Change in the tide is upon us I will reluctantly say in case the water rises again. But for now the flooding has not got any worse where we are and in fact it has started to withdraw from the drive and back into the lane, which doesn’t look as bad as it did a few days ago. A few days ago it resembled a white water river, but now it’s like a bubbling stream. Because the lane is still flooded that means that we still can’t get out of the stables grounds and that also means that we are still getting no customers, or the part time girls arriving to work fri sat and sun. Which is why me and Motoko have been on the yard this morning mucking out and doing odd jobs, we are still going to work the mornings on the three days we have off until all this flooding is over, and the rest of the girls are doing afternoon and evening work.

Our home now has ten sand bags in front of our front door and ten sand bags behind the front door, this works really very well and hardly any water is steaming into our home now, so this is a really good thing! Also currently have some nice big logs on our fire and the warmth is really very welcoming and slightly romantic. As you can see from the picture below our floor is water free.

I put on my waders and strolled out to the sign I painted and put on the yard gate the other day, as I had to re-tie it back onto the gate as some of the cable ties snapped in all theses high winds that has been battering us. Motoko watched from the edge of the drive-way waiting for me to slip up and fall in the flood water, but sadly for her I didn’t hehe. Some of the paint has run off the sign but it looks ok, which is the main thing.

Below is a picture of our predicted weather for the rest of the week, and so far it is fairly on target. Though at the moment it’s raining pretty hard, but nothing like the rain we have been getting of late.

This made me smile found this on YouTube from the BBC© TV show Top Gear. They find out that Cumbria is indeed the wettest place in England.

Also we are continuing to show our support for the RNLI. So below is another video.

Well that’s it for now, we are going to do some much needed house work and washing. Pile of work uniform to wash and other things like that. Then we are going to bake some muffins, since we ran out of our last batch.

Jenny and Motoko Carter

Our Online Gaming Playstaion 3 ID

My email to someone who has hesitated in buying a Mac, because of the “Apple tax.”

Have you checked out the refurbished Mac offerings? You can typically save between 15-30%. I’ve bought my second refurbished Mac now, and have no complaints.

They have the same rigorous testing and one-year warranty that new Macs have, and I haven’t encountered any problems with them. I got lucky with my latest purchase, which was supposed to include 2 GB of RAM, but actually came with 4!

Most of the extra cost of a Mac are because they’re more solid, stable, easier to use, and have a lot longer battery life than similarly priced PCs.

Here are some of my tips for staying warm at the yard!

Wear Ski Pants instead of waterproofs/over trousers – for the last couple of years I’ve been using ski pants (or salapettes) instead of a thin and not very warm pair of waterproofs or expensive riding over trousers. I never really liked full chaps because they still let your bum get wet! Yesterday I went into TK Maxx (Halifax store) and treated myself to two new pairs of Ski Pants – £30 each. Both waterproof, both snuggly warm, and then I wore one pair to the yard with only my knick nacks underneath – toasty! Make sure you buy waterproof ones and check that there are no zips on the inside of the legs. I’ve never needed half chaps underneath to avoid rubbing, and when it gets really cold you can layer up underneath too. Great for all things horsey, just don’t get white!

Get a Choob – again in TK Maxx (deadly place) I found this thing called a Choob. You can wear it on your head or around your neck. Much safer than a scarf because there are no flappy ends to get caught, and less bulky but still warm. Of course, I bought a hi viz one, but I’m sure it comes in other colours. You can also get similar things in fleece but these tend to be a bit bulkier.

Cover your ears – Ok. Big woolly hats are not the worlds sexiest items of clothing. But they do have their benefits. People lose a lot of their body heat through the head, so it’s important to keep this part of your body warm. Making sure your ears are covered too makes a big difference to how warm you feel.

