Reflecting

I could write for days on all the mistakes that I have made in my life… I got kicked out of high school my freshman year for fighting and having a bad attitude.  The day I discovered that I was kicked out - I instantly, reflected and told myself that if I had another chance …. I [...]

So right after I hit the "send" button for my last entry, my husband asked me to help him with a plumbing problem. My "help" is acting as "go-fer" and requires waiting for instructions. Such as, "Turn on the water..." "Ok, turn it off." "Turn on the water..." "Ok, turn if off..." "I need my pliers...they're in the garage..." "Ok, turn on the water..." "Ok, turn it off..." You get the pi

I wrote the following a while ago, but haven’t been able to share it yet. God used my Walk to Emmaus to teach me & remind me of things already taught, things I struggle with living the relationship with Him moment-to-moment. Just a few days after the retreat, I read Jan’s blog post here which [...]

Hardly a June goes by that I don't reflect on what might have been/could have been in June, 1981. With a heart bursting with gratitude for God's grace and mercy, I offer the tribute below to a child that would have been 27 years old this month. It is my prayer that this poem will offer a balm of healing to others who struggle to reconcile this sin in their past...or perhaps, even introduce them to

The only way most unbelievers will see Jesus is by seeing Him in the lives of Christians. We are called and equipped by the Holy Spirit to reflect His character.I recently talked with a 38-year-old medical doctor who takes this responsibility seriously. She has chosen to serve in a federal penitentiary rather than have her own private practice. She is convinced that the only way many of the prison

I woke up today with high hopes of getting 2 things done. 1) do my 90 day notice at thai immigration, and 2) get my visa for china. I got the 90 day notice. but I couldn't get the visa for china. so, I have to go back tomorrow and try.so, what happened that caused me to not do these 2 things today, you ask?just one of those days, I guess. both places were jammed packed with people. the china

 If one were to replace "Republic of South Africa" with the "State of Israel," the rest should apply just as strongly. Israel today -- 60 years after its establishment through a deliberate and systemic process of ethnic cleansing of a large majority of the indigenous Palestinian population (for an authoritative historical account of the "birth" of Israel, refer to Ilan Pappe's The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine) -- still practices racial discrimination against its own "non-Jewish" citizens; it still maintains the longest military occupation in modern history; it still denies Palestinian refugees -- uprooted, dispossessed and expelled by Zionists over the last six decades -- their internationally-recognized right to return to their homes and properties; and it still commits wa

A slightly lower profile JP Morgan acquisition was announced yesterday. The investment bank will buy Climate Care over the next few months in the first outright acquisition of an offset project developer. Climate Care will retain its brand and its main business will continue to be financing and packaging offset projects in the developing world. Climate [...]

When I first saw the pretty jewelry collection of Anne Maa Designs, I can tell right away that she is more than a fashion designer. Anne designs her creations based on the texture, shape and colour of the materials she worked on and the result is an artful piece that reflects modernity and individuality. Her [...]

XmlSerializer is throwing a generic "There was an error reflecting MyClass" error. How do I find out what the problem is?Look at the InnerException property of the exception that is thrown to get a more specific error message.

With pieces from the museum stolen and accusations of another country stealing cultural heritage - does Indonesia do enough to protect its cultural heritage? This editorial reflects on the state of... Visit SEAArch to read the full story, and other stories about the archaeology of Southeast Asia.

Interior decorating is that medium which can make your closed spaces convey to the observer a lot about you and your lifestyle through strategic use of elements which range from the visual (color, lighting, form) to the tactile (surface, shape, texture) to the auditory (noise, echo). The more alluring the result, the more the aesthetic, practical and technical appreciation for these elements the

More and more car manufacturers are developing "greener" versions of their well-known brands. The infusion of Hybrid technology has made a big splash in the motoring world and its popularity as well as the growing concern for the environment has added to the demand for this type of vehicles, urging more vehicle manufacturers to add more of their vehicles in the hybrid bandwagon to capture more

I first heard about CouchSurfing.com on the BootsnAll message boards last Summer. Unfortunately, it was around the same time the website crashed. For a short time, it seemed I would not have the opportunity to participate. And then user demand helped resurrect and relaunch the network. The Phoenix Story documents the series of events that lead to the project’s 2.0 version being launched after all of the previously accumulated user data (profiles) had been lost. So with the network back up and running, I filled out my profile in December 2006, intent to explore the concept as both guest and host before my upcoming trip around the world. I waited, and waited some more. The Washington, DC message boards advertise a happy hour a month, however I’ve yet to make it to one. My first “friend” and positive reference came from Stefan whom I met in Costa Rica in 2005. A few weeks later, a guy from Texas with tons of positive references e-mailed me needing a place to

Artwork courtesy of Love Peace HappinessYesterday our last house guests left--continuous for two months and eight days including the different sets of guests! As much fun as it is to have house guests, both my partner and I are now furiously attempting to play 'catch-up' in many areas of our lives which we neglected while preoccupied with guests.We did more exploring of Maui during this time period of guests because we were showing others around, and I was shocked at many changes I saw which I normally don't see in my daily creative activities within our home.The construction projects are mind boggling--everywhere we drove (except Hana), we saw buildings going up, especially in Kihei, Kaanapali, and Wailea! In Makena mansions are being built!My partner heard the news that Go Airlines was offering a fare for $9 one way inter-island, but by the time he had heard about it, the deal was already sold out! The good news is they are having a contest with good prizes for signing up for thei

