I read this article and found it very interesting, thought it might be something for you. The article is called Facial Scrub For Oily Skin With Cornmeal, Yogurt And Lemon and is located at https://homemademasks.net/homemade-face-mask/lemon-juice-on-face/facial-scrub-with-cornmeal-yogurt-and-lemon-for-oily-skin/.
An oily face can feel quite uncomfortable especially during the hot seasons. Although with the help of a facial scrub that is appropriate for your skin type, you will get closer to a fresh looking skin.
Lemons are citric fruits and their medium level of acidity can help when dealing with an oily complexion.
Lemon juice acts as a natural antiseptic and will also prevent blackheads.
Yogurt is also very effective if used in a facial scrub or mask as it contains calcium, vitamin D and proteins.
Yogurt can be a key ingredient and it helps with hydration while also fighting acne.
Therefore the combination between yogurt and lemon is beneficial for balancing an oily type of complexion.
This facial scrub with lemon will help exfoliate and absorb some of the oiliness leaving your skin feeling freshly clean and smooth.
I love the face mask the scrubs.It beats going to a department store and spending tons of money on products that you really don't know what they have in them .thank you.


"Essential Christianity" radio program with Dr. Walter Martin is now heard weekdays and weekends in cities around the United States and the list is growing. Featuring recorded excerpts from past Bible Answer Man programs and selected sermon messages, this new broadcast is hosted by Dr. John Boyd, who helped Dr. Martin with the original Bible Answer Man program for twelve years.
YOUR FINANCIAL SUPPORT IS NEEDED !
HELP US GET DR. MARTIN BACK ON THE AIR IN YOUR COMMUNITY.
So far the response has been wonderful! We are looking to grow extensively in the coming year as we sense there is a real need for Dr. Martin's style and message of truth. These programs cost money to produce and as always, your prayers and financial support are greatly needed and appreciated!
Selected programs can be heard in the Listening Library.
Essential Christianity can now be heard nation-wide for 30 minutes each Sunday at 5:00 am PST. To find a Radio Station in your area click here.


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Category: Gay Queens in UK
No Gay Queens in UK; Winter Olypmics Poll
No Gay Queens in UK
This March there is a new marriage act going into effect for same sex couples in England and Wales. In doing so roughly 700 years of law is being scrutinized thoroughly in order to prevent any future issues/confusion that may arise with same sex marriage. (I once posted about a law maker in Hawaii who really took this seriously.) From the way it sounds, the issues range in a variety of practical ways. One in particular is a proposed amendment that will not allow the male spouse of a gay King to ever become the Queen.
Additionally, a clause in the Act according gay and heterosexual marriage the same legal rights will not apply to the rights of anyone 'who marries, or who is married to, the King Regnant, to the title of Queen' nor will the male spouses of Dukes, Earls and other male peers be called Duchess, Countess or Lady.
A total of 36 Acts dating back to 1859 and a further 67 pieces of legislation dating back 729 years are expected to be amended. The proposals will be debated by MPs as early as next week.
I'm not sure what to make of this yet. I've read bios about many royal men who were allegedly "bisexual." But it sounds to me that if you're a royal, you're gay, and you want to marry someone of the same sex you're basically royally screwed.
Like with US politicians and film stars, UK royalty with regard to anything gay is always a well kept secret. Indirectly, it's a slap in the face and it only promotes shame. What if Prince William were gay? Would that mean he could never admit it in public, or take a male spouse? And this doesn't just happen in the UK. It's all over the world.
Winter Olympics Poll
There's a poll at Gay Star News that asks who has been watching the winter Olympics. I took it and I voted that I've been boycotting it completely. For me, it's not a gay issue. It's a human rights issue that involves everyone. According to the results of the poll most people who read Gay Star News agree with me. 47% have been boycotting, and 18% are not watching for "other reasons." A few times I almost broke down and watched, but I just couldn't bring myself to do it.
You can check that poll out here. It's on the sidebar and you'll have to scroll down a little.
Of course this is all personal choice and everyone is free to do what they please, but I do find it interesting that some of the loudest so-called liberal left-wing activists I know on social media have been watching and posting about it all week. These are the same people who call for gun control and don't hesitate to offend anyone with their vituperative left-wing diatribes. And here they are supporting an event that is directly related to one of the most serious human rights issues we have faced in the world since World War II.
Just an observation, and why I rarely get political.
lyd fan page
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Presents the latest entry in the graphically illustrated series featuring artwork by such rising contributors as Johane Matte, Steve Hamaker, and Faith Erin Hicks.
When is door not a door? / Jen Breach & Douglas Holgate.
Breach, Jen.When is a door not a door?
Hamaker, Steve.Fish n chips in spring cleaning.
Breach, Jen.When is a door not a door?, Caffoe, Jason.Giant's kitchen., Hamaker, Steve.Fish n chips in spring cleaning., Hicks, Faith Erin.Two-person door., Kibuishi, Kazu,1978-Asteria Crane., Kibuishi, Kazu,1978-editor., Matte, Johane,1971-Mastaba., Wang, Jen,1984-Luis 2.0.
ils:.b23015299|Book|Books||English|Amulet Books,|2014.|109 pages : color illustrations ; 24 cm.


