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The NBPA's Executive Committee met with player representatives today to discuss the league's latest CBA offer, which commissioner David Stern has publicly stated will be the best deal offered and that their next proposal would be even more favorable for owners. Stern issued an ultimatum that if the players didn't agree to this proposal by 5PM EST tomorrow, the next round of negotiations would begin with owners offering a lesser deal.
Players rejected the proposal and don't appear intimidated by Stern's threat. However, union president Derek Fisher did indicate that the 50/50 basketball-related income (BRI) split would be acceptable to players, if they could get some more favorable terms on other system issues (mid-level exception and luxury tax among them).
"We’re open-minded about potential compromises on our number," Fisher said, referring to the revenue share for the players. "But there are things in the system that are not up for discussion, that we have to have, in order to be able to get this season going again."
It might seem alarming that players announced rejection of this deal in the face of Stern's deadline and chatter of union decertification among some players, but nothing else could really have been expected. Of course they weren't going to announce that they would accept the owners' proposal outright. That would be unconditional surrender, and there's still another day for the union to try to wring something else from the owners. And that's if we're taking Stern's threat seriously; more time if not. There's nothing special about Wednesday, November 9 except that Stern chose this arbitrary date to set his deadline.
UPDATE 11/9/11 10:40AM PST : According to several reports, owners and players are meeting in NYC hotel today for negotiations.
UPDATE II 11/9/11 2:02PM PST: Stern's 5PM EST "deadline" passes, sides still meeting. Real deadline is at the end of today's session.
That the union seems willing to accept the 50/50 split is reason for optimism, depending upon how much separation still truly exists on those system issues. There was also reportedly little to no discussion of decertifying the union, a move that would throw the process into chaos and legal purgatory, in today's meeting.
No meeting between owners and the union is scheduled yet for tomorrow, but it's hard to imagine there won't be one. And it's possible the owners throw the players some small bone on the system issues and, by this time tomorrow, we're all celebrating that NBA basketball will be back by mid-December.
However, I don't think that will happen. Even the current "best offer" from the owners, the one that the players rejected today is not enough of a victory for some hard-line owners, tweeted ESPN's Chris Broussard. According to Broussard:
The owners on the call included Michael Jordan, Paul Allen and Herb Kohl. They are hoping the players reject the offer, sources said...The owners fear the player reps meeting in NYC Tuesday will push for approval of the deal. David Stern was not on the conference call. The hard-line owners prefer the alternative deal that will go into effect Wed if players reject 50/50 - 47 pct, flex cap, contract rollbacks
More posturing from the owners? Perhaps. But it seems like there is at least a decent-sized chunk of owners who really won't mind losing a lot of, or maybe all of this season. Even this "almost" deal we have here is unacceptable to the hard-liners on each side. Maybe I've just been burned with dashed hopes too many times before, but I don't see this settlement happening tomorrow. (Oh, by the way, am I the only one who was relieved not to see Robert Sarver mentioned in that Broussard tweet?)
The amount of bluster on the part of the players - this time coming from outside counsel Jeffrey Kessler himself - is getting louder, and emptier, with each passing negotiation. Last night's post-negotiation blustering reached crescendo peaks.
Sounds like a kid who's laying on the floor, pounding his fists into the ground, demanding ice cream. And as with any child, you find yourself wanting to pat him on the head (or the tushee) and send him on his way. Especially when that child knows the score but is unwilling to accept it.
"They've been consistent for weeks," Kessler said in the same news conference, apparently appalled that the owners would have the stones to hold position.
David Stern - Mr. PR winner himself - is the parent here. The owners have all the leverage, because they have the resolve and the resources to wait out the players. Stern and the owners have made it clear for years, months, weeks, days - any measure of time - that the current system is going bye-bye. And that once the owners had the ability (the expiration of the existing CBA), they would exercise their option to enforce change.
Kessler and the union are playing the part of the stubborn child. They want something they used to get all the time, and can't understand why it's being taken away. Yet they have no leverage to get it back. An effective parent doesn't change his/her mind based on the decibel level of the child's cries of "But that's not FAIR!"
"Our 51 percent offer was based on a fair system." Kessler continued. "They would have to come to us on the system, but they did not."
The players think "fair" is to keep or improve on the old system, and I can't fault them for that. I'd want the same thing. Yet the people who fund that system have decided to change the rules, and they have all the power to do so.
