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Netflix's Bright Future Looks A Lot Like Television's Dim Past
Sean T. Collins
Back and forth forever.
Illustration: Angelica Alzona
In 1995, the Emmy nominees for Best Drama were Chicago Hope, ER, Law & Order, NYPD Blue, and The X-Files. In 1996, the Emmy nominees for Best Drama were Chicago Hope, ER, Law & Order, NYPD Blue, and The X-Files. In 1997, the Emmy nominees for Best Drama were Chicago Hope, ER, Law & Order, NYPD Blue, and The X-Files. That is: two cop shows set in New York, two medical shows set in Chicago, and some aliens, spread across four networks, represented the height and breadth of the art form for three years running.
In 1995, the Emmy nominees for Best Comedy were Frasier, Friends, The Larry Sanders Show, Mad About You, and Seinfeld. In 1996, the Emmy nominees for Best Comedy were Frasier, Friends, The Larry Sanders Show, Mad About You, and Seinfeld. In 1997, the Emmy nominees for Best Comedy were Frasier, 3rd Rock from the Sun (surprise!), The Larry Sanders Show, Mad About You, and Seinfeld. Three shows about neurotic well-off New Yorkers, one show about neurotic well-off Seattleites, Garry Shandling, and some (other) aliens, concentrated almost solely on NBC with one lone outlier represented the height and breadth of the art form for three years running.
By 1999 that lone outlier was airing The Sopranos and Sex and the City, and the story from there is familiar to pretty much everyone. The Wire and Deadwood, Mad Men and Breaking Bad, HBO, AMC, FX, DVDs, DVRs, the New Golden Age, new voices, shorter seasons, higher standards, bigger stars, superstar showrunners, more choices, the widely pronounced death of monoculture and the waning of the Big Four broadcast networks—an embarrassment of riches, an art form in its ascendancy at last.
In this quest-narrative of progress through increased options, streaming services were supposed to toss the One Ring of monoculture into Mount Doom for good. They'd offer virtually limitless viewing options. They'd enable viewers to cut the cord that bound them to cable and broadcast networks, allowing those viewers to watch those endless options whenever and wherever they wanted. When the biggest of those services, Netflix, entered the original-programming fray in earnest, it kicked off the arms race of production known as Peak TV. In this content-rich environment, creating a culture-unifying hit is a war for the throne that only one or two shows could win, but finding the right show for your personal subculture of one was easier than ever. No more TGIFs, no more Must See TVs: Television was the art form of the future, and Netflix was the future of television, and the future was here at last.
And now we know what it looks like. In 2018, 14 of Neflix's top 20 shows, and all 10 of its top 10 shows, were broadcast-network reruns. Friends, which received its first Emmy nomination while Bill Clinton was president, is number one.
None of this means that Netflix isn't really the future. It's just more proof that such a future would suck.
The Foremost Purveyor Of What Was Once Must-See TV is of course not the primary public profile for the streaming behemoth. What used to be a fun way to rent DVDs through the mail is now both a full-service television network and a film studio, and as such makes its reputation off its original programming. The one thing that Netflix wants you to know about Netflix, even more than any of the many shows or movies it has made, is that it wants to make more original programming in the future. According to Netflix, all this is working out great.
According to Netflix, Bird Box (A Netflix Film), a Sandra Bullock community-service sentence in horror-movie form that has already been forgotten by everyone that ever watched it, was viewed by 45 million accounts in its first week of release, which overlapped with Christmas. That means that millions of families gathered around the tree to watch a monster movie that featured no monsters but did feature lots of people committing suicide. Also according to Netflix, You, a provocative but otherwise little-noticed Lifetime original which, somehow, is also billed as A Netflix Original—it's about a sexy stalker played by the guy from Gossip Girl whose real name sounds more like a Gossip Girl character than his Gossip Girl character's name did—was viewed by 40 million accounts over its first four weeks on the service. The same is true, allegedly, of Sex Education (A Netflix Original), which is a British show about Scully from The X-Files—you remember The X-Files, it was nominated for Best Drama in the '90s a bunch of times—teaching her son how to give handjobs.
For context, those numbers would make both of these shows more popular than Game of Thrones. According to Jon Landgraf, CEO of FX and a longstanding figure of worship for TV journalists, Netflix is lying out its ass about those numbers. This would certainly explain why Game of Thrones spawned an entire cottage industry while it would be remarkable if you've ever heard a human person talk about You or Sex Education out loud, but who can say? Not me, because I don't and can't know if Netflix is telling the truth—and not Netflix, because their numbers and methodology behind them are otherwise kept private.
But if Netflix really was lying about all this, it wouldn't be the creepiest thing that it's currently doing. According to Cary Joji Fukunaga, the director of True Detective's reputation-making first season and late of the warmed-over Jonze/Kaufman/Gondry knockoff series Maniac (A Netflix Original), Netflix's algorithms have the final say over creative decisions—not just about what shows get picked up or renewed, but about what actually happens in those shows. If this were an episode of Black Mirror (A Netflix Original) it would be viewed as dystopian. None of this, of course, means that Netflix isn't really the future. It's just more proof that such a future would suck.
I Recommend Abandoning The Show
There are a lot of TV shows out there. Lots of shows. Good shows. "The Golden Age of Television,"…
As a professional television critic, I am living there already. Netflix is now effectively my whole field of coverage. It's increasingly difficult for me to place coverage of non-Netflix shows; all but the biggest "event" shows on other networks are passed over for regular reviews, and those on rival streaming services are afterthoughts at best. This is true even of Amazon Prime, the TV and film branch of the mind-bogglingly lucrative corporation after which New York Governor Amazon Cuomo was named. (Don't feel too bad for Amazon, though: "Netflix Delivers Billions of Content Globally by Running on Amazon Web Services.")
If you write about television the way I mostly do, which is through reviews—recaps, if you insist—of individual episodes, even Netflix is difficult to write about. Netflix's own business model ensures this. Weekly shotgun blasts of full seasons of half a dozen different shows are just how it operates, but it makes deciding what will hit and how and when to cover it absolutely maddening for every TV editor I've talked to. By design, Netflix shows are consumed in one or two sittings, within 72 hours of their small-hours Friday release. They are to be discussed intensely on Monday and Tuesday, and then swept aside by the next torrent of programming to come down the Netflix Original Sluice by the end of the week.
This is not easy to schedule for. You can frontload reviews of every single episode and roll them out over that first all-important weekend to entice the bingers, or you can parcel them out one a day for a couple of weeks, or you can do the usual big-picture review of the season to start and then hone in on whatever absurd point of interest happens to catch on with individual write-ups. ([Robert Plant voice] Does anybody remember Barb?) What you absolutely cannot do, though, is stop to think about any of it. Fortunately, you will rarely have to. Virtually all of it is exactly like stuff you've thought about already.
Netflix cares about making great cinema accessible to the rural and poor and disabled and marginalized in the same way that Jeff Bezos and Andrew Cuomo care about creating jobs for the working-class immigrant communities in Queens.
Even if you discount Fukunaga's revelation that programming is not just promoted but increasingly created by algorithm, Netflix shows—even the ones that you seriously should watch, like Suburra and Dark—almost always feel and look a whole lot like other shows. This has been baked into Netflix's model from the start: Its first original series was a mob show starring Sopranos alum Little Steven Van Zandt, and its first major play was mega-popular director David Fincher remaking a British political drama. Orange Is the New Black, the rare Netflix Original which actually was original, obscured the (correct) impression that the site's creative modus operandi is "If you like this kind of thing, here's the kind of thing you'll like." That turned out to be a false dawn.
Years into Netflix's ostensible renaissance, More Like This is still the rule. Fincher has returned most recently with true-crime serial-killer drama Mindhunter, a show that feels like his true-crime serial killer movie Zodiac (available on Netflix) and sounds like Michael Mann's movie Manhunter but is as good as neither. It also sounds like true-crime serial-killer drama Manhunt: Unabomber (available on Netflix). Maniac, which also kind of sounds like Mindhunter and Manhunter and Manhunt, to say nothing of the exploitation-horror film(s) called Maniac, is in fact not about serial killers at all; it is instead a golem made from the best-loved films of 1999, from Fight Club to Being John Malkovich—Stranger Things for college sophomores.
And let's not forget Stranger Things itself: warmed-over 1980s genre-film nostalgia, deployed with mercenary efficiency and charm that can only be described as algorithmic. It's another clip job: Steven Spielberg spliced to Stephen King. (Particularly It, which one of the kids from Stranger Things starred in when it was updated from the 1950s to the 1980s, which coincidentally makes it more like Stranger Things.)
On it goes. Ozark is Jason Bateman's Breaking Bad cover band. Peaky Blinders is British Boardwalk Empire. If you liked the Ted Bundy documentary, perhaps you would also enjoy the Ted Bundy movie. You can watch awkward sex-and-romance comedies set in pretty much any metropolitan youth community you can think of—except Atlanta, that one's taken. You can watch kinda quirky true-crime shows or kinda depressing true-crime shows but by god you will watch true-crime shows. Until the site's recent game of chicken with Disney's soon-to-launch streaming service, you could choose from six different street-level Marvel superhero shows set in New York City. These have all been replaced by Russian Doll, which looks like Groundhog Day for people who've read Meet Me in the Bathroom but which everyone says is excellent, although this is also what they said about Stranger Things.
Some are good, some are bad, none are really great, and all are sitting there in identical little rectangles waiting to be autoplayed while you see if your new CBD chocolates are any good.
Try counting the original series starring people who got killed off in Game of Thrones. Try searching the site for "cocaine" and counting all the shows about Pablo Escobar alone. Try firing up the Big Red Machine this weekend and choosing between Netflix Originals under the category "Crime" with titles like, just going off what I'm seeing on my screen right now, Cannabis, Cocaine Coast, Money Heist, Undercover Law, Unauthorized Living, Altered Carbon, Dope, Drug Lords, Dirty Money, Dogs of Berlin, Babylon Berlin, Bad Blood, Blood Pact, Bordertown, Wild District, Wild Wild Country, The Break, The Fall, The Staircase, The Forest, The Keepers, The Mechanism, The Good Cop, The Indian Detective, Deadwind, River, Retribution, Collateral, Warrior, Wanted, Travelers, Narcos, Narcos: Mexico, Inside the Real Narcos. Some of those are good, some are bad, none are really great, all are sitting there in identical little rectangles waiting to be autoplayed while you see if your new CBD chocolates are any good.
The bet is that you'll watch them, spend hours watching them. Then you'll tweet about them, you'll talk about them for a few days, maybe you'll toss a few clicks in the direction of someone trying to write fast enough to keep up with them. And then a new day will come and you'll have mostly forgotten them. You'll return to a state of monocultural harmony in which everyone's attention is driven to the same things at the same time, for the same minimal intellectual and emotional and artistic payoffs.
This is Netflix's endgame: more of the same, and only more of the same, and all in one place only. You've got your two medical shows set in Chicago, your two cop shows set in New York, your four sitcoms about quirky people in apartments, and some aliens, only now you have them not from four different dumb competing corporations but one gigantic one. That same gigantic dumb corporation, by the way, just so happens to offer the products of those four different dumb competing corporations' products, too, if you'd like to switch over from Making a Murderer to The Office (US) around 4:00 p.m. on Sunday. You can adjust for bigger stars and more explicit blowjob jokes and Roma as the Friday Night Movie instead of Mother, May I Sleep With Danger?, but in essence we're back where we began. It's not HBO. It's TV.
And again, Netflix wants to make more original shows, based on the user data it gets from watching people watch its current shows, encouraging them to make more shows exactly like the previous shows. Sometimes the network evinces good if uncreative taste in the people it brings in to do this work. Even if they're hardly the underprivileged up-and-comers who just can't get a fair shake elsewhere that the current discourse has dreamed up, do creative dynamos like Shonda Rhimes and Ryan Murphy get huge deals? Do major filmmakers like Martin Scorsese and Ava DuVernay and the Coen Brothers and Alfonso Cuarón and Guillermo Del Toro get paid to make movies, or more precisely to keep the movies they make out of movie theaters? Sure, but robber barons have always enjoyed slapping their names on museums. What's behind the door doesn't matter much once the ticket price is paid.
Tony Soprano did not die/not-die for this, friends. Samantha did not eat funky spunk for this. Twenty years watching a famously stupid medium unexpectedly become fucking amazing did not pass so that we could return to precisely the same monopolized attention economy we used to have. It's just what it was, except the monoculture now belongs to a tech colossus that burns through money, churns out product, drowns the competition, and puts its viewership metrics in a vault alongside the decisions you made during Black Mirror: Bandersnatch, a Netflix Original.