text:
Predators activate defenseman Roman Josi from injured reserve
The Predators activated defenseman Roman Josi from injured reserve Saturday.
Predators activate defenseman Roman Josi from injured reserve The Predators activated defenseman Roman Josi from injured reserve Saturday. Check out this story on Tennessean.com: http://tnne.ws/2kAjuOd
Adam Vingan, USA TODAY NETWORK — Tennessee Published 1:14 p.m. CT Feb. 4, 2017
Predators defenseman Roman Josi
Nashville Predators defenseman Roman Josi (59) greets Winnipeg Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck (37) after Game 7 of the second round NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Bridgestone Arena, Thursday, May 10, 2018, in Nashville, Tenn. Andrew Nelles / Tennessean.com
Winnipeg Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck (37) makes a save as Nashville Predators defenseman Roman Josi (59) goes after the puck during the second period of Game 4 in the second round NHL Stanley Cup Playoff Series at Bell MTS Place in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, Thursday, May 3, 2018. Andrew Nelles / Tennessean.com
Jets defenseman Dustin Byfuglien (33) tussles with Predators left wing Austin Watson (51) and defenseman Roman Josi (59) during the second period in Game 2 of the second round NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at the Bridgestone Arena Sunday, April 29, 2018, in Nashville, Tenn. George Walker IV / Tennessean.com
Nashville Predators defenseman Roman Josi has his photograph taken with a fan as the team arrives Monday, April 23, 2018, in Nashville, Tenn., after defeating the Colorado Avalanche in the first round of the NHL Stanley Cup playoffs. Mark Zaleski/For the Tennessean
A shot by Nashville Predators defenseman Roman Josi (59) is blocked by Colorado Avalanche goaltender Andrew Hammond (35) as Colorado Avalanche defenseman Nikita Zadorov (16) reaches in during the second period in game 5 of the first round NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at the Bridgestone Arena Friday, April 20, 2018, in Nashville, Tenn. George Walker IV / Tennessean.com
Nashville Predators defenseman Roman Josi (59) attacks into Colorado Avalanche goaltender Jonathan Bernier (45) during the second period of game one of the first round NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Bridgestone Arena, Thursday, April 12, 2018, in Nashville, Tenn. Andrew Nelles / Tennessean.com
Nashville Predators defenseman Roman Josi (59), goaltender Pekka Rinne (35), and center Ryan Johansen (92) pose with the Presidents' Trophy before a game against the Columbus Blue Jackets at Bridgestone Arena, Saturday, April 7, 2018, in Nashville, Tenn. Andrew Nelles / Tennessean.com
Nashville Predators defenseman Roman Josi (59) and goaltender Juuse Saros (74) defend against San Jose Sharks right wing Timo Meier (28) during the third period at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn., Thursday, March 29, 2018. Andrew Nelles / Tennessean.com
Predators defenseman Roman Josi (59) fires a shot on goal past Jets defenseman Ben Chiarot (7) during the third period at Bridgestone Arena Tuesday, March 13, 2018 in Nashville, Tenn. George Walker IV / Tennessean.com
Predators defenseman Roman Josi (59) helps goalie Pekka Rinne (35) keep a Jets left wing Kyle Connor (81) shot from making it into the goal during the third period at Bridgestone Arena Tuesday, March 13, 2018 in Nashville, Tenn. George Walker IV / Tennessean.co
Feb 20, 2018; Detroit, MI, USA; Nashville Predators left wing Scott Hartnell (17) celebrates with defenseman Roman Josi (59) after scoring a goal during the first period against the Detroit Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports Raj Mehta/USA TODAY Sports
Nashville Predators defenseman Roman Josi (59) skates past Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Jan Rutta (44) and right wing John Hayden (40) during the first period at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn., Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2017. Andrew Nelles / Tennessean.com
Andie Owen, 7, a Predators fan who is in remission from acute lymphoblastic leukemia, presents the puck to Nashville Predators defenseman Roman Josi (59) and Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin (8) before a game at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn., Tuesday, Nov. 14, 2017. Andrew Nelles / Tennessean.com
Defenseman Roman Josi greets fans during the Predators' Gold Walk on Lower Broadway on Tuesday, Oct. 10, 2017. Andrew Nelles / The Tennessean
Former captain Mike Fisher and current captain Roman Josi unveil the Western Conference Final banner before the home opener at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn., Tuesday, Oct. 10, 2017. George Walker IV / Tennessean.com
Roman Josi claps after being officially named the new captain of the Nashville Predators during a press conference Tuesday, Sept. 19, 2017, at Bridgestone Arena. Andrew Nelles / Tennessean.com
The Predators Roman Josi and teammates plant the sword at the 50 yard line at Nissan Stadium Sunday, Sept. 10, 2017 in Nashville, Tenn. Andrew Nelles / Tennessean.com
Nashville Predators defenseman Roman Josi (59) congratulates Pittsburgh Penguins center Matt Cullen (7) after game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final at Bridgestone Arena Sunday, June 11, 2017, in Nashville, Tenn. Andrew Nelles / Tennessean.com
Nashville Predators defenseman Roman Josi (59) moves the puck during the third period of game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final at Bridgestone Arena Sunday, June 11, 2017, in Nashville, Tenn. George Walker IV / Tennessean.com
Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Ian Cole (28) and Nashville Predators defenseman Roman Josi (59) tussle along the boards during the first period of Game 4 in the Stanley Cup Final at Bridgestone Arena Monday, June 5, 2017, in Nashville, Tenn. George Walker IV / Tennessean.com
Nashville Predators defenseman Roman Josi (59) helps Nashville Predators goalie Pekka Rinne (35) stop a shot by Pittsburgh Penguins right wing Patric Hornqvist (72) during the first period of game 2 in the Stanley Cup Final at PPG Paints Arena Wednesday, May 31, 2017, in Pittsburgh, Pa. George Walker IV / Tennessean.com
Nashville Predators defenseman Roman Josi (59) moves the puck defended by Anaheim Ducks defenseman Josh Manson (42) during the first period of game 6 of the Western Conference finals at Bridgestone Arena Monday, May 22, 2017 in Nashville, Tenn. George Walker IV / The Tennessean
Melissa Hood of Mt. Juliet holding her four-month-old daughter, Mallory, beams as she poses for a picture with Nashville Predators' Roman Josi Sunday, May 21, 2017 at Nashville International Airport in Nashville, Tenn. Hood and hundreds of fans greeted the victorious Nashville Predators as they returned from their win over the Anaheim Ducks in game five of the NHL Western Conference Finals. Josie Norris / The Tennessean
Anaheim Ducks defenseman Brandon Montour (71) and Nashville Predators defenseman Roman Josi (59) tussle during the closing seconds on Game 5 of the NHL Western Conference finals at Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif. Robert Hanashiro / USA TODAY
Nashville Predators defenseman Roman Josi (59) and Anaheim Ducks center Ryan Kesler (17) mix it up in front of the Nashville goal during the second period of Game 5 of the NHL Western Conference finals at Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif. Robert Hanashiro / USA TODAY
Nashville Predators defenseman Roman Josi (59) goes airborne after colliding with Anaheim Ducks left wing Nick Ritchie (37) during the third period of Game 5 of the NHL Western Conference finals at Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif. Robert Hanashiro / USA TODAY
Nashville Predators defenseman Roman Josi (59) defends the puck from Anaheim Ducks right wing Corey Perry (10) during the second period of game 1 of the Western Conference finals at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif., Friday, May 12, 2017. Andrew Nelles / Tennessean.com
Nashville Predators defenseman Roman Josi (59) tries to get the puck past Anaheim Ducks goalie John Gibson (36) and defenseman Cam Fowler (4) during the first period of game 1 of the Western Conference finals at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif., Friday, May 12, 2017. Andrew Nelles / Tennessean.com
Predators defenseman Roman Josi (59) and Blues defenseman Joel Edmundson (6) battle for the puck during the first period in game 3 of the second round NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at the Bridgestone Arena Sunday, April 30, 2017, in Nashville, Tenn. George Walker IV / The Tennessean
Predators defenseman Roman Josi (59) walks out the tunnel before taking the ice before their morning skate before game 2 of the second round NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Blues at the Scottrade Center Friday, April 28, 2017, in St. Louis, Mo. George Walker IV / The Tennessean
Predators defenseman Roman Josi (59) celebrates his goal with center Filip Forsberg (9) during the second period of game 4 of their NHL Playoff series against the Blackhawks at Bridgestone Arena, Thursday, April 20, 2017, in Nashville, Tenn. George Walker IV / The Tennessean
Mar 4, 2017; Nashville, TN, USA; Chicago Blackhawks center Jonathan Toews (19) works past Nashville Predators defenseman Roman Josi (59) during the second period at Bridgestone Arena. Christopher Hanewinckel/USA TODAY Sports
Nashville Predators defenseman Roman Josi (59) shoots against the Boston Bruins during the first period, at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn., Thursday, Jan. 12, 2017. Andrew Nelles / The Tennessean
Nashville Predators' Roman Josi (59) clears the puck after goalie Pekka Rinne made a save on Tampa Bay Lightning's Vladislav Namestnikov during the second period on Jan. 5, 2017. Mike Carlson, AP
Nashville Predators defenseman Roman Josi (59) takes a shot from the Dallas Stars to the chin as goalie Marek Mazanec (39) defends against pressure from the Stars' Adam Cracknell (27) in the third period on Dec. 8, 2016. Tony Gutierrez, AP
Predators defenseman Roman Josi (59) and Ducks left wing Jakob Silfverberg (33) tussle early in Game 6 of the NHL playoffs on Monday, April 25, 2016, on Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn. George Walker IV / The Tennessean
Predators defenseman Roman Josi reacts after being called for a tripping penalty on San Jose Sharks defenseman Brent Burns (88) during the second period at Bridgestone Arena on April 2, 2016. Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports
Predators defenseman Roman Josi cannot stop the empty net shot by Dallas Stars left wing Jamie Benn (not pictured) from going in during the third period at the American Airlines Center on March 29, 2016. The Stars defeated the Predators 5-2. Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
Predators defenseman Roman Josi is introduced before the NHL All-Star Game at Bridgestone Arena on Jan. 31, 2016. George Walker IV / The Tennessean
Predators defenseman Roman Josi (59) tries to get past Sharks defenseman Brent Burns (88) during the NHL All-Star Game at Bridgestone Arena on Jan. 31, 2016. George Walker IV / THE TENNESSEAN
Predators defenseman Roman Josi skates during the Fastest Skater during the NHL Skills Competition at Bridgestone Arena on Jan. 30, 2016. George Walker IV / The Tennessea
Predators defenseman Roman Josi takes a picture with a fan on the red carpet before the NHL All-Star Skills Competition at Bridgestone Arena on Jan. 30, 2016. Andrew Nelles / The Tennessean
Predators defenseman Roman Josi, left, loses his helmet as he fights Boston Bruins left wing Brad Marchand during the second period in Boston on Dec. 7, 2015. Charles Krupa / AP
Rangers center J.T. Miller and center Oscar Lindberg scuffle with Predators defenseman Roman Josi during the third period at Madison Square Garden on Nov. 23, 2015. Julie Jacobson / AP
Predators defenseman Roman Josi skates past Blackhawks right wing Marian Hossa during the first period of their playoff game at Bridgestone Arena on April 17, 2015. The Tennessean
Predators defenseman Roman Josi plays the puck against the Phoenix Coyotes during the first period at Bridgestone Arena on April 10, 2014. Sanford Myers / The Tennessean
Predators defenseman Roman Josi sends Capitals left wing Dustin Penner soaring in the second period at Bridgestone Arena on March 30, 2014. Josi was called for interference, and the Capitals scored on the ensuing power play. Sanford Myers / The Tennessean
Predators defenseman Roman Josi tries to get to the puck as Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon blocks him out during the second period at Bridgestone Arena on March 25, 2014. Sanford Myers / The Tennessean
Predators defenseman Roman Josi reacts after tying the game 2-2 against the Tampa Bay Lightning during the second period at Bridgestone Arena on Feb. 27, 2014. Sanford Myers / The Tennessean
Predators defenseman Roman Josi slides into Senators goalie Craig Anderson after taking a shot during the overtime period at Bridgestone Arena on Jan. 11, 2014. Sanford Myers / The Tennessean
Predators defenseman Roman Josi fires a blast against the Detroit Red Wings during the first period at Bridgestone Arena on Dec. 30, 2013. Sanford Myers / The Tennessean
Predators defenseman Roman Josi, right, celebrates his game-winning goal with forward Sergei Kostitsyn during overtime against the Dallas Stars on Feb. 25, 2013. Sanford Myers / The Tennessean
Predators defenseman Roman Josi takes a shot on goal during the third period against the Anaheim Ducks on Jan. 26, 2013, in Anaheim, Calif. The Ducks won 3-2 on an overtime shootout. Mark J. Terrill / AP
Predators defenseman Roman Josi steals the puck away from Columbus Blue Jackets center Derick Brassard in the third period at the Bridgestone Area on Jan. 19, 2013. Mark Zaleski / The Tennessean
Predators defenseman Roman Josi deflects the puck away from Columbus Blue Jackets center Artem Anisimov next to the Predators net during the first period at Bridgestone Area on Jan. 19, 2013. Mark Zaleski / The Tennessean
Predators defensemen Hal Gill, left, and Roman Josi rest on the wall during an informal practice at A-Game Sportsplex on Sept. 20, 2012. George Walker IV / The Tennessean
Defenseman Roman Josi during the Nashville Predators 2010 Rookie Camp at Centennial Sportsplex on Sept. 14, 2010. Sanford Myers / The Tennessean