As unfair as it seems to the players, the casual observer wonders what all the fuss is about. To be sure, the latest offer from the owners - in terms of the SYSTEM - is not much different than the old CBA.
The players union is crying about a hard cap restricting player movement during free agency yet the impact of the latest proposals gives little to no indication of that claim. Hardly anything has changed, in terms of system.
The latest proposal restricts sign-and-trades and significant free agent contracts from those teams way above the tax line (which means they are already paying a lot more for players than their peers), but not to anyone else.
Example: Dallas Mavericks, already paying the $30 million over the 'salary cap' and lauded as one of the deepest teams in the league, add a former all-star in Shawn Marion for $8 million per year via sign-and-trade for end-of-bench players. And then the next offseason, after just re-signing their starting C to a $9 million/year contract extension, they do another sign-and-trade to acquire C Tyson Chandler despite the fact that Chandler makes - all by himself - 25% of a team's salary cap.
Those moves took 2 quality free agents and 1 high-paid starter off the market and placed them on a single team that already boasted a high-paid roster of all-stars and veterans. They made the Mavericks a better team, for sure. But should the Mavericks have been able to corner the market in such a dramatic fashion?
The league says no. The league says that the teams already over the agreed-to limit should be restricted from adding even more money to their payrolls.
The player's argument is that stopping the Mavs from signing those 3 players would hurt the players' chances at making money. I call BS on that. Brendan Haywood, Tyson Chandler and Shawn Marion would all have gotten just as much - if not more - from another team that wasn't over the luxury tax line.
Let's take another example where the owners want to restrict tax-payers' ability to add significant talent through the use of the midlevel exception. In consecutive offseasons, the defending league champion Los Angeles Lakers were allowed to add near-all-star Ron Artest - err, Metta World Peace - and starting-quality PG Steve Blake to a team already boasting a payroll more than $30 million over the league's salary cap (and 10+ million over the luxury tax line).
Again, the players' claim that stopping the Lakers from signing these contracts would hurt the players themselves is an empty threat. Ron Artest, at that time, was worth MORE than the midlevel exception. He could have gotten 20-30% more money from a number of other teams. And Steve Blake would have gotten the same or more money as well.
Think of a league in which those 5 players were signed by 5 different teams. Those could have been quality teams as well - playoff teams even. Wouldn't that make for a more competitive league, with a wider band of contending teams each season? All while the players "affected" would have ended up with more money and potentially an equal chance at a championship.
Again, I call BS on the players' claim that restricting player movement to high tax payers would hurt the players' in any way, shape or form.
Anyway, I digress. Back to the other issues. Let's recap what was agreed to in recent negotiations:
Shorter contract lengths (by 1 year for each qualifier, "bird" or "non-bird")
One-time amnesty per team on existing contracts (ie. signed before 2011)
More-punitive luxury tax (example: the Lakers would have paid $43 million in luxury tax rather than $20 million this past year)
Lower mid-level exception contracts: (about $1 less per year, and only 3 years in length)
New "Stretch" exception (to be available at least once a season: when a player is waived, the team can stretch out the remaining contract - including the cap hit - over more than twice the years)
Lower annual raises (no more 10.5% raises for "bird" contracts, or 8% for everything else; still no agreement on HOW low the raises though)
10-year length of new CBA
Relaxed rules on restricted free agents (unclear on details here, but some mention of relaxing "base year" rules which made it hard to trade young players who got extensions from their original team)
Easing of trade rules (unclear on this as well, but it was mentioned by Alan Hahn)
Assumption: all other terms will remain unchanged since they haven't been negotiated, including the max contract amount (roughly $16 million to start), "bird" rights in general, draft rules/contracts, etc.
Still no agreement:
BRI split (I'm so tired of hearing about this one!)
Early termination clauses in player contracts (league wants to abolish them, union wants to keep them)
Limiting the use of exceptions and sign-and-trades by tax-paying teams, for first-time and/or repeat offenders
"opt out" clause in new CBA - after year 7 or 8?
Seems like a handful of minor issues remain: the use of early-termination clauses, the CBA "opt out" clause, and actual amount of annual raises (somewhere less than 10.5% and 8%).
Oh yeah, and there's the BRI split.
The players are offering a 51/49 split in favor of them, with 1% of that going toward benefits and pensions.
The owners are offering a straight 50/50 split - and have been for a month now - but yesterday added an ability for the players to get as much as 51% if BRI increases at a much higher rate than the projected 4% per year.