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Akeredolu presents Staff of Office to Olujigba
in Features, News
From left: Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Chief Akinwumi Sowore, who represented the State Governor, Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, presenting the Staff of Office to Olujigba of Ijigba Oba Luyi Rotimi, while his Olori watches at the ceremony…yesterday Photo: Stephen Olajide
By Bamidele Kolawole
Ondo State Governor, Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, yesterday presented the Instrument of appointment and Staff of Office to the new Olujigba of Ijigba in Akure South Local Government area of the State, Oba Rev Luyi Rotimi
Akeredolu reiterated the determination of his administration to maintain dignified neutrality in the process of selecting obas, saying it is absolutely the responsibility of the people.
Represented by the state Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Mr. Akinwumi Sowore, Akeredolu urged traditional rulers to restricts their reign to their domain only.
He stressed that the idea of any monarch extending his territory to other areas outside his domain will not be allowed.
Akeredolu who congratulated the new monarch on both his ascension to the throne and the elevation of the stool of Olujigba of Ijigba from 'Olu' to obaship status in the State noted that his administration is not afraid to take decisions.
He promised that his government will look into the issue of paramountcy and do the needful .
Governor Akeredolu implored the Olujigba to assume the position of a father to all the people in his domain.
"I encourage you to accommodate everyone in your community, bearing in mind that the responsibility to lead Ijigba to its next level of socio-economic development has been placed on your shoulders.
"In the same vein, I implore the people of Ijigba to ensure that Kabiyesi's reign is significantly peaceful and successful. His success depends greatly on your loyalty, cooperation, and support," the Governor said.
, He urged Olujigba to always remember that his achievements on the throne will depend largely on the quality of cooperation and goodwill from the people of his kingdom.
.Governor Akeredolu also cautioned traditional rulers to refrain from appointing or installing minor Chiefs outside their jurisdictions, particularly in disputed areas.
Achievers begins Aviation, Medicine courses soon —VC
ODHA passes consumer protection Agency Bill
Enact law to better Journalists' working condition – NASS tasked

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


The following poems are taken from my first book of poems, WE MAD CLIMB SHAKY LADDERS (CavanKerry Press, 2009) which is available on order from University Press of New England (UPNE.com) Amazon.com, or any bookstore. Some of them also come from my next book, LEARNING TO SEE IN THREE DIMENSIONS, which is currently seeking a publisher.
and I felt my breath go black and tight.
and I had never been the easiest child.
her own childhood had left scars.
and stirred up trouble whenever he was around.
when I realized she would be its instrument.
and as soon as I understood this I lost all fear.
her eyes full of such terrible love.
arrived I stood forth and waited.
my hand guided her hand.
it is enough to scare aperson stiff.
and amend it to a false alarm.
Is your insurance paid up?
Is everyone out of the house?
You can't pray for any of these either.
that facts are not facts.
THis next poem, which won't paste as single spaced though it is, comes from my next book, LEARNING TO SEE IN THREE DIMENSIONS, which is seeking a publisher now.
What a lovely thing to have someone say about my poetry…! How sad that a place of observation and truth is "familiar but unknown" yet this strikes me as something that could be said of the world in a wider sense. Thank you again!
Pam, I have always found your poetry to be like the aroma of incense. Incense called observation and truth. I enter the poem and am in a familiar but unknown place.
It feels very rare indeed for me to have anyone notice these things in my poems or at any ra te to mention them to me….i love it.
I am fearful for the daughter of my heart, Her voices are very loud. I love her so. as for yourself I see that I will have to drop by from time to time to say, you're not so bad. I will say to you what I said to my daughter today, please don't leave me.
"as usual, came jokes like winter roses – / blooms for the rest of the family / but only the bite for me, / on my knees outside the family pale, / forever beyond the kingdom / and the power." The poem has been up to this point a personal conversation — insightful, beautiful, pointed & then you utter theses lines & everything, everything changes. You could have uttered them as a Delphic prophesy.
Thank you for your lovely words… I feel so much the opposite it is difficult to tell you how very much the opposite. But i do thank you.
you are an extraordinary woman. Gifted. Believe me.
Thankyou Pam, your poetry is real and beautiful. I really needed to read your poetry tonight.
I'm so glad you visited my blog because now I've found your poetry.
This collection is really beautiful. The way they flow is so emotive. I think it's an enormous talent to be able to move people with words. You definitely have a new fan!
DAVID, you have come so far! Your poem is MIRACULOUS! WONDERFUL! congratulations. I am thrilled to see you have become such a lovely poet…Terrific!
You are an amazing poet, Pam. Can't wait for your new book. I wrote this about the relationship with my mother, and how we coped after my father passed. Hope you like it!
Thank you so much. What wonderful things you said about my poems… I scarcely deserve them. But i appreciate them. Thank you for passing on the poems and link as well. You are indeed a miracle!
What a poet you are!!! You write these amazing poems with so many lines of truth, of observation or your own mind and the mind of others, then squirt whipped cream on the top with a bright cherry (pit included) on top. These poems are a lot to swallow, to think about, allow us to see it from the inside as you do…at least to a very small degree. I have a very close family member with these diagnoses as you, and I have sent her your link and poem or two. I KNOW she will find much comfort in your words.