Predators defenseman Roman Josi missed nine games because of a suspected concussion.(Photo: Christopher Hanewinckel / USA TODAY Sports)
The Predators activated defenseman Roman Josi from injured reserve Saturday, signifying that he should play against the Detroit Red Wings.
Josi missed Nashville's past nine games because of a suspected concussion suffered Jan. 12 against the Boston Bruins. The team referred to it as an upper-body injury. Based on Friday's practice, Josi could be paired with defenseman Yannick Weber on Saturday.
The Predators haven't had Josi, who has 22 points this season, and defenseman P.K. Subban in the lineup simultaneously since Dec. 15, a span of 22 games. Subban missed 16 games with an upper-body injury believed to be a herniated disc, returning Jan. 20.
Reach Adam Vingan at avingan@tennessean.com and on Twitter @AdamVingan.
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List Words : Team Wanderlust | 27 November 2018
23 BIG bucket list adventures
The rarest travel experiences. The toughest. The dearest. The ones that won't be around forever. These are the real do-before-you-die journeys...
1. Raft the Grand Canyon Arizona, USA
The Colorado River running through the Grand Canyon (Dreamstime)
Why? To see the great gorge from a completely different – and rare – angle. Looking down on the squiggle of the Colorado River from a mile up on the rocky rim, it seems impossible that this river could have carved the gargantuan Grand Canyon.
Of course, it's had about two billion years to do so, slowly slicing through the black-red-orange-purple strata to create one of the natural wonders of the world. And this is why seeing the canyon from water level is the best way to appreciate it – the experience offers a far more intimate encounter than peering in from the top, as well as a close up of all that glorious geology.
The official launch point for a full run is Lees Ferry, at the north-east of Grand Canyon National Park; the end is at Lake Mead, 443km further on. En route are side canyons, Puebloan sites, swimming holes and sandy beaches, not to mention plenty of wild water.
So, all good – it's just getting authorisation to enter that's the problem. There's a 'weighted lottery' system, with a waiting list of several years, to secure a private rafting permit. Fortunately, commercial tour-op trips – which range from one-day to three-week floats – are available, but even these need booking in advance if you want to guarantee your rendezvous with all this ancient rock.
Need to know: The best time to raft the Colorado is May-October. Overall, the river is graded a IV (intermediate), with many I-III rapids, plus some Vs. More information
Like that, try this: Tackle the Rio Futaleufu, an absolute classic that cuts through the canyons and wilderness of Patagonia.
2. See the Sistine Chapel in Vatican City, Italy
Inside the Sistine Chapel (Shutterstock)
Why? Massive art, small crowds. Damn Michelangelo for not picking a bigger room! The 40m long by 13m wide box, squished into the Vatican Museum complex is woefully inadequate for the 25,000-odd people who now traipse through here every day.
Yes, the iconic ceiling, and particularly the altar wall's Last Judgement, are probably the most impressive paintings you'll ever see – but that's only if you can see them, over the heads of the rest of humanity.
Fortunately, there is another way. It's possible to book private tours of the site, which take small groups into Vatican rooms usually off limits, and finish in the Sistine Chapel for an after-hours viewing of Michelangelo's masterpieces, without all the other people.
Need to know: Advance booking essential for a private after-hours tour
Like that, try this: When in Rome... join a nighttime, crowd-free tour of the Colosseum too.
3. Sleep at Everest Base Camp, Nepal
Everest Base Camp (Dreamstime)
Why? To complete an epic trek, then snooze with the summiteers. The trek to Everest Base Camp – a breathtaking 14-day out-and-back into Sagarmatha NP to the foot of the world's highest mountain – is a classic.
But while the teahouse hospitality and Himalaya views en route are magnificent, most treks are not actually allowed to stay at Everest Base Camp – it requires specific permission. Most hikers visit their 5,340m goal for a 'been there' photo op, then descend to nearby Gorak Shep to sleep.
However, a few special departures do offer the chance to overnight at the iconic camp. Also, these trips may be timed to coincide with peak summit-attempt season, when groups of climbers are also in residence.
It's a unique opportunity, to both sleep in the shadow of the mighty mountain and to speak to the brave/mad souls making their final preparations; you might even see teams setting off up the notorious Khumbu Ice Fall, the start of their push for the top.
Need to know: Summiteers usually arrive at Base Camp April/May. Trekkers with illnesses will not be allowed to stay at Base Camp to avoid potentially infecting the climbers.
Like that, try this: Hike up to Camping Arolla (1,950m), in Petit Praz, Switzerland – Europe's highest campsite.
4. Trek to Machu Picchu, Peru
Machu Picchu (Dreamstime)
Why? It's more satisfying than the train, and there are lots of options. It's virtually impossible to make a bucket list that doesn't include Machu Picchu. A secret city, never found by those pesky conquistadores, perched in the mountains, swirled by mists and mysteries – it's the stuff of travel legend.
The trouble is, when you've seen so many, many photos of the Inca citadel, there's a danger it'll be a bit of a let-down. And that's one reason why, if you can, you should go on foot. The city deserves the slow build, the accumulated excitement, that trekking there provides.
Also, deciding to lace up doesn't mean you have to hit the Inca Trail. There are plenty of alternatives to the classic: you can hike via the much less-visited ruins of Choquequirao; head along the dramatic and diverse Salkantay Trail (with posh lodges en route); or tackle the tough Vilcabamba Traverse.
Need to know: Hikes vary in length, altitude and difficulty; acclimatise before setting off. Dry season is April-October. You must have a permit for the Inca Trail. Only a limited number are released each year and they sell out quick.
Like that, try this: Make a grand entrance at Jordan's once-lost Nabatean city via the multi-day Dana-Petra trek – the Inca Trail of the Middle East.
5. Hike the Milford Track, New Zealand
Waterfall along the Milford Track (Dreamstime)
Why? Complete one of New Zealand's Great(est) Walks in great style. New Zealand has nine official Great Walks (with a new one opening in 2019), and the Milford Track is arguably the greatest of the lot.
This four-day, 53.5km hike from Lake Te Anau to Milford Sound slices through the splendour of Fiordland National Park, taking in lakes, waterfalls, ice fields, forest and plenty of pioneer history, and tops out at the panoramic Mackinnon Pass (1,154m).
In the peak summer trekking months (November-April), it's always oversubscribed; camping is not permitted and numbers are limited by the bunk-space available in the three DOC lodges en route. That is, unless you opt for an upgrade. Ultimate Hikes operates a series of private lodges (with both dorms and doubles) that enable hikers to tramp the track, with a guide, in a little more comfort.
You still have to carry your own bag, but – unlike those in the DOC huts – you get hot showers, duvets, drying rooms and hairdryers; breakfasts, lunches and three-course dinners are cooked up for you; each lodge even has a well-stocked bar. Cheers to that: a Great Hike indeed.
Need to know: Before embarking on Ultimate Hikes' five-day/four-night Guided Walk you need to be prepared for all weather.
Like that, try this: Hike Tasmania's Overland Track in style with Cradle Mountain Huts.
6. Sleep under the stars in NamibRand, Namibia
The NamibRand under a night sky (Dreamstime)
Why? To experience some of the world's best celestial sights. Sure, leave the big city and you can see stars almost anywhere. But the experience will be extra heavenly if you travel somewhere very dark, very clear and very remote.
Namibia's vast NamibRand Nature Reserve is one of only a few gold-certified Dark Sky Reserves. Simply, it has some of the world's best dark skies. There are no towns or settlements inside it, or even nearby – Namibia is one of the planet's most sparsely populated countries. And the dry climate means cloudless skies are the norm.
By day, explore NamibRand's ochre-hued wilderness of dunes, mountains and plains, looking for oryx and Hartmann's zebra. Then, after a blazing sunset, it's time to turn your eyes skyward.
Splurge on a stay at Sossusvlei Desert Lodge, which has its own observatory and ten luxurious chalets, each with a terrace, telescope and skylight over the bed. Or join the Tok Tokkie Trails three-day desert walk, on which nights are spent sleeping on a canvas stretcher under the stars.
Need to know: The reserve is around 375km from Windhoek. More information.
Like that, try this: Unroll a swag in Australia's Red Centre for a snooze with uninterrupted night-sky views.
7. Swim with turtles in Ningaloo, Western Australia
A green turtle at Ningaloo Reef (Shutterstock)
Why? To take a dip with endangered species. Western Oz's Ningaloo Reef isn't as big as the Great Barrier, on the opposite coast. But it's still attracts around 500 species of fish; best of all, in parts it lays only 100m offshore, making its underwater riches extremely accessible – the snorkelling is superb too.
Three of the world's seven species of marine turtles nest on beaches and islands near Ningaloo between November and April: green (listed as endangered), hawksbill (critically endangered) and loggerhead (vulnerable).
However, turtles swim offshore year-round, their lumpen on-land movements transformed into a graceful ballet once they're in the water. Good spots include Shark Bay, the Muiron Islands and Turtle Bay on Dirk Hartog Island.
Need to know: Main hub Exmouth is 1,200km north of Perth. More information
Like that, try this: Snorkel with endangered leatherback and hawksbill turtles in Barbados.
8. Visit an endangered tribe in the Amazon, Ecuador
Two young girls form huaorani tribe in the amazon rainforest, Yasuni National Park, Ecuador (Dreamstime)
Why? To glimpse a unique culture, but to do it sensitively and responsibly. Understandably, many struggling minority tribes don't want to be gawped at by tourists passing through – the arrow-firing Sentinelese of the Andaman Islands being a case in point.
But for some such groups, tourism is providing a cultural lifeline, and travellers staying at lodges or booking tours owned and run by the tribes themselves are helping to keep endangered traditions alive (and protect their much-threatened environment from developers), while also giving visitors an authentic insight into how the peoples have existed for centuries: everybody wins.
The indigenous peoples of Ecuador's Oriente seem to have mastered this kind of community eco-tourism; there are several well-regarded options. For example, the Cofán – one of the oldest Amazonian tribes have been running community-based ecotourism in northern Ecuador since 1978.
Trips here include canoeing and piranha fishing, sleeping in traditional thatched huts and trekking into the wildlife-dense rainforest with Cofán guides – with optional overnight camping trip for the adventurous minded.
Need to know: Trips to the Cofán community at Zabalo depart from Lago Agrio (7-8hrs from Quito by bus). More information
Like that, try this: Visit the El Molo of Lake Turkana, Kenya, for whom tourism is helping their economy.
9. Spot a snow leopard in Ladakh, India
A snow leopard in India (Shutterstock)
Why? Few have seen this endangered cat. There are thought to be just 4,000 to 6,500 snow leopards left in the wild. Coupled with the fact that these charismatic big cats tend to live in cold, inhospitable, rocky clifftops at altitudes above 3,000m, they're not that easy to spot.
This makes a sighting very special, and most trips that venture into their domain – largely Tibet, the Himalaya and the 'Stans – make it clear that you'd be fortunate to see even a paw-print. However, in recent years Ladakh's Hemis National Park has gained a reputation as the world's snow leopard capital, with hundreds of leopards, and as time passes, local guides gain an ever better understanding of their habits.
There are still no guarantees, but in Hemis's Husing, Tarbuns and Rumbak Valleys, sightings are relatively common; Husing is on a well-known snow leopard corridor. Visit in winter, when the snow brings the cats to lower ground and, with the help of local knowledge, trained trackers and spotting scopes, you might be in luck.
Need to know: Flights connect Delhi to regional hub Leh (1.5hrs), which is 40km from Hemis NP. There are six villages in the park; accommodation is in homestays or camping.
Like that, try this: Track giant pandas in China's Foping Nature Reserve, for the frisson of seeing the posterchild of conservation in the wild.
10. Descend into a volcano, Iceland
Thrihnukagigur magma chamber (Shutterstock)
Why? For a unique descent into the earth's belly. To inject some Jules Verne adventure into your bucket list you need to head to Iceland. It's a strange, singular place; a newborn babe in geological terms, you can virtually see it being formed before your eyes – the land groans, hisses and spews.
This makes delving beneath the surface quite exciting indeed, though something that's been easy to achieve since 2012, when commercial tours began plunging into Thrihnukagigur volcano.
Clipped on to what's essentially a window-cleaner's lift, you're slowly lowered 120m into another world – a magma chamber uniquely drained of its magma. Lights reveal a cavern of many colours – bruise purples, sulphur yellows, blood reds.
Water drip-drips from above, while breaking into song demonstrates the excellent acoustics. It is wonderful, and very weird. Thrihnukagigur is dormant, last erupting over 4,000 years ago. There's no sign that it's about to spring into life, but tours are only announced on a year-by-year basis because, well, you never know...
Need to know: Tours run 10 May-31 Oct. More information
Like that, try this: Hike up Mount Etna, to stand on one of the most active volcanos in the world.
11. Visit St Helena, South Atlantic
St Helena (Shutterstock)
