad times to end up stronger in the end.
"I don't know how interesting it would be in the case that it was total happiness from Day 1 for the entire length of time. I actually don't think that's possible. The difficulties from the past were something the two of them had quietly and nicely put aside because they had both grown up, in a sense. And she had waited for him to grow up. That's what goes on in a marriage."
Pinsent couldn't be more delighted with how the film turned out, he says, and has special praise for Polley, who marks her feature-film directorial debut with "Away from Her" after acting since childhood. He laughingly refers to her as "this old woman of the cinema" at the age of 28.
"She's such a giving person," he says. "She's had her hand at being an actress and a very unionized kind of a person, so she's been very much giving as opposed to taking from this industry. She's done very well as an actress and now as a director too, so the girl has just amazed us all."
Away from herGordon PinsentpinsentSarah Polley
Highlights of Hollywood's summer film lineup
LOS ANGELES (AP) _ Highlights of Hollywood's summer film slate. Release dates are tentative, and some films play in limited release.
May:
ANGEL-A: Luc Besson directs the tale of a mystery woman who helps a down-and-out man get his life on track.
AWAY FROM HER: Sarah Polley makes her directing debut with the story of a woman (Julie Christie) succumbing to Alzheimer's.
BUG: Ashley Judd stars in director William Friedkin's tale of a woman drawn into a drifter's world of paranoia.
DELTA FARCE: Three weekend warriors (Larry the Cable Guy, Bill Engvall and D.J. Qualls) become unlikely heroes for a Mexican town.
FAY GRIM: Parker Posey and Jeff Goldblum star in Hal Hartley's followup to his 1998 film "Henry Fool."
THE FLYING SCOTSMAN: A world-class cyclist (Jonny Lee Miller) battles back from mental problems.
GEORGIA RULE: Lindsay Lohan's out of control, and her mom (Felicity Huffman) puts the unruly teen in the care of her stern grandma (Jane Fonda).
ONCE: An Irish street musician (Glen Hansard of The Frames) and a Czech immigrant develop an odd romance while writing songs together.
PARIS, JE T'AIME: The Coen brothers, Wes Craven and other filmmakers craft an anthology of films about the city of love.
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: AT WORLD'S END: Buccaneer Johnny Depp is the focus of a rescue mission by friends and foes.
SHREK THE THIRD: Voice stars Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz and Antonio Banderas are joined by Justin Timberlake in the ogre's quest for King Arthur.
SPIDER-MAN 3: The web-slinging hero (Tobey Maguire) battles his dark side along with new villains.
28 WEEKS LATER: Raging zombies rear their ugly heads again in a follow-up to "28 Days Later."
WAITRESS: A waitress (Keri Russell) dreams of saving enough money to escape her domineering husband.
BROKEN ENGLISH: A loser in love (Parker Posey) starts a new relationship and reevaluates her bad attitude about romance.
DEATH AT A FUNERAL: Chaos takes over as a British family tries to give dear old dad a dignified send-off.
DOA: DEAD OR ALIVE: Four women in a martial-arts competition battle dark forces.
EAGLE VS. SHARK: Two social misfits try their hand at love in this romantic comedy from New Zealand.
EVAN ALMIGHTY: God (Morgan Freeman) orders a congressman (Steve Carell) to build an Ark.
EVENING: Meryl Streep, Vanessa Redgrave, Glenn Close and Claire Danes star in the story of a dying woman reflecting on a lost love.
FANTASTIC FOUR: RISE OF THE SILVER SURFER: The comic-book mutants battle a menace from space.
GRACIE: Siblings Elisabeth and Andrew Shue star in the story of a teen soccer player in a film inspired by their own lives.
HOSTEL PART II: Three American women studying in Rome are hurled into terror in the sequel to 2005's horror hit.
KNOCKED UP: A career woman (Katherine Heigl) gets pregnant from a one-night stand with a slacker (Seth Rogen).
LIVE FREE OR DIE HARD: Bruce Willis returns for another "Die Hard" duel against Fourth of July terrorists.
MARTIAN CHILD: A grieving sci-fi author (John Cusack) adopts a boy who claims to come from Mars.
A MIGHTY HEART: Angelina Jolie plays the widow of journalist Daniel Pearl, who was kidnapped and slain in Pakistan.
MR. BROOKS: Kevin Costner, Demi Moore and William Hurt star in the story of a man with a murderous alter ego.
NANCY DREW: The teen detective (Emma Roberts) investigates a movie star's death.
