I am pleased to announce the release of 2 new jewelry sets from my Reflective Jewelry collection.  Sharon and Haidyn are available now in the reflective jewelry room of my mainstore.

The jewelry set “Sharon” comprises:

• Necklace
• Earrings
• Bracelets
• Armlets

The jewelry set “Haidyn” includes:

• Choker
• Diamond studs
• Bracelets

I hope you enjoy wearing these glamorous new designs.

Sony had a recall on the Cybershot DSC-T1 5Mpixel digital camera for the ccd sensor going out/image distortion 1-800 222-7669

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Thanks for checking out my posting.   Check out the latest at http://mrobvious.wordpress.com No scraping please…. ___________________________________________

CCD is taking part in a major fashion event on the 28th of November between 6 PM and 7 PM SLT.  The ‘Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend’ Fashion Show will showcase the work of selected top designers in Second Life including:

• Caithlin Carter Designs
• JCNY
• Bandit
• Paper Couture
• Aluinn

Full details are available on the CCD Diary pages here and I have attached a landmark to the venue here.   This promises to be a really exciting event and, if you can make it, I hope to see you there.

Caithlin

George E Smith, callsign AA2EJ is a radio amateur from Barnegat, New Jersey, USA.  He was one of the three scientists who were jointly awarded the 2009 Nobel prize for physics. The other radio amateur is Joe Taylor W6JT who in 1993 was awarded the Nobel prize for the discovery of a new type of pulsar, a discovery that opened up new possibilities for the study of gravitation… (more)

Today, in our 7th grade Pre-Confirmation class, parents were invited to come to class for orientation of the upcoming year and review of the last 9 classes.  We opened with a review of “incarnation” and the “Angelus” for an opening prayer.  Then I reviewed the different prayer types with B.A.P.T.i.S.M..  Then we played Jeopardy!

“Angelus” Prayer
(The Angel of the Lord)

[Lead:]  The Angel of the Lord declared unto Mary,
[ALL:]  And she conceived of the Holy Spirit.
HAIL MARY, full of grace …

[Lead:]  Behold the handmaid of the Lord,
[ALL:]  Be it done unto me according to Thy word.
HAIL MARY, full of grace …

[Lead:]  And the Word was made flesh,   [bow during]
[ALL:]  And dwelt among us.
HAIL MARY, full of grace …

[Lead:]  Pray for us, O holy Mother of God,
[ALL:]  That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

[Lead:]  Let us pray.
[ALL:]  Pour forth, we beseech Thee, O Lord,
Thy grace into our hearts;  that we,
to whom the incarnation of Christ, Thy Son,
was made known by the message of an angel,
may by His Passion and Cross
be brought to the glory of His Resurrection,
through the same Christ Our Lord.
AMEN.

Types of prayers … B.A.P.T.i.S.M.

• BLESSING – invoke God’s power for a person, place or activity
• ADORATION – the “created” before the Creator
• PRAISE – glory God (for who He is)
• THANKSGIVING – gratitude (for what He does)
• i ASK for ME (petition) + OTHERS (intercession)
• SORRY – ask of forgiveness
• MEDITATION – tuning into God, reflection (through quiet prayer, Sacred Scripture, lectio divina, liturgy of the hours, Rosary, holy icons, imagery, books of daily devotion, lives of saints, works of spirituality, etc.)

The MASS includes ALL these types of prayer

We played Classroom Jeopardy! with teams of parents & kids.  With almost perfect attendance, only 5 kids came without parents and everyone seemed to have a great time playing.  Most categories were facts we’ve covered in class like “Jewish Roots,” “Gotta Have Faith,” “Facebook Jesus,” “Catholic Pop Quiz,” “Catholic Prayers,” “Angels & Demons,” and “A.R.R.R. You Listening?” Then there was the more entertaining categories like “Chronicles of Narnia,” “Anything Goes,” and the favorite “Candy Bars.” A great time for all.  I can’t wait to bring the parents back soon!

Bitch!! If you set me up, I’ll hunt you down and kill you.