Why? Even though the Royal Mail Ship departed on its last trip to St Helena last year, it's still not too late to visit this far-floung isle. With an airport now on the island, it is now arguably easier than ever to visit.
The South Atlantic speck is a crumple of glorious geomorphology – small, but riven with deep gullies, gulches and volcanic after-effects, and swept with semi-tropical lushness.
The waters are brim-full of dolphins; the skies wheel with myriad birds. Make the most of the large congregation of whale sharks by snorkelling alongside these gentle giants from January to March.
But it's the human story that is most fascinating – less than 5,000 people live on this lonely isle, in settlements little changed since Georgian times. Explore it all by foot by walking some of the Post Box walks, which vary in difficulty but all offer views of the most scenic and untouched parts of the island. You will get a log book and a stamp at the end to prove you've completed them. Or go on a historic ramble to get to know Napoleon's influence on the isle.
Need to know: The Post Box walks vary in difficulty, and even the easier ones can be tricky. Be sure to research which ones are best for you. More information
Like that, try this: Sail to Russia's Wrangel Island (polar bear heaven), only accessible July-Aug by very few specialist cruise ships.
12. Sleep on a private isle in Scotland
The Summer Isles, Scotland (Dreamstime)
Why? Who doesn't fancy an island to themselves? Sadly, most of us don't have a Branson-sized budget – but that doesn't mean you can't claim your own patch of sea-lapped solitude.
Thanks to the fact that Scotland has almost 800 islands, as well as a favourable attitude to wild camping, it's possible to tick this must-do off the list without spending a penny. Tiny Tanera Beag, the second-largest of the 20-odd north-western Summer Isles, has never been inhabited – though you might be joined by a few sheep, occasionally brought here to graze.
You can sea kayak from the mainland, over Badentarbet Bay and around larger (inhabited) Tanera Mor to reach Tanera Beag. Once you've hauled ashore, look out for seals in the lagoon by Eilean Flada Mor, climb to the island's 83m high-point for views over the nearby rock stacks and skerries, and pitch your tent amid the heather to feel like a laird for the night.
Need to know: Achiltibuie, on the coast of Wester Ross & Sutherland, is the best access point. Tanera Mor is 3km offshore; Tanera Beag is just beyond. More information
Like that, try this: Canoe to little Algonquin Island, on Ontario's Kawawaymog Lake, to stay in a Canadian log cabin, away from the world.
13. Visit Antarctica
Whale in the Weddell Sea, Antarctica (Dreamstime)
Why? Antarctica is a land of grand voyages. Powerful, dangerous, but undeniably exciting. The chance to venture where so few others have visited is perhaps the very reason it tops so many wish lists.
To visit a place even less well known to travellers, embark on a cruise into the Weddell Sea to the east. The crashing icebergs, vast ice floes and often unpredictable and treacherous conditions will show you what real adventure looks and feels like.
Spot a variety of wildlife including impressive baleen whales just under the surface and colonies of penguins and seals clustered on the thick ice on top.
Need to know: Weddell Sea voyages are limited to just a few a year. If you want to go, you need to be organised and plan well in advance.
Like that, try this: Head north to the Arctic for a cruise down the little-seen seas of the North-East Passage. Expect walruses and polar bears.
14. Climb Kilimanjaro, Tanzania
Kilimanjaro, Tanzania (Dreamstime)
Why? It's travel's greatest trekking summit – and it could well be losing its snows. Tanzania's Mount Kilimanjaro deserves to be on every travel bucket list.
No other mountain manages to combine such a wealth of wow-factors to tick all those boxes: it's an aesthetically awesome monolith poking out of the African plains; it's a tough but achievable challenge; at 5,895m, it's the roof of a continent; it's a climatological oddity, proving snow can sit virtually on the equator. Tick, tick, tick, tick.
But just to add an extra bit of tock to all those ticks, doom-sayers predict that those snows might be gone in just a few decades – all the more reason to tackle Kili quick.
Need to know: Kilimanjaro cannot be climbed independently. Choose a longer trip to allow more time for acclimatisation and increase your chances of success.
Like that, try this: For extra kudos, try climbing Argentina's Aconcagua, a tougher, higher, non-technical challenge.
15. Tour Havana in a classic car, Cuba
Classic cars in Havana, Cuba (Dreamstime)
Why? Hop in an iconic vintage motor before they get scrapped. It's all change in Cuba. A gentle thaw in relations with their big neighbours to the north means that some travel to the island has become (slightly) easier for American citizens and some trade restrictions have been lifted. And with 2019 marking the 500th anniversary of the founding of Havana, there's never been a better time to visit.
For now, Cuba remains quite unique, with an intoxicating je ne sais quoi that's strong of culture and loose of hips. Perhaps the most iconic Cuba image, though, is of a classic 1950s car bumping down a Havana backstreet.
While you can, take a tour in vintage motor, listening to its retro roar as you glide by the capital's crumbly grandeur.
Need to know: You can't self-drive a classic car, but several companies offer tours with driver/ guides.
Like that, try this: Up the ante: join a Rickshaw Rally, to negotiate India at the wheel of a tuk-tuk.
16. Cuddle a whale in Baja California, Mexico
A grey whale calf in Baja (Dreamstime)
Why? Closer encounters with massive mammals. You can see whales in lots of places, but there are few spots where you can actually give one a hug. From December to April grey whales gather in Baja California's San Ignacio Lagoon to mate, calve, nurture their young and – so it seems – have a jolly old time with the weird human creatures that sail out to see them.
Despite having been hunted to near extinction, these greys bear no grudge; indeed, they bump into boats and surface within touching distance, inviting pats and strokes. However, there's only a short window of opportunity to see the greys here each year, with February, March and April the best months, and good trips sell out far – often years – in advance.
Need to know: Activity varies by month. In February you see more breaching adults; calves grow more confident in March-April, approaching boats more frequently.
Like that, try this: From Jan-April you can swim with humpbacks in the Dominican Republic.
17. Capture the Northern Lights on camera
Photographing the northern lights (Shutterstock)
Why? To record a spectacular photo of the northern lights that you saw. In this age of instant images and selfies, it's not good enough anymore to just see the planet's most spectacular light show – to hopefully be in the right place at the right time – now you have to snap a frame-worthy photo of it too.
One way to increase your chances of filling that memory card is to join an aurora photography tour. You'll not only get tips from pros on how to snap the show – sharpening up those DSLR skills for those future travels – but they'll also be attuned to where those spectral waves are most likely to start pulsing through the night.
Your daylight hours will then be spent exploring the wild Arctic terrains that best yield luminous results – Finland, Norway, Sweden or Canada.
Need to know: October-November and February-March are the best times to see the northern lights. Dark skies yield better displays – avoid full moon.
Like that, try this: Look for the southern lights (aurora australis) on New Zealand's Stewart Island.
18. See an eclipse in Indonesia & USA
A total eclipse (Dreamstime)
Why? To be in the best place when the world goes weird. Total eclipses – when the moon blocks out the sun, basking the earth in an eerie glow – happen roughly every 18 months. But you need to be in the right place, ideally somewhere in the path of the solar maximum, to fully appreciate the effect, and you'd have to wait an average of 375 years to see two total eclipses from the same spot.
Sometimes being in the path of an eclipse is simple. On 21 August 2017 the total eclipse swung right across the middle of the USA, visible in states such as Wyoming, Nebraska and South Carolina; its point of greatest eclipse just north-west of Hopkinsville, Kentucky, where totality lasted for over two minutes.
Sometimes, though, it's a bit trickier – the eclipse in March 2015 was best viewed in the snowy wilderness of Svalbard. Part of the battle is securing a place on a good, expert-led eclipse-watching trip: these specialist departures can fill up well in advance.
Need to know: Cloud cover will affect the quality of eclipse-viewing; if possible, check forecasts and head for clearer skies. The NASA Eclipse site is a mine of information.
Like that, try this: Look out for the Perseid Meteor Shower, 17 - 24 August 2019.
19. Leaf-peep on the Appalachian Trail, USA
Autumn in New Hampshire (Dreamstime)
Why? See fall colours without the other people. The idea of visiting New England in autumn, wending between comely white clapboard houses, verges lined with pumpkins and forested hillsides completely aflame, is a romantic notion. Now add in hiked prices and all the other cars and coaches trying to get to the same scenic lookout, and it isn't quite so dreamy.
Arguably the best way to appreciate the glorious death of New England's trees is to stride among it, camping out each night. So, why not combine a smidgen of the Appalachian Trail – the East Coast's seriously long long-distance hike, bucket list-worthy in itself – to see the leaves without the crowds.
The 70km stretch between New Hampshire's White Mountains and the Vermont border is particularly renowned for its fabulous fall foliage – think maples smouldering crimson, dogwoods turning purple and birch trees burning gold.
Need to know: Fall colours usually start to appear in New England from mid-September. Shelters and campsites along the trail are basic.
Like that, try this: Make for Québec's Laurentian Mountains, where the sugar maples turn magnificent late-Sept to mid-Oct.
20. Drive through Glacier National Park, USA
Glacier National Park (Dreamstime)
Why? See retreating ice from a capricious drive. The Going-to-the-Sun Road somehow carves an 80km-long furrow through the mountains of north-west Montana. It's also notoriously difficult to clear of winter snows. Portions of it remain open year-round, but the very earliest in the season that the entire length might be accessible is mid-June.
Then, by late September, parts are off-limits all over again, leaving a brief window for a traverse. It's worth trying though: the road slices through the parks most dramatic sections, with hair-raising hairpins and a haul over 2,026m Logan Pass.
You can also see the park's rapidly retreating Jackson Glacier from the tarmac, which you should certainly pull over for – it's estimated that Glacier NP may be entirely glacier-free by 2030.
Need to know: Driving the road without stopping takes around two hours. Check for road accessibility updates.
Like that, try this: Norway's switchbacking Trollstigen is closed in late autumn and winter.
21. See a spirit bear in British Columbia, Canada
A white spirit bear (Dreamstime)
Why? These rare bears roam only here. Even for a country big on big empty, Canada's Great Bear Rainforest takes some beating. What the GBR does have, though, is lots of lovely wildlife: grey wolves, grizzlies, cougars, orca, sea otters, humpback whales and, uniquely, Kermode – or spirit – bears.
These unusual ursines are black bears with a recessive gene, which renders about 10% of them creamy-pale. Like spirits, though, they're tricky to spot – fewer than 400 are thought to exist.
But if you head to the right part of this roadless, fjord-cut, river-riven rainforest, you might be in luck. The area around Klemtu is a known Kermode hang-out, and lodges accessible only by floatplane have guides expert in tracking them down.
Need to know: The best time to visit is late August to mid-October, when returning salmon tempt bears to the rivers.
Like that, try this: Visit Timbavati's white lions, on Kruger NP's western edge, South Africa.
Read more about spirit bears
22. Ride the Trans-Siberian, Russia-China
The Trans-Siberian passing through Mongolia (Dreamstime)
Why? To take the slow route across Siberia. What's the old adage? It's better to travel than to arrive? Could have been written for the Trans-Siberian train journey.
If you were that desperate to get between Moscow and Beijing (the route of the network's Trans-Mongolian branch, arguably the most interesting), you could fly it in under eight hours. But no, it's this six-night, 7,621km train that is slow travel at its most atmospheric, an unhurried spooling of endless birch trees, Lake Baikal shimmer, grassy steppe, Gobi Desert, yurt camps, camel herds and station-traders selling sweets and sausages.
The train provides a cosy confinement within that vastness, where your cabin-mates could be Buddhist monks or Russian businessmen, where vodka flows freely and the hot-water samovar is always steaming, ready to make a brew.
Need to know: There is no hop-on hop-off option; to make stopovers, you must buy separate tickets for each leg. More information.
Like that, try this: Ride The Canadian, from Toronto to Vancouver, another vast, cross-country, multi-day epic.
23. Raft the Zambezi River, Zambia
Hippos in the Zambezi River (Dreamstime)
Why? Run the great river, while you can. The Zambezi is one of the world's most iconic waterways, slicing its way through south-eastern Africa and famously plunging over Victoria Falls.
Rafting it – whether you choose a short trip from Livingstone or a multi-day, beach-camping expedition – is up there with the world's greatest river journeys. You'll tackle hair-raising rapids called things like Oblivion and The Devil's Toilet Bowl. You'll might spot hippos lazing in the channels and even crocs on the banks.
Need to know: Low-water season – the best time for rafting – is August to December. More information
Like that, try this: Raft Tasmania's Franklin River, the wild waterway that conservationists saved from dam-nation.
Discover more amazing adventures:
100 greatest travel experiences... ever
25 life-changing travel must-dos
How to see the Aurora Borealis


