Baby

flower beautify home

django-openid-auth

Last week, we released the source code to django-openid-auth. This is a small library that can add OpenID based authentication to Django applications. It has been used for a number of internal Canonical projects, including the sprint scheduler Scott wrote for the last Ubuntu Developer Summit, so it is possible you’ve already used the code. Rather than trying to cover all possible use cases of OpenID, it focuses on providing OpenID Relying Party support to applications using Django’s django.contrib.auth authentication system. As such, it is usually enough to edit just two files in an existing application to enable OpenID login. The library has a number of useful features: As well as the standard method of prompting the user for an identity URL, you can configure a fixed OpenID server URL. This is useful for deployments where OpenID is being used for single sign on, and you always want users to log in using a particular OpenID provider. Rather than asking the user for their identity URL, they are sent directly to the provider. It can be configured to automatically create accounts when new identity URLs are seen. User names, full names and email addresses can be set on accounts based on data sent via the OpenID Simple Registration extension. Support for Launchpad’s Teams OpenID extension, which lets you query membership of Launchpad teams when authenticating against Launchpad’s OpenID provider. Team memberships are mapped to Django group membership. While the code can be used for generic OpenID login, we’ve mostly been using it for single sign on. The hope is that it will help members of the Ubuntu and Launchpad communities reuse our authentication system in a secure fashion. The source code can be downloaded using the following Bazaar command: bzr branch lp:django-openid-auth Documentation on how to integrate the library is available in the README.txt file. The library includes some code written by Simon Willison for django-openid, and uses the same licensing terms (2 clause BSD) as that project.

old ghosts

I have mixed feelings about my experiences in foster care. Sometimes I am able to conquer my negative feelings in order to appreciate the positives that being raised in the system brought to my life and sometimes the memories of injustices left unfixed and pain left unhealed is too much to push aside.I wonder sometimes if I will ever be able to forgive the foster parents who abused or neglected my foster siblings and I. The things they did sometimes got told to case workers and therapists and sometimes we were too afraid to say anything until it was too late to address the issue. The thing is, when you are unable to ever talk about this stuff, it is harder to forgive, harder to forget and harder to move past. I still have dreams where I am stuck in those old situations. I still get angry sometimes when I think about the things the foster parents in those homes cheated me out of like normal childhood and teenage milestones, a sense of personal dignity and the ability to trust other people.The people who I know have suffered as a result of the things I learned at those homes include my foster siblings in those homes, the foster parents who helped me age out, the men whom I dated (including my husband) and myself. There may have been others in my own life or the lives of my foster siblings as well. I feel like those foster parents owe apologies to all of the people named above, but I never want to speak to them again, so I cannot get those apologies from them. I sometimes write letters to those foster parents, to get what I feel out of my system. I never mail the letters, but it helps me to let things go for a little while. It never lasts forever though and sooner or later I am feeling those same feelings and having those same nightmares again. I wish I could find a way to permanently get past it all...to forgive, forget and let go. Then, the ghosts of the past will have no power over my future.

Samsung

Dutch-based portablegear has managed to get a close-up look at Samsung's Intel Centrino 2-packing laptops, the 13.4-inch Q320 and 15.6-inch R522, and boy are they a beaut. The former's sporting an NVIDIA GeForce G105M and three USB ports, while the latter uses an unknown graphics card, four USB ports, and an USB/eSata combo. Both feature Intel Windows Vista Home Premium and six-cell batteries. While UK site Register Hardware pegged the release date for sometime this month, pg says they're due out sometime in May or June, and neither give any indication of a release window for US. We've also got a mention here of laptops R620 and R720, but unfortunately we've got no information on the models beyond that.Read - On displayRead - Official specs

Free-Music Friday

Neo-jazz collective El Michels Affair channels the Wu-Tang Clan on Enter the 37th Chamber.Photo courtesy Fat Beats Records The digital age has globalized distribution lines and taste patterns. That is good news for funk, soul and hip-hop fans, who are mainlining a slew of new and old artists issuing and reissuing kinetic rhythms for Generation Xbox. This week's Free-Music Friday celebrates those sonic signatures and the slipstreaming musicians who are going back to the future. From Peter King's Nigerian shango, the Whitfield Brothers' juiced-up funk and the swamp jazz of Medeski, Martin and Wood to the hybrid-hop of El Michels Affair, Mulatu Astatke and The Heliocentrics, Wired.com probes the outer limits of international soundtracking in search of inner space. Who: Mulatu Astatke and The Heliocentrics What: "Masenqo" Where: Inspiration Information, out April 14 (Strut Records) Sounds like: DJ Shadow, Duke Ellington, David Axelrod Spiel: Born in Ethiopia in 1943, classically trained composer Mulatu Astatke was the first African student to enroll at Berklee College of Music. Known as the father of Ethiopian jazz, he has performed with greats like Duke Ellington, been sampled by Jim Jarmusch for the soundtrack to Broken Flowers and, now, has paired up with one of the best rhythm sections you may never have heard of, The Heliocentrics. The U.K. band, led by drummer Malcolm Catto, has itself been sampled by world-beating hip-hop DJs like DJ Shadow and Madlib, while mashing the sonic signatures of David Axelrod and Ennio Morricone. Together with Astatke, Catto and crew have crafted one of the year's finest jazz-soul-hop-whatever records, a stack of tracks so hypnotic and refreshing that you might as well leave it on replay. Speaking of Strut Records ... Who: Peter King What: "Shango" Where: Nigeria 70: The Definitive Story of 1970's Funky Lagos, reissued March 31 (Strut Records) Sounds like: A lesson in music history Spiel: First surfacing on Strut in 2001, this reissued compilation of Afrobeat spectaculars like Fela Kuti, The Funkees, Sunny Ade, Bala Miller, Segun Bucknor and many more shines a light on a Lagos awash in outer-limits jazz, groove and funk. Now that the digital age has hit archivists full force, the record has been expanded to make way for even more DJ-requested rarities, such as the Afro Cult Foundation's underrated soundtrack "The Quest." Nigeria 70's latest iteration comes in a two-disc digipak replete with the original sleeve and track notes and an extensive booklet chronicling one of the most fertile periods in international music. Who: The Whitefield Brothers What: "Sol Walk" Where: In the Raw, reissued March 10 (Now-Again Records) Sounds like: Fela Kuti, Psychedelic Aliens, Meters Spiel: Around the turn of the 21st century, before archival funk fever caught hold online and on indie labels, two German brothers named Max and Jan Weissenfeldt departed from their groove outfit Poets of Rhythm in Munich and set out for New York to lay down inspired rhythm. The result of that quest was In the Raw, which debuted in 2001 on Soul Fire, then disappeared as the label folded. But times and trends change: Fast-forward to years later, and the Weissenfeldts' hidden crate classic has been discovered by everyone from Quannum rapper Lyrics Born to DJ and indie mogul Eothen Alapatt, who promptly reissued the sweaty funk dose on the revivalist Now-Again imprint from his lauded label with Peanut Butter Wolf, Stone's Throw Records. The Whitefield Brothers are hard at work on the follow-up to In the Raw, but chances are it is still new to you. Probably not for long. Who: El Michels Affair What: "C.R.E.A.M." Where: Enter the 37th Chamber, out April 21 (Fat Beats Records) Sounds like: Wu-Tang Clan, The Dap-Kings Spiel: Usually, hip-hop samples funk and jazz to manufacture its crowd-pleasers. Cinematic soul pusher El Michels Affair has reversed that polarity on its sophomore effort by revising Wu-Tang Clan's immortal debut, Enter the 36th Chamber, using only El Michels' taut rhythm section and a devoted love of hip-hop. But there's plenty of love to go around for the group, which is anchored by sax man Leon Michels and enigneer Jeff Silverman. After its 2005 debut, Sounding Out the City, made the rounds in the music world, El Michels Affair eventually collaborated not just the Wu-Tang Clan but also Iggy Pop, Sharon Jones and many more, including tabloid fodder singer Amy Winehouse. With this soul-hop mash, El Michels Affair can safely argue that it has arrived. See also: Free-Music Friday: Moody Tunes From Bat for Lashes, Mono, More Free-Music Friday: Head-Trips From Aceyalone, Yonlu, More SXSW: Free-Music Friday Bids Adieu to Austin Free-Music Friday, SXSW-Style! Free-Music Friday: Iggy Pop, Spindrift, Monument to Masses, More Free-Music Friday: Los Straitjackets, Black Lips, More