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This Sheikh makes a spicy offer!
The German influencer Canselguel (23 years old) is a self-made entrepreneur and inspires her fans with the latest beauty and fashion trends every day on her Instagram Page. However, she would not have expected that in her life. A wealthy sheikh from Dubai offers her millions of dollars for a marriage. It is still unclear whether Canselguel has accepted the offer or not, but you can tell that she is currently in Dubai and enjoying her life. It remains to be seen whether we can expect a bought dream wedding.
Conversation With Maz De Roxas On Her Vegan Journey A Vegan Answers all the Questions You've Always Wanted to Ask
Franklin Livingston's Roommates and American Socioeconomic Classism.
The World's Richest Man, Has Announced A $6 Billion Donation : Elon Musk
The Prophetic Matrix is the First eBook to be Filmed in Space and Secured in the NFT World Vault on Earth
Thank for this Moment of Life When I Fell in Love with Model Georgina Rodriguez
Music with a Message – From Sheeran to Drake to Shannon


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It Director Andy Muschietti Confirms Attack on Titan Live-Action Adaptation
It director Andy Muschietti confirmed he's adapting an Attack on Titan live-action project.
In a recent interview Muschietti spoke on why he's interested in tackling on Attack on Titan.
He stated:
"Well, I am fascinated by Attack on Titan as a story that I first saw in the anime and then the manga. Probably in the wrong order. But that's how it came to me. And I find it fascinated. There's a lot of themes there that I'm attracted to and I want to talk to. And it's also a fascinating horror adventure. There's also all the elements of human drama that are very strong in there. All of that is really attracted to me. So, I really want to do it."
Last October, Variety reported that Muschietti was attached to direct an Attack on Titan live-action project for Warner Bros.
"Muschietti will direct a feature film adaptation of "Attack on Titans" for Warner Bros. The studio finalized a deal with Japan-based publishing company Kodansha on Monday."
Muschietti also discussed Macross and Robotech. He stated:
"I'm not a hardcore manga and anime consumer. But in my life, I've had some experiences that were impactful to me, and Macross was probably one of the strongest one. Robotech growing up was incredibly impactful to me."
He elaborated:
"And Robotech, Macross turned Robotech because it was filtered through Harmony Gold and then it came to the world packaged like Robotech. It was so revolutionary and groundbreaking that it completely shattered my mind. It's a story that is still in my heart. And you know that we are developing also."
Muschietti confirmed he will be adapting Attack on Titan first and then Macross second.
The Hollywood Reporter announced back in July 2017 that Muschietti had been tapped to direct a Macross/Robotech adaptation.
"Andy Muschietti, who directed the upcoming film version of Stephen King's It, has been tapped to develop and helm the studio's adaptation of the anime featuring giant armored warriors."
Muschietti did not provide a timeline. But back in August he confirmed he would be working on a Flash movie for Warner Bros.
Muschietti told Fandango that Flash would be his next project. He simply replied, "Yup" when asked.
As for what attracted to him Flash, it was similar to Attack on Titan. He explained:
"An element of horror? I don't think so. What captivated me about the Flash is the human drama in it. The human feelings and emotions that play in the drama [of it]. It's going to be fun, too. I can't promise that there will be any horror [elements in it], really, but it's a beautiful human story."
What do you make of Andy Muschietti's comments on Attack on Titan and Robotech? Are you looking forward to either film?
Andy MuschiettiAttack on TitanFlashMacrossRobotech
Rumor: Jessica Chastain in Talks to Play Gender-Swapped Reverse-Flash in The Flash
Joe Manganiello Hints He is Still Deathstroke and at a Possible Appearance in Andy Muschietti's The Flash!


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Home / 2015 Chase for the Sprint Cup / Brad Keselowski / Carol D'Agostino / Kyle Busch / NASCAR / NASCAR Fantasy Fusion / New Hampshire Motor Speedway / NASCAR Fantasy Fusion: Contender round heats up at New Hampshire
NASCAR Fantasy Fusion: Contender round heats up at New Hampshire
Track Classification: Intermediate
Similar Tracks: Atlanta Motor Speedway • Charlotte Motor Speedway • Chicagoland Speedway Darlington Raceway • Homestead-Miami Speedway • Kansas Speedway • Kentucky Speedway
Las Vegas Motor Speedway • Texas Motor Speedway
Distance: 1.058 Miles
All with 3 - Brian Vickers, Brad Keselowski, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon, Kyle Busch and Jamie McMurray
All with 2 - Kevin Harvick, Greg Biffle, Clint Bowyer, Carl Edwards, Matt Kenseth, Joey Logano, Ryan Newman, Tony Stewart and Denny Hamlin
Brad Keselowski - 7
Jimmie Johnson - 6
All with 5 - Dale Earnhardt Jr., Matt Kenseth, Kyle Busch and Jeff Gordon
2014 Brad Keselowski
2013 Ryan Newman
The Likely Suspects: As the drama builds in the playoffs, all eyes are on those first 12 spots in the standings. Who will enter the second round by virtue of a win? Who will get there on points? Who will be left on the outside looking in? As I put together my fantasy team this week, I'll be focusing on these "Magic Mile" elite drivers: Brad Keselowski, Kyle Busch, Jeff Gordon, Kevin Harvick, Ryan Newman, Jimmie Johnson, Jamie McMurray, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Denny Hamlin.
My 2 Cents: Here we are at Chase race #2 with some grumbling drivers angry about restarts and aggressive racing at Chicagoland. It remains to be seen whether the Kevin Harvick and Jimmie Johnson drama will bleed through to this race. Things aren't looking good for Clint Bowyer who was docked 25 points for suspension and track bar issues at Chicagoland. Oddly enough, due to his incident with Jimmie Johnson and Bowyer's loss of points, Kevin Harvick just stands one spot above Bowyer in 15th.
With all this in mind, my no-brainer pick this week is a tie between Kyle Busch and Brad Keselowski. My next choices are Clint Bowyer, Austin Dillon, Kyle Larson and Jamie McMurray. I will round out my team with Danica Patrick and Justin Allgaier.
My final four: Keselowski, Bowyer, McMurray and Allgaier.
Hendrick Motorsports leads the series in wins at New Hampshire in the Cup Series with nine; followed by Roush Fenway Racing (seven), Joe Gibbs Racing (seven), Team Penske (six), and Richard Childress Racing (four).
Jimmie Johnson leads the Cup drivers in average finishing position at New Hampshire with a 10.250.
Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart are tied for the series lead in runner-up finishes at New Hampshire with five each, followed by Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch and Mark Martin with three each.
Eight active drivers have multiple wins at NHMS: Kurt Busch, Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Ryan Newman, Tony Stewart with three each. Kyle Busch, Clint Bowyer, Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano each have two.
The Coors Light pole is the most proficient starting position in the field, producing more winners (five) than any other starting position at New Hampshire.
More than half -- 23 of the 41 -- NASCAR Sprint Cup races at New Hampshire have been won from a top-10 starting position.
Enjoy the race! Post your comments here or follow me on Twitter at @purplecatpr.
NASCAR Fantasy Fusion: Contender round heats up at New Hampshire Reviewed by Carol D'Agostino on Thursday, September 24, 2015 Rating: 5
Tags 2015 Chase for the Sprint Cup X Brad Keselowski X Carol D'Agostino X Kyle Busch X NASCAR X NASCAR Fantasy Fusion X New Hampshire Motor Speedway
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The entire ecosystem of insurance-based health services today is designed to drive you out – or at least discourage you enough to make you sell to or join a larger organization. How many examples do I need to give you? You live with the imbalance every day.
Negotiation for reimbursement for insurance-based practices is a process that is clearly stacked against independent practices.
If you aren't part of a larger organization with negotiating leverage (like an ACO, health system or strong IPA), your chances of negotiating rates that are fair to you are almost nil.
This disadvantage also applies to purchasing, recruitment of quality providers and support staff, health insurance for employees and continuously more complicated and time-consuming reporting requirements associated with value-based care imperatives.
The federal government and some state governments want to save boatloads of money and bend the health care cost curve on the backs of physicians and patients. Unfortunately, that is unlikely to change for the better regardless of changes to current and future political administrations.
You need a strong CFO to help you figure this out.
Hint: If you don't have a CFO, you can "rent" one on a part-time basis for specific projects like this. There are fractional CFO service agencies emerging. Perhaps your CPA firm can handle this, but make sure that your CPA firm has a qualified healthcare team that offers CFO services. There are CPA firms with healthcare specialists that offer cost effective CFO and practice management advisory services that are having a positive impact on the industry.
Once you have your detailed financial analysis, you have decisions to make regarding your desired and preferred service/procedure/product mix.
Some of these decisions may not be based or ranked on the basis of profitability (particularly for CMS services), but if you don't have a business mix plan based to at least a significant degree on profitability, you will struggle to retain your independence.
This analysis will also help you with insurance rate negotiations, pricing for non-insured services and other operating cost considerations and budgets.
Overwhelm is common in healthcare today – for providers and for patients – and independent practices (providers and support staff) are no exception.
Examine and address/improve patient flow inefficiencies.
Maximize but avoid overbooking provider-patient encounter times.
Make time for planning – even if you don't feel you have time. Positive change doesn't happen magically. It must be planned and skillfully executed.
Confusion and overwhelm are similar but not the same.
Overwhelm happens when we have too much information that makes it difficult or seemingly impossible to make good decisions.
Confusion occurs when you have the information you need but it's not organized in a useful sequence.
Use a decision tree or grading scale to help you organize your information in a useful sequence to resolve confusion.
You find yourself as the hamster on the wheel of your own making. You are always running behind. You want to change your situation for the better but you can't make the time to even think about how to do it, much less find the time to put in the work necessary to achieve positive change.
Reconsider your scheduling strategy. Being super busy does not translate into greater In fact, it makes you inefficient and ineffective.
You will only find time to think and plan if you force yourself to make time. If you are already too busy to think or breathe, you can't add more time. But you can modify how and where you prioritize your time.
Here is the essence of Covey's matrix regarding how we consciously or unconsciously prioritize our time.
When you feel like you don't have time to think or breathe, it's because you are spending the vast majority of your time on Urgent/Important and Urgent/Unimportant activities. When everything is "urgent," you become exhausted and numb and function on autopilot until you collapse.
Yet the biggest gains come from spending time on Important/Not Urgent activities. But when you spend all of your time in urgent mode, you can't make time for the important but not "urgent" thinking and planning that gets you what you want.
Covey's premise is that you buy time for Important/Not Urgent activities by minimizing Urgent/Unimportant activities. Urgent/Unimportant still feels urgent.
But spending too much time on Urgent/Unimportant activities is typically a result of failure to delegate, lack of confidence in delegating to your team or just convincing yourself that you can take care of it faster by just doing it yourself instead of teaching someone you can trust to take over these tasks.
The quickest path to giving up all of your power to shape your own destiny is to see yourself as a victim of circumstances beyond your control. Yet, it's a very common feeling among many healthcare providers.
If you have bought into this belief, you are already well on your way to making that mindset your reality. If you can't change your victim belief system, your chances of success in independent practice are slim to none.
Make an unwavering commitment to acting on and following your plan.
Avoid or remove all negative influencers from your practice (and your life). They will drag you down.
Close down your pity party and take back your power.
Everyone who is honest with him- or herself admits to at least some fear of failure. If you have zero fear of failure, you're probably living in the land of denial or self-delusion.
That said, there is an important distinction to understand between a healthy and unhealthy fear of failure.
A health fear of failure can actually motivate you and increase your commitment to succeed. An unhealthy fear of failure immobilizes you and, in the process, virtually assures that your fear is realized.
Understand the difference between healthy and unhealthy fear of failure.
Accept (even embrace) healthy fear. It's a motivator.
Recognize and reject unhealthy fear by having a plan to succeed.
Focus on what is under your control, not what isn't.
This issue is obviously closely related to the previous topic. In fact, a healthy fear of failure can drive you to commit to a failure-is-not-an-option mindset.
Whether you are in an insurance-based model, a cash practice or a combination of both, it's increasingly difficult to succeed in independent private practice healthcare. You have to REALLY want it for the hurdles to not get the best of you.
Everyone knows the saying "Failure is not an option" but very few actually live that mantra in their business. No one wants to fail to achieve their goals but many do fail – and struggle mightily all the way down.
You are the only one who can define "success" or "failure" in your life and career.
You can have a profitable practice and still fail to achieve your goals and desire for greater profitability and long-term sustainability with less stress, chaos, overwhelm and frustration.
If you intend to become or remain independent, you must be willing to do whatever it takes, no matter how daunting and difficult. In successful independent practice, failure cannot be an option or you are doomed to disappointment.
Similar to what to do about overcoming victim mentality, the key to avoiding failure (or even disappointment) is found in creating a business success plan and following it unwaveringly.
You can see how these issues overlap. Actionable planning has already been addressed several times in this article but it deserves its own place on this list because it's such a common pitfall.
Both are absolutely true, but for so many physicians in independent practice today, they can't even visualize a goal beyond getting through the day, much less a plan to achieve their goals.
Plans in any business are essential to goal achievement. In an independent healthcare practice, you need a revenue plan, an operations plan, a personnel plan, a financial plan and an implementation process for each plan.
Doctors and other healthcare providers are particularly susceptible to paralysis by analysis. After all, you learn your clinical skills through a process of study, training and experience.
As a result, thorough (endless?) analysis and overthinking can feel like preparation and action, but it's a trick your mind plays on you. Analysis can actually be comforting. Tough and timely decision-making is never comfortable.
Give yourself an immovable deadline to make your decision and stick to it.
Remember that perfection is the enemy of the good (and the done).
Accept that there is a chance that your decision will prove to be a mistake.
It's hard to stay positive when everything seems stacked against you and you are constantly chasing your own tail. When you are constantly exhausted, frustrated and even disillusioned, burnout or depression (or both) are common and even predictable outcomes.
Burnout and depression are closely related and increasingly common among healthcare providers. Coping mechanisms deteriorate under constant stress over an extended period of time with no end in sight.
Lonnie Hirsch has worked with thousands of physicians and other healthcare providers to help them succeed in independent practice in all areas of the U.S. over his 30-year career.
Lonnie has written hundreds of articles on the business of healthcare and has spoken at hundreds of healthcare conferences and seminars. He currently works with healthcare practice owners who are committed to becoming or remaining independent and need objective, expert advice, direction and guidance to achieve their goals.
Previously, Lonnie co-founded and co-owned a full-service healthcare marketing agency based in Southern California and serving a national clientele of independent practices.