10:00 – We finally have cable TV in Malaysia (CNN Asia Pacific, free to air TV in Australia, Singapore and Malaysia), Rubenerd Left Wing (American sugar-coated politics, liberation, democracy etc), Elke calling Ruben a dork, bagging out New Zealand accents (again!) and congratulations to the women of Kuwait for getting the vote! News clips from CNN and the Brock Log, found through Technorati.


Laser cut your panels. We've included the .Ai files and .SVG files for the "Tree Notebook", a festive "Halloween Notebook", and a "Plain" file for customizing with your own designs.
We used a large format pro series machine to cut our panels, but each of these can be cut on a 20"x12" desktop Hobby machine.
The files are all color coordinated for cutting order. Raster engrave black sections, then vector engrave on blue paths, and finally vector cut all red paths.
Prep your notebook by cutting along the edge of the binding. We want to preserve as much of the black binding as we can. We will reuse the binding to attach our wooden panels. If you're using a box cutter. be sure to lie the book flat and separate the pages from the side you will be cutting. This will prevent those pages from being damaged.
Place your wooden panel on top of your pages. Ensure that each side is evenly aligned to your pages. Fold your binding over the panel. so that you can add a crease into the cardboard-lined binding. Once you've tested the fit of your binding, add a small amount of glue to the edge of the wood and attach with the binding. Hold this joint until it's completely dry. For best results, use clamps to secure the fitting.
Keep all your information noted in these beautiful and inexpensive journals.