Applications

This is a long one:) I've sent my applications in and I should start hearing back around the beginning of May through to the rest of the summer. I'm from Canada- and I applied to one school here and 2 in Australia, so my time scale is a bit different then the people who applied through VMCAS. Anyways.... lately I've had this bad feeling that I won't be accepted anywhere. I don't feel confident with my marks, but I do feel I am well rounded everywhere else. Either way this could be just a bit of anxiety creeping up on me... anyways needles to say I've started thinking about plan B's and I want to know your opinions, and also to those of you who didn't get in your first try- what you did, and how it worked out. I'm in the 3rd year of my BSc in Bio (3 year program) and alot of my friends are finding profs to supervise their research for next year (to get their honors). Although many of their projects sound really interesting, it helped me to realize that I really don't want to persue that route. I'm interested in medicine- and I love biology, but more stuff related to physiology, anatomy and behavior, not stuff like molecular genetics, ecology or cell biology. My school is very research oriented, so I don't really have much choice in courses to take (mycology...? no thanks...). As I said before, I'm interested in medicine, and so I've been looking into a nursing program (human nursing) at another university close to here. It offers a 2nd entry for people who have degrees, and sets you up to write the exam and you get a BSc in Nursing at the end. My thoughts were that nursing is closer to what I'm interested in then what I'm doing now, and at the end I would basically be left with alot of job opportunities. However, after I finish the program, I would be applying for vet school again. Does anyone have any opinions on this? Would vet schools look down upon this, or does it seem like a bad idea/route? What are your thoughts, or what did you do when you didn't get your acceptance letter the first time you applied? Long post I know... :) thanks to anyone who survived it :) ...gotta go read about Alzheimer's disease now, but I'll check back often! :)

Will you open the door to strangers?

If somebody knocks your door, but you have no idea who he/she is, will you open it and ask? Or you would just leave it alone? I have moved in where I live for half year, I always alert what is outside and I definitely won't open the door if I don't know the people especially when Idon't expect anybody is coming, it could scare the crab out of me! When I called the maintenance people for fixing computer or phone whatever, then I prepare somebody is coming and I will make sure I see their truck and notice they are really the right people. Maybe I watch too much movies about people rob in your house or do bad stuff to break in your house... that makes me worry about this.

Does age really matter?

I have been adding friends from all age groups so that I can get access to more discussions through my notifications. Am not sure if all the friend requests will be accepted because some are nearly four times my age!

Why would a rich man Kill himself??

Ok so another Rich CEO of the Freddie Mac empire has decided to end it all by taking his life. I really don't understand why a rich man would commit suicide. A poor man committing suicide is undersatndable because he has no money and well nothing to live for but a rich man who kills himself is a mystery to me.

Did you know that more people in New York alone die of suicide than murder or accidents or diseases?

overthought

This is my Francis on Monday, hastily thrown on my handy dandy backdoor tree. I didn't think I'd have another chance to show her to you unfinished. When I shot this, I'd just realized I was heading down to DC by train on Tuesday. Five hours with my iPod ,knitting, and a trackside view of old industrial spaces, peering into the neighborhoods passing by? Love it. It is transcendent. I say this sincerely, do not read anything sarcastic into it.Anyway, I had one sleeve almost done, one to go and a cowl. Which is no match for that much train knitting roundtrip. Plus, did I want to drag along a whole sweater when I already had major shleppage of cameras & lighting equipment to deal with? No. My brain began to whir. I'd need another project. Other than this piece of old unrelieved boredom , nothing else is on the needles. What next? I devoted a long tumble down the Ravelry rabbit hole to the question. An hour or two gets lost in the process.Vestuary! I'm a vest loving type. Pre-blog I knit Grace, in this crazy # 163 color of Sisik , which I wear often. I find this Blue Sky pattern , plan to purchase and download it before departure and squeeze an extra 15 minutes in my crazy Monday to swing by a yarn store. It takes...almost an hour. Damn, wouldn't you know their inventory of worsted weight yarn is so low, I find nothing lovable and vest-worthy. My so-called stash is mostly single leftover skeins. I find 850 yards of Ultra Alpaca yucca. I do not want to use it for the vest. I spend ..a while.. going through my books, magazines & back to Ravelry to see what options have I. Another hour gone.I wind the alpaca. I decide to order and download the vest. I discover its not downloadable in the first place. why? and...now what to knit?I am loving Francis , but this yarn creates a very different garment than the drapey alpaca modeled in the pattern. Light bulb goes on! I'll dedicate my 850 yards to another Francis, with a contrasting stockinette hem & cuff edge, in place of the seed stitch.All this thinking & fussing left me with no time Monday to finish work or knit.Tuesday, I grab the large almost finished Francis after all, as well as the wound alpaca. On board, my conscience gets the better of me and I spend the WHOLE TRIP DOWN working on my laptop, editing and processing the projects I neglected while thinking of what to knit on the train. I do not knit. I also work most of the way home and knit for, like, an hour. Painful, isn't it?Union Station, Washington DC. (and it was 70 degrees out! yayy!) What I was doing in DC was way more interesting than all this blather of what was in my brain the day before I left. I'll share tomorrow. Hint: red. and scarf.