OCEAN'S THIRTEEN: George Clooney, Brad Pitt and their thieving pals are back for more heist action.
RATATOUILLE: A rat dreams of becoming a French chef in the Disney-Pixar animated comedy.
SICKO: Michael Moore follows "Fahrenheit 9/11" with a documentary dissection of health care in America.
THE SIMPSONS MOVIE: Homer causes havoc as the cartoon goofs of Springfield hit the big-screen.
SURF'S UP: Penguins compete in a surfing championship in an animated flick featuring the voices of Shia LaBeouf and Zooey Deschanel.
YOU KILL ME: A hit man (Ben Kingsley) with a drinking problem cleans up his act and finds love in a mob comedy co-starring Tea Leoni.
July:
1408: A paranormal debunker (John Cusack) finds terror when he spends a night in a haunted hotel room. With Samuel L. Jackson.
GOYA'S GHOSTS: Natalie Portman, Javier Bardem and Stellan Skarsgard star in a tale of the Spanish painter.
HAIRSPRAY: John Travolta plays an overweight housewife in the adaptation of the stage musical about a 1960s TV dance show.
HARRY POTTER AND THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX: The boy wizard (Daniel Radcliffe) rallies school mates for the coming battle against evil.
I NOW PRONOUNCE YOU CHUCK AND LARRY: Firefighting pals (Adam Sandler and Kevin James) pose as gay newlyweds for insurance reasons.
INTERVIEW: Director Steve Buscemi stars with Sienna Miller in the story of a hard-news journalist stuck interviewing a soap star.
JOSHUA: A boy's sinister side emerges after his parents (Sam Rockwell and Vera Farmiga) bring home their new baby.
LICENSE TO WED: A minister (Robin Williams) puts a couple (Mandy Moore and John Krasinki) through marriage boot camp.
NO RESERVATIONS: The tidy life of a chef (Catherine Zeta-Jones) unravels after she becomes guardian for her young niece (Abigail Breslin).
RESCUE DAWN: Christian Bale stars in the true-life survival story of a U.S. pilot who escapes from a Laotian prison camp during the Vietnam War.
THE STRANGERS: Three masked assailants terrorize a couple (Liv Tyler and Scott Speedman).
TALK TO ME: Don Cheadle stars in the real-life story of an ex-con who becomes a powerful black voice on the radio in the 1960s.
TRANSFORMERS: Warring aliens bring their battle to Earth in a sci-fi saga based on the transforming action figures.
August:
AN AMERICAN CRIME: Catherine Keener stars in the true story of '60s housewife responsible for terrible abuse of a teenager left in her care.
BECOMING JANE: Anne Hathaway plays Jane Austen in a romantic drama about the author's early years.
THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM: Amnesiac super-agent Jason Bourne (Matt Damon) tries to sort out his origins.
THE BROTHERS SOLOMON: Socially challenged siblings (Will Arnett and Will Forte) try to fulfil their dad's wish for a grandchild.
CHARLIE BARTLETT: A teenage pill peddler (Anton Yelchin) duels with his school principal (Robert Downey Jr.).
THE COMEBACKS: A loser coach (David Koechner) whips a motley college football team into shape.
DADDY DAY CAMP: Cuba Gooding Jr. takes over for Eddie Murphy in a sequel to "Daddy Day Care."
EL CANTANTE: Real-life marrieds Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony star in a film biography of salsa-music pioneer Hector Lavoe.
GOOD LUCK CHUCK: A dentist (Dane Cook) doomed to failure at love tries his luck one more time with a new woman (Jessica Alba).
HALLOWEEN: Writer-director Rob Zombie reimagines the story of classic slasher Michael Myers.
HOT ROD: A nerdy teen plans to jump 15 school buses on his motor scooter. With Sissy Spacek and Ian McShane.
THE HOTTEST STATE: Ethan Hawke directs a romance based on his own novel about an actor pursuing an elusive singer.
THE INVASION: Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig face an extraterrestrial epidemic that alters human behaviour.
MR. BEAN'S HOLIDAY: The British oddball (Rowan Atkinson) brings chaos to the French Riviera on a vacation.
PENELOPE: Christina Ricci is a woman cursed with a pig snout in a modern romantic fairy tale.
ROCKET SCIENCE: A stuttering teen makes an unlikely stab at competing on his school's debate team.
RUSH HOUR 3: Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker partner up again as the buddy cops take on a Chinese crime family.
STARDUST: A witch (Michelle Pfeiffer) chases a fallen star that has taken human form (Claire Danes) in a fantasy co-starring Robert De Niro.