text:
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A: This one should work:
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echo substr($result,$pos+strlen(''));

Of course you could use in this case also:
echo strip_tags($result);

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Sophie's maze
List of the books I've read in 2009
December 2008—Le génie des alpages 8: Dans les nuages from F'murr.
I go on with my discovery of the stories of the most delirious flock of sheep in the mountain pastures.
As usual, this is crazy and very funny. There's even a gag for freediving hunters, with sheep in it!
December 2008—Shaolin Moussaka 3 : À Mollywood !! from Chauvel, Pedrosa and Araldi.
Miss Moussaka's adventures go on, this time the rocket lands in Mollywood, in the midst of a porn movie shooting.
This follow-up is a little disappointing, I find the graphics less pleasant and, although there are funny gags, this book doesn't include memorable moments like the first two episodes did.
December 2008—Le retour à la terre 5: Les révolutions (The return to earth book 5) from Jean-Yves Ferri and Manu Larcenet.
The next installment of Manu's adventures in the country, with a family. This time local politics are involved.
After 5 books, it's always very pleasant to go back to this series, which evolves without losing its personality, funny and touching. I'll wait for the next book!
December 2008—Terremer (A wizard of Earthsea) from Ursula Le Guin.
On Earthsea, an archipelago planet, the story of Ged's life, born as a goats herder gifted with sorcery, who will become a great mage after many adventures.
This book includes 3 stories, the first two (Ged's initiation and the Erreth-Akbe ring quest) are really good, I had more trouble with the third (the disappearance of magic), which is slower with less interesting characters.
November 2008—La Hulotte #91.
The most popular magazine in burrows focuses on the griffon vulture.
It's very interesting, it's funny, you learn lots of things, and the illustrations are superb. As usual with La Hulotte.
November 2008—Le cri de la baleine (Grayson) from Lynne Cox.
The tale of an open water swimming champion on a morning training session, where she meets a grey whale calf.
The book is a tad too didactic, with the introduction of all the marine species you can meet while swimming in California, but the tale is beautiful and quite magic.
November 2008—Réalité partagée (Probability moon) from Nancy Kress.
A team of human scientists lands to study a planet inhabited by a species which shares a unique reality: individuals can't diverge from the shared reality without physical pain. These scientists are only an alibi for the military, who is interested in something completely different about this planet.
Starting from a strange idea, the world is built in a very consistant way, and the relationship between humans and worlders evolves in a very interesting manner. This book made me want to go on reading the trilogy.
November 2008—La théorie du grain de sable 2 from Schuiten & Peeters.
To understand the Brüsel anomalies (which are getting worse), you have to link them and explore the bugti country.
The second book has a faster pace and more diversity than the first, both books make for a story both interesting to read and a pleasure to look at.
In Brüsel, an enigmatic bugti warrior loans a jewel to an antiques dealer who wants to copy it, but the warrior dies in a accident shortly afterwards. Strange phenomenon start occurring.
The story takes a little while to get started, but there is a nice graphic play of greyscale drawings and pure white of anomalies, I really like the cook who gets lighter.
October 2008—Skeleton Man from Tony Hillerman.
The investigator Joe Leaphorn is pulled out of retirement to help with an enquiry about diamonds, which were lost in a plane crash in the 50s, and are resurfacing years later.
The details about indian culture, the descriptions of the grand canyon landscape, and the characters of Jim Chee and Bernie make this book even more interesting than the hunt for diamonds.
October 2008—Spook Country from William Gibson.
Hollis Henry was once famous as the singer of a band, now she has found a job as a journalist investigating augmented reality art.
William Gibson is really among my favourite authors, and I loved this book. The characters are engaging, augmented reality is something I've been interested in for a long time, and the suspense spices it up.
October 2008—Astérix aux jeux Olympiques (Astérix at the Olympic Games) from A. Uderzo & R. Goscinny.
The gaul village takes part in the Olympic Games, mainly to annoy the romans.
It's always funny to rediscover the old Astérix books, this one has a pretty up-to-date look on competitive sports and the doping that comes with them.
October 2008—The curious case of Benjamin Button from F. Scott Fitzgerald, adapted by Nunzio DeFilipis & Christina Weir, illustrated by Kevin Cornell.
A graphic novel based on the story of Benjamin Button, who was 70 years old at his birth, and is getting younger as years go by.
An extravagant tale which will soon be made into a movie (but the movie will transpose it). The illustrations are superb and translate perfectly the slightly stiff 19th century mood.
September 2008—Les plus beaux contes zen from Henri Brunel.
A collection of short zen tales, mainly of Japanese origin.
A good book to get a feeling of zen philosophy, the tales have variety and are interesting, they lead you nicely to introspection. The book is illustrated with nice Japanese engravings.
September 2008—Flora Secunda, Being the magickal mishaps of a girl of spirit, her glass-gazing sidekick, two ominous butlers (one blue), a house with eleven thousand rooms, and a red dog from Ysabeau S. Wilce.
Flora Secunda is 13 years old, lives in Califa in her 11 000-rooms family house, which used to function thanks to a magickal butler. Flora's mother, the Commanding General of the Army, has banished the butler, so the house is now mostly uninhabitable.
I liked this book a lot, it has strong characters, be they female, male or magickal, and describes a well-crafted universe. The pace is fast, the language interesting, and family issues are well integrated into the plot. I'll definitely get the second book of the series!
September 2008—The Masterharper of Pern from Anne McCaffrey.
A book of the Pern cycle telling, after reader's requests, the story of the Masterharper Robinton.
I had not read a Pern novel for a while, and this one is as usual interesting, I went through it fast. I will soon have read all the novels and it made me want to re-read them, this time in a chronological order rather than following book publication dates.
September 2008—Western circus from Morris & R. Goscinny.
Lucky Luke encounters a circus getting lost in the far west, close to a city completely controlled by Mr Zilch, who also organises the local rodeo.
Like in À l'ombre des derricks, a single man controls a little city… There are indians, Jolly Jumper gets a somewhat important place in the show, and the ending heralds the european circuit of the Buffalo Bill Wild West Show.
September 2008—L'habitat bio-économique (Bio-economic habitat) from Pierre-Gilles Bellin.
A technical yet accessible on insulation, heating, electricity and water, aiming at maximizing savings.
The saving angle leads to individual and autarchic houses which might not always be the only solution, but lots of information can be adapted to other situations, and the case studies exemplify the recommendations very well.
September 2008—Astérix chez les Bretons (Asterix in Britain) from A. Uderzo & R. Goscinny.
The aventures of the two gaul heroes in Great-Britain, not Brittany.
Very funny delivery of magical potion to the English cousins, sometimes trying to avoid the romans, but mainly hitting them a lot, with the culture shock of the british traditions to boost.
September 2008—A sultan in Palermo from Tariq Ali.
A book about the cartographer al-Idrisi, taking place during the end of the reign of the norman king Roger of Sicily, at the end of the 11th century.
This book allowed me to discover the period during which Sicily experienced a cohabitation of catholic norman "sultans" (coming from Coutances) and muslim populations. Unfortunately the end of the rule and the succession went rather badly, but the description of this regime which offered sponsorship to one of the first great cartographers is very interesting.
August 2008—The machine's child from Kage Baker.
The next story of Dr. Zeuss Company, where the three-personalities lover(s) of Mendoza look(s) for her and plot(s) his(their) revenge.
The to and fro between future, past and present make for a convoluted yet interesting story. I was wondering if Alec's three personalities wouldn't become tiresome, but they are handled well. I would like to see Mendoza to take the lead, I feel the female character is basically going along for the ride, cast as the damsel in distress and being used. We'll see in the next book.
August 2008—Je suis un chat (吾輩は猫である) from Natsume Sōseki.
A Japanese novel from 1905, where the narrator is a cat, keen observer of the changes of the Meiji era.
A strange novel, part autobiography as the cat seems to be observing life in Sōseki's house. The characters and situations are often far-fetched, the cat judges humans in an often merciless way (he's not wrong), it's a little uneven but very interesting. This is a book produced by one of the heroes of the series "Au temps de Botchan" from Sekikawa and Taniguchi (see below).
August 2008—Poseidon's gold from Lindsey Davis.
A new book in the adventures of Marcus Didius Falco, who must manage the shady businesses left behind by his brother when he died as a hero in Judea.
Again a very good novel, where you discover more about the family of the detective; the exploration of the tangled (and dangerous) maze of the greek statuary sting is very interesting.
July 2008—Maliki 2: Une rose à l'amer from Maliki.
The follow-up to Maliki's adventures, on holiday on the shore, but also at home with her cats, and with new characters.
As good as the first book, the cats are again excellent story subjects, while other animals and new characters add variety.
July 2008—Learning the world from Ken MacLeod.
The story of a terrestrial colony vessel ending its travels towards a solar system it believes is uninhabited.
The unplanned encounter of two civilizations is interesting, and I couldn't help comparing this to books from Iain M. Banks about the Culture. Where the Culture is a more than perfect civilization, MacLeod's colonists are refreshingly imperfect, and more realistic with their internal dissensions. The aliens are also interesting and believable.
July 2008—À l'ombre des derricks from Morris & Goscinny.
A Lucky Luke adventure in Titusville, quiet town from Pennsylvania which is going to be hit by a black gold rush.
Very funny and delirious interpretation of rushes for gold (black or not), with a whole city absenting itself, busy digging everywhere.
June 2008—Shinjū from Laura Joh Rowland.
A detective story from the series of Sano Ichirō's investigations. An artist and a rich young lady are discovered drowned, which certainly is a case of double love suicide, or shinjū.
As in all good "ethnic" detective stories, a good balance of suspense and details about Japan and Edo in the 17th century. Ichirō's character is interesting, and makes me want to read more about his adventures. Thanks to Liz for talking to me about this book.
May 2008—Future shock from Alvin Toffler.
A book about post-industrialist societies, their evolution and the issues created by quick change, published in 1970.
A very interesting book, with lots of spot on views, but it's a little depressing that some ideas have not been applied. I think Alvin Toffler assumes humans have a collective intelligence that I don't think has ever been displayed.
May 2008—Sourires de loup (White teeth) from Zadie Smith.
The lives of two migrant families in the United-Kingdom, one of Bangladeshi origins, the other a Jamaican-English couple.
I like the colourful and energetic tone of the book, it's very interesting to follow these characters, and contemporary issues are added to the mix without heavy-handedness.
April 2008—Le combat ordinaire 4: Planter des clous (Ordinary victories book 4) from Manu Larcenet.
The fourth book of Marco's adventures, more calm on the family front, width more tensions on the social one.
I like where this comic series goes, how it shows factories closing and the mood of a certain election night.
April 2008—Onmyôji 2 : Le moineau vermillon from Okano Reiko & Yumemakura Baku.
Abe-no-Seimei must take care of an avenging woman who appears in her chariot every night, each night one street closer to the imperial palace.
As beautiful as the first, the costumes are superb, there's humour when Seimei has fun at the expense of his friend Hiromasa, and lots of details about the capital of the Heian period.
April 2008—Slaughterhouse-five from Kurt Vonnegut.
A young soldier from the United-States is plunged into the second world war, and arrives in Dresden just before the fire-bombing.
Kurt Vonnegut, who lived through this bombing, describes the war, its senselessness and horrors with a piercing humour. A memorable book, built in an interesting manner, the hero is observed by aliens in the same way he observed the war.
March 2008—Meet the laugh-out-loud cats from A. Koford.
The book version of the Laugh-out-loud cats comics.
I like the combination of old-looking hobo cats from the great depression and contemporary jokes and expressions.
March 2008—The Wippins Campaign from Kevin Cornell.
The story of a graphic designer who receives an order from a client like no other, the Dark Queen.
Maybe it's rather specialized humour, but the combination of the daily problems of the designer and the medieval and cruel customer is very funny.
March 2008—Sixty days and counting from Kim Stanley Robinson.
The end of the trilogy about climate change, with the first actions of a president of the United-States who wants to change things.
A rather optimistic ending, very confident in humans, science and technology, which simplifies a lot of issues. But then, it's science-fiction.
March 2008—Maliki: Broie la vie en rose from Maliki.
The book version of the comic strips from Maliki, both the author and pink–haired star of the stories.
It's very pleasant to be able to read the stories again, discover some that I hadn't read, I especially love the stories about cats, and the dark humor (quite a feat to mix it with pink as a main colour).
March 2008—Au temps de Botchan 5: La mauvaise humeur de Soseki (『坊ちゃん』の時代) from Sekikawa, Natsuo and Taniguchi, Jirō.
The end of the series, with the account of Soseki's illness, which almost took his life.
An episode about illness, death and the end of an era, with the repression of the social troubles and the beginning of a nationalist era bringing the Meiji period to an end.
March 2008—Cathédrale des trolls (Trolls' cathedral ) from Ólafur Gunnarsson.
Set in Iceland in the 50s, the story of an architect who wants to build the first mall in Reykjavík.
It's interesting to discover how Iceland was at that period, but I had trouble getting interested in the characters, for which everything must be immense and tragic.
February 2008—De la Françafrique à la Mafiafrique from François-Xavier Verschave.
A very short book summing up the story of Françafrique, the way France has handled its former African colonies.
A must-read for all, in order to understand the current situation, and have a hint of all the dirt hidden behind the nice "cooperation" words. This book made me want to check the more detailed books produced by this author.
February 2008—Sillage 9: Infiltrations from Morvan and Buchet.
Nävis works undercover among a rebel group targeting Sillage.
This episode is quite dark and pessimistic, showing darker sides of the "perfect" Sillage.
January 2008—Le génie des alpages 7: Tonnerre et mille sabots from F'murr.
More ovine madness, starting with a looping river cascade.
In this one there's also juggling with sheep, mountain-sized remote-controlled Christmas displays, classic tragedy played by sheep in a forgotten language, and 3-masts sails rigged between mountains.
January 2008—The amber spyglass from Philip Pullman.
The last book of the "His dark materials" trilogy, the big rush towards a big battle, with assassins trying to kill the characters before they accomplish their destiny, and more weird worlds to go through.
A fitting end to the series, with again lots of action and suspense, interesting worlds including one with "motorcycle creatures", it was a very quick read.
sophie-g.net—© Sophie G 2008–09—Last modified January 25, '09 sophie-g.net/fav/e_books2008.htm
Books I've read in 2008
My favourite movies
Bandes dessinées links
Quotations (philosophic)
Quotations (nerd)