funeral

I was asked to say a few things at the funeral yesterday, and some have asked for a copy. here it is:I have two brothers, and I love them. and in my life I've been fortunate to have a few - just a few - friends who I have loved like a brother, and aaron was one of them. aaron and I have been friends for a long long time, and thinking back on it now, it seems like almost every memory I have that is significant, aaron has been apart of it. from girls and figuring out girls and not figuring out girls to going away to school and getting married, trying to figure out a way to make a living, trying to navigate through life and marriage and families and temptations and loss and hardships - aaron has been a friend I have leaned on frequently and consistently. he never let me down, he always showed up, he always kept his word. he was honest and he was quiet and he had a grand memory, which he used often to recall stories that were always just what we needed to hear and remember. and his smile. his smile was reserved but it was broad, and when it came, it washed over you, carried you, and brought joy; he had a smile that was as invasive and unavoidable as the morning light. and it was good.aaron was the kind of friend who would not only join you for a road trip, but he would enthusiastically plan it and count down the days. and the time on the road, whatever the destination, would be filled with long talks, good music, and an eagerness to be known. he was a safe person to talk to. he was open minded. he was never judgmental, but he was principled. he loved his daughters well. I watched them come to him and talk to him. curl in his lap and fall asleep. it was a beautiful thing to watch - my friend with his children. aaron loved ashleigh well. I watched him carry her quietly and fearfully, and he never wavered. he never took his eyes away from her. and I know if he were here today, he would say "hey, its okay." he would want all of us to be comforted. he would want me to stop talking so much. aaron and I talked often about faith. in large part because of my own dark, plaguing questions and fears. and aaron was always patient and kind. (and it might be this quality of his that I will miss the most)it is sad to me how lacking so much of the language of christianity is in providing comfort and hope during time of grief and loss. prayers seem cold, and isolating. scripture quotes seems too mysterious, too out of place. god feels so far away. I find myself wanting to be allowed the space to not justify, to not reconcile, to not attempt to explain. I find myself longing for the freedom to be sad, to weep, and for the freedom to grieve, for what may be a really long time.and for some reason, on friday, I remembered this story of lazarus. which is actually kind of amazing because I've been avoiding the bible for a really long time now. and I recall how in this story, there is a guy who dies, and jesus comes 4 days after he is dead. and jesus is there to raise him from the dead. to bring restoration and life and hope. not just in the long term, but immediately. and jesus arrives and instead of saying anything comforting, instead of any sort of spiritual explanation, or prayers, jesus weeps. he just cries. even though moments later, her performs a miracle and brings life, and restores everything, he first engages the pain and weeps. there is this profound notion that the god of the universe engages pain and restoration simultaneously. and so while there is hope that in the long term, sad things really are being made untrue. maybe there is also hope that in the here and now, jesus weeps. and maybe there is hope that the pain and grief and the guilt that we are all quietly carrying alone (or with a close friend), is actually being carried for us and with us.to aaron - I will miss your friendship, your smile, your loyalty, and the quiet, countless ways you carried me. to aaron's family - thank you for allowing me to be apart of your story. it is an honor I will be forever thankful for. to ashleigh, audrey, anna grace - you are surrounded today by people who love you and grieve with you, and my hope is that as our story continues, we can maybe carry you a fraction as well as aaron did. may the hope that is the wide, deep river of mercy and grace cover and wash over all of us. and may we never forget the beautiful people we've lost.

Sharp Mebius NJ70A

Sharp Mebius NJ70A，(854x480)。XXL iPhone.
NetBook (Atom N270 + Intel 945GSE + 10intch)，

Japan will sell next month.

Why Me?

I had the good fortune to spend some quality time with one of my dearest friends this weekend. She lives two hours away, so we have to do a bit of coordinating to make this happen. I was in her neck of the woods, so it worked out well.My friend is a protector. She shelters people she cares about from the storms of life. When she is unable to do this for someone she loves, it tears her up inside. I also tend to do this, but I can see where hardships (when limited in number, intensity and duration) can give a person character and emotional fortitude. This friend of mine is a perfect example of this.Her dad is all kinds of expletives and caused her more harm in life than good. Her mom had to compensate for this, which was not easy, given that she was a young mom with three daughters (and later a son) and her husband acted like a child. When they divorced, my friend, the oldest child, was placed in an even tougher spot and had to be the mom for the half of the year when the girls lived with their dad. When they were with their mom, she still had to do more parenting than most kids because her mom was a single parent working overtime to keep them fed and a roof over their heads. My friend endured hardships that I would not have ever wanted for her, and if I had been in a position I would have done what I could to protect her. In doing so, I might have done her a disservice though.My friend does not feel bad for herself. She says her parents were young and human. They made mistakes and she loves them anyway. She is glad she was there to take the brunt and protect her sisters. She has a tender spot for the afflicted as a result of her past. She runs her company's charitable donations and does a great job of it. They are the only company in their area to support a low-income family year-round and it has a lot to do with my friend's hard work and dedication. If it weren't for her suffering as a child, this family might not have food on the table, winter coats or Christmas gifts. She can see how her personal hardships opened her heart.What she can't see is how this works for other people. For example, while we were talking, she told me that her sister is struggling financially. She has a daughter who my friend loves to pieces. It kills my friend to see her sister and niece making sacrifices, pinching pennies and utilizing public assistance. She wishes she could take care of them. When she told me this, I told her how admirable it is that she loves her family so much, but that God has a plan. My friend's niece is in her formative years right now. She may be learning something from all of this that will make her a great social worker, teacher or humanitarian later in life.When I was four, I remember getting WIC, commodities and food stamps pretty regularly. It was not ideal, but we had food to eat and I have never judged anyone on assistance as a result. I remember one of my teachers bringing boxes of stuff that her daughter had outgrown to our house. I got a lot of joy from the things she gave me and I learned the value of passing things along to others when you no longer have use for them. I grew up in foster care and while it was difficult, it made me much more appreciative of family and good parenting. If I had had a perfect life, I might take things for granted and never help anyone else. But I did not, so I do not. I never ask, "Why me?" I know why. Because it made me a better human being.I do not think my friend's niece will ever ask that either. I think she will take something from the circumstances that she could not have learned any other way and she will incorporate it into herself. When she gets older, she will be a stronge, wise, compassionate woman, just like her mother, aunts and grandmother. She will respect her mom for working so hard to take care of her and she will become an amazing woman. My friend and everyone else in their family will shelter her from what they can, so she will not be hardened to the world or completely disillusioned, but she will be a real person and she will have some idea of how to get through the trials she has as an adult. She will know what it is like to live without certain luxuries and she will comfort people who are less fortunate than herself. If my friend saved her from her present, she would potentially doom others in the future.