That's not significantly different. At all. Less than 1% difference.
Oh, and let's also call BS on the players' claims of "giving back" money, as if they are rolling back salaries in this latest proposal. Not one contract is rolling back. Every penny is still going out the door.
So what are the players fighting for, then?
"The players will not be intimidated," union attorney Jeffrey Kessler said, as quoted in Ken Berger's blog. "They want to play, they want a season, but they are not going to sacrifice the futures of all NBA players under these threats of intimidation."
A deal with no hard cap, with guaranteed contracts, with mid-level deals scaled back mostly for tax-paying teams, and with salaries rising to nearly $3 billion in 10 years despite an initial 12 percent reduction.
The "12 percent reduction" only applies to future contracts, not existing ones. Yet, there's a projected 50% increase in overall salaries in 10 years (the players got $2.17 billion total this past season).
Let me repeat: A 50% RAISE IN TEN YEARS! Guaranteed by the CBA!
"When you are in the heat of battle, and you are fired up, you don't think what they are doing is right," Guerin said last week. "But it's not about what is right or wrong - it's their league. It's theirs. I feel, personally, I didn't like guys giving up a year of their career, for what? A few less bucks? Guys are making more money now than they ever have."
Read and re-read this quote. Guys are making more money now than they ever have. And the NHL has a "flex cap" - a much more restrictive system than anything the NBA is proposing at this stage.
Guerin and the NHL players screwed up their present to try to save the future. They gave up guaranteed money in order to save "future generations". Yet their future was secure already, so they gave up millions for nothing. Nothing!
Good golly. Just sign the damn deal and play basketball.
With all of these articles and ideas and numbers going around about who said what and how these or those numbers or percentages would help this or that team, it is easy to get lost in the practical ways that a new CBA would effect the league. Even from an ideological stand point - should small market teams have just as much right to good players even though they can't afford them? should big market teams be allowed to spend in luxury tax what would bankrupt a small market team? - the important implications are lost and real concrete examples are few to be found.
Fortunately, Tyson Chandler has provided us with the perfect interview for remembering whats in it for us. In his effort to appeal to Mavs fans to support the players over the owners, Chandler has effectively given virtually every fan of mid to small market teams reason to support the owners.
Hit the jump, you'll love this....
First off, the article is here if you want to read it ( I recommend that). But here is my breakdown.
The article centers on Chandler's desire to return to the Mavs and the uncertainty of that future.
"With the collective bargaining agreement and some of the things that they're trying to enforce, it would basically prohibit me from coming back," Chandler told the "Ben and Skin Show" on 103.3 FM in Dallas. "It would take it out of my hands -- and the organization's -- because it would almost be pretty much impossible for me to re-sign. I just think that can be the worst thing that can happen."
There really is nothing more that I need to say in regards to the article. This is the very thing we, as Suns fans, and other fans around the league whose teams won't - short of a miracle - ever make the Finals or win a Championship are fighting (in spirit) for in the new CBA. Lets do a quick recap of the last few years and how much the Mavs have spent on their roster...
Cuban and the Mavs have spent roughly 30 million over the cap for the last 5 years with no sign of dipping. Cuban threw money at any player he could to try and get his win and grossly overspent on countless players (Desagna Diop, Josh Howard, Brendan Haywood, Erick Dampier, etc etc) in an effort to push his team over the top.
Interestingly, I had a fascinating conversation with a friend who is a Mavs fan about this very practice at the beginning of last season. I said that what Cuban does would never work and that I would be happy to see Dirk and the current Mavs system go without a Championship forever. Now, obviously I was wrong, but this is precisely why the system is broken and needs to be fixed.
Why should a rich owner in a big market be allowed to buy every player he chooses simply to get ahead of teams that more thoughtfully consider their rosters and try their hardest to make chemistry work, pushing their players to be the best they can be? Why should we hold as an exemplar owner someone who casually throws around millions of dollars just to be able to say his team finally got a ring? My friends, the Mark Cubans of this NBA world are what are totally wrong with the system.
"For years, the Lakers have been able to win championships and re-sign their players and keep them there so they can go out for another title," Chandler said. "Now, to put that deal in place after we win ours, I don't like it one bit."
Amazing. Thank you for making our case for us Tyson Chandler. Only Mavs fans are going to be indignant about your "plight." But thanks for reminding all us "less fortunate" fans of the reasons we dislike teams and owners like yours and why we so badly want the owners to win this one (for the most part).