Our office is equipped with modern dental technology and amenities. We offer all patients Wi-Fi, noise-canceling headphones and more. We do everything we can to provide you with a comfortable and modern dental office experience. Thanks to our general dentistry, you can rely on us anytime for unmatched expertise.
Your comfort is our concern. We provide a wide range of high quality dental services to patients of all ages. Our office is family friendly, and we focus on individualized care in a comfortable and relaxing environment. Once you see what we have to offer in root canals, you'll understand why we're the preferred choice in Miami, FL.
We've never let a patient down when it comes to tooth extraction. When you look at the difference between us and the competition, you will see that Coconut Grove Dental is the superior choice. If you've been looking for dental sealants, your search is over. We are here to help.
Coconut Grove Dental © All Rights Reserved.


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Q: Import Xamarin Keystore - System.AggregateException I have a .pfx file that I used to generated a keystore file using the following command:
keytool -importkeystore -srckeystore TestCodeSign.pfx -srcstoretype pkcs12

Keytool came back and said 'The JKS keystore uses a proprietary format. It is recommended to migrate to PKCS12 which is an industry standard format..."
So I ran the suggested command:
keytool -importkeystore -srckeystore C:\Users\USERNAME\.keystore -destkeystore C:\Users\USERNAME\.keystore -deststoretype pkcs12

I now have the backed up copy, '.old' and the new .keystore file.
In Visual Studio, I create an archive for the release version of my app.  Then I click Distribute->Google Play and then hit Import to locate the .keystore file.

But when I import, I get a useless error.  I checked the Xamarin.Diagnostics output, I can see another error:
[E:keytool]:              ImportKey - System.AggregateException: One or more errors occurred. ---> Xamarin.AndroidTools.AndroidSdkToolException: Importing keystore C:\\Temp\\TestCodeSign.keystore to C:\\Users\\USERNAME\\AppData\\Local\\Xamarin\\Mono for Android\\Keystore\\A\\A.keystore...

And that is it.  How can I import an existing pfx file into a keystore and then use that keystore to sign the application for distribution to Google Play?

A: I generate a .keytore file to test. When I import with the wrong password or alias, it would throw the same error. Please check your password and alias.

If you do not make sure about the alias and password, you could create a new .ketstore file to import for test.
For more details about generate a .keystore file, please refer to the MS docs.
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/xamarin/android/deploy-test/signing/?tabs=windows

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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Grantee Spotlight: Family Matters
Since 1987, Family Matters has worked to strengthen families and provide experiential learning programs tailored to support families in meeting their goals. Established in partnership with a group of families in Chicago's North of Howard community, Family Matters' efforts include after-school programming for children and teens, tutoring-mentoring, and an early literacy program at Gale Academy, the local elementary school.
At the core of Family Matters' work are its "Principles of Leadership"—utilizing peaceful conflict resolution, embracing positive thinking and language, and illuminating the power of responsible decision-making. By integrating these principles into all of its programming, Family Matters strives to support youth and families in building respectful relationships, enhancing social-emotional learning, and developing their capacity for leadership and transformation.
According to Kim DeLong, Family Matters' founding executive director, "We strive to cultivate a space in which the entire Family Matters family (youth, parents, volunteers, board members and staff) is free to dream, believe and grow. I have the privilege, almost daily, of experiencing evidence that all three are in the making. A child in Evening Tutoring runs through the door excited to share that his math grade has moved from a D to an A. New to Chicago, a freshman at a local college selects Family Matters as her service-learning organization after her aunt (who was also a volunteer at Family Matters during her college years in Chicago) shared her experiences at the organization 25 years prior. A young man in the Teen Boys Program, once reluctant to speak publicly, is the first to volunteer to represent the group as master of ceremonies for an upcoming event. Through countless stories such as these, I am reminded of how grateful I am to be a part of Family Matters' journey."
It is not unusual for Family Matters to work with youth and their families from the time youth are in pre-school to when they are preparing to attend college. Impressively, over the past five years, 100% of Family Matters' graduating seniors have enrolled in college within a year of their high school graduations, and youth consistently pass to the next grade level.
One of the Foundation's earliest grantees, Family Matters has received grants in the amount of $25,000 since 2011. The Foundation is pleased to support Family Matters and the comprehensive, welcoming, and individualized approach it utilizes with the youth and families it serves.
Go to Grantee Spotlight Archive