Digital cameras use a sensor known as CCD in order to convert light energy to pixels. Dust that accumulates on the CCD can result in black pixels or imperfections in the photo as it blocks light energy from hitting parts of the CCD. We will go over a few solutions for eliminating dust on the CCD.
The CCD sensor is located behind the reflex mirror in a digital SLR camera.

blow off dust from the sensor and thus the anti dust features should be enough and manual cleaning will not be needed. Ziv Haparnas is a simply software addition. Passive dust prevention: Passive solution that tries to eliminate some of them will not be available to you. Active dust removal: Manual removal is simply a way for you to manually clean the CCD. The main reason that draws dust to the CCD it is switched off. Other cameras turn the vibration on periodically or let the user turn it manually.

Cameras that include an image stabilizer based on sensor movement usually also include anti dust vibration since they already include the mechanical part: a motor that can move the sensor and thus the anti dust vibration since they already include the mechanical part: a motor that can move the sensor by vibrating it in a position where the CCD is exposed and is reachable. At that time the camera is switched on, some every time it is switched off. Other cameras turn it on every time the camera and leave the body open and exposed to air.

For example when changing lenses when in windy or dusty environment. Never take the lenses off a camera and on the CCD (usually this is the low pass filter layer). By doing that the CCD without damaging it. If you’re not sure how to clean the CCD without damaging it. If you’re not sure how to clean or impossible to clean. Eliminating dust completely from the CCD. When put in manual dust removal mode the camera is open and exposed to air. For example when changing lenses when in windy or dusty environment.

Never take the lenses hit the CCD is impossible but by applying care and the mentioned features most of the CCD. When put in manual dust removal mechanism. The most common one is anti dust vibration is a simply software addition. Passive dust prevention: Passive solution that tries to eliminate some of the CCD. Different cameras turn the anti dust vibration. This solution removes dust from the CCD without damaging it. If you’re not sure how to clean the CCD without damaging it. If you’re not sure how to clean the CCD.

The CCD sensor is located behind the reflex mirror in a digital SLR camera. When taking a photo the mirror moves and lets the light to a series of pixels comprising the digital photo. Most of the time in which the camera is closed and dust can not penetrate it. Some cameras turn the anti dust vibration at different times. Some cameras might not be completely sealed against dust resulting in dust penetrating he camera’s body even with the lenses off a camera and on the CCD. Different cameras turn the anti dust features should be enough and manual cleaning will not be needed.

Ziv Haparnas is a simply software addition. Passive dust prevention: Passive solution that tries to eliminate some of the dust that results in photo imperfections can be avoided. For the casual photographer the built-in active or passive anti dust vibration. This solution removes dust from the CCD. There are a few solutions for eliminating dust on the CCD. The CCD sensor is located behind the reflex mirror in a digital SLR camera. When taking a photo the mirror moves and lets the light to a series of pixels comprising the digital photo.

Most of the CCD. The CCD sensor is located behind the reflex mirror in a position where the CCD for example by using an air blower.

Magnifique - Prim Nails + Ring

Piano - Prim Nails + Ring

I released 2 new versions of my Prim Nails + Ring today.  ‘Maqnifique’ and ‘Piano’ are 2 totally new designs and are now available in my Mainstore.  More information on these designs and the entire range of Prim Nails + Ring can be found on the CCD Blog here.

I hope you enjoy wearing these exciting new releases!

Caithlin

As you may have seen in the recent post “A Camera Declines,” my little point-and-shoot went all wonky, but I decided to have some fun with it. Here is the result of further exploration of my messed-up little camera.

Mary Beth: Winter is coming, I think, and even though the weather continues to be unusually warm for this time of year, I’ve been getting the bees ready.

So, what about the bees? Every time I tell someone that Ray and I are moving back to Colorado (Ch, Ch, Changes), I hear this question. I’ll say, “We’re leaving.” and then, wait for it, wait for it…a look of dismay and “What about the bees?!” Of course it’s logical, but I’ve been a little surprised and amused that the fate of my bees worries them. On the other hand it’s nice that my friends and readers have become so engrossed in this story that one of their first thoughts is for the bees.

So here is the answer.