SUPERBAD: Teen buddies embark on a crazy night to finally score with women.
THE TEN: Winona Ryder, Paul Rudd and Jessica Alba lead the cast in a collection of comic films inspired by the Ten Commandments.
TRADE: A Texas cop (Kevin Kline) helps a Mexican youth track his sister, who has been abducted by sex traffickers.
UNDERDOG: The cartoon canine superhero is voiced by Jason Lee in a live-action and animated comedy.
Away from herhollywoodsummer films
Sarah Polley's "Away From Her"premieres before emotional Sundance audience
SALT LAKE CITY (CP) _ Canadian actress and director Sarah Polley confessed to being nervous about how an American audience would receive her feature-film debut, "Away From Her," as she arrived for its Salt Lake City gala premiere at the Sundance Film Festival.
"It's exciting to see how it will play outside of Canada," Polley said as she fought off jitters before taking to the stage at Salt Lake City's downtown Rose Wagner Center to welcome the crowd and introduce her film.
"I have absolutely no idea."
"But this all feels like gravy," added Polley, 28, dressed in a red silk shirt and black pants.
"I was so happy to get to make the film in the first place, and I was so thrilled the reaction wasn't horrible at the Toronto film festival, so this just feels like icing. I owe a lot to both these festivals."
Polley need not have worried that the film, a bittersweet love story about a couple married for 45 years and the intrusion of Alzheimer's disease into their idyllic life together in rural Ontario, would flop here at Sundance. There was barely a dry eye in the house as the final credits rolled on the film late Friday night. Audience members not overcome with emotion cheered lustily.
"Away from Her" stars Gordon Pinsent and Julie Christie, unspeakably lovely in her 60s, as Grant and Fiona, a couple still sweetly in love in their twilight years despite past infidelities and ups and downs in their long union. It's based on a short story by Canadian literary star Alice Munro. When Fiona insists on being sent to a care facility when her condition worsens, a reluctant Grant goes along with it, only to watch her forget about him and become deeply attached to another man.
Grant, guilt-ridden about his own past affairs, is agonized, but after her new friend leaves the home and Fiona falls into what seems like a life-threatening depression without him, he does all he can to re-unite them and save his wife.
The 76-year-old Pinsent, the Newfoundland-born actor so familiar to Canadian audiences after decades as a beloved presence on stage, screen and television, is a revelation as Grant _ and someone Polley fervently wanted for the role.
Pinsent's own wife of 44 years, Charmion King-Pinsent, died just two weeks ago at age 81, adding a particular pathos to the role.
"I feel like we all love him," Polley said on the eve of her trek to Utah to take in the 10-day festival in the nearby ski resort town of Park City where 10 other Canadian productions will be screened.
"He's somehow part of the national psyche, but we do sort of take those people for granted sometimes, and we sometimes forget we have one of the best actors of his generation in our midst," she said.
"I was so excited to write that role for him when I read the story and saw him in it, and it was so obvious that you needed someone with that instant charm and that sense of who he is and who he was. He's amazing."
The Sundance audience seemed to agree. One couple _ Catalina Corwin, 44, and Dennis King, 53 _ cuddled and kissed throughout the film, particularly during the many moving glimpses of the profound and selfless love Grant so clearly feels for Fiona.
"It was very moving, and I guess you could say a great date movie," said Corwin. She and King have been dating for a few months.
"It was really about true love, enduring love, and how it can survive so much," King added.
Another audience member said she was blown away by Pinsent's performance.
"The actor, I had never heard of him before, but he was unbelievably good," said Linda Allen, 57, a Salt Lake City resident eager to catch the film when she read about it.
"He was really heartbreaking. And the film itself was so moving, it just had so much insight and sensitivity about growing older _ I was really surprised that someone so young was behind it."
Wayne Clarkson, head of Telefilm Canada, was delighted to see the film chosen as the Salt Lake City premiere gala.
"It's not often you get to the mountains of Utah and watch the premiere of a magnificent Canadian film and take in a magnificent performance by Gordon Pinsent," Clarkson said following the premiere.
"It's really a fantastic night, for Sarah, for Gordon and for Canada."