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Provide your customers with a customized medium for corporate, product, or service information with one-of-a-kind CD-ROM shapes and sizes by Dynamic Digital Advertising. Interactive CD-ROM design and development services by DDA do more than provide high-end multimedia technology: they make the right impression on your audience. Demand the CD-ROMs that stand above those of your competitors even before they are put into the drive.
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Providing a uniquely designed corporate or product CD-ROM does several things: (1) Showcases unique advertising and marketing strategies for your products or services. (2) Enhances the professional corporate identity. (3) Motivates your audience to explore the CD-ROM. DDA's offers advanced animation and illustration, professional copywriting, high-end programming, and more. Ensure your audience will want to see the information on the disk. Call Dynamic Digital Advertising today for exceptional interactive CD-ROM design services.
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How does one live amid unrelenting bleakness?
As for the social sphere, Welsh's view is just as dystopian. We are approaching "an unprecedented panopticon state, one in which various technologies will conspire to make it so that individuals are tracked nearly 24/7, not just online but physically." Governments are doing this, of course, but so are private companies through technologies that link our online interests, consumer purchases, cell phone networks and physical movements.
My last blog post suggested one response to such unrelenting bleakness: a new ideology, which my co-author and I think can be found through a careful and critical reading of the Bible.
Another response, one that is complementary and yet more demanding, is suggested by our friend, Norman Lowry, prisoner KN9758 at Dallas State Correctional Institution in northern Pennsylvania.
Norm is serving a seven-year sentence for trespass at a U.S. army recruiting office in Lancaster, my home town. His first offense was causing physical damage to recruiters' vehicles sitting in the parking lot; his second offense was blocking the door to the recruiters' office. When he blocked the office entrance a second time, a local judge imposed the harshest sentence he could—seven years.
Within the walls of his prison, Norm lives as if it is the place where God wants him to be.Thus, he refuses to accept offers for early release that are conditioned upon his promise to stop protesting U.S. militarism.
Norm is a living witness to that love and that life. "What could be better?" he asks.
As I see it, Norman's prison is a microcosm of our world. It is defined by an ideology that imprisons many so that a few can get rich, that claims overwhelming violence is the sign of the righteous, that finds purpose for living by creating a pecking order and then humiliating the damned.
There, amid an ideology that leads inexorably toward estrangement and death, Norm is a living witness to another way. Were it not for the witness of Jesus, I would say Norm is crazy. Yes, I really would.
Yet as Earth's dystopian future descends on us, as our inability to escape its iron laws becomes painfully clear, what will you and I do? The deceptive illusions of wealth, of violence, of humiliating hierarchy will remain, no matter the bleakness. So will bearing witness to the love of God and living the abundant life of Jesus.
In his choice, Norm has found comrades there in Dallas prison. So will we as we walk the way of Jesus.


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What's a Fox Body Mustang?
ATVs & Off Road
Hobbies Cars & Motorcycles
Photo Courtesy of Barrett-Jackson
by Jonathan Lamas
Jonathan Lamas is a seasoned automotive journalist. He has covered cars and the auto industry for Forbes Autos, Car and Driver, Consumer Guide, and other outlets.
The "Fox Body" Mustang, as it's known, was the third generation of Ford Mustang. It was built on the Fox platform. The car first appeared in 1979 and spanned the entire 1980s through the 1993 model year. The car was lighter than the second generation Mustang II and it was also faster. In 1982 Ford matched the "Fox Body" Mustang up with a 5.0L V8 engine. This is commonly termed the "5.0 Mustang". In all, the "Fox Body" Mustang was more European visually, with less traditional Mustang styling cues throughout.
Fox Body Mustang Highlights
Sleek and redesigned, the 1979 was the first Mustang to be built on the new Fox platform, thus kicking off the third generation of the vehicle. The '79 Mustang was longer and taller than the Mustang II, although, in weight, it was almost 200 pounds lighter. Engine offerings included a 2.3L four-cylinder engine, a 2.3L engine with turbo, a 2.8L V6, a 3.3L inline-6, and a 5.0L V8.
In 1980, Ford dropped the 302-cubic liter V8 engine from the Mustang lineup. In its place, they offered a 255-cubic inch V8 engine which produced close to 119 hp.
New emissions standards resulted in additional engine changes in the 1981 Mustang. The 2.3L engine with the turbo was removed from the lineup.
In 1984, nearly 20 years after its debut, Ford's Special Vehicle Operations released the Mustang SVO. An estimated 4,508 were produced. This special-edition Mustang was powered by a turbocharged 2.3L inline-four-cylinder engine. It was capable of outputting up to 175 hp and 210 lb-ft of torque. There's no doubt about it, the SVO was a car to contend with. Unfortunately, its high price of $15,585 made it out of reach to many consumers.
Extending the celebration of the Mustang's 25th anniversary, Ford released 2,000 limited edition jet-black Mustangs in the 1990 model year.
In 1992, Mustang sales were on a decline. In an effort to increase consumer enthusiasm, Ford released a limited-edition Mustang in the later part of the '92 production year. Only a couple thousand of these limited-edition red convertibles with a special rear spoiler were ever produced.
Ford wrapped up its Fox Body run with the 1993 Mustang.
Other Mustang Nicknames Include
SN95/Fox4 (1994-1998): This name signifies Fourth Generation Mustangs 1994-1998. These Mustangs were built on the SN-95/Fox4 Platform. They were larger than the original "Fox Body" Mustangs and they were engineered to be stiffer than their predecessor. They featured soft curves and rounded edges throughout.
New Edge (1999-2004): This name signifies Fourth Generation Mustangs 1999-2004. Although these cars were based on the same SN-95 platform, they featured sharper design lines and an aggressive stance in addition to a new grille, hood, and lamps.
S197 (2005-2009): In 2005 Ford ushered in the fifth generation of Mustang. This car was built on the D2C Mustang platform. The D was the vehicle class, 2 represented number of doors, and C represented coupe. Codenamed the S-197, the car brought back styling cues seen on classic Mustangs. Its wheelbase was 6-inches longer than the previous generation, it featured C-scoops in the sides, and it touted the famous three-element tail lamps.
Nicknames don't always relate to the vehicle platform. This is because vehicle platforms are shared between many vehicles. Take the Fox platform for instance. This platform supported 1980-1988 Ford Thunderbird, 1980-1988 Mercury Cougar, as well as many others. In this instance, however, the Mustang became the most relevant Fox platform vehicle, hence it's nickname.
The Third Generation Mustang (1979-1993) Spanned Two Decades
How Many Times Has the Ford Mustang Been Redesigned?
A Guide to the Fifth Generation Mustang (2005-2014)
What Is a Fourth Generation Mustang?
A Collective History of the Ford Mustang
What Does GT Stand for in Mustang GT?
Have You Seen the First Generation Mustang (1964 ½ - 1973)?
Explore the 1984 Ford Mustang Anniversary Edition GT350
1974 Ford Mustang II Model Profile
What Distinguishes the 1968 Ford Mustang From Other Model Years?
What Should Car Enthusiasts Know About the Roush Mustang?
Here's How the Shelby Mustang Began, and How It Became an Iconic Car
Fifty Years of the Chevrolet Camaro
Second Generation (1974-1978) Mustang Photo Gallery
The History of Ford's Special Vehicle Team (SVT)
When Ford Stopped Making the 5.0L Engine That Set Mustangs Apart


Owen Hildreth in lab. Photographer: Jessica Hochreiter/ASU.
Jonathan Klane, Assistant Director of Safety Programs in the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering at Arizona State University, talked with Owen Hildreth, an assistant professor in the School for Engineering of Matter, Transport and Energy in the Fulton Schools, about his personal interest and commitment to lab safety.
Jon: Where or when did your interest in safety come from or start?
Owen: After working in industry for five years I became accustomed to the fact that new hires don't know what they are doing and need to be trained in order to work properly. Industry is very aware of their responsibilities and the liabilities associated with their environment. When I started working in academia, I saw students using hydrofluoric acid without gloves, safety glasses, or any training. Students are often left to figure everything out themselves, which is not efficient nor healthy. As a "boss" it is my responsibility to make sure that my students know how to function in my lab.
There are a number of benefits to being a "safety conscious" mentor. First is the obvious reduction in liability – accidents will happen but the training I give helps reduce my liability should something go horribly wrong. However, that benefit is a statistically low one. The day-to-day benefits are where the real payoff is. My students inspect the lab every day – as a result, the lab is kept clean, supplies are always in the proper location. Keeping things clean and well-organized helps my students work faster, more efficiently and minimizes cross-contamination between experiments. Overall, a safe lab works faster and produces better data, saving me time and money.
Jon: What have you found successful?
Owen: I'm new here. So far, so good. The main thing I do is make my expectations clear and give my students an easy-to-implement plan for keeping things clean and organized. I have a check-off sheet of key safety issues that are often encountered (chemicals left out, chemical spills, expired experiments, etc.). Every day, the first student to work in the lab is required to inspect that lab prior to starting work. If there are any problems, the lab is shut down until it is fixed. Essentially, nobody can work until things are correct. By making individual issues a group issue, I've eliminated the ability of my students to ignore other people's messes/spills. The "not-my-responsibility" mentality often found in research groups is eliminated entirely from my lab with very little effort on my part.
Effort is a key factor. Safety is easier than being unsafe if you set your group culture up correctly. I also use safety as a method to weed out potential graduate hires. Being clean and safe is simple and, from what I've experienced, people who can't do simple things correctly won't do the difficult ones correctly either.
Jon: How do you achieve a positive safety culture?
Owen: I use a checklist, we police others and ourselves. I also set daily expectations for the lab. We focus on the things most likely to go wrong or get out of control. The checklist tends to limit "arguments" over what is acceptable or not. The daily inspections provide students with a framework to resolve their issues without much intervention on my part. I also have simple, widely enforced consequences of breaking my lab rules. If someone breaks my rules I take away their lab privileges for 1-3 days. Learning and working in my lab is a privilege, not a right. While it might be hard to do, there is always work outside of lab that needs to be done and a one day suspension is a small reminder to do things properly.
Jon: How are the typical lab protocols followed daily?
Owen: We use signs — two examples are the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) hazard diamond and "Experiment in progress." We have "Monday inspections." If there are any problems, then the lab can't be opened. It works.
Jon: Any advice to a new primary investigator starting a lab regarding safety?
Owen: Have a vision, a concept of what you want. Follow Environmental Health and Safety advice. Use a checklist. Set clear and enforceable consequences, without any of the drama.
Jon: How do you see yourself as a safety leader?
Owen: I have 14 more years of life and professional experience than my new students. I don't expect them to know how to do everything correctly, so I've set up a system where my expectations are clear, easy to follow and easy to document. I minimize my work by enabling them to quickly inspect the lab in a manner that takes very little effort for me to follow up on.