About 8pm, an hour before the polls closed (late), followed by an elongated wait for the final count, Pct. 2 commissioner candidate Garry Brown hosted a quiet crowd at Sherlock's on Research Boulevard. Optimistic as always, he reiterated his hope that he would "make the run-off" in his three-way race, most likely with veteran campaigner and front-runner Brigid Shea. Without a vote yet counted, he called it "50-50," and said he's "worked too hard, for months on end, longer than anybody else" not to be optimistic about the outcome. And he continued to hope that his ground game, largely staffed by volunteers, still had a chance. As for the rest of the Democratic primary slate, he said, "I'll be very happy when the county judge race is over. There's bad mojo all over that race, and sadly, because [Andy Brown and Sarah Eckhardt] are both friends of mine, both good people."
Later Tuesday evening, after the early returns showing Shea an easy and outright winner, Brown was frank: "This is what happens when your opponents [Shea and attorney Richard Jung] out-raise you 10 to 1." He said his team had done everything they could, and he thanked his opponents "for keeping the race about the issues." He said he'll get some rest, "but I've still got a job, working for Constable Sally Hernandez."
A few miles away, at Chinatown-Mopac, Jung presided over a lively, packed crowd on the restaurant's second floor. He was also hoping for a run-off, and said, "as a new candidate, our reaction at the doors has been very, very good. I think a run-off is a very real possibility, and we're prepared for that as well." Beyond that, he was already musing about the overall effect of his run. He made a point of thanking his campaign team, "particularly the young people, who have been working and knocking on doors in 32 degree weather, sleet, and rain." He said he's proud of bringing along the local Asian community: "They're energized and participating; I want to maintain that going forward, so the Democratic Party has support from all different sectors of the people."
Finally, after the foreboding early returns, Jung returned to what he called most important about his campaign: addressing "issues of poverty, and how they underlie ... everything that's problematic in Travis County – transportation, education, health care. Win or lose, I'd like to see us focus on those issues – to try to help working-class families, and people living in poverty in Travis County."
As it happened, County Treasurer candidate Ramey Ko shared the Chinatown venue with Jung, and as the early returns arrived, he trailed incumbent Dolores Ortega Carter by about six percentage points – a margin that finally wouldn't shift much on election day. The ever-effervescent Ko remained optimistic, and seemed delighted to have run a good race and done his best. The campaign had gotten bitter near its end – the two candidates throwing sharp charges and counter-charges at each other – but Ko was upbeat. "I've spent some time in Chicago," he said, "so I've seen a few nasty campaigns. If this is what Austin calls a nasty campaign, I can live with it."


Yahoo endangered its business prospects after it sat on news of a massive information breach impacting at least 500 million users. The "catastrophic hacking" exposed a wide array of information, including consumers' names, email addresses, phone numbers, birthdates, and in some cases, unencrypted security questions and answers. Critics, including a group of U.S. senators, attacked the company's decision to wait for nearly two years before revealing the breach. This embarrassing news also led Verizon to reconsider its plans to acquire Yahoo and triggered calls for an SEC investigation into whether the company had hidden its security concerns from investors.


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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


I've never been a fan of commercial air fresheners. They smell terrible and are loaded with chemicals.
So what should you do when the room needs a little refreshing?
The best thing is to open the windows and let in some fresh air! Even when it's cold, it is a good idea to open the windows periodically.
So what should you do when it's not convenient to open the windows?
Keeping an open box of baking soda out in the open will help absorb some odors. If you don't like the idea of an orange box sitting around, put the baking soda in a pretty bowl. If you have little one, it might be a good idea to put the bowl up high, so they don't "dust" the room with the lovely white powder!
Another option is to make your own air freshening spray. This is very easy and a nice way to add a pleasant scent to the room. Since essential oils are used to make this spray, it is also a nice way to boost (or calm) the mood of those in the house.
Below are two air freshening room spray recipes you can make in a matter of minutes. Both may be adapted to use other essential oils. Also feel free to add more or less of these ingredients. It is not an exact science.
Fill a small, 2 – 4 ounce, spray bottle with distilled water and add 80 to 100 drops of essential oil.
For a calming effect use approximately 20 drops chamomile essential oil, 50 drops lavender essential oil, and 10 drops rosemary essential oil.
I find the chamomile tends to overwhelm the other smells, so it might be worthwhile to start with just 10 drops and increase until you are pleased with the fragrance.
The following recipe is adapted from the Nursery Spray in Herbal Crafts by Jessie Hawkins (and excellent book). It uses a lot more oil than the previous recipe, but is not overpowering.
It is my favorite spray of all. I love the combination of oils and find it very pleasant. It's an excellent mood booster!
Fill bottle will water, measure in the oils. Tighten lid and shake to blend.