domain: sports


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Jonathan Yardley, Washington Post 4th November:
“Max Hastings begins his magisterial history of World War II with the simple declaration, “This is a book chiefly about human experience.” Nearly 500 pages later he expands upon that:
“Historians describe events chiefly in terms of clashes of arms, which of course determined outcomes. But the conflict should also be understood as a human experience which changed the lives of hundreds of millions of people, many of whom never saw a battlefield. Fear of injury or death created the most obvious apprehension, especially in the new age of air bombardment. But beyond this, there were many other causes of distress: about food and health; the absence of loved ones; the dissolution of communities. There were simple sorrows, such as being unable to give presents to loved ones. ‘Eva’s birthday,’ Victor Klemperer, a Jew rendered destitute by Nazi confiscation of all that he owned, wrote of his wife in Dresden on 12 July 1944. ‘My hands quite empty again, not even a flower.’ ”
Heartbreaking details such as that abound in “Inferno,” yet the book never descends into pathos. Instead it is at once a human history of the war and a military/political/diplomatic history as well. Hastings, the eminent British journalist and historian whose previous books include accounts of the Battle of Britain, D-Day, the Holocaust and the epochal leadership ofWinston Churchill, here has written what is essentially a work of synthesis, though it is fleshed out and given additional life by the testimony of eyewitnesses with whom he “held conversations at some time over the past thirty-five years.” It is an immense book that cannot be read in haste, and at moments the stories it tells are almost more than the heart and mind can bear, but press on: It is the best one-volume history of the war yet written — a judgment that includes Andrew Roberts’s fine but more conventional “The Storm of War,” published earlier this year — and its pertinence to a world still at war in 2011, albeit in different ways, is evident on almost every page.
Hastings no doubt would be the first to insist that this is less an account of battles, troop movements, great leaders and grand strategies than of people at war, yet in interweaving the stories of soldiers and civilians he makes plain, as have few others before him, that in truth they simply cannot be separated. Obviously there are books that focus on specific aspects of the war that also do justice to the human stories — a superb example is Antony Beevor’s “The Fall of Berlin, 1945” (2002), with its harrowing picture of the sufferings of German women at the hands of Soviet soldiers — but I know of no book that performs this feat throughout all six years of the war and extends it to theaters too often ignored, notably India and China.
We tend to think of this “world” war as essentially a European and East Asian conflict, but Hastings is at pains to emphasize that it really was a global conflict. To be sure, South America was relatively lightly affected — though Argentina, to its eternal shame, became a safe haven for Nazi war criminals — and with the exception of Pearl Harbor the United States went unscathed, but elsewhere devastation went unchecked. A “culture of massacre” prevailed on the Eastern Front and swiftly spread to virtually every other arena. In Japan the leadership instilled “a culture of ruthlessness indistinguishable from barbarism into its armed forces,” as we know from the familiar stories of Singapore and Burma and the Philippines; fewer people know that Chinese civilians were massacred “in their thousands and hundreds of thousands,” leaving their country “a great victim, second only to Russia in the scale of its sufferings and losses, while denied the consolation of any redemptive military achievement.”
It is important to understand that American forces were not innocent bystanders. We sentimentalize them now as the “Greatest Generation,” and of the courage and heroism that many of them displayed there can be no question, but we had our moments of disgrace. In Normandy, “looting remained a universal practice among Eisenhower’s armies throughout the campaign,” and in 1945 “the U.S. Army’s judge advocate general recorded a sharp increase in incidents of rape once Allied soldiers entered German territory.” On Guadalcanal, two exhausted young soldiers decapitated three Japanese dead and stuck their heads on poles facing the Japanese lines. When an officer “remonstrated fiercely that this was the conduct of animals,” one of the youths replied: “That’s right, Colonel, we are animals. We live like animals, we eat and are treated like animals, what the [expletive] do you expect?”
Stalin “decreed that pillage and rape were the rightful rewards of his soldiers for their sacrifices,” rewards bestowed under the most acute duress by women and householders in Germany, Poland, Yugoslavia, Hungary and Czechoslovakia. Stalin was a monster, of course, and that policy was monstrous, yet there is an uncomfortable truth that we Americans always have had difficulty accepting: “It was the Western Allies’ extreme good fortune that the Russians, and not themselves, paid almost the entire ‘butcher’s bill’ for [defeating Nazi Germany], accepting 95 per cent of the military casualties of the three major powers of the Grand Alliance.”This scarcely excuses pillage and rape, but the Red Army was “the main engine of Nazism’s destruction,” and without it the war almost certainly would have been lost or ended in a negotiated settlement that kept Hitler in power and the Jews of Europe facing total annihilation.
Having dealt previously with the Holocaust in “Armageddon” (2004), Hastings limits himself here to speculating about “why the Nazis accepted the economic cost of embarking upon the destruction of the Jewish people, diverting scarce manpower and transport to a program of mass murder while the outcome of the war still hung in the balance.” The answer appears to lie in the obsession within Heinrich Himmler’s SS with “the extinction of the Jews almost heedless of its impact on the country’s war-making.” It is important to mention, as Hastings does, that “the Allied nations were slow to respond to the death camps.” As he says: “Though little could have been done to save their inmates, any more than the millions of Russian prisoners who died in German hands, an insouciance pervades Allied documentation of the period which does scant credit to Britain or the United States. Even if Jews were not persecuted in the Anglo-Saxon societies, nor were they widely loved.”
Nobody escaped the war. A Russian captain wrote: “We understand the horrors of war, its relentless laws written in blood. But children, these blossoms of life, the blossoms of blossoms, these innocent holy souls, the beauty of our lives . . . they, who have done no harm to anyone . . . are suffering for the sins of their parents . . . We’ve failed to protect them from the beast. One’s heart bleeds, one’s thoughts freeze with horror at the sight of small bloodsoaked bodies . . . These small, frozen, dead eyes . . . reproach us, the living.” Animals, horses especially, died in numbers too vast to count. A Greek soldier who had to abandon “his beloved grey horse after it broke down in a snowdrift” grieved openly: “I saw it looking at me as I walked away. What a look that was, my friends. It revealed so much anguish, so much sadness. I wanted to cry, but the tears did not come. War leaves no time for such things.”
The “experience of combat for months on end, prey to fear, chronic exhaustion and discomfort, loss of comrades, separation from domestic life and loved ones, bore down upon every front-line fighter, wherever he was.” George Biddle, an American combat artist, wrote: “I wish the people at home, instead of thinking of their boys in terms of football stars, would think of them in terms of miners trapped underground or suffocating to death in a tenth-story fire . . . cold, wet, hungry, homesick and frightened.” Those people at home in the States “scarcely suffered at all” so far as food was concerned, as was also true in Canada, Australia and New Zealand, in sharp contrast to those elsewhere for whom “more than any other aspect of the war, food or lack of it emphasized the relativity of suffering.” The distinguished journalist Alan Moorehead wrote from Italy: “The animal struggle for existence governed everything. Food. That was the only thing that mattered. Food for the children. Food for yourself. Food at the cost of any debasement or depravity.” The point is underscored at length and in evocative prose in “War in Val d’Orcia” (1947), Iris Origo’s superb diary of Tuscany in 1943-44.
As I hope all of this suggests, a relatively brief review can only begin to indicate the depth, breadth, complexity and pervasive humanity of this extraordinary book. The literature of World War II is, as Hastings notes at the beginning of his bibliography, so vast as almost to defy enumeration or comprehension, but “Inferno” immediately moves to the head of the list. It is in all ways a monumental achievement.”
Jonathan Yardley, The Washington Post