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Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport fumes over bus fare hike method
Thursday, 23 February 2012 01:03 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
The local arm of the professional body Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT) has expressed concern over the manner in which the recent bus fares were increased by the Government.
Given the serious implications of the hike as well as the Government's apparent deviation from the previously agreed method for revisions, the CILT Sri Lanka said it was necessary for it to express its reservations and concerns.
Following is the full text of CILT Sri Lanka's letter to Minister of Private Transport Services C.B. Ratnayake with copies to Secretary to the President Lalith Weeratunga and Secretary to Ministry of Finance Dr. P.B. Jayasundera:
The Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT) is the premier body of professionals in the field of transport and logistics. We comprise a worldwide membership of 33,000 and GILT SL has been in existence since 1985. Several of our members occupy high positions in both government and private sector institutions in the area of transport and logistics.It has been made necessary at this time to express our concern on the manner in which the recent bus fare increase has been carried out.
Several of our members were involved from the year 2000 when the then Minister of Transport Dinesh Gunawardena appointed a committee to determine a suitable index for bus fare revisions. The report of this committee which was set out as a Bus Fares Policy was accepted by the Minister and the bus operators as well as the representatives of bus commuter associations was submitted for Cabinet approval in 2001.
With the subsequent change of government it was re-submitted by Tilak Marapana and approved by the Cabinet of Ministers in June 2002. Since then, there have been over 15 fare revisions using this Bus Fares Policy with three of them being reductions under several Ministers of Transport.
It has been brought to our notice that the recent bus fare increase of 20 per cent deviates and in fact contravenes the aforesaid Bus Fares Policy and that its implementation has resulted in a higher bus fare to commuters as set out below:
• As stipulated in the Bus Fares Policy, any fare increase of more than 10% should obtain the approval of the Cabinet of Ministers vide a Cabinet Paper. This has not been done in this instance.
• The policy provides for only changes due to fuel price adjustments to be effected before the annual revision in July of each year. The increase due to diesel at this time is around 156%. However a fair increase of a minimum 20% has been granted, thus heaping an additional fare increase of 4.4% on passengers that will be in effect for a period of nearly five months. This extra fare that passengers would have to pay due to this action is calculated at Rs. 920 million.
• When the fares index is applied today it shows that the increase should not be more than 16 per cent. As such the arbitrary action has resulted in a part of a future fare increase being given today. The burden to the public due to this will be at least Rs. 1,100 million.
• The fare increase should be granted from the exact fare as per previous calculated fare. In the case of the first section it was Rs. 6.86 at the last revision which was rounded off to Rs. 7. The 15.6% fare revision should increase it only to Rs. 7.93. Even if 20% was applied for the full Rs. 70 fare it is still Rs. 8.40. As per fare policy fares should be rounded off to the nearest rupee value. Hence the most important first fare stage appears to have been arbitrarily set at Rs. 9, heaping unnecessary burden on the public. As a result, the public will be paying around Rs. 3 million extra per day. If passengers have to pay this till the next fare revision in 2013 they would have paid Rs. 1,550 million more than what they should have paid as per the provisions of the policy.
• Moreover, it has been revealed that the Fare Index has not been used in calculating the fare revision. This is also a violation of the Fares Policy which stipulates no fare revision can be done without using the Index. In 2008 when price of diesel went up to Rs. 110, the fares were increased and then reduced in two stages within six months. This was possible because an acceptable index had been used. In the current context it would be difficult for the authorities to pass on the benefit of any decrease in fuel prices to the passengers unless they use the Fare Index in revising fares at all times.
As a professional organisation it is our duty to ensure that the professional contributions that have been made by our members in the bus sector which have been used for many years for better public service and regulation of the industry be safeguarded.
We are also concerned on the hastily constructed plan to provide a diesel subsidy for bus operators. The CILTSL is aware that many countries provide subsidies for public transport and would like to stress that a plan to grant a subsidy should be implemented only after careful structuring of same.
The plan that has been announced in the media does not encourage increased operation of buses. In fact if a bus receives Rs. 31 per litre for 80 litres per day for 25 days, it will amount to a subsidy of Rs. 62,000 per month or Rs. 744,000 per year. This is a substantial amount of money. In fact an owner will find it more profitable to keep the bus parked at home and to collect the subsidy by forwarding false claims than operating it. There is no auditable system that prevents him from doing so. The payment of subsidy on the above scheme would amount to a burden on the public if such do not translate to actual services rendered especially since the subsidy as announced would require in excess of Rs. 15 billion in subsidies per year which again the public would be required to pay. We are also made aware that work in this respect to set up working time tables and route based companies that could have certified the operations was inaugurated in 2007 under former Minister Dulles Allahapperuma but have recently been suspended. As a result, the public today have been deprived of being provided a subsidy. Higher bus fares will also drive passengers to private transport thus creating loss for the industry and will also lead to increased road congestion that will cost the economy even more.
We call on you to consider correcting the bus fare revision after proper application of the Bus Fares Policy including the reduction of Rs. 9 for the first stage to Rs. 8 and the reduction of the overall increase from 20% to 15.6% bearing in mind that failure to do so will result in bus passengers unduly compelled to pay an additional Rs. 3, 580 million and will lead to negative impacts for the entire transport sector.
The setting up of an auditable system of providing subsidies based on published timetables and proper management of routes must also be resumed.


The Monell Center, in partnership with the University of Florida Center for Smell and Taste and the Rocky Mountain Taste and Smell Center at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, recently hosted an interdisciplinary two-day conference in November 2018 to establish a roadmap for treatment-focused research on smell and taste disorders. The groundbreaking meeting, entitled "Identifying Treatments for Taste and Smell Disorders," included sessions focused on the science of sensory disorders and their treatment and also on patient education.
The Monell Anosmia Project is a targeted research mission launched in February 2014. Our goal is to better understand the underlying causes of anosmia and develop effective treatments. At the same time, we seek to increase awareness about the prevalence and consequences of this little-known invisible disability. As the leading institute in the world for research on the senses of smell and taste, Monell is ideally positioned to take a central role in tackling this debilitating condition that afflicts millions.
For more information on Monell's anosmia research and to learn how you can help advance the research by participating in a study, visit our anosmia research page for details on projects involving adult olfactory stem cells, genomic analysis, smell training and more. Because anosmia has many causes, we need multiple research and treatment approaches and will continue to initiate additional research projects as funding becomes available.
This section of the Monell website is intended as an informational resource on what presently is known about anosmia. All information has been reviewed by Monell scientists. Click the links at left to learn about the science of smell in health and disease. As you read you quickly will realize how much we need to learn.
Science is expensive. While our generous lead donors have given us a jump start, their gifts cannot fully fund a world-class program of basic and clinical research. This is where your role is essential. Contributions of all sizes provide the matching funds needed to ensure that Monell can achieve the ultimate goal of curing anosmia.
On February 22, 2017, Monell hosted an informative and engaging presentation by Duncan Boak, the founder of Fifth Sense, a UK-based charity supporting those who suffer from smell and taste disorders.
We apologize for the intermittent audio issues.
Anosmia is the clinical term for the inability to smell. Few people appreciate the range of information provided by the sense of smell. Even fewer think about what would happen if that source of information disappeared. Yet olfaction is a vulnerable sense, and smell disorders and loss are common.
Click here to sign up for updates on Monell's anosmia research.
Follow Monell on Twitter at @MonellSc and Facebook at MonellCenter.
Your support is critical so we can continue our work to better understand the underlying biological and genetic causes of anosmia and develop effective treatments.