Away from herGordan PinsentSarah Polley


text:
British MPs have backed proposals to make it harder for the next prime minister to force through a no-deal Brexit by suspending parliament. Boris Johnson, the clear frontrunner to succeed Prime Minister Theresa May next week, has said Britain must leave the EU on October 31 with or without a deal. He has refused to rule out suspending, or proroguing, parliament to prevent MPs from passing legislation to block his exit plan if he tries to exit without a deal. MPs backed a proposal by 315 to 274 that would require parliament to be sitting to consider Northern Irish affairs for several days in September and October even if it was suspended. They also backed a requirement for ministers to make fortnightly reports on progress towards re-establishing Northern Ireland's collapsed executive and to give MPs an opportunity to debate and approve those reports. The measures do not amount to an outright block on suspending parliament but could make it much more difficult to bypass MPs. It is still subject to final approval by the House of Lords, but it is not expected to be blocked. Those hoping to stop a no-deal Brexit believe that if parliament is sitting in the run-up to October 31 they will have the chance to prevent Britain leaving without a deal, the current legal default position. Conservative MP Dominic Grieve was one of those who backed the proposal. "We are responsible for ensuring, or trying to ensure good governance ... we're supposed to be the protectors of the nation," he said during the debate ahead of the vote. A junior culture minister resigned after being among 17 Conservatives who rebelled against the government to vote for the measure. Media reported that finance minister Philip Hammond and other senior government figures, who are likely to be sacked if Johnson wins the top job, abstained. A spokesman for Prime Minister Theresa May's office said the leader was disappointed that a number of ministers failed to vote. "No doubt her successor will take this into account when forming their government," he said. Earlier on Thursday, budget watchdog the Office for Budget Responsibility warned Britain might be entering a full-blown recession that a no-deal exit from the EU would compound, blowing a STG30 billion ($A53 billion) hole in the public finances. The OBR said the economy probably flatlined or might have contracted in the second quarter. A no-deal Brexit could cause the economy to contract by 2 per cent by the end of 2020, the OBR said, referring to International Monetary Fund forecasts. Australian Associated Press
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July 19 2019 - 12:25AM
UK MPs back plan to hamper no-deal Brexit
Kylie MacLellan and William James
A majority of British MPs supported a plan that requires parliament to sit even if it is suspended.
British MPs have backed proposals to make it harder for the next prime minister to force through a no-deal Brexit by suspending parliament.
Boris Johnson, the clear frontrunner to succeed Prime Minister Theresa May next week, has said Britain must leave the EU on October 31 with or without a deal.
He has refused to rule out suspending, or proroguing, parliament to prevent MPs from passing legislation to block his exit plan if he tries to exit without a deal.
MPs backed a proposal by 315 to 274 that would require parliament to be sitting to consider Northern Irish affairs for several days in September and October even if it was suspended.
They also backed a requirement for ministers to make fortnightly reports on progress towards re-establishing Northern Ireland's collapsed executive and to give MPs an opportunity to debate and approve those reports.
The measures do not amount to an outright block on suspending parliament but could make it much more difficult to bypass MPs.
It is still subject to final approval by the House of Lords, but it is not expected to be blocked.
Those hoping to stop a no-deal Brexit believe that if parliament is sitting in the run-up to October 31 they will have the chance to prevent Britain leaving without a deal, the current legal default position.
Conservative MP Dominic Grieve was one of those who backed the proposal.
"We are responsible for ensuring, or trying to ensure good governance ... we're supposed to be the protectors of the nation," he said during the debate ahead of the vote.
A junior culture minister resigned after being among 17 Conservatives who rebelled against the government to vote for the measure.
Media reported that finance minister Philip Hammond and other senior government figures, who are likely to be sacked if Johnson wins the top job, abstained.
A spokesman for Prime Minister Theresa May's office said the leader was disappointed that a number of ministers failed to vote.
"No doubt her successor will take this into account when forming their government," he said.
Earlier on Thursday, budget watchdog the Office for Budget Responsibility warned Britain might be entering a full-blown recession that a no-deal exit from the EU would compound, blowing a STG30 billion ($A53 billion) hole in the public finances.
The OBR said the economy probably flatlined or might have contracted in the second quarter.
A no-deal Brexit could cause the economy to contract by 2 per cent by the end of 2020, the OBR said, referring to International Monetary Fund forecasts.


Young Manchester a charity that strives to improve the life chances of children and young people across Manchester. We are growing our team and are looking for a passionate and skilled individual to support the development and delivery of our grant programmes.
The successful applicant will oversee delivery of Young Manchester's current grant programmes and will work with the Head of Partnerships and Director to implement our new strategy. The Grants Officer will work in partnership with organisations that receive funding from Young Manchester, funders and other stakeholders across Manchester.
The postholder will also support the development of new funding streams as well as partnership projects with youth and play providers across the city, supporting collaborations which support children and young people to thrive in Manchester.