domain: history


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Highlands Reserve -4 Bedroom Private Pool Home, Game Room, Golf Course View is a property only 14.2 km from Kings Bowl Orlando, CoCo Key Water Resort and Exotic Driving Experience.
Offering american and chinese meals, The Bamboo Tiki Bar is around 750 meters away.
Fast access to Orlando International airport within 40 km is provided.
The villa offers 4 bedrooms. The villa comprises 2 bathrooms.

domain: travel


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“I can honestly say that I have struggled all my life with anxiety when I go to the dentist. It began some 45 years ago in my teens, and until recently, was only surpassed in pain by giving birth to my children.
I began going to see Dr. Phil Gole a couple of years ago and within the first couple of visits, I felt like my fears and concerns were being respected and listened to. He takes his time and explains things to my satisfaction and will stop in mid-procedure to hear me out and work with me to control the visit.
In my last visit, I had restorative work done on previous cavities in 3 of my top front teeth. I never felt the first 2 shots, and had minimum pain on the third.”

domain: psychology


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Lent, Productivity and Single Tasking
I made this decision after some reflection. The past six months have been very full and the past three weeks, frenetic. The early morning meetings and late night events have left me sapped for energy. As I approached Lent, my desire to give something up or do one more thing really felt off.
I've opted for something totally different- single tasking. One description that I like is from Leo from Zen Habits who puts it this way,
"Multi-tasking leads to a lot of switching and distractions and stress. Keep things simple, focused and effective by single-tasking. Focus on one task until it’s done, then move to the next."
I violate the Law of Single Tasking all the time and I imagine that you might too. Often, when I'm watching TV, my laptop is right next to me. When I'm driving to work, I'm fielding calls and listening to podcasts. Some of this is simply my DNA- it's not easy for me to relax but that's no excuse and Lent is my opportunity to focus on one thing at a time.
I've taken evening downtime more seriously and I've deleted a ton of apps from my iPhone. I'm trying harder to focus on doing just one thing at a time. My stress has dipped a little and my ability to focus seems to be growing.
What are you planning for Lent? Maybe this is the season to single task.
For more information on this powerful concept, check out these helpful posts:
*Photo by Thomas Hawk