How many mum do you have?

I just received some spam that suggested that I should shop early for my "No 1 Mom". Now I appreciate that in these days of multiple marriages and relationships it is quite possible to have a number of women who have had "mom or mum" in their titles. But only one of them will be your birth mother (or adopted mother if that is your circumstance). That doesn't necessarily make her your favourite Mom/Mum of course. Who is your No 1 Mom/Mum - your birth mother or someone else?

Crashing the Party

Think about those news stories that start out with a sobbing lady holding a dog, wiping her nose on her sleeve &shes whimpering, We should have checked on Grandma, we hadnt heard from her in two days&? The screen cuts to a nighttime scene&a little white house with police lights flashing red and blue as the paramedics wheel Grandma down the cracked porch steps. A somber news reporter raises an eyebrow and leans into the camera: Remember, if someone you know disappears, and displays unusual behavior, check on them before its too late. This morning something like that happened. Except instead of being Grandma, it was a coworker who went missing. I think the legal term for missing is 48 hours or something like that, at least for adults. But for otherwise responsible, communicative people you see on a daily basis, missing seems to occur a lot faster than that. This morning at the 8:00 meeting, a key player wasnt there. Lets call him Bert. Bert is one of my office mates. No one mentioned Berts absence at the early meeting, as the team is very flexible and it wouldnt be the first time someone on the team missed a meeting due to various hangovers reasons. But then ten oclock rolled around, and Bert was supposed to be running a meeting with my boss Sally. Sally had been peeking her head into my office at frequent intervals throughout the morning to see if Bert had arrived. At 10:1o, Sally came by again. Where is Bert, I wonder? she wondered. Then she told me about the ten oclock meeting that Bert was supposed to be in charge of. Hmm, I hmmed. That is really unlike Bert. I know, Sally agreed. Im starting to get worried. He wont answer his phone. You called him? Twice, Sally said. I left messages. Hes not calling me back. Thats really unlike him, I said. Maybe we should go check on him. Thats what I was thinking, Sally said. Do you think we should? I would want someone to check on me, if I didnt show up and didnt call, I said. Since Bert sits in the same office with me, I had background information that Bert had been using his inhaler quite often. I have an inhaler of my own but I hardly ever have to use it. Bert was popping that thing out every hour lately. What if Bert was lying at home on the kitchen floor, gasping for air? Bert is way too young to have a LifeAlert bracelet. Sally called up Berts friend Doug to investigate further. If anyone would have heard from Bert, it would have been Doug, she said. Doug had no idea where Bert was. Sally explained the circumstances. Now Doug was worried about Bert. Thats so unlike him, Doug said. The search party commenced. Doug and I got into Sallys Searchmobile and we headed out into the spring blizzard to look for Bert. I tried not to think about meth heads and murderers and broken femurs and other common causes of missing people&common in my head, anyway. I was just meeting Doug for the first time, so I mentioned the inhaler thing. I hope is okay, I said. Hes been around cats this weekend, Doug said. Hes deathly allergic to cats. Maybe thats why hes been using his inhaler a lot. Who has cats? Sally asked. Berts parents have cats, Doug said. They got them after Bert moved out. Now we were all imagining Bert laying on the kitchen floor, reaching into the dark for his inhaler, but not being able to see it for all the cat hair in his eyes. Doug led us to Berts house. Theres his car, I said. It was still covered in snow. Sally pulled into the driveway. Whos going in? I asked. I dont want to go in there if the murderer is still there. Its a search party, Sally pointed out. We all have to go in. We walked up the cement porch (the same one Grandma had been wheeled down in the scenario above, strangely enough!). Doug used the doorknocker and tapped a few times. No answer. He knocked again. No answer. Berts dog ran up to the window and was wagging her tail. Theres the dog, Sally said. Wheres Bert, doggie? We waited. No answer. We wiggled the doorknob, but it was locked. Doug surveyed the premises. There arent any dog tracks in the yard, Doug pointed out after a quick analysis. He would never not let his dog out in the morning. Im going around back to see if I can get in. Im really worried now, Sally said. I glanced at the window to my left. I wonder if this window is& I reached up to check the sturdiness of the window, and the entire window frame fell out onto my head. I eased it down to the porch. Oops. Now the sliding glass window was exposed. I put my hands on the glass and pushed up. It moved. The windows unlocked, I said. Im going in. I slid the window open and now the only obstacle between the search party and Berts cold, unmoving corpse was some thin white blinds. I just had to pry them open and peer in&it was probably a way to get in the living room& ***Reenactment! (Not Bert) I expected to see a living room with magazines and books and a TV in the corner. Nope. It was the bedroom. And who was in bed, but a very surprised looking Bert was up in bed looking as I was prying open the blinds. It was Bert. And Bert was holding up the covers a lot like the demo grandma shown above, and wore a similar expression on his face. Oh, hi, I said. Note to self: Work on phrases other than oh hi to utter when you are crawling through a coworkers window& What are you doing? he asked. Good effing question. Sally was shouting around the side of the house at Doug, calling off the search party, hopefully before he broke down the back door. You missed a meeting, I said. Oh, and you might want to put a shirt on. Doug, Sally and I had a good laugh on the front porch about the whole matter until finally Bert opened the front door. He was surprised to see the three of us there. I guess I slept through my alarm clock, Bert said. We laughed and laughed and laughed. Why didnt you just call? Bert said. I called twice, Sally said. No way, Bert said. I didnt even hear the phone. Way, the three of us echoed. I, uh, guess Im going to go take a shower and come to work, Bert said. Sorry about your window, I said. We all looked to the left where the window was laying on the porch sideways. ***** Later, Bert arrived at the office. Our other officemate Ace asked Bert how his morning was going. I woke up to Maleesha peeking in my blinds, Bert said, with some extreme eye rollage thrown in. How do you think its going? ***** Anyway, I am happy to report that Bert is alive and well, not gagging on cat hair or bleeding from the abdomen from a stabbing. I think though, that for Christmas our team is going to pool our money and get Bert a LifeAlert bracelet&just in case.

Belinda Carlisle is Dancing With the Stars!