There is ample scope for an ambitious, creative and organised person to develop this post and be part of an exciting new charity that puts outcomes for children and young people first.


Men's Artistic Gymnastics (MAG) – Try being the master of six pieces of apparatus, each different to the other and requiring a combination of strength, mobility, endurance, flexibility, body control and co-ordination.
Boys from the pre-school and general gym classes and those identified at our Trial Days who show the necessary potential will be invited to join our Development Squad.
Boys in these classes are prepared over a 2-3 year period for competitive gymnastics. All artistic squads take part in British Club Grades and National Club Grades Competitions throughout the year.
Salto currently run a boys development program which potentially leads into either a GG or MAG squad. Salto MAG 'squad' gymnasts train up to twelve hours per week depending upon their age and ability. In addition to work on 6 pieces of apparatus detailed below, it is necessary for the gymnasts to undertake strength conditioning and flexibility training.
British Gymnastics has a huge number of role models now evidenced by the Great Britain team that competed in the 2012 London and more recently 2016 Rio Olympic Games. SALTO has its own growing crop of successful gymnasts too, seeking to emulate the successes of the elite.
The 12 X12 meter sprung floor area allows the gymnast to reach incredible heights following a series of explosive and power acrobatic and tumbling skills.
Standing 1.15 meters from the floor the pommel horse is one of the hardest pieces of men's apparatus to master. It is unforgiving and has been known to buck many a gymnast. The pommel horse is a piece of apparatus not for the feint-hearted.
To master the rings a gymnast needs strength, balance and body tension. Suspended 2.80 meters from the floor, there is little room for error.
Imagine charging 25 meters towards a 1.35 meter vaulting table, springing from the top and landing within a set of parallel lines on the other side. This is the task facing the gymnast wishing to master the vault. The combination of a fast run and approach to the springboard, quick transition to the vaulting table and explosive take-off should see the gymnast catapult themselves in preparation for a controlled landing.
The Parallel Bars stand 2.00 meters from floor and 'give' under the gymnast's weight to provide for some crazy combinations of skills seen both above and below the bars.
Like the rings, the parallel bars require a combination of swinging movements with strength or hold elements.
Perhaps the most spectacular of the men's apparatus, the horizontal bar stands 2.80 meters from floor and sees the gymnast turn multiple swinging circles, daring release and catch elements and tightly wound up dismounts. Gymnasts perform continuous clean swinging movements and must not touch the bar with their body.


Tecogen Inc. and Ilios Dynamics Sign Distribution Agreement with Air Treatment Corporation for Southern California.
Tecogen Inc., a pioneer in combined heat and cooling (CHP) systems, and Ilios Dynamics, a majority owned subsidiary of Tecogen, today announced that they have signed a distribution agreement with Air Treatment Corporation, one of the largest HVAC products distributors in southern California.
Air Treatment is committed to offering technology solutions that enhance both energy and water efficiency in both the HVAC and refrigeration markets. Tecogen and Ilios CHP products are uniquely qualified to be represented by Air Treatment, because they can deliver premium energy efficiency benefits to Air Treatment's customers, while meeting California's stringent rules for low emissions.
The Tecogen InVerde module, a 100-kW inverter-based, natural-gas powered CHP system, meets a growing customer demand for "black-start" capability (operation during utility outages), simplified interconnection with the electric utilities, premium power quality, high part-load efficiencies, and breakthrough low emissions. Tecogen InVerde was the first engine-driven product in the CHP market to be certified "utility safe" to the latest UL 1741 interconnection standard, which qualifies it for a much simpler permitting process and is a requirement for California's standardized interconnection process for distributed energy resources. Tecogen's proven line of smaller induction generator-based cogeneration modules also feature high efficiency and ultra-low emissions, and can be a good fit where black-start capability is not required.
Tecogen's TECOCHILL® Natural Gas Engine-Driven Chillers are available in capacities ranging from 25 to 400 tons, including air-cooled and water-cooled models. The chillers provide both cooling and heat for a building from a single fuel source, resulting in dramatic savings on energy bills. They provide significant electrical demand reductions during peak times of the year.
The Ilios High Efficiency Water Heater is an alternative to conventional systems. Ideal for locations with a gas demand of at least 4000 therms/month, such as swimming pools, hotels, schools, colleges, hospitals, apartment buildings & recreation centers, the system provides a heating capacity of 500,000 Btu/hour. Ilios is designed to boost heating efficiency, save money, and reduce impact on the environment. Southern California is an ideal region for this equipment due to its high energy awareness and generally mild ambient temperatures.