Invest in a good jacket – I confess to using ski wear here too on occaision; I hated skiing, so the jacket needs to get used somewhere! TK Maxx will probably do well out of this, but they have a great range of ski jackets too. I also have a fantastic riding jacket – it’s a Shires Calgary, in hi viz of course. I love it, and it quickly became one of my Must-Haves last year. It’s seriously warm without being overly bulky, and there is a good mix of reflective and fluorescent material which means I don’t need to put a tabard on over the top. When buying a jacket, make sure you check that it is WATERPROOF, rather than water resistant. Also make sure it gives you enough room to move; I find that I don’t need the vents in the back of my jacket, but I do need the room across my shoulders. It’s worth ensuring that the sleeves will overlap your gloves, and that you can fit several layers on underneath.

Layer up – lots of thin layers are better than one thick layer, because they trap more air which means greater insulation. Look in the supermarkets for cheap long sleeved tops and thin fleeces. It’s also great to be able to whip (no pun intended!) a layer off if you find yourself getting too warm. Body warmers/gilets can be great here too. You can use tights instead of thermals, but remember that thermals are designed for the job.

Gloves - Again, thin layers can be better than thick. My all time favourite gloves are the Roeckl Chester gloves, and I have the lined winter ones too. Generally they do just fine – but they aren’t waterproof and if it’s really cold, I’m better off putting my hands in my pockets! [I don't recommend that on a skittish horse] I have a pair of SealSkinz, which I love too. They’re quite bulky (and for a cheaper alternative look to ski gloves) but great for yard work and I can ride in them easily. You may find it beneficial to get a thinner pair of reins for winter riding so you don’t end up with too much bulk in your hands. Test the grip on any pair of gloves you think about buying – you don’t want to find that you have no grip on the reins!

Hand Warmers – worth having a pair of these in your coat pocket. I believe Tesco sell them now, but most saddleries do too. You’re probably looking at about £5 for a pair, but they are multi-use and instant heat. Bliss.

Get a kettle – this might sound silly, and obvious, but keep a kettle on the yard, with tea/coffee/squash/hot chocolate as appropriate. Not only will it allow you to warm yourself from the inside out, but you can hold the mug and warm your hands too. If you don’t have a power supply – a flask will stand you in good stead so invest in a decent one.

Socksies – Similar to wearing lots of thin layers, a couple of pairs of thin socks (and room in your boots!) is better than thick socks and your feet feeling a bit squashed. I like to wear some thin Tesco-special cotton socks, and a pair of ski tubes/long riding socks over the top.

Emergency kit! - Being cold, wet, hungry and probably needing to pee as a result, is thoroughly miserable. I like to keep a full change of clothes and footwear in the car along with a towel just incase I do get drenched. A torch (thus reducing the likelihood of going bum over bust into the mud) and some spare gloves and a hat never go amiss either. Possibly the most important thing in my kit – a bar of chocolate. Yummy.

Good evening to you all bloggers, Jenny blogging tonight.

Well today we discovered that the lane at the bottom of the driveway of our stables this morning has in fact become even more flooded and deeper than it was on the weekend. It’s also moved up the driveway a little bit more which means that the water is getting close to our home, which is not a good thing really. The water is still running though the yards and down the drive and passed our home, but good news is that we now have ten sand bags in front of our front door that hardly any water is getting though. To get into our home we simply open the top part of our front door and in, simple really. Picture below is some of our grazing flooded, and this was on high ground, the bottom two fields are a good 2 foot under water at the lower end of them so no using the bottom fields again this year me thinks.

For the staffs personal wellbeing me and Motoko and told them to wear their 66North waterproof clothing, we normally only ever use for hacking out. Reason is that the 66North clothing is same type as Ocean which is that oil skin type, but its orange and very hi visibility. Unlike our Ocean gear that is Orange and Blue. So all of our staff members now wearing their 66North clothing so they show up on the yard, this means we can see each other though all this flooding and rain. Also Motoko told them to go to their provided cottages and, do a stock take on all of their food and note it down and hand a copy to us so we know how long we can all home out. It’s good news as every one as plenty of supplies for a good whole week, and by then all this flooding should be slowly going. We have a plan to use our canoe and paddle around the flooded lane for supplies from local farm shop which is not as flooded as we are. Also Sam our friend is a flood response operative and she lives on the arm with her partner. So help is a flooded lane away if we really badly need it.