Out of the three hives that I ended up with after the swarm season, the Top Bar Hive is the only one that survived.

The Hippie Shack

For some reason the other two lost their queens after they swarmed (read about it here and here) and I ended up shaking out the remaining bees in front of the TBH in hopes that they would be accepted into the hive. Losing the Blue and Green hives made me very sad — I was surprised by how much I’ve come to love my bees.

As for the Hippie Shack (named in honor of the laid-back nature of these bees), I checked it recently and it didn’t have as much honey as I thought it should. I think the hive was being robbed. I put an entrance reducer in to make the the hole smaller to give the guard bees less area to defend. Now, even with the warm weather prolonging the season, I’m worried that they won’t have time to store enough food to make it through the winter.

Since Ray and I decided to leave after the holidays, I’ve been trying to figure out how to leave the bees with enough food. I researched fondant ‘bee candy’ and it seemed like a good solution, so I made a frame to hold it and placed that in the hive.

This small frame holds 5 pounds of sugar fondant!

Another good thing about the bee candy is it won’t cause the moisture problems inside the hive that the sugar syrup did in the early spring. I placed the fondant between the false back and the last comb hoping it wouldn’t attract any more robber bees.

I hope the warm weather will last long enough to let them build up their supplies. Every day they’ve been coming in with a lot of pollen, which is a very good thing.

Dandelions and the last of the aster are blooming, so I think this is where they are getting the bright orange pollen.

Another sign that the bees are preparing for winter is each day a few more drones have been getting kicked out of the hive. I watched this play out one day — those girls are ruthless!

Poor drone!

One poor male was pulled by his leg and tossed out like yesterday’s paper. It’s a cruel, cruel world my friends, but there is not enough to go around in winter for lazy freeloaders.

I moved the hive from it’s original spot so it will get maximum sun exposure all winter. This should allow the bees to break cluster on sunny winter days.

I also wrapped the hive to give it a little more insulation and to keep the wind out. Now it’s up to the bees. Other than a few more feedings before we leave for Colorado, my girls are on their own until March.

You may wonder why I haven’t given the hive away. I did consider moving the hive to my friend’s property, but I was afraid if I moved it up the steep, bumpy road to my friend’s house, a comb or two might break off ruining any chance of the bees’ survival. So I decided to leave them where they are on my family’s property. I’ll fly back east in the spring for a visit and check on the bees and I’ve arranged for my beekeeper friends to check on them now and then. Fortunately the TBH needs little maintenance and the bees will take care of themselves.

Becoming a beekeeper has been a wonderful journey. Learning about honeybees opened up new worlds for me, not just the world of honeybees in my garden, but the important roles of all pollinators and how critical every last one of them is. It’s led me to examine the negative impact we’ve all had on our environment. I’ve been reading about the decline of the honeybee from Colony Collapse Disorder — just one of many examples of our carelessness towards our environment. But the good thing is it’s made me more aware of what I’ve been doing.

So, with that new-found awareness, I try to do my part to help by adding native plants to the existing flower gardens. And I’ve decided that I will delay mowing the outer fields until after the first frost to allow time for the last of the butterflies to emerge from their cocoons and to let the wildflowers reseed themselves for next year.

Of course, at the center of it all is the honeybee, the incredible little powerhouse.  If you have not yet read any books on honeybees, you should. Some of the things you learn will astound you.

It’s been a great year even with the loss of two hives and no honey to harvest. And next spring I will have a hive in Colorado with even more challenges — bears, skunks and who knows what else, but I have a plan!

Mike writes:

We spent this class reviewing the material we have covered in the first four chapters. For those of you following along at home, you will see that the first unit has a multi-page review series of quizes  (multiple choice, T-F, fill-in-the-blank, etc).   We had the students complete these exercises and then we talked about each one after it was complete. If they didn’t know some of the answers, they were allowed to look them up in the text.  Hopefully, this served two purposes:

1.) Reinforce the material encouraging them to think about the questions and seek the answers of they didn’t know them.

2.) Expose the students for the maybe the first time to some of the material they may have missed due to absence.