Air Treatment is a leading manufacturers' representative organization, with headquarters in Southern California. Air Treatment offers a wide array of top-quality HVAC equipment, representing the industry leaders in most product categories. Its diverse group of application engineers is dedicated to providing HVAC equipment and system design support to consultants, owners, and contractors. For more information, please visit www.airtreatment.com.
Tecogen manufactures highly efficient, ultra-clean Combined Heat and Power (CHP) products including natural gas engine-driven cogeneration modules, chillers, and high-efficiency water heaters for commercial and industrial use. Tecogen has an installed base of more than 2100 units, which it supports through an established network of factory engineering, sales, and service personnel across the United States. For more information, please visit www.tecogen.com.
Ilios Dynamics, a subsidiary of Tecogen Inc., was formed in April 2009 to develop and distribute a line of ultra high-efficiency heating products for commercial and industrial applications utilizing advanced thermodynamic principles. Products incorporate mechanical work to extract heat from the environment to supplement chemical energy available from natural gas. The result is a significant boost in efficiency and reduced carbon emissions relative to conventional heating systems. For more information, please visit www.iliosdynamics.com.


Lana's Life: How Did This Happen?
I bet you are wondering where I've been.... Well, at least I hope some of you have missed my more frequent posts wink wink.
I was the mom who thought I had it all figured out. I'm older, I've watched other moms chase their proverbial tails for YEARS, and swore that would not be me!
I'm 49 and a half with almost 7 & 9 year olds! I told myself and them ONE SPORT AT A TIME!
Tink came home soon after school started and asked if she could stay for volleyball practice.
Our beloved little school has a grand total of TWO girls in the sixth grade class, so it stands to reason some fifth grade girls are going to play on the 6th grade team.
No, I promise it won't be hard.....Remember I taught English!
So now the fifth grade team is actually made up of mostly fourth graders, and the coaches asked if some of the third graders could come out and help fill in the holes and be good practice buddies.
The first practice Tink and three of her classmates stayed. The next practice all NINE girls from the third grade class showed up for practice. We will have an AWESOME team when we officially can have one of our own!
This will only be crazy for two more weeks, but right now we are kind of hopping around here with Tink's three nights of practice, Bear's one night, games starting this week, soccer on the weekend, Farm Bureau meetings thrown in like crazy before we get into the field, a Walk-a-thon and Open House to help plan for school, and a few appointments to doctors/dentists sprinkled in.
I know you all are shaking your head, laughing, because you have been doing this crazy dance for some years now, but I'm feeling like I just jumped into the icy deep end of the pool. I know I will get my feet under me and figure this all out, but I am learning that me multi-tasking at 49 is nothing like the me at 29.
I'm with you! How does all the busyness of childhood sneak up on us moms?
Hang in there, there will be a respite eventually...like when they can drive home from vball practice on their own!
Moms always find a way. My husband coached recreational soccer for three years, and we were amazed at the parents with multiple children playing at different soccer fields, sometimes at the same time. We have only one child, but sometimes it seemed like he was triplets. He started soccer in kindergarten and played it through his first year in college. (Actually, he still plays in a rec league 500 miles away, so we no longer attend his games.) During grade school, he also did taekwondo, Little League, basketball, touch football, band and music lessons. In junior high he added volleyball (which he played through high school and still plays on a rec team) and continued with basketball, football, band, and music lessons. In high school he did football (making soccer practices after football were a real rush--it was great when he got his driver's license), volleyball, marching band, concert band, pep band, jazz band, and music lessons. Fortunately, he was a good student who didn't need lots of sleep, or he never would have made it. He now has both has BS and MS in aerospace engineering, works in San Diego, and plays on several soccer, volleyball, and dodge ball teams or at least he did until he had knee surgery last month--now he attends the games, manages sign ups for soccer, and is waiting for medical release to play. He had already been playing with a brace on his right leg from a high school football injury and now will wear one on his left leg from a soccer injury. Fortunately, he only needs the braces for sports--more for protection than anything else.
Hang in there...there's lots more of this before they graduate from high school. lol Always love reading your posts, Lana!
Life was a lot simpler when we were kids , wasn't it? B.
Things will look up for you, I know it. Enjoy every crazy minute of it....I'm glad to see that you're back. Have a great week!
I was worried about you, but glad to hear all is well and it is just the 'kid busys' that has been making your life a little crazy...... Hope it DEF slows down soon.