A study estimating total usable groundwater storage in India reveals high rates of depletion of groundwater storage in north-east India (Assam), despite an increase in rainfall.
Researchers warn of impending droughts and famines in flood-prone Assam linked to the overexploitation of usable groundwater stock by pumping for irrigation.
Estimates show rapid exhaustion of usable groundwater storage during the study period (2003-2015) in Assam, Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal.
States with the highest groundwater depletion rates are subjected to water-intensive cropping practices during the study period.
Researchers warn of impending droughts and famines in flood-prone Assam, linked to the overexploitation of usable groundwater by irrigation-associated pumping.
A study that examined the status of the stock of groundwater available for extraction across the country revealed that Assam has lost the maximum amount of usable groundwater stock (between 2003 to 2015) in India.
"It is well-known that western India is living beyond its means when it comes to this resource. But our study shows that Assam and east India which were considered 'water-affluent' are experiencing loss in usable groundwater volume at a rate faster than it can be replenished," lead researcher Abhijit Mukherjee of Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur told Mongabay-India.
The study combined borehole data from Central Ground Water Board, rainfall data and satellite data from NASA's Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE), a pair of satellites launched in 2002.
It showed Assam lost two percent of the groundwater stock (up to a maximum aquifer depth of 300 metres) that could have been used.
"Subsequently, many of these states are now intermittently getting affected by 'groundwater drought' in recent summers. Our prediction suggests that these summer groundwater droughts would intensify in recent future years, to become severe to very severe by 2050, with the possibility of spread over all seasons," said Mukherjee in a statement.
States and locations of wells where groundwater observations were made in the study area in India. Map by study authors.
Mukherjee, of IIT Kharagpur's Applied Policy Advisory for Hydrogeoscience (APAH) Group, contends these groundwater droughts would accelerate the decline in food production and availability of drinking water, two of the prime goals under the UN Sustainable Development Goals 2030.
Overall, the estimates show rapid exhaustion of usable groundwater storage during 2005-2013 in Assam, Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal. "In these areas, agricultural food production has been enhanced at the expense of a non-renewable loss in groundwater volume at an alarming rate," said co-author Soumendra Bhanja.
In addition, the zones that exhibited maximum depletion of groundwater spanned across states located in the Indus, Ganga and Brahmaputra basins that have water-bearing, highly fertile alluvial formations lending themselves to groundwater withdrawal for agriculture.
"In eastern India, we have seen a major shift in the last 10 years in terms of enhanced irrigation potential of areas. For Assam which had two crops a year, we are seeing three to four crops annually now," said Mukherjee.
In states such as Assam, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, water-intensive crops such as rice, wheat, sugarcane, fruits and vegetables, cotton and soybean, take up the majority of the cropped area.
Annual irrigated area for six water-intensive crops for Rajasthan, Assam and Uttar Pradesh. Illustration by study authors.
In fact, the cropped area associated with the two most water-intensive crops (rice and cotton) rapidly expanded during the study period, the researchers note.
"Rice and sugarcane are water-guzzlers. Even parched states like Haryana and Punjab are growing rice and both account for more than 60 percent of basmati exports from the country," said Bhanja.
Vimal Mishra, associate professor at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Gandhinagar, who was not associated with the study, found the major findings from the IIT-Kharagpur study to be consistent with his team's previous studies that show a depletion of groundwater in the majority of north India.
"The groundwater depletion in north India is the result of intensive pumping, long-term decline in precipitation, and decline in low-intensity rainy days. This is another study that reminds us that we need to do much more to ensure groundwater sustainability in India which is the key for food and fresh water security" Mishra told Mongabay-India.
Mishra and his team run and manage India's real-time drought early-warning system. The latest data has revealed that 42 percent of India is facing drought with more than 16 percent under severe drought.
International non-government organisation WaterAid in its report released in March said global groundwater depletion has increased by 22 percent in the past decade, largely due to rising demand in India (23 percent), China (102 percent) and the United States (31 percent).
India is the third largest exporter of groundwater – 12 percent of the global total – and also uses the largest amount of groundwater – 24 percent of the global total. One billion people in the country live in water-scarce areas.
The report stressed food and crop exports, while important sources of income for most countries, contribute to this problem if production is not sustainable.
"Industrial and agricultural use of water should not be prioritised over people's ability to get water daily for their basic needs," the report said.
India is the third largest exporter of groundwater in the world and also uses the largest amount of groundwater. Photo by PavitraKBRao/Wikimedia Commons.
Assam, the researchers said, is a study in contrasts. Trends point to increasing rainfall during the study period in the state while recording the "highest depletion potential" of usable groundwater storage (UGWS) in India, said Mukherjee.
During the study period, the net irrigated area (using tubewells) jumped from 9,000 hectares to 74,000 hectares in the state.
In a decade the state lost more than two percent of usable groundwater, said Mukherjee.
"But the excess water from the rainfall and floods does not get translated into groundwater because of the geology and the physics. If you think of mopping up a water spill with a sponge, then you would notice that initially, the sponge soaks up a lot of water but on subsequent use, it won't take up any more water despite the fact that there is space inside," pointed out Mukherjee.
A similar scenario is unfolding in Assam, he said.
"Once the top layer gets saturated, water does not trickle down to the subsurface for storage even though there is capacity for storage," Mukherjee said.
Haryana, like Assam, showed a similar pattern: increase in precipitation but depletion in groundwater storage.
A climate projection for the period 2021-2050 highlighted in the Assam State Action Plan on Climate Change forecasts only the western part of the state will experience a slight decrease in rainfall but the rest of Assam is projected to have increased rainfall.
Assam and parts of east India are already saddled with problems of arsenic contamination of groundwater while parts of southern and western India battle the scourge of fluoride contamination. Salinity is a cause of concern in many parts of northwestern, western and southern India.
Despite the grim picture, the study also underscores the positives. For groundwater rejuvenation efforts, states like Andhra Pradesh and Jharkhand show the highest potential.
"Because of the geology, these two states are highly receptive to groundwater restoration efforts. Overall, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Chhattisgarh show a replenishing trend during the study period," he said.
Mukherjee explained investigating estimates of usable groundwater storage across India could inform policy for budgeting water.
"Our estimates are conservative and close to reality. We could possibly do a pricing and budgeting mechanism and start allocating water for agriculture depending on the groundwater depletion potential," he added.
Change in usable groundwater storage during 2005-2013 in Assam (AS), Andhra Pradesh (AP), Haryana (HR), Jharkhand (JH), Karnataka (KA), Madhya Pradesh (MP), Maharashtra (MH) and Tamil Nadu (TN). Graph by study authors.
Bhanja, S. N., Mukherjee, A., Rangarajan, R., Scanlon, B. R., Malakar, P., & Verma, S. (2019). Long-term groundwater recharge rates across India by in situ measurements. Hydrology and Earth System Sciences, 23(2), 711-722.
Banner image: Rice plantation in Assam. Photo by ICIMOD Kathmandu/Flickr.
Mongabay-India is a conservation and environment news and features service that aims to bring high quality, original reports from nature's frontline in India.


Lotta Folkesson, deputy chair of We Effect, has been elected chair for the women's committee of Copa (Committee of Professional Agricultural Organisations). She is also a member of the LRF Board of Directors, and has been a member of the women's committee of Copa since 2015.
– My ambition is that our future will be completely equal. If so, there would no longer be a need for separate women's committees, says Lotta Folkesson.
Lotta Folkesson and Danuta Lebioda.
She emphasizes the necessity for unity among women entrepreneurs within the EU, in order to keep gender equality issues firmly on the agenda for EU decision-makers.
– There are several obstacles for female entrepreneurs within the agricultural sector; I will push hard to get them onto the agenda for EU institutions. Attitudes toward female entrepreneurs, low salaries, economic and juridical relations between women and men … these are some examples. It is of utmost importance that the EU take the female role in agricultural enterprises seriously.
The mandate period for chair is two years.


April 2014 was not a great month for us ophthalmologists from a public relations standpoint. For several days, the dominant national health care story was the release of Medicare payment data for physicians. After years of legal fighting, Dow Jones, the publisher of The Wall Street Journal, obtained these data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.1 The information was broken down by specialty, and the news for us was unflattering. Media coverage focused on how a very small percentage of physicians billed a very large percentage of the total dollars spent on the Medicare program. Ophthalmology was repeatedly singled out, with one-third of the top billers in Medicare belonging to our specialty. Buried deep in these articles, or ignored altogether, was that many of the top-billing ophthalmologists were simply passing through the cost of very high-priced pharmaceuticals for macular degeneration. Oncologists face a similar situation with their high-priced chemotherapy drugs. Some subsequent news coverage acknowledged the misleading nature of the data due to our use of expensive drugs,2 but at that point, the damage was done.
Also in April, The New York Times unhelpfully revealed that the highest biller in the entire Medicare universe was a Florida ophthalmologist who received $21 million in Medicare reimbursement in 2012.3 When the median household income in the United States is $52,100 per year,4 news of a doctor's billing Medicare more than $80,000 per day is not going to win ophthalmology many fans. The article featured a photograph of an FBI agent carrying a box (presumably of files) in front of the Florida doctor's practice. The article went on to state that the ophthalmologist in question had become a large donor to the Democratic Party's causes and that Democratic New Jersey Senator Robert Menendez had intervened with federal officials on his behalf. The online version of the article also contains an interactive map titled, Medicare's Most Reimbursed Ophthalmologists, reminiscent of the television program "America's Most Wanted." Visitors to the website can zoom in to street level to find the highest-billing ophthalmologists in their neighborhoods.
Fraudulent billing practices are unacceptable and criminal, but high billing volumes do not necessarily represent fraud. Although extreme outliers in billing volume will always attract scrutiny from regulators, the media is painting ophthalmology with a broad brush. This may be only the beginning.
Release of the database is the largest single public disclosure of physician practice pattern information in the history of the Medicare program. What will the consequences be? Now that physicians' right to privacy has been ruled subordinate to the public's right to access information, are more detailed data releases likely? Will insurers begin profiling physicians in an attempt to control costs? I believe so. What will that mean to doctors whose referral practices have higher-than-usual levels of pathology? As population demographics begin to overwhelm the Medicare system, will this database be used to sculpt public opinion against ophthalmology and other major billing specialties in a war over Medicare dollars? I believe it will.
Through our professional societies, we ophthalmologists must lobby Congress and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to clarify the misleading reporting of passthrough pharmaceutical fees as professional fees. We must defend the value proposition of cataract surgery, which I would argue is the single most transformative surgical procedure in all of medicine. Finally, if reimbursement drops to levels that are simply unsustainable, we must prepare to abandon a system that does not adequately support the work we perform.
Weaver C, McGinty T, Radnofsky L. Small slice of doctors account for big chunk of Medicare costs. The Wall Street Journal. Updated April 9, 2014. http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303456104579490043350808268. Accessed May 23, 2014.
Keating D, Rivero C, Downs K, Chow E. Database: how much Medicare pays doctors. The Washington Post. April 9, 2014. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/special/national/medicare-doctors-database. Accessed May 23, 2014.
Robles F, Lipton E. Political ties of top billers for Medicare. The New York Times. April 9, 2014. http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/10/business/doctor-with-big-medicare-billings-is-no-stranger-to-scrutiny.html. Accessed May 23, 2014.
Pear R. Median income rises, but is still 6% below level at start of recession in '07. The New York Times. August 21, 2013. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/22/us/politics/us-median-income-rises-but-is-still-6-below-its-2007-peak.html. Accessed May 23, 2014.


text:
De Sint-Theresiakerk (Frans: Église Sainte-Thérèse) is een rooms-katholiek kerkgebouw in de tot het Franse departement Pas-de-Calais behorende plaats Le Portel.

Geschiedenis
Deze kerk werd gebouwd van 1957-1958 omdat de voorganger tijdens de Tweede Wereldoorlog was verwoest. Architect was Yves Laloy.

Gebouw
Het betreft een eenvoudig gebouw op rechthoekige plattegrond. Het is een kerk met een lang, eenbeukig schip. Tegen de voorgevel aan is een kleine klokkentoren gebouwd. Het kerkgebouw is verbonden met de parochiezalen.

Theresia
Le Portel

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


This week POLITICO's lobbying reporter James Panichi chats with Jacopo Barigazzi who has been writing about the ongoing migration crisis in Europe. Donald Tusk, the President of the European Council, announced an extra EU summit for next Wednesday. Jacopo tells us how qualified majority voting (QMV) on the European Commission's proposed refugee quota could affect the relation between the EU member states.
Nicholas Hirst, antitrust & competition reporter, joins to discuss the developments at the European Court of Justice - which says it is short of staff.
James speaks about how a new EU task force should monitor and respond to the perceived bias of Kremlin-controlled media.