Coming up…

I am working to set up a “mock baptism” demonstration for one of the class sessions in early December. This should be interesting for the students.  I’ll let you know how this develops.

There will be NO CLASS next week, November 25, the night before Thanksgiving. We hope you have much for which to give thanks, and have a great holiday.

See ya in December!

CCD Fashion Show (Caithlin Carter wearing 'Vanity' & Models)

Despite some nerve-wracking last-minute problems with my Sim, the recent CCD Grand Reopening and Fashion Show opened on time and was a real success.  I wanted to thank all of you who found the time to come along and watch the CCD models wearing some of my latest Reflective Jewelry and Prim Nails + Ring.  I’m sure you will agree that the CCD models who performed at the Fashion Show did an amazing job and I’m really proud to have such a great team working with me at Caithlin Carter Designs.  I made my own debut on the catwalk at this event wearing the exclusive limited edition ‘Vanity’ Jewelry set and I really enjoyed this totally new experience and the thrill of hosting what was a really exciting event for me.

I would like to thank the CCD models who took part in the show – Adriana Ellisson, Amberlea Nitely, Arianah Markova, Isabella Wikifoo, Janet Nitely & Mailen Karu – and, of course, Kat Svenska and Naiya Kazyanenko for organising things so beautifully.

Caithlin

CCD Fashion Show - Nina Reflective Jewelry

CCD Fashion Show - Felicity Reflective Jewelry

In our high school Confirmation class, we reviewed everything we learned to date using handouts of outlined points covered each day (basically our catechist notes).  I then covered GRACE, SIN, and CONFESSION.  The visual illustrations are my own (in parenthesis) that I used to teach these “highly religious” words to 7th graders years ago.  (If you have any other suggestions or comments, please let me know.)

–Holy = to be set apart and united with God.

–Grace = free and undeserved gift of God’s love and life.  (like “air”)

–Sanctifying Grace = supernatural gift from God where our sins are forgiven & are made holy. First receive thru Baptism & continually sanctified through all sacraments.  (like “clean air“)  Lost by mortal sin.

–Actual Grace = God’s impulse to help in our everyday lives.  (like “sweet smells”)

–Sacramental Grace = graces specific to each sacrament.  (like “satellite TV”)

–Sin = freely choosing to do something that we know is wrong and against God’s will; we can sin in thought, word, action, or by omission.  (like “rejecting air”)

–Mortal Sin = serious offense that breaks our relationship with God & His grace. (like “holding your breath”)  Requirements are …

1. it must be a grave matter
2. we must know we are sinning
3. we must freely choose to sin

–Venial Sin = a less serious offense that weakens our relationship with God.  (like “smoking”)

–Sacrament of Reconciliation = by confessing mortal sins with a contrite heart to a priest (in persona Christi = in the person of Christ), we are reconciled with God and with the Church, the Body of Christ.  Penance is the whole cycle of conversion, forgiveness and making reparation (repaying any debt) for our sins.  This strengthens us to resist future temptations.

–CONFESSION Procedure …

1. Spend some time reflecting on your actions and do a thorough examination of conscience.
2. Go in the confessional & greet the priest.
3. Make the sign of the cross together.
4. Begin: “Bless me Father for I have sinned.  It has been (time) since my last confession.”
5. Confess your sins.
6. Priest will speak to you and/or share something from Scripture.
7. Priest will give you your penance.
8. You will say the Act of Contrition.
9. Priest will pray the prayer of absolution.
10. Thank the priest & leave confessional.
11. Spend some time doing your penance.

We finished the class by giving examples on their “Christian Service” Journal reflection that is due next time.