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Trump defends call for banning Muslims from US

Donald Trump makes a point during the CNN Republican presidential debate at the Venetian Hotel & Casino on Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2015, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Republican front-runner Donald Trump defended his provocative call for banning Muslims from the United States in Tuesday night's presidential debate as the candidates pushed their own plans for fighting Islamic State militants. Sens. Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz clashed over government access to Americans' communications.
The debate was dominated by national security, reflecting the reshaping of the 2016 contest by the recent attacks in Paris and San Bernardino, California. Hours before the debate began, officials in Los Angeles closed all schools after an emailed threat that was later deemed a hoax.
Trump insisted his proposal, which was roundly condemned by his rivals, wasn't an attempt to discriminate.
"We are not talking about isolation, we're talking about security," he said. "We are not talking about religion, we are talking about security."
Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, the one-time front-runner who has struggled throughout the campaign, was among the most aggressive of the candidates in seeking to discredit Trump. "Donald is great at the one-liners, but he's a chaos candidate and he'd be a chaos president," Bush said. He later told Trump he wouldn't be able to "insult your way to the presidency."
In contrast, Cruz and Rubio said they understood why Trump had raised the idea of banning Muslims and avoided directly criticizing the front-runner. Instead, they focused on each other, engaging in lengthy debates over their differences on national security.
Rubio accused Cruz of weakening the government's ability to track terrorists because he voted in favor of legislation to eliminate the National Security Agency's bulk phone-records collection program and replace it with a more restrictive effort to keep the records in phone companies' hands.
Cruz insisted the new law gives the government more access to cellphones and other technology terrorists are more likely to use — a contention Rubio disputed.
"There is nothing we are allowed to do under this bill that we were not allowed to do before," Rubio said.
Beginning after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, the NSA secretly collected the daily calling records - but not contents of conversations - for most Americans, including people never suspected of any crime.
A new law, called the USA Freedom Act, passed in June with broad, bipartisan support. It ordered the NSA to end bulk collection after a six-month transition that expired last week.
Cruz and Rubio have been sparring from afar over national security for weeks. The Texas senator is on the rise, particularly in Iowa's kickoff caucuses, where he's challenging Trump's months-long lead.
The senators — both Cuban-Americans in their 40s — also displayed differences in their strategies for targeting the Islamic State. The extremist group claimed responsibility for the Nov. 13 attacks in Paris, and one of the shooters in California pledged allegiance to the group on Facebook shortly before she and her husband shot and killed 14 people at a holiday party.
Cruz called for using "overwhelming air power" to destroy the Islamic State, while Rubio said airstrikes would have to be supplemented by ground troops, including American special operations forces.
President Barack Obama has largely relied on airstrikes to target the militants in Iraq and Syria. However, he's also sent troops to Iraq to help train and assist local forces and recently approved sending special operations forces into Syria.


2019 promises us loads of fantastic new cameras to get excited about, and we've got all the latest camera rumors right here.
With Japan's CP+ imaging show on the horizon, camera rumors are coming out of the woodwork every single day and it can be hard to keep track of everything. Don't worry though – with our finger on the pulse of the latest industry trends and rumors, and with a bit of our own tech knowledge we've accumulated after years in the industry, we'll look at what the biggest names in photography may be dreaming up.
We've culled through every single one of the latest camera rumors, from wild speculation to the most convincing leaks, and brought you the biggest and the best camera rumors in 2019 going.
With these rumors, we can start to piece together a rough picture of products that major camera companies might be aiming to release, and what thirsty photographers will be able to get their hands on in the near future.
Now, it's time to really dive into all of the juiciest camera rumors from every major manufacturer, from Canon to Olympus.
With Nikon's full-frame mirrorless Z6 and Z7 cameras now settled in the market, could we see a higher-end model surface next? Or perhaps an APS-C-based model will join them? An update to the full-frame D750 is another logical next move.
Fujifilm had a busy 2018, having released four X-series models including the X-T3, along with the GFX 50R and a slew of lenses. Could we see its fabulous 26MP APS-C sensor make its way over to an X-H2 and X-T30?
After kicking off a brand new full-frame mirrorless range with the S1R and S1, what else will we see in 2019 from the Japanese electronics giant?


Original flux package does amazing low-level job and is performant. Unfortunatelly, it is not that developer-friendly and required handling actions in a non-standardised manner.
This package enables you to handle actions by their type, without nasty and never ending if or switch trees.
React framework makes it straightforward using components, but does not provide a good forms experience.
This package enhances developer's life and code maintainability by leveraging framework features, flux architecture and all familiar API.
Fully functional gulpfile.js implementation to accomplish build processes of your project.
Tailored for single page applications.


THE WATER industry is heading for a Railtrack-style dislocation of its network unless the Government properly costs whether further liberalisation will benefit customers and takes a firm grip on the breakdown in relations between companies and the regulator Ofwat, the Consumers' Association warned.
In a report entitled Under Pressure: The Future of the Water Industry, the CA calls for an urgent, post-election water summit.
'At present, change is proceeding on a piecemeal basis with the regulator reacting to events and the Government not intervening to give long-term and strategic direction. Government needs to end the policy drift in the water industry,' it said.
The CA said the water summit needs to address plans for 'common carriage' in which water companies, in the next stage of liberalisation through a new Water Bill, will be able to compete on each other's turf. It also said the Government should take the lead in repairing the fractured regulator-operators relationship and decide whether companies can securitise their pipeline assets or put them into mutually owned organisations.


Fish Mart SAKURAYA is a "Japanese One-Stop Centre" which has been in Singapore for more than 30 years.
It started as a wholesale business for Japanese restaurants and supermarkets by Managing Director Teruyoshi Abe.
There are 4 branches in Singapore. Each branch has a Japanese Supermarket and Restaurant to satisfy customers love for Japanese food.
You can find wide variety of Japanese foods such as Fresh Sashimi & Authentic Hand-made Sushi, Japanese Sake, Shochu, Ice-Cream, Titbits, Beverages etc in each branch.
Fish Mart SAKURAYA is well known for its fresh sashimi which is directly imported from Japan. Thus, Singaporean can enjoy the authentic Japanese cuisine in Singapore.
An extensive selection of sake and shochu is another highlights of Fish Mart SAKURAYA. Sake lover will be pampered by its wide selection of sake and competitive pricing.
You can have affordable & authentic Japanese food with NETT Price, No Service Charge & No Extra Charge for Sashimi Cut in Fish Mart SAKURAYA.
This is a great place for family and friend gatherings.


Getting the right IT solution is vital. Sadly, its often the case that businesses have talked to technology companies with limited skills and ended up with the wrong system.
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We are accredited partners and resellers of the IT industry's leading companies such as Dell, HP, Symantec, Sage, Microsoft and many more.
We use our skills and knowledge to tailor a solution to your specific business needs.
Why not contact Boldfield today and discuss your requirements with one of our knowledgeable team members?


Travel Bloggers Shafeen & Waseem Shaheed Share Their Favorite Places – THE LORES.
As a travel blogger, I'm constantly inspired by the people who create beautiful content around me. Scrolling through my Instagram feed, I see nothing but beautiful destinations and incredible adventures that are truly drool-worthy. The people behind those images inspire me to travel more, live more and dream big. I set out to chat with the some of the amazing people behind the camera who inspire me, and see what inspires them.
Shafeen and Waseem Shaheed are a married couple traveling the world together and documenting their adventures online, and they took the time to talk to me about their favorite destinations. They discussed how they got into blogging, their most memorable trip, and how they maintain full time jobs in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Give us a bit of background! How'd you meet? How'd you decide to start a travel blog/vlog?
Waseem and I met online on Facebook by the end of 2011. Fast forward three years later, we got married in February 2015. We decided that our honeymoon had to be in an overwater villa, so we set off to the Maldives for a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Well, safe to say, we were hit by the travel bug and we decided upon returning home that we wanted to make this into a lifestyle. I already had a YouTube channel doing beauty reviews, but we decided to turn it into a vlog/travel channel moving forward. As far as the blog, we created a website via WordPress and started it. I haven't been as active on the blog as I should be, since I focus more on Instagram and Youtube, but I think it's time to shift my focus to monetize my blog.
Traveling isn't your full time jobs: how do you work it into your schedule? Do you feel like it's a big commitment?
Travelling is life for us. We make it a priority and thankfully our jobs allow us to take frequent vacation/off days to be able to travel.
What has been your favorite trip to date?
Maldives is paradise on Earth.
Tell me about that trip – how did you decide on this place? What was your favorite part?
Maldives was our honeymoon getaway. The best part of the trip was to disconnect from the outside world as there were no sounds of cars or the hustle and bustle of city life. Of course, free wifi was provided, but we never touched our phones, only for pretty photos once in a while.
Do you ever feel discouraged by the "influencer life" or feel like you're not at the level you want to be? If so, how do you move past that feeling?
This is a feeling that comes and goes when I'm trying to analyze where my life is going. I always try to stay positive and be grateful for what I already do have. A wonderful husband, a supportive family, awesome friends like you who build me up and share the wealth of knowledge, and access to knowledge that I need to act upon. I don't compare my life to anyone's as everyone has their own struggles that they may not highlight in social media.
If someone offered you a free trip to anywhere in the world, where would you go right now?
Maldives has our heart all the way. Their waters are more beautiful than Fiji waters and I'm born and raised in Fiji.
Article by Maren Engh, all photos via Shafeen Shaheed. Find Maren on Instagram, or get in touch directly at team@voyagerguru.com. Follow Shafeen and Waseem on Instagram and Youtube.
Check out more of our travel articles here.