Little did anyone in the bedroom community of Newbury Park, California know back in the 1970s when little Belinda Kurczeski was dreaming of her future that she would be a pop music star... except perhaps for Belinda herself.The Belinda I knew from high school days was not just the cheerleader that the general public knows about... she was also a member of her high school's Forensic Speaking Team... as was I. That's how we met... our extracurricular activity - the speech tournament - found us always listed and therefore seated next to one another - as Kereakes (my last name) and Kurczeski (Belinda's last name) both begin with "K" and are equally as confusing to pronounce to those unaccustomed to the European surname.In 1978, believe it or not, the pages of Vogue magazine featured outfits not unlike the one Belinda is wearing above - "This Year's Model" is an apt caption.Whether you dig that fashion statement or not, Belinda was a bonafide punk rock It Girl.... seen below in the crowd at the front of the stage at a Dickies show.And she could be found wearing a big wig and costume to sing back up for Black Randy when he performed a Cinco de Mayo show as Mexican Randy...Belinda was also a fixture backstage at all the clubs.... such as the Whisky a Go GoAbove, she's the ruse so we could photograph the Joneses.... and below, she's hanging with her gal pals....Its astonishing to see Belinda's transformation from suburban fan to punk rock glam girl to bonafide pop star....Tonight, you can see Belinda enter the world of super stardom ... she's on network TV - Dancing With the Stars.... you don't get invited to appear on those shows unless the whole world knows who you are.Looking at ABC's site and its bio and photos of Belinda... all I can say is... transformation, indeed!Photographs of the punk rock Belinda from pre-Go Gos days are available through Punk Turns 30's gallery representation: Metropolis, of Lancaster, PA.

The homes

Yesterday, as we were initiating in earnest the complex process of accepting a foster child placement, everything screeched to a halt. Wife and I were about to attend a staffing meeting during which everyone involved in the case was going to sit around a table and discuss the child and plot the smoothest possible transition. Just beforehand, however, two people who are very closely involved threw a large wrench into the works. Their action was so unexpected and of such an unusual nature (sorry for the necessary vagueness!) that we have no idea whether it means merely a temporary setback or that the whole placement will be canceled. We’ll be learning more over the next few days. For now, we’re holding our breath and remaining calm. This obstacle has nothing to do with us, so all we can do is wait and see how the agencies sort it out.Three things come to mind:First, I was looking forward not just to getting going on the placement, but to the meeting itself. Staffing meetings are state-mandated procedural affairs, but I find them oddly comforting. On the one hand, any such meeting is founded on heartbreak--it wouldn’t be taking place at all if a kid hadn’t suffered some scale-tipping degree of abuse, neglect, or loss in his or her short life. On the other hand, that very heartbreak set in motion a mechanism that brought together a roomful of energetic, resourceful people committed to the single goal of solving this little person’s big problems with a minimum of further disruption. It’s kind of like all the unfairness has switched sides and now the odds are stacked in the kid’s favor rather than against. It’s good to be part of that.Second, I’m glad we haven’t met this child yet, and that he hasn’t heard anything about us. That was supposed to happen yesterday. If we were already into the transition it would be much more difficult, especially for him, to have it stopped unexpectedly, with no obvious resolution in the offing.Third, I’m surprised at how much less volatile our emotions have been this time compared to the first placement we had. In that case, we also roller-coastered through a couple of weeks of uncertainty. First, we heard about the girl, and got more excited the more we learned about her and the more it looked like she would fit well into our household. Then the agency (for legitimate reasons) made some conditions we couldn’t meet, and it looked almost definite that she wouldn’t be coming to live with us. I won’t use the word “devastated,” but I vividly remember how despondent I was. It probably isn’t surprising. Getting to the point of committing to bring a troubled child into your home requires a fair amount of adrenaline-fueled emotional support, so the letdown was precipitous. Then, it all came together and we learned that she was coming after all. We were elated once again.That experience was a little too much of a wild ride, so I will admit that I’m appreciating the relative calm we feel now. We feel a little wiser than we were then, a little better equipped to handle the uncertainties. After all, you’d never get into fostering in the first place if you were looking for neatness and predictability. It’s messy by definition, and almost anything can happen, so you have to be braced for the sudden turns. We understand that better now. Also, there’s no doubt that we’re a little more emotionally guarded than before, now that we’ve experienced the full spectrum of feelings associated with a finite foster child placement.We’re eager to meet this boy, but for now none of the decisions lie with us. We just have to wait patiently, hope for the best, and try to stay calm.

Why boys need parents?

What are little boys made of ?What are little boys made of ?Frogs and snailsAnd puppy-dogs' tails.What are little girls made of ?What are little girls made of ?Sugar and spiceAnd all that's nice.

listen to mother? beside these

1. too close to the TV ,you will be short-sighted

2. Within an hour to swim after a meal will cramp to death

3. Chocolate cause acne

4.Carrots can improve eyesight

5.Often make joint noise, lead to arthropathy

6.Lightning has never struck at the same place twice

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The future of human beings is what matters

When I was a boy, my family left the rural misery of Brazil’s north-east and set off for São Paulo. My mother, an extraordinary woman of great courage, uprooted herself and her children and moved to the industrial centre of Brazil in search of a better life. My childhood was no different from that of many boys from poor families: informal jobs; very little formal education. My only diploma was as a machine lathe operator, from a course at the National Service for Industry.I began to experience the reality of factory life, which awoke in me my vocation as a union leader. I became a member of the Metalworkers’ Union of São Bernardo, in the outskirts of São Paulo. I became the union’s president and, as such, led the strikes of 1978-1980 that changed the face of the Brazilian labour movement and played a big role in returning democracy to the country, then under military dictatorship.The impact of the union movement on Brazilian society led us to create the Workers’ party, which brought together urban and rural workers, intellectuals and militants from civil society. Brazilian capitalism, at that time, was not only a matter of low salaries, insalubrious working conditions and repression of the union movement. It was also expressed in economic policy and in the whole set of the government’s public policies, as well as in the restrictions it placed on civil liberties. Together with millions of other workers, I discovered it was not enough merely to demand better salaries and working conditions. It was fundamental that we should fight for citizenship and for a profound reorganisation of economic and social life.I fought and lost four elections before being elected president of the republic in 2002. In opposition, I came to know my country intimately. In discussions with intellectuals I thrashed out the alternatives for our society, living out on the periphery of the world a drama of stagnation and profound social inequality. But my greatest understanding of Brazil came from direct contact with its people through the “caravans of citizenship” that took me across tens of thousands of kilometres.When I arrived in the presidency, I found myself faced not only by serious structural problems but, above all, by an inheritance of ingrained inequalities. Most of our governors, even those that enacted reforms in the past, had governed for the few. They concerned themselves with a Brazil in which only a third of the population mattered.The situation I inherited was one not only of material difficulties but also of deep-rooted prejudices that threatened to paralyse our government and lead us into stagnation. We could not grow, it was said, without threatening economic stability – much less grow and distribute wealth. We would have to choose between the internal market and the external. Either we accepted the unforgiving imperatives of the globalised economy or we would be condemned to fatal isolation.Over the past six years, we have destroyed those myths. We have grown and enjoyed economic stability. Our growth has been accompanied by the inclusion of tens of millions of Brazilian people in the consumer market. We have distributed wealth to more than 40m who lived below the poverty line. We have ensured that the national minimum wage has risen always above the rate of inflation. We have democratised access to credit. We have created more than 10m jobs. We have pushed forward with land reform. The expansion of our domestic market has not happened at the expense of exports – they have tripled in six years. We have attracted enormous volumes of foreign investment with no loss of sovereignty. All this has enabled us to accumulate $207bn (€164bn, £150bn) in foreign reserves and thereby protect ourselves from the worst effects of a financial crisis that, born at the centre of capitalism, threatens the entire structure of the global economy.Nobody dares to predict today what will be the future of capitalism.As the governor of a great economy described as “emerging”, what I can say is what sort of society I hope will emerge from this crisis. It will reward production and not speculation. The function of the financial sector will be to stimulate productive activity – and it will be the object of rigorous controls, both national and international, by means of serious and representative organisations. International trade will be free of the protectionism that shows dangerous signs of intensifying. The reformed multilateral organisations will operate programmes to support poor and emerging economies with the aim of reducing the imbalances that scar the world today. There will be a new and democratic system of global governance. New energy policies, reform of systems of production and of patterns of consumption will ensure the survival of a planet threatened today by global warming.But, above all, I hope for a world free of the economic dogmas that invaded the thinking of many and were presented as absolute truths. Anti-cyclical policies must not be adopted only when a crisis is under way. Applied in advance – as they have been in Brazil – they can be the guarantors of a more just and democratic society.As I said at the outset, I do not give much importance to abstract concepts. I am not worried about the name to be given to the economic and social order that will come after the crisis, so long as its central concern is with human beings.