With all this weather no one as you know can enter our leave our stables, so today has been customer free. So that’s not so good, but means that there are no lessons and treks to take and lead. That means there is more time to work on other things.

Also if you are a fan of the band called Muse, you will love this video.

I think it was a really great performance but not as good as their Devon gig which was just fantastic to hear.

Everyone here been really cheerful and up beat about the whole thing and Motoko has been wearing a lifejacket all day over her gear as a joke all day, that made me smile. Also have a painted sign on our yards driveway gate with a cartoon raft with lots of horses on board it. Was my idea, so I was the one to wade in and tie it to the gate, once again I got my hunters flooded. I really must remember to wear my waders next time I do anything like test the depth or put if funny signs.

Here is another RNLI video to continue Motoko’s RNLI support in her last blog.

But that is it for now, I need to see to our fire and then help Motoko with our dinner. You can’t go wrong with bangers and mash!

Jenny and Motoko Carter

Our Online Gaming Playstaion 3 ID

Hello all you bloggers this is Motoko blogging.

Well the rain still comes and with rain comes flooding, we are now really cut off from the closeted down about five miles away. Bottom of our yards driveway and the lane it leads too is totally flooded. Jenny felt like she wanted to test the depth by walking into it. It proved that the water was hip height, so after flooding her hunter wellies and wading back out we she agreed that it was not the best way to test the depth. So she now has her waterproof trousers and her socks and hunter wellies and jeans on cloths horse in front of our log fire. Told her next time she should try something like that she should year a lifejacket or buoyancy aid and a drysuit, that didn’t go down to well and only reply I got from her was a raised eye brow followed by a frown.

This morning we mucked out the whole yard between us, it didn’t take that long really. Part time people for very clear reasons can’t get in. So until they can and the flood water goes away me and Jenny will do the mornings on the yard on Fri, Sat and Sun and then some of our other staff that live in the stable cottages can do the afternoon and evening. So far its working really well, downside is that one of our part time girls is a college student who helps on Fridays, he arrived before the flood water burst into the lanes. So she is now sharing a cottage with Anna as she can’t get home or to college for that matter.

Our paddocks are oke which really surprised me. Oke in the way that they are still there and not been swept away by the flood water, but two out of five paddocks are flooded and the grazing is not that great but we will work around it.

Ground floor flooded again last night even though we added more sand bags, its like a bunker now and still the water floods in, never mind. We broke the hunters out and grabbed a broom each and swept it out in record time, as it didn’t flood as bad as before. I’ve stocked up on logs for the fire and we have plenty of food so I am sure that we will be ok.

The RNLI need to be thanked I think for helping our little part of the world that is Cumbria. With out you people would be stuck in cars, homes and other places. So I would like to thank the brave RNLI women and men who have been helping.

Click this link for the RNLI website: The RNLI

I think that will be all for now, stay tuned for me random blogging from me and Jenny.

Kind Regards,

Jenny and Motoko Carter

Our Online Gaming Playstaion 3 ID

I think it rather obvious that it has been quite some time since I blogged. I have been flirting with the idea of just deleting this blog, but have decided against it. The thing is I don’t typically blog when I don’t feel bad, and quite frankly, I just haven’t had the time. But I suppose I can challenge myself to at least post something regularly. The way I feel now though, it will be less complaining on my part and more free writing I suppose. Kind of like the inner workings of Ari’s mind. Tis a scary place!

My apologies to all those blogs I typically read that I have all but abandoned. I do hope you are doing well. I just need to figure out how to subscribe to these blogs!