A cause for concern, a needed plan of action, and the feeling of an early omen sent to keep me on my toes, are what I'm feeling about the recent power loss. This is the third such power outage in a week and it's time to really take heed of those warnings and do something about them, the next time I may not be so lucky.Firstly, I have to be more vigilant than ever about backups. That is a given.Secondly, I need power at my desk-side. Most of my tools are on my laptop so a suitably sized UPS needs to go on the shopping list to give me a good few hours juice. Selected other users also need juicing up - I can't have another afternoon of users twiddling their thumbs for hours on end.Third, I need better sight of things. This means getting another PDU, and loading up the necessary monitoring software - not only that but I need to be using the monitoring software. I need to know instantly the draw of power on each and every UPS. The small Belkin UPS died under the pressure and I need to kn

Ok, thankfully, today I am in a better mood. Last night, after writing the article about idiots, I asked my boyfriend to read it (He will spare no feelings, especially if it sucks). And the only thing he said was, "Geez, you have some hate going on!" Which, at first, being a normal woman, pissed me off. But after I got over my pouting, I realized he was right. I have a pretty good life. I am smart, live in the greatest place, have an awesome family, sometimes can be pretty cute....And here I am, complaining about coming back from a week vacation! I started feeling like a spoiled 5 year old brat throwing a fit. With all the stuff going on in the world, the War, Virginia Tech Massacre, The recent Kansas Tornado disaster, Paris Hilton going to jail.....I guess its just my little way of keeping myself focused on the simple things. With that, I apologize if I offended anyone....Tonight I am going to leave on a happier note, by telling a bar joke.....This big, nasty, sweaty woman wearing a s

It is also known as the great mayonnaise mess, serious. Most people don't know that back in 1912, Hellmann’s mayonnaise was manufactured in England. In fact, the Titanic was carrying 12,000 jars of the condiment scheduled for delivery in Vera Cruz, México, which was to be the next port of call for the great ship [...]

A perfect example of European architecture in the heart of the Old City in Hyderabad, the Aftab Mahal - one of the four palaces in the Chowmahalla complex. The Nizams were great fans of Parisian, Venetian architecture and they made sure their dwelling reflected their liking.Chowmahalla Palace, Hyderabad, Apr2007, F/5.6, 1/500sec, ISO-100.

MIAMI, April 05, 2007 - Reflecting the cruise line's dedication to provide guests with exciting and innovative experiences, Royal Caribbean International is unveiling Explorer Weddings, a first-of-its-kind program that combines a cruise with an exotic destination or themed wedding. Couples saying "I do" for the first time or repeating their vows will share in a customized wedding experience onboard or shoreside. Explorer Weddings add an extra measure of exhilaration for couples, who can exchange vows in distinctive settings, such as beside the line's onboard FlowRider surf simulator, on top of an Alaskan glacier, mid-air in a hot-air balloon or in a medieval castle.As an extension of Royal Caribbean's Royal Romance program, Explorer Weddings was created in partnership with The Wedding Experience and is part of a series of guest program enhancements to debut with the launch of Liberty of the Seas. Liberty's maiden voyage will be on May 19, 2007 and is the cruise line's newest ship

Those who have faithfully read my blog as it’s progressed over the last year or two should be happy that this is the first of these sorts of posts in quite a while. As I was getting started it seemed like every week, or every other post, I was talking about the blog, asking people’s thoughts on the design, etc. Well, I’ve avoided it for a while, some will be proud (kudos welcome). I’ve been posting one blog post a day for the last few months now and I have every intention of continuing. Hopefully this has made it easier to take in, like choice morsels of caramel each day (or maybe prunes). I’ve also been doing mini-series of posts, which I’ve enjoyed writing as the desire to write about certain things has arisen. I’m also eager to sort of go back and bring up two older series, Considering Church and Thoughts on War. The main reason I’m writing this fairly worthless self-reflective post, with the rambling above which I deleted, is to ackn

The movie did not impress me with its story. The nature scenes and the acting of the young Jeremy Cooper was what did impress me. Actually from what I saw I was almost convinced that all characters in the movie except the three boys the movie starts with are crazy or something. As one other reviewer wrote “In The Reflecting Skin, nobody behaves like a normal person would, and the viewer is left as a patron at a freak show.” The sheriff for example – I felt the desire to kick his …..you know what for the way he spoke to people, including Seth ( the leading character) . It was an entertaining movie nevertheless – especially the first scene with the exploding frog. There are some disturbing scenes – like a father who commits a suicide in front of his nine years old son – or an English Lady who is acting as weird as it can dreaming of her dead husband.   As I mentioned the brilliant cinematography was probably the best asset of this movie. I watched it at home, but am s

From 13D Tracker In a 13D filing on 1-800 CONTACTS, INC. (NASDAQ: CTAC) LaGrange Capital/Frank LaGrange Johnson disclosed a 12.6% stake (1.69 million shares) in the company. This is up from the 11.6% stake (1.63 million share) the firm disclosed in a past 13G filing (06/12). The firm noted changing their filing status from 13G to 13D. The firm noted they have had discussions with directors and senior management of the Company concerning the Company's business and management and expect to continue to have such discussions in the future. The firm also noted that Frank LaGrange Johnson was appointed to the Company's board of directors on October 26, 2006. The firm said as a Director it is expected that Mr. Johnson will be involved in discussing and influencing the management and direction of the Company and its business and affairs on an ongoing basis, including regarding any or all of the matters specified in clauses (a) through (j) of Item 4 of Schedule 13D of the Act. http://www.13d