(IT) Developer - FX, Java, Linux, Multithreading, Investment Bank

Rate: £60k-£80k Per Annum + Bonus And Benefits Location: London Developer - FX, Java, Linux, Multithreading, Investment Bank. A first tier Investment Bank requires a VP Team Lead to join the FX electronic trading team. Your main responsibilities will be: (1) Lead the technical design and development for streams of work for the FX E-commerce trading platform (eFX). Reporting to the head of FX E-commerce based in London, contribute towards the overall strategy and technical direction of the group. (2) Work as part of global and diversified team to deliver consistent services and products to the FX business. Line management of a small (c.5) development team. (3) Coach and Mentor team members to improve development processes and deliverables. (4) Participate in all phases of software development life cycle: specification, development, testing and deployment. (5) Ensuring team produces deliverables meeting defined coding standards, well commented, maintainable and including appropriate levels of unit and system tests. Please call or email Christopher Goodwin on 020 7187 6260 or (see below) Please note you will receive an automated response advising you that we have received your CV Hudson is a leading provider of permanent recruitment, contract professionals and talent management solutions worldwide. Rate: £60k-£80k Per Annum + Bonus And BenefitsType: PermanentLocation: LondonCountry: EnglandContact: Christopher GoodwinAdvertiser: Hudson Banking & FinanceEmail: Christopher.Goodwin.294C2.B830E@mail.jobserve.comStart Date: ASAPReference: JSUK572824

How to Make a Great Tasting Cup of Coffee

There is good coffee and absolutely abysmal coffee. Both may start with the same elements, but one cup can taste completely different to another. Freshness is the key to great tasting coffee. Here is the play by play smackdown of how to create a fantastic tasting cup of coffee.
1. Use good beans. Go to a local coffee roaster and buy only enough coffee beans to last you a week. When you buy beans make sure the beans are all relatively the same size and same color for even grinding and flavor. If you buy beans from the supermarket at minimum, check to see if the beans are Arabica.
2. Use filtered water. Even if your coffee maker has a charcoal filter it is best to start off with filtered water to ensure there are no impurities like chlorine or minerals to alter the real taste. Use cold water.
3. For the best tasting coffee ensure you have a coffee maker which can brew up to 95 to 98 degrees Celsius, just off the boil. This temperature is the optimal temperature to get the best flavor out of the bean.
4. The grind. Only grind as much coffee as you are going to need for that moment. The finer you grind, the more flavor you will receive. The grind has to be even to ensure even taste. If you are using a cheap coffee maker you should only use a medium grind to avoid the over-extraction. However, grind to your equipment’s recommendations.
5. Use two level tablespoons of coffee per cup. If you are making more than 10-cups of coffee you should use the strength meter on its highest position possible to allow more water to penetrate the grounds evenly.
6. Use unbleached coffee filters or ensure your permanent filter is free from all coffee sludge. When it comes to coffee, cleanliness is next to Godliness.
7. Stir the pot. Once the coffee is brewed, stir the pot to infuse the taste. At bare minimum, these steps should always be used when making coffee. Think about the farmer’s in the field, if you skip a step are you doing their hard work justice? On a selfish note, missing one of those steps will affect the taste of your coffee, even slightly.


Other things to make a great cup of coffee are: 1. Always ensure your equipment is clean.2. NEVER reuse coffee grinds. 3. NEVER grind beans just taken out of the freezer. Let them thaw first. 4. Always store coffee in air-tight containers away from direct sunlight. 5. NEVER leave the coffee on a heater for longer than ½ an hour. It gets a burnt taste and smell. 6. Always warm your cup and never reheat coffee. The best coffee starts with fresh beans, clean equipment and clean water.

Preparing for Pre-School Prose

To develop a love of learning that will last forever, help your child begin his educational journey with the tools he needs to be successful. Begin early and prepare your child for the words heard around the classroom.

"Do you want to play in the block area or kitchen center?"
By listening to you describe objects, events, and people, your child will begin to understand and express words that tell about important details in his world. This will enable him to make choices and express his own opinions. Talk to your child about color, shape and size, how items feel, and the sounds you are hearing. Give him many opportunities to make and express reasonable choices. Perhaps, which book to read, which desert to have, or which activity to pursue after lunch. "

Did you have cereal for breakfast?"
Children need a lot of practice answering and asking questions. Often, ask questions that start with, what if, or what do your think would happen if, to help him learn to guess and speculate about possibility, instead of rushing to just say yes or no. Read a simple story and ask questions. Encourage him to ask you questions as his curiosity blossoms. Also, ask your child questions that have more then one right answer, so that he can learn that people have different opinions and ideas.