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Ithaca homelessness: Rescue Mission offers warming station 24-hours a day during freezing weather
by Jolene Almendarez February 16, 2016 February 16, 2016
Photo courtesy of a recently released report, conducted in part by the local agency "The Learning Web," that tracked homeless youth in the Ithaca area.
The following is a republished press release from a community organization or member and NOT written by the Ithaca Voice … to submit community announcements to The Voice, contact us at jalmendarez@ithacavoice.com.
ITHACA, N.Y. — Those experiencing homelessness have a safe place a place to come in from the cold 24 hours a day, thanks to a warming station now offered by the Ithaca Rescue Mission.
Even if the Rescue Mission's emergency shelter is at capacity, or if someone comes in after the regular admittance hours, staff will ensure that individuals have a safe place to pass the night.
The Ithaca Rescue Mission warming station, introduced on Jan. 5, is open 4 pm to 9 am on nights that reach 32 degrees Fahrenheit or below. The station is within the Rescue Mission's headquarters at 618 West State Street. The Friendship Center, a day center where individuals can connect with case management, a community food pantry and other services, is open from 9 am to 4 pm at the same location.
Photo courtesy of a recently released report, conducted in part by the local agency "The Learning Web," that tracked homeless youth in the Ithaca area.
"We are delighted to be able to offer round-the-clock entry and shelter during cold winter weather," said Richard Bennett, Director of the Ithaca Rescue Mission.
The center was initiated as a result of Governor Cuomo's Executive Order to bring individuals out of the cold in freezing temperatures. As a result, Tompkins County Department of Social Services and the Rescue Mission devised a plan to open the warming station and offer any vacant shelter beds after hours.
If beds are filled, individuals can at least come in to a warm living area to pass the night.
"Tompkins County DSS and the Rescue Mission wanted to act quickly on Governor Cuomo's Executive Order," said Richard Bennett, Director of the Ithaca Rescue Mission. "We agree with his stance that no one should have to be exposed overnight to freezing weather."
"Ideally we would like everyone experiencing homelessness to have a bed and, ultimately, permanent housing. Even if we can't do that right away, the warming station at least provides a safe place to come in from the cold," he said.
For those experiencing homelessness, the warming station can also be an entry point to other services, such as case management, assistance with finding housing, and referrals to other community services, Bennett said.
Already, those connections are happening, he noted: "Just in January, we had two chronically homeless adults who sought safety from the cold in the warming station. Our case managers worked with them and were able to find them permanent housing."
The Ithaca Rescue Mission provides a 20-bed emergency shelter, 25 units of supportive housing, a Friendship Center and community food pantry. The Rescue Mission strives to share hope, end homelessness and hunger, change lives and strengthen communities one person at a time.
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July 22, 1964 (age 55)
Film Debut
John Leguizamo Biography
Comedian and actor John Leguizamo is perhaps best known for his one-man stage shows and his chameleon-like ability to satirize a range of ethnic groups.
John Leguizamo was born on July 22, 1964, in Bogotá, Colombia. He spent the mid- to late-1980s performing in comedy clubs. He made his film debut in Casualties of War (1989). Other film roles followed in quick succession. He turned to live theater as a means of blasting Latino stereotypes through fierce comedic caricature. Leguizamo's onstage success led to television opportunities.
Actor and comedian John Leguizama was born on July 22, 1964, in Bogotá, Colombia. With his chameleon-like ability to satirize a range of ethnic groups, Leguizamo is perhaps best known for his one-man stage shows.
Although born in Colombia, Leguizamo spent his formative years in Jackson Heights, a formerly-rough neighborhood in Queens, New York. His parents spent much of their time either working or bickering. His turbulent home life would become the basis of some of Leguizamo's most popular creative work. His parents eventually divorced when he was 14. Meanwhile, Leguizamo began experimenting with the milder forms of delinquency.
He was arrested twice, once for hopping a subway turnstyle and another time for truancy. He also ran afoul of the law when he and a friend commandeered a subway public address system and performed an impromptu comedy routine. While his comedy stylings would later amuse Broadway audiences, the Queens police were less than tickled by the effort.
In order to "straighten him out," Leguizamo's parents sent him back to Colombia for a year. Upon his return, Leguizamo continued to demonstrate a penchant for mischief. At the prompting of teachers, Leguizamo attended a local acting school, funding his classes through a job at Kentucky Fried Chicken. This led to a stint at New York University in 1991, but Leguizamo soon left school to join the Off Center Theater, a Manhattan comedy troupe.
Leguizamo spent the mid- to late-1980s performing in comedy clubs, polishing his material and working on the various stage personas that would later populate his live shows. He made his film debut in Brian De Palma's critically acclaimed Vietnam drama, Casualties of War (1989). Other film roles followed in quick succession, from bit parts in big-budget vehicles like Die Hard II (1990) and Regarding Henry (1991), to featured roles in independent films, like 1991's Hanging with the Homeboys.
Despite his rising professional fortunes, Leguizamo was frustrated by the roles offered him, which often involved playing thugs or drug dealers. He turned to live theater as a means of blasting Latino stereotypes through fierce comedic caricature.
His first effort, Mambo Mouth (1991), opened off Broadway and was later picked up by HBO for broadcast on their HBO Comedy Theater series. The performance won an Obie Award from the Village Voice, an Outer Critics Circle Award, a Vanguard Award, and a CableACE Award. Although some critics contended that the show perpetuated the very stereotypes is purported to undermine, audiences disagreed.
Leguizamo's 1992 follow-up, Spic-O-Rama, continued on in the same vein. His 1998 offering, Freak, was equally successful and turned into an HBO special directed by Spike Lee. 2001 saw Leguizamo return to the stage with Sexaholix...a Love Story, which was based on his sold-out national tour, "John Leguizamo Live!"
Leguizamo's onstage success led to television opportunities. Reluctant to take part in a situation comedy, he convinced the FOX Network to carry a Latino-flavored variety show called House of Buggin'. Although the show lasted only one season, it performed well in metropolitan markets and boosted Leguizamo's film profile.
He then played a drag queen in the commercially successful To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar (1995) and Tybalt in the daring modernization of Romeo and Juliet (1996). Roles in everything from smash hits like Ice Age and turns as television doctors on E.R. have followed.
Leguizamo married Justine Maurer in 2003. They have two children; daughter Allegra Sky was born in 1999 and son Ryder Lee followed in 2000.
https://www.biography.com/actor/john-leguizamo
John Goodman is an actor best known for his role as Dan Connor on the hit sitcom 'Roseanne,' for which he was nominated for several Emmys. He has since starred in a number of films.
John Travolta is an award-winning actor who had breakout roles in 'Saturday Night Fever' and 'Grease.' He had a career revival with 'Pulp Fiction' and has starred in a wide range of additional projects.
John Candy was an actor and comedian known for such films as Splash, Uncle Buck and Cool Runnings.
Fur trader and real estate investor John Jacob Astor was one of the leading businessmen of his day and the founder of an American fur trade dynasty.
Famed singer-songwriter John Lennon founded the Beatles, a band that impacted the popular music scene like no other.
Actor John Ritter is best known for his role as Jack Tripper on the 1977 hit comedy series 'Three's Company.' His performance earned him a Golden Globe and an Emmy.
John Belushi was an actor and comedian, one of the first performers on 'Saturday Night Live' and one half of the Blues Brothers duo.
John Cena is a professional wrestler who took home the United States WWE Championship in March 2004 and has since expanded his career into movies and television.
John Winthrop was the first governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, and the chief figure among the Puritan founders of New England.
(c. 1588–c. 1649)


Today, our church celebrates confirmation. Confirmation in the Lutheran church is just that: confirmation by these young people of the faith that was given to them in baptism, taught to them by their parents, grandparents, godparents, pastors and teachers, and grown and nurtured in them by the Holy Spirit. Today, they stand before their church and say without shame: this is my faith, my church, and I am walking in it.
Our church encourages them to lead the worship service; to choose a personal expression of their own faith that means something to them, and then to present it as part of the worship service. Some read Scriptures. Some write and deliver statements of faith. Some sing, some play instruments, some do sketches, some get still more creative.
It's a brave and powerful moment, and it makes me so proud of them as their pastor. This particular group I have known (mostly) since they were in fourth grade. Watching them grow is an honor. I see parents beaming and crying, family surrounding them and church family applauding them, and I have to work to fight back the tears.
Confirmation makes me cry, and I think it always will. I go from blessing them as children at 8:30 to communing them as fellow members at 11:00. Lord willing, I will one day confirm and commune my own children, though not my Daniel, whose faith has already been confirmed, perfected and completed. I think about the confirmation I will never see, every year, and it adds tears of sorrow to the tears of pride.
But I am so humbled and honored to be the one to confirm the faith of the children of our church. Other churches give their children first communion months or years before they are confirmed in their faith, while others withhold baptism until after their faith is confirmed. I have theological reasons I disagree with both, but mostly I think both miss out – on the beauty of baptizing an infant; of offering your child to God in complete trust to His care – and on the impact of a young man or woman publicly declaring their faith, and then receiving for the first time the sacramental gifts of God through holy communion.
It is humbling and exciting to see young people stand up and show what their Savior means to them, and to see an congregation of mature believers convicted and compelled to be equally unashamed of their own faith. These are just some of the many gifts our great God delivers through worship services such as these, and I am so thankful to be a part of them.
God bless all those who teach children the faith, and God bless all those who are taught the faith, that they would not depart from it.