So what’s been going on with me? I have now won the battle with my pdoc to get the Seroquel. And finally I seem to have found some meds that work. My therapist and I have been discussing the idea of my possibly having ADD. Honestly, I think I’ve had it all through childhood. I just think no one ever noticed because I wasn’t disruptive and I pretty much kept to myself as a kid. It would make sense since I have often heard of Bipolar Disorder co-occuring with AD(H)D. Of course, since as long as my bipolar is under control I can typically focus at work, I’m not even going to consider medication right now. I already take too much as it is! I have also pretty much tossed out any consideration of BPD. I think at one point I had Borderline Personality Traits, but have found ways to effectively deal with those aspects of my personality. They typically come out when I’m depressed, so as long as I stay stable I’m cool. There’s also a little problem with some Restless Leg Syndrome that my therapist really wants me to do a sleep study, but I don’t have the money for it right now. I’m even considering not doing therapy anymore just because of the money. And then not see the pdoc as often. Because I’m pretty sure come January I once again have to meet the deductible, which is $200.

It’s really interesting how my mental health journey has gone. I went from a psychiatric hypochondriac to a cynic, to accepting. For a little while there I doubted whether I even had Bipolar Disorder. I even got to the point where I hoped I didn’t have bipolar, which is unusual for me. In the past I have tended to overidentify with my disorders. Now, I just accept me as me. The fact that the medication helps me pretty much proves the bipolar diagnosis. And the ADD, that really makes sense, whether or not I ever get an official diagnosis, which probably would be better for me if I didn’t at this point. I just have to know what my limits are. Know that I am typically going to be hyperactive and super talkative. And I will always have a tendency to blurt out words before thinking and the inability to sit in long meetings or presentations. I can now only read in short bursts. I will sometimes have a hard time focusing. And once in awhile I may face some anxiety. Although lately I have been hyperfocused, which is unusual for me. I think it’s that I have followed my therapists advice and do things as small tasks now. That keeps me from getting anxious or procrastinating. So kudos to her!

Life is pretty good right now, despite the financial stresses. I just keep hoping that universe will provide and I know no matter how hard it is, I’m where I’m supposed to be.

Na początek edytujemy odpowiednie pliki:
# vim /etc/apt/preferences

Jeśli podany plik nie istnieje to należy go utworzyć. Jego zawartość:

Package: *
Pin: release a=stable
Pin-Priority: 1001

oraz drugi plik /etc/apt/sources.list i zamieniamy wszystkie wpisy testing na stable (chyba, że odwołujemy się do nazw nie głównych gałęzi lecz kolejnych wydań – wtedy przykładowo zamieniamy ciąg squeeze na lenny).

Przykładowo może on wyglądać tak:

deb http://ftp.pl.debian.org/debian/ stable main non-free contrib
deb-src http://ftp.pl.debian.org/debian/ stable main non-free contrib

deb http://security.debian.org/ stable/updates main contrib non-free
deb-src http://security.debian.org/ stable/updates main contrib non-free
deb http://www.debian-multimedia.org stable main
deb-src http://www.debian-multimedia.org stable main

Na koniec wykonujemy:
# aptitude update
# aptitude full-upgrade

Most of parents was ignoring at their child’s emotional,  therefore in sadness, anger and happiness, that can not be well-managed and have an impact on the formation of emotional mentality. Some parents are not aware her son was angry or sad, and tend to not care, but the child when it needs attention. As a result, the child will grow up to be closed and could not manage his emotions with the stable.

As a result, the child will grow up to be closed and could not manage his emotions with the stable. Education in early childhood or age zero to five years is very important because the period was the golden period of brain formation and personality of children. At that time very important for parents to provide for the establishment of educational and emotional brain cells in children to form his personality.

However, parents tend not to recognize and ignore these days, and some even provide a balanced education does not only form the intellectual intelligence and emotional intelligence to ignore. Nowadays, that it’s emotional and spiritual intelligence rather than intelligence alone.

Therefore, many experts urged parents to consider children’s education, for example by including in early childhood institutions. In addition, more parents are also advised to give attention and affection to children, so to be able to form a complete personality.