Tips To Keep Your Wooden Furniture New Forever

Some of the reasons that make your wooden furniture loose strength are cracking, paint or varnish defects, swelling or shrinking due to moist/dry weather conditions etc.
Exposure to snow, rain, mist or moisture affects the wood cells and as a result your wooden furniture may expand which further leads to cracking and peeling. On the other hand, solar radiation and heat will make your furniture contract and change in appearance and decrease in composite thickness of wood may occur. During this process, the color of the wood becomes light and also it looses its fibers due to erosion. But, this erosion involves decade of years as it is

You have to apply a coat of paint or varnish once in a year to maintain the luster of your wooden furniture.
You can adjust the expansion or contraction of your furniture with screws and never apply paint or varnish over screw fittings.
Use waterproof covers to protect the furniture against moisture.
While placing objects like mugs, vases and glasses on your wooden furniture use mats or coasters.
If you are keeping your wooden furniture near your swimming pool, you have to wash it often as the chlorine may affect the paint of the furniture.
If the furniture has some damaged surface, apply some stone texture compound into the area and let it dry completely. Then, you can apply a fresh coat of paint on the damaged surface.

Never choose some piece of furniture for its attractive style and color. Think of the space available at your home and the color of the walls before buying any furniture as then only you can give a graceful look to your home décor. The wooden furniture you buy should be sturdy and comfortable. Also, the fabrics used in the furniture should tolerate your neighborhood kids and your dog. So, it is smart to choose the best furniture from a reliable furniture store by giving them the exact descriptions of the type of furniture you are looking for.

A Simple Guide In Comparing Security Systems

Home security systems shouldn't only encompass safety and prevention from burglars but also from disastrous events like fires. Buying a good system will really help. But somehow you might ask…”What exactly is a good system?” There are different home security systems like video security, smoke/ carbon monoxide detector, etc. Basically, the must have components of a standard security system are the following:
• Motion Detectors. These detectors sound the alarm when movements are detected.
• Wired door or window screens. The security system will be activated once the screen is removed or the wire is cut.
• Panic buttons. The buttons can be installed along the doorways or next to beds. Once there is a force of entry, the buttons can be activated manually.
• Closed circuit television. This is a TV system which allows for an internal and external monitoring of house zones.
• Magnetic contacts. The contact form electrical circuits between a window and its sill or the door and its frame. Once the door or window is opened, the circuit will be broken and this movement will sound the alarm.
• Wireless and wired systems. Wireless systems use radio frequencies to hook up to other system components while wired systems use exposed or covered wiring to connect to other components of the security systems.
• Key pads. These components are also known as remotes or touch pads. These pads allow you to arm or disarm the system. It also shows the status of the system.
• There are other components such as stress sensors and glass break detectors. When comparing the home security systems, it will be helpful to seek for the advice of a security system experts.

A Case For A Fireplace

Unlike in the past, we don't need nor necessarily use fireplaces for warmth. Today, we use fireplaces for aesthetics or to create a warm atmosphere within a home. Although they aren't required, fireplaces have a unique way of turning a house into home. Perhaps because they aren't required, it can be difficult to find a brand new home that's already furnished with a fireplace. Since the development of central heating, they've almost disappeared! To find a home with a fireplace, one had to specifically seek them out and settle for a home build in an earlier decade or even century.

Fireplaces follow a simple structure: a Wall opening leading to a chimney. But it's what they're made of and their different sizes that lend to different styles. Some are traditionally large and made of brick while others are smaller and made of a smooth, heat/fire proof material. Essentially, they all radiate heat into a room while sending smoke and carbon monoxide up its shaft (chimney). Required to burn wood, drafts in the home are controlled by adjusting a fireplace's damper - also used to prevent downdrafts from entering into the chimney itself. HistoryWhere did the Fireplace originate? Well if you can call a portable metal pot that's capable of containing heated material and dispensing heat across an enclosure, then we can say that fireplaces originated in ancient Egypt and Greece! The ancient Romans invented something similar to a fireplace called a hypocaust - a furnace connected with a series of small chambers and flues of tiles through which the heat of a fire was distributed to rooms above. But it was in the 13th century that the Roman chimney was invented, and the 600 BC stove that brought us the fireplace that we're all familiar with today. 600 BC Chinese stoves were made with porcelain covered bricks and they too, passed smoke through a chimney. The early American cast-iron stove as a fireplace was used for heat, cooking, and even drying laundry. Over time, the fireplace has gone through several designs - all of course hoping to improve heat efficiency and reduce carbon monoxide poisoning.

We don't cook in fireplaces today, however we can and should use them to reduce energy bills. In fact, the wood stove was widely used during the early 70s energy crisis and because of today's energy faux pas, interest in fireplaces has peaked again. ApplicationIf you're thinking about having a fireplace installed, be sure to look at some of the more intriguing designs available today. A square brick fireplace just isn't your only option and more than a few are simply beautiful. You'll want to discuss the options that available with your contractor and also investigate the different exhaust systems that you can use. This is particularly important for housing that's uniquely shaped, like a 'round' house for example. If your home is prone to strong drafts, you'll want to talk about flanking your fireplace with ducts. With the use of flanking, your fireplace will attract cooler air through the ducts, heat it, and send it back into your home, warmer than before.

Aluminum Windows - A Blend Of Might And Beauty

Aluminum is a lightweight metal with superb non-corrosive and anti-rust properties. With these outstanding properties, it is a first rate choice for window replacement in your home. Aluminum will enhance the look and life of your window. Aluminum is also extremely cost effective.

Aluminum used in windows, increases the value of the estate by making the house look very beautiful and attractive. Since aluminum is such a good conductor of heat and electricity, it absorbs the heat or cold air, thus preventing it from entering the house. This process of absorption, not only cools or warms the house, but helps reduce electricity bills. There are aluminum storm windows also available which protect houses from the bitterly cold winters.Aluminum windows: Aluminum is a common metal to use for widow frames. It is strong and lightweight. It also resists corrosion and rust. This means that it will last for a longer period. At first windows were made from wood and despite treating it there were several problems with rotting and deterioration. With aluminum, windows have improved and last longer.Aluminum storm panels are used for protecting your windows from hurricanes and storms. They are strong and durable making them ideal for protection. Aluminum storm panels are lightweight making them easier to handle than the old galvanized steel ones. They are easy to store when not in use and are very cost effective compared to the old steel ones.

Thus aluminum can be used in a variety of ways. Just by using aluminum as canopies, windows, doors, blinds and so on, you can enhance the beauty of your home, at such a low cost. This improves the resale value of your house too.