A sensor is a device that detects physical or chemical changes including pressure, force, or an electrical quantity. Simply put, a sensor is a device that helps send a signal from an object to a human operator. After detection, the signal is sent to the processor before the sensor ultimately produces an output signal that corresponds to the input signal. A resistive sensor is an electromechanical device that converts a mechanical change into an electrical signal that can be monitored after conditioning. There are three types of resistive sensors: resistive transducers, potentiometers, and strain gauges. This blog will cover each in detail.
The most common type of resistive sensor is the resistive transducer. These devices measure temperature, pressure, displacement, force, vibrations, and more. To understand how a resistive transducer works, consider a conductor rod. They work on the principle that the conductor rod’s length is proportional to the resistance of the conductor and is inversely related to the area of the conductor. This principle is represented by the equation R=pL/A. L is the conductor length, A is the area of the conductor, p is the resistivity, and R is the resistance of the conductor. A transducer’s resistance varies based on external environmental factors as well as the physical properties of the conductor.
The most common example of a resistive transducer is the sliding contact device. In these devices, one end of the conductor is fixed while the other end is connected to a slider or a brush that moves along the length of the conductor. The slider is connected to the object whose displacement is being measured. When a force is applied to move the object, the slider also travels all along the length of the conductor. This changes the length of the conductor, which is reflected by a change in resistance of the conductor.
The second type of resistive sensor is the potentiometer. Also called a pot, this device is a variable resistor with three terminals - two fixed and one variable. In potentiometers, the current flow is controlled by manually varying the resistance. These devices carry out the function of an adjustable voltage divider. Potentiometers are passive components that work by moving a slider across the conductor. The input supply voltage is applied to the entire length of the resistor, and the output voltage is measured as a voltage drop between fixed and movable contact. The slider is adjusted manually over the resistive strip to alter the resistance value. When the resistance changes, the current flowing through the circuit also changes. In turn, according to Ohm’s law, the resistive material also changes. There are two types of potentiometers: rotary and linear.
The final resistive sensor is the strain gauge. This is a type of sensor that applies a force resulting in a change of resistance. Parameters such as force, pressure, etc. are converted into measurable electrical resistance. In a stationary object, when external forces are applied, it undergoes stress and strain. Here, stress is defined as internal resistance of the object and strain is represented by displacement and deformation. As stress is applied to the conductor, the length and area of the conductor changes, causing the resistance to change as well.


From Johann Crüger’s Musical Library
Sacred music at Nikolaikirche also underwent a period of transformation as a result of the Reformation, continuing well into the 17th century. In 1650, the cantor at Nikolaikirche Johann Crüger created a collection of music appropriate for church services, surprisingly including not only Lutheran choral music but pre-Reformation works and current pieces from Catholic Italy. This concert series with choral works from Johann Crüger’s library complements the exhibition and invites the audience on a musical journey through history.
At 8 and 10 pm


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Gardening: Get a taste of the Mediterranean
TAPENADE, pizza, pasta, breads and salads are just a few delicious ways to enjoy olives -or perhaps in a martini!
Olive trees, with their attractive greyish foliage, can successfully be grown in backyards as well as in a large pot in a sunny courtyard. They're hardy, drought tolerant plants that grow well in cool to temperate climates.
Different varieties are suited to different uses, such as manzanillo for pickling, kalamata for eating fresh and cooking and frantolo for oil, and also for different climates, so pick a variety suitable for your area - and your favourite recipe.
Also check your chosen olive to see if it will produce a better crop if cross pollinated with another olive, with trees taking around four to five years to bear fruit.
When planting a new olive tree, mix organic soil improver and fertiliser into the planting hole and keep the soil moist while the olive establishes itself.
Reapply organic fertiliser every spring and autumn to encourage healthy growth and lots of olives.
OLIVES prefer a slightly alkaline soil of pH7-8.
In areas with acidic soil, apply lime and dolomite around the root zone to increase the pH.

domain: food


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SET of 3 Bram Stoker's Dracula 1/4th Scale Busts
This set of 3 busts, (The Wolf, The Bat, The Oldman) are cast in resin, and given a beautifully classy faux bronze finish. It stands about 8 inches tall (1/4th scale), and will be the perfect addition to your Bram Stoker's Dracula collection.
*Limited Edition: 100 pcs ea.
IN STOCK AND SHIPPING NOW!

domain: design


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Coronavirus has impacted the global economy to unprecedented scales. Shops have been shut, Offices have been closed and People have been advised to stay home. However boredom has gripped everyone. All of us have some way or the other tried to normalize with our routine and do something unique.
In the midst of this crisis one family has found a way to do away with the grim realities of life in grand fashion.
What was the video about?
Creator of the show, The Simpsons has done something very unique. Joel Sutherland, and his family had dressed up in the format of the show The Simpsons and shot a video. In the video we could see one of the three children of Joel in Bart Simpson’s costume being his notorious self. Taking a piece of chalk he writes about social distancing on a backboard.
We can also see Joel’s wife playing the role of Maggie, who is playing a saxophone terribly. Marge, the other daughter is going out of a grocery and getting into a car to drive home. Homer, the other kid is checking for waste material under the couch. The recreated scene has terrific resemblance with the original show The Simpsons.
What was the fan reaction after seeing the video?
The completed video was launched on Youtube channel recently. In a matter of few days it has already crossed more than 1 million views. Fans were extremely happy and delighted after seeing the video.
Cute kids and equally funny mom and dad made for an awesome combination in the video. There were a host of comments in the given section which asked Joel to make another video recreating a different scenario this time.
How other famous people are spending their quarantine days?
Other popular celebrities across the globe are also locked at home during this quarantine period. Some of them are active on Tiktok and Instagram, posting regular workout and yoga videos. Some of them are also posting motivation speeches on their respective YouTube channels. While others are collectively posting content and songs, while gathering quite remotely in each other’s homes. All this is being done to keep the general public uplifted and engaged.