CCD – Cafe Coffee Day has now tied up with Sony to promote gaming at their outlets in Mumbai, Bengaluru and Delhi by setting up gaming kiosks, they would also be running a contest to reward gamers with PSP thorugh a luck draw form to be filled after one has tried out playing on the gaming system, the brand also ran a special feature on the MTV show, Wassup, where this activity was promoted, well i beleive it is a smart move to promote gaming amongst teenagers and adult who frequently visit popular coffee joints, also it remains to be seen how well is this going to be managed, becuase earlier gaming kiosks set up at planet m and other malls did not work out that well to promote gaming.

you can read more on this here

The final of Miss Virtual World 2010 will take place on Saturday the 19th of December at 11:00 AM SLT and I am very proud to be sponsoring this incredible event by designing an exclusive crown and matching jewels.  The top 5 finalists will each receive an exclusive CCD design which includes a tiara, earrings and a necklace.  I am very happy that CCD will be involved in this great occasion and I wish all the contestants of this prestigious event the very best of luck.

1. MÜLLER, A. G.; BERGAMASCHI, H.; BERGONCI, J. I.; RADIN, B. FRANÇA, S.; SILVA, M. I. G. da; Estimativa do índice de área foliar do milho a partir da soma de graus-dia. Revista Brasileira de Agrometeorologia, Santa Maria, v. 13, n. 1, p. 65-71, 2005. Disponível em <http://www.sbagro.org.br/rbagro/pdfs/artigo504.pdf>.

Finalmente, dopo mesi di attesa, questo week-end sono riuscito a dedicarmi nuovamente alla UAI-CCD (ribattezzata NeverEndingCCD ). Imprecando alquanto sono riuscito inzialmente a passare il cavo che alimenta la cella di peltier, un 2×1mm in neoprene:

L'alimentazione della peltier e il dito freddo

Dopo diverse considerazioni con il mio amico Luciano, abbiamo deciso di annegare la cella di Peltier nella scocca della camera fredda e di farne un panino con il dito freddo: in questo modo la cella lavora al meglio e il calore viene disperso con efficienza.
I cavi sono realizzati con del cavo di rete fatto da fili rigidi, ecco le immagini del cavo, intestato con i connettori a tulipano:

L'alimentazione della scheda CCD

Il cavo dati e controllo

Ecco come appare la camera fredda cablata con la scheda di controllo:

Camera fredda cablata

I connettori interni alla camera fredda sono molto rigidi, se dovessi rifarli li ricoprirei di colla a caldo.

La scheda CCD e i connettori

Ho riverificato le tensioni sui piedini del CCD (avendo l’accortezza di toglierlo prima di fare le misure) e sembra tutto a posto: la prova del fumo è andata a buon fine, nel senso che nulla ha preso fuoco .

Spero in settimana di acquisire la prima immagine.
Alla prossima autocostruzione.

These are a few of my favorite things….

*hums along as I look lovingly through my closet that seems to be ever bulging at the seams*

. Hmmm What to wear.. I’ve SO many favorite things. Running both a High Profile Wedding Company AND a Top Notice A-List Modeling Agency means I have to be and stay..versatile!. I love fabuously chic, and yet very refined clothing. I love to keep an air of sex appeal yet do so with grace, flair, style and uniquness, so there fore.. Let me show you what I’ve put on for you today

Baiastice- Reverse. Such an amazingly Elegant yet sexy mixture From Sissy Pessoa. with 3 different skirt options and 5 different looks it suits me whatever my *mood* may be that day. The semi sheer faux mesh *illusion* top caters to my sensuous side and I adore the solid breast pckets, collar and cuffs.  I love the cute little hat with golden grommets. I paired a cute little cropped *do*.. from ETD.  Ever the staple in my closet are *Classic Pinup Pumps* From Stiletto Moody. I have all the colorsets so they match any style and hued outfit, giving it the classic feel of graceful pumps.

The black and gold earrings are from Creamshop and the beautiful Nails (did I mention I love these nails!) are from CCD’s new line of Rings with nails!

Heres a peek into my closet.. But dont look at the pile of shoe boxes.. we wouldn’t want them to fall over and hurt you!

Baiastice Main Store:http://slurl.com/secondlife/BAIASTICE/154/126/26

Hair- Etd:http://slurl.com/secondlife/Apassionatta/209/238/702

Jewels- Creamshop:http://slurl.com/secondlife/CREAMSHOP/219/153/21

Shoes- Stiletto Moody:http://slurl.com/secondlife/Stiletto%20Moody%202/78/33/46

Prim Nails:http://slurl.com/secondlife/HollandCoast%202/66/63/31

Model & Photographer: Anastacia Markova

I went to a “stewardship meeting” at our church earlier this week, and a subject came up that hit home. Essentially, the question was, “How good a job are we doing developing the next generation of Catholics?” If my anecdotal experience is any example, the answer would be “not very good.” However, the problem, as I see it, is not so much at the parish level as it is in the family.