Cute baby

You Don't Know What You're Doing (Or Why You're Still Fat)

To feel guilt and shame is built into our essence—it's a natural consequence of being mortal. Not only must we have done some nasty stuff to be in so much trouble but, unable to come up with a way to alter our situation, to change the given, we're incompetent where it matters most. It's also necessary to remind ourselves that our natural feelings of guilt and shame, accompanied as they are by the sheer terror the fact of being mortal causes us, make for an intolerable burden that must be relieved if we are to function in the world with even a modest degree of equanimity.Finally, it's necessary to recognize the last thing we want to recognize, since to recognize it undermines what we're trying to achieve: virtually everything we do is, in one way or another, designed to mollify our existential dread and anxiety. It is, in fact, precisely this need that makes the world go around.Bearing such truths in mind, I'm saying that people with perpetual obesity issues are playing a game with themselves.Look. One of the myriad ways with which we accomplish the mitigation of our natural guilt and shame (not to mention our terror) is by finding, and becoming obsessed with, OTHER things to feel guilty and ashamed about, things that (to assure them an authentic gravity) are culturally certified as real and legitimate faults or deficiencies and which, at the same time, are POTENTIALLY REDEEMABLE, that are within our capacity to overcome or transcend. What we do is make THEM what is essentially wrong with us—indeed, we make them, in our minds, the very reason for the death sentence we've been handed. Implicitly, these fabricated problems also embody a way to achieve our salvation. If they are what is fundamentally wrong with us, by defeating them we will be absolved of what is fundamentally wrong with us. If we still must die we will survive our death in heaven.But here's the thing. If we succeed in beating the problem we've concocted for ourselves we're returned to where we began. Once the flush of victory wanes we discover that our underlying dilemma is still there, that we're left to nakedly confront our existential horrors once again. So what do we do?Well, if (and exploiting, of course, an innate predilection) we've made weight our problem, and if, with dieting and exercise, we've managed to overcome this problem, what we do is find an excuse to quit exercising, to go off our diet. Then what we do is renew our struggle and when the process has run its course again we repeat it. Unless we find another game to play, we play this one into infinity.Yes, each time we gain weight again the pain and humiliation we experience is devastating. But the degree of our anguish serves to validate the size and authenticity of our manufactured problem. In order to make the problem feel real and significant enough to work its purpose we need to experience real torment. At bottom, however, for all of the misery it causes us, our weight problem functions as the anodyne for a larger misery. The more we flagellate ourselves with it the more we succeed in suppressing our fundamental dread and anxiety and the more we achieve a measure of peace on the level that matters most to us. Say all that to say that, for its assistance in shoring up the "validity" of their weight problem, I think fat people should regard "Peggie" as a gift.

Where Are You Headed, Honey?

Hope is the destination that we seek.Love is the road that leads to hope.
Courage is the motor that drives us.We travel out of darkness into faith

Duane MacRoy had been a drifter from the time he was old enough to fend for himself. Like many drifters, he had never stayed in one place for more than a few months before deciding that he would be happier somewhere else.
Tonight, he imagined himself relaxing on a sunny Pacific beach. He could feel the hot sand between his toes as the salty ocean winds swept the last bit of discontent from his soul. At last, he would build a permanent home and find lasting happiness.

It all began when he arrived at Union Station. It was 8 p.m. when he checked his bags and sat down to wait for the Lightning Express which would take him from Kansas City to Los Angeles. However, the baggage clerk announced that the train had been delayed for six hours in Chicago. It was not expected to arrive in Kansas City until 3 a.m.

One photo in particular made Duane's heart skip a beat. A woman sat on the front bench with a small boy who was dressed in a pinstripe suit and Sunday hat. Duane's mind raced back to the age of five when his mother and he sat in that same bench, waiting to board the train for Los Angeles.

Travelers, he decided, had not changed except for their style of clothing. Dissatisfied with the moment, they shifted their feet nervously, paged absent-mindedly through magazines, and longed for a new destination.

Duane was captivated by the old photographs. He reflected on the incredible brevity of the human lifespan. Here had been a bustling station filled with travelers—many old folks and children in the 1920s—beautiful people full of life, love, and the desire to be happy. Very few of them would still be alive.

They were just waiting… waiting to find something more… waiting to get on with the trip.
"We always do," he said to himself, "get on with the trip. Life moves on like a speeding train, replacing those of us traveling today with travelers of tomorrow." He wondered if travelers would look just as impatient to get out of town eighty years from now, or if human nature would finally change like clothing styles and transportation.

He had seen how life's passengers wish away their hours instead of enjoying the thrilling journey—how they cling to regret as though it were heavy carry-on luggage. Duane pondered all these things, but he did not understand. He wondered where the ultimate destination of life could be found.

Why was he running again? Why would somewhere else be any better—this time?
He had drifted his way though life, escaping any lasting commitments and responsibilities, but he had never been able to run away from himself. His mind whirled with questions about his destination.

The train sped across Kansas and through the Rocky Mountains of Colorado before winding south into New Mexico. During the second night, it had reached the Mojave Desert of California.
Duane was exhausted. Sleeping intermittently, he dreamt of the woman and the small boy in the photo at Union Station. They greeted him, walking along a sandy beach. The woman handed him a golden key.
He awoke to the lonely brooding cry of the train's whistle. It only seemed to intensify the pain of his existence. He got up and stumbled down to the snack car for some coffee. Glancing nervously at his watch, he staggered back down the swaying isle and collapsed into his seat. After two sips of coffee, he dozed off.


It was then that he noticed the elderly woman across the isle, peacefully holding her grandson. She winked at Duane and smiled as she softly stroked the child's dark, curly hair.
"Where are you headed, Honey?" she asked, reaching across the isle to wipe a drop of splattered coffee from Duane's jacket.
Suddenly, something inside Duane's mind snapped awake.

He finally knew the answer to a question that had played beneath his awareness since he first left home many years ago. The answer had been locked inside his restless heart all along.
Reaching into his jacket, Duane returned the elderly woman's smile through his tears.
"Right here," was all he said, handing her a candy bar to give to the little boy.
The elderly woman's eyes lit up like the morning sun, and she nodded as if she knew.
"Me too!" she replied.

Top Organizing Suggestions for Your Philadelphia Wedding

Taking on some major Philadelphia wedding planning?


The biggest company currently hosting bridal shows in Philadelphia is Bridal
Event . They host events all over Pennsylvania and New Jersey and are known for large-scale bridal shows with hundreds of vendors.

Plan for Your Photographer
Philadelphia is the city of brotherly love, and wedding photo opportunities are everywhere. Whether you want to take your shots at the infamous LOVE statue or beautiful city hall, Philadelphia is a city that’s brimming with history, tradition and romantic settings. However, remember to arrange your photo permits before you start shooting.
For example, to take pictures at the Longwood Gardens you need to fill out a permission slip, pay admission for each member of your wedding party and adhere to a strict no tripods and no lights rule. Other areas in the city, like Fairmount Park, also require permits, so plan ahead.

Get In Touch Online
Sometimes Philadelphia wedding planning can be overwhelming, so why not blow off some steam venting with other brides or doing your planning and shopping online. You can try a national site like One Wed or something local such as PA Brides to find vendors or just inspiration.

Wedding in spring

House on the tree

Carve The Rain

Embedded Bath

Pink room

Doll

keyboard cup

ball chair

chair in desk

toothbrush holder

Trojan

Tianjin's

Birth

sunshine in room

Graphic Design

clourful life

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