domain: entertainment


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Novel strategy to prevent cardiac complications in Type 2 diabetes
In Australia, one person develops diabetes every 5 minutes. Patients with Type 2 diabetes (T2D) are six times more likely to develop heart disease than those without, and about 75% of patients with T2D die from heart disease. Impaired metabolic flexibility reduced energy and excessive free radicals are thought to play important roles in the development of heart disease in T2D. However, little is known about these processes and their interactions with each other.
This project aims to examine these abnormalities, particularly focusing on a protein called PARP-1. When PARP-1 is overactivated (such as in T2D), it produces excessive free radicals, and consumes the substrates required for energy production, leading to impaired energy. This project will investigate whether preventing PARP-1 overactivation will improve metabolic flexibility, efficiency, and energy production of T2D hearts. It will also describe the mechanisms associated with these processes. It is hoped that this project will provide proof-of-concept data for such agents, and the foundation necessary for mounting a future clinical trial in patients with T2M to prevent heart disease.
This project is co-funded with NHMRC - National Health and Medical Research Council.
Research aimed to determine how muscle microvascular dysfunction (poor blood flow through the smallest blood vessels in the body) contributes to exercise intolerance (difficulty exercising) and poor glycaemic (blood sugar) management in people with heart failure with type 2 diabetes.
Developing a simple blood test to check heart health for people with diabetes
Novel ‘Mechano-medicine’ combats deadly platelet clotting in diabetes
Last updated12 July 2021

domain: medical


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This chocolate sauce drizzle was totally not planned. All I wanted to do is monkey bread muffins for my kiddos. It’s been on my to-bake list for a while and as soon as my new supply of yeast arrived, I was whipping up the dough in no time.
I love baking with yeast. There is something about the dough, the technique, the whole process. Over the time I have learned many tricks to make every project involving yeast work.


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Myth War II (http://mw2.igg.com/), the new sequel to the classic MMORPG from IGG (www.igg.com), continues the tradition of excellent play and an exciting community of players. Today the Myth War team is going to talk to you about their plans for helping newbie.
Getting depressed at your low level? Finding that monsters are always defeating you? Are you racking your brains for a way to level-up quickly? Maybe it doesnt help that so many of those attractive Item Mall objects are out of your reach. Don’t worry, weve decided to open up the Item of Item Mall for newbie players. Once you reach a certain level, we will make certain items available to you to help you improve quickly.
For example, when you reach levels 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50, you can go to the Mall Promoter in Woodlingor (x 216, y 177) who will give you items that can help you improve quickly, for free! Items include: Source of Life, Source of Magic, Double-Experience Roll, Double-Talent Scroll, Devils Tear, Convenience Store and different shape-shifting cards.
These items are untradeable and characters can only receive them one time, when theyve reached the appointed level. For more details visit the official website：
Besides, Myth War II has been upgraded to version 220.127.116.11 after the regular maintenance on July 4th. Players can visit the below link to download the newest client: http://mw2.igg.com/download/client.php

domain: game


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Kekulé, Friedrich August (1829-1896)
Kekulé, Friedrich August
Born: Darmstadt (Germany), 1829
Died: Bonn (Germany), 1896
Kekulé, who started studies in architecture, turned himself to chemistry led by Liebig in Giessen (1849-1851). After his doctors degree in Giessen (1852), he traveled through England and France, where he did research under Williamson and Dumas. In 1856 he obtained a professorship at Heidelberg. By that time he announced the tetravalence of carbon (1853). In 1858 he took up a professorship at the University of Ghent (Belgium). In 1865 he introduced the structure of benzene and in 1867 Kekulé moved to Bonn.
A Scientist And Dreamer
Kekulé originally studied architecture, but became interested in Chemistry when he heard Liebig (of condenser fame) give evidence in a murder trial.

domain: chemistry


Vintage Vaccines My Body My Choice Anti-Vax T-Shirt
Graphic Tshirt Product Features
Solid colors: 100% Cotton; Heather Grey: 90% Cotton, 10% Polyester; All Other Heathers: 50% Cotton, 50% Polyester
Machine wash cold with like colors, dry low heat
If you are against forced vaccinations or being vaccinated without consent, this is for you! Make your voice heard with this tee. Every American Citizen of the great USA should have a choice when it comes to vaccines. Vaccine freedom!
There should be freedom of choice for vaccines. Patriots stand up for your constitutional freedom of choice to get vaccinated or not. Great Anti-Vax tee.
Lightweight, Classic fit, Double-needle sleeve and bottom hem
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Question: How should I put away my tee shirts?
Answer: Tee shirts are best stored folded in a drawer or hung on a coat hanger to prevent wrinkles.