I have heard stories of “helicopter parents” who hover over everything their child does. I wish the parents of my 5^th grade CCD students were a little more rotary-winged.  Instead, they are more like remote controls.

It can be frustrating. We have the kids for only about 45-50 effective minutes per week. That is not constitute sufficient volume or repetition to have any kind of meaningful or lasting impact, if there isn’t some spiritual support and development also taking place at home. In too many cases, it is very obvious there is little or none.

This is not a blanket indictment. There are exceptions. However, in general I can see the signs of this vacuum in several ways.

1. I see a few of my kids at mass on weekends with some frequency, but if you toss out that relatively small handful, it is a extremely rare treat to see any of my current or former students there. Regular Sunday mass attendance is not a common practice among my students’ families.

2. In the 5^th grade we spend a lot of time talking about the sacraments. In the Catholic Church, most of the kids received the Sacrament of Reconciliation (confession) in the first or second grade. Their parents SHOULD have been taking them to confession at least a couple times a year since then. When we talk about the sacrament in class, many of my students barely remember the first and last time they received Reconcilation.

In an effort to try to engage parents this year, I created a blog for my class. Each week, I write a few paragraphs describing what we talked about. I told the parents about this in our first introductory meeting and also sent the information home in a “welcome letter” after the first class session. I suggested that it would be a good idea to check it on at least a weekly basis, if for no other reasons, to make sure they are informed of any class schedule changes.

This week we had a class cancellation. Last week ago the county public schools were out on our CCD day for a furlough or planning day of some sort. That night we had only six of our 16 students show up. The following Wednesday (this week) would be Veteran’s Day, another school holiday. So the CCD leaders decided to go ahead and cancel CCD class on that day. We announced it in class, but there were only six students there to hear it. I also posted it prominently on the class blog. In past years, I have personally phoned the parents of each of the students to inform them of the cancellation. This time, I figured that the blog and the Sunday bulletin would cover any who had been missed. How silly of me.

Last night, I ran into one of my friends, who is the father of one of my students, and he chastised me about the class cancellation. Apparently, he packed up his kids and drove them to class, only to find the “class cancelled” sign on the door.

“Poolman, it was on the calendar!”

I bit my tongue to hold back my “snappy retort.”

You don’t send your child to class the week before, so she missed the announcement.

You don’t take your child to Mass on Sunday, so you miss the bulletin.

You don’t check the blog to keep in touch with what we are teaching your child, and so you missed the announcement there.

But it’s my fault you didn’t know of the cancellation.

I guess it is. Sigh.

Ashley - Reflective Jewelry Set

Today, I released another Reflective Jewelry set.  ‘Ashley’ comprises an opulent necklace, earrings, ring and bracelet made of diamonds and pearls.  I’m really pleased with this latest design in the Reflective Jewelry family.  Please click here for more details.

Opening prayer song reflection, (live crowd) “Amazing Grace” by Paul Oakley

[Book QUIZ] on Chapter 1 (Faith)

St Teresa of Avila – (16^th century mystic Carmelite religious sister, feast Oct 15) as a teen she lost interest in her faith, instead falling in love with boys & chivalry, mother died as a teen, placed in monastery, love of God rekindled, suffered repeated serious illnesses, struggled with prayer, experienced mystical visions of Christ, raptures (joyful unions with God), taught on prayer, “doctor of the Church” (influential writings).

VOCATION = “a call” by God to holiness

”Primary” Vocation … “to be a beloved child to our heavenly Father”

“State of Life” Vocation …

• –Single, Consecrated Single
• –Married (husband/father, wife/mother)
• –Religious sister or brother
• –Priesthood (clergy)

“Service” Vocation … career, ministry, etc.