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On October 3rd, 2006. See this statement in context.
October 3rd, 2006 / 9:40 a.m.
Are there any other comments? Okay, we'll ask our clerk to try to sort this out and get people into a semblance of order.
For Thursday, have you heard anything concerning Bill C-12?
Share on Twitter or Facebook
View on Parliament’s site
See context to find out what was said next.

domain: politics


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A short documentary providing an experiential insight into life with borderline personality disorder using voices, stop motion animation and other techniques to convey real life experiences.
This film tracks the development of the Buddy Beat, a social inclusion project conceived by Renfrewshire Lead Occupational Therapist, based in Paisley's Dykebar Hospital.
One in 10 young people in the UK is diagnosed with a serious mental health problem, 80,000 children and young people suffer from serious depression, and two young people kill themselves every day.
An innovative way of tackling stigma and ignorance about the issues of mental health and race discrimination in prisons, this documentary follows comedian John Ryan on a journey of discovery as he
Davie has a problem with his memory.
Full Cycle is a formal account of Graeme Obree's struggle with depression, following a cycling career with many highs and lows.
This film explores the experiences of Mental Health Service Users on a secure psychiatric ward, the writer being one of them.
The film addresses the heredity of drinking problems and addiction to alcohol. When Ian was a young boy he was petrified of his alcoholic and abusive dad.
An observational film about the nature of addiction. Exploring the idea that love isn’t always enough when it comes to getting clean, and the inevitable sacrifices that come with sobriety.

domain: sociology


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|back to Kates Healing Page|
ADDITIONAL DOCUMENT LINK: What to Expect After a Soul Listening Session - pdf
A SOUL SHAMANIC/SOUL LISTENING SESSION , MAY INCLUDE;
- Soul Shamanism
- past life/history release & learning
- rebirth & birth trauma release & honoring
- dark night of the soul release of: entities, shadow, Jungian anger, archetypes,
attachments, curses, lineage, demons, house & office clearings
- ascension process & ascension pains
- soul integration
- soul retrieval, journeys, reclaiming lost fragments or shards.
- emotional cord cutting & relationship clearings
- ascension pains & vibrational upgrades
- Releasing of emotional, mental, physical trauma stored within the physical body
and mental/emotional body.
- Inner Child Healing/Reintegration as Adult
- An understanding of chronic physical ailments as a layering of trauma, with a
Spiritual/Emotional teaching at the core.
- Understanding that you are the creator of your life, and learn how to vision and make it so
Wear loose, comfortable clothes. Drink water before to help with the detox, bring a water bottle,
and plan to drink water afterwards. As you come to the session, think of what you would like to
work with for your highest good. The priority usually comes up to the top, right before hand.
I will pendulum test your chakras, and go about the body finding blockages, and somatic/emotional
releases, traumas, gunk, entities, or attachments, lineage release, past life resolution, inner child
resolution, etc. General house cleaning of your Cosmic Vehicle, your body.
Raising your vibrational frequency to fill where the old negative beliefs and vibrations were housed.
Integrating the True You, with your Higher Self Blue Print of happiness, healthiness, and Holiness…. Wholeness.


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Three Health Risk of Anxiety
When you hear of anxiety, what comes to your mind? It can be said a condition whereby the heart rate beats faster and then is overly worried about a particular thing.
Anxiety is also a feeling that, although it stimulates us to act, can lead to headaches, stomachaches, nervousness, diarrhea, a nail-biting habit, and can make us ineffective. In addition, anxiety can bring very bad things to the health, and you can not imagine what they are. Some of this includes
1. Weight gain
The more anxious you are, the more your body releases a hormone called cortisol, which serves to control stress. The problem is that cortisol also stimulates the accumulation of abdominal fat. According to a health Magazine, it explains that high levels of this hormone cause loss of muscle mass and increased fat storage, thus resulting in an increase in weight. In addition, with high cortisol levels, memory lapses may occur and the chances of osteoporosis becomes greater.
2. Heart problems
It’s easy to realize that anxiety affects the heart, heart beats are quickly altered because of this feeling. In addition, more and more cardiologists report receiving patients suffering from anxiety that also manifest heart problems.
Nervousness seriously damages our heart because of the high adrenaline load it gets when we get nervous and anxious. And if the person suffers from high blood pressure or is diabetic, it increases the risk of anxiety heart.”
Craving some event can make a person incapable of doing many things. It is as if anxiety could act as a bridle, not letting the person perform his routine tasks quietly, concentrating on his studies and work, and preventing her from sleeping as she should.
Insomnia because of anxiety is always a suffering, because in addition to not being able to sleep, the person goes through long moments of distress. A bad night makes the situation worse the next day, until, in more serious cases, this suffering becomes daily.
So, instead of worrying and giving yourself a lot of problem, why dont you just allow the problem be and then make a solution out of it.