In the ”Stable area” we aim for: (”future proofing the situation”)

1. Stable architecture building blocks so we ease change management by the use of target architectures that span years and multiple initiatives. This enables us to be in control of an agile future.
2. Stable solutions building blocks so we can assure that the solutions build upon the SBB we have decided. This enables us to run many solution projects concurrently and still be able to have complete control over the outcome.

In the ”Dynamic area” we aim for: (”adaptability to any situation”)

1. Dynamic behaviour in our architecture buildingblocks so that we easily can reconcider the use and re-use of our ABBs to match the needs of the business.
2. Dynamic behaviour in our solution buildningblocks so that we easily can bundle SBBs in innovative ways that maximize the potentials within our Enterprise architecture and Business situation

In the ”Agile area” we aim for: (”simple to work with”)

1. Agility in the selection, configuration and lifecycle of ABBs such that the design of composite ABBs can be done as fast as possible
2. Agility in the SBBs such that the design of SBBs from the specification of ABBs can be done as fast as possible

Oooo000oo, shiny!! It’s pretty and flashy and has impressive eye candy. Look, the desktop spins around and wobbles and stuff “beams” in and out like Star Trek! How cool! Impress your friends with it! That brings people.

But what keeps them? Stability. A system that is rock-stable, even if it has older software (I don’t mean ancient, just “not the latest and newest version instantly available so you can be the first to get it make all your pals jealous). I must admit, I really like the shiny stuff. Because it’s shiny and pretty and sparkly and kewl! I love sparkles!

But not enough to keep wrestling with annoying little bugs and application crashes. Cutting edge eye candy and the latest stuff is fun, but I always end up in search of what works reliably and remains trouble-free.  Ubuntu Linux is built on Debian Unstable (and it’s called unstable for a reason!), except for their long-term-support releases, which are built on Debian Testing (not stable by Debian standards).

I have experimented a little bit with non-Debian based Linux, but hardware functionality, at least on my computers – seems to always be an issue. But everything Debian “just works” with little or no fuss. So Debian is where I think I’ll stay – which narrows my search quite a bit. Narrowing it further to Debian Stable brings it down to two! Debian “Lenny,” the just-released current Stable release, and the much more newbie-friendly Mepis, which is built on “Lenny” and uses the highly prized KDE desktop. It ain’t the latest thing. But it’s stable (because it’s Debian Stable) and it’ll prob’ly “just work” on my ‘puter.

EDIT: Right in the middle of writing this rant about stability (using the newest and shiniest Xubuntu, by the way), crrrrasssssh! It’s as if Xubuntu agrees with me!

MCP Screen Printer Retains Stable Solder-Pressure

Assembleon is showing its new high-speed, high-quality MCP screen printer at Productronica 2009, from 10-13 November. Assembleon’s MCP screen printer has an innovative head design with variable attack-angle printing, allowing it to maintain constant solder-pressure independent of the stencil thickness. The single-head system also allows easy setup and reduces maintenance by half. With a board cycle-time as low as 11 seconds, it is the first stencil printer to match the high throughput of some of today’s high-volume pick-and-place machines.

It is the first printer to match their high quality, too, by reducing defect per million (dpm) figures by up to 50 per cent. As a result, the MCP is ideal for high-speed and high-quality manufacturing and is a perfect match for Assembleon’s single-digit dpm A-Series equipment and high-quality, high-mix MC-Series. High precision, high-speed printing-component miniaturisation and reduced component interspacing are challenging even to modern screen printers. While maintaining high output, screen printers should be able to handle a wide mix of components, down to 01005, with small interspacing (down to 100um).

They should also adapt to PCB material trends such as flexible printed circuits (Flexfoil). The MCP has a flat-metal single-head squeegee to improve the speed and quality of printing. The squeegee’s variable-angle print-head improves the repeatability of the paste deposition for 01005 components, even after a stencil cleaning. The squeegee maintains constant solder pressure and produces perfect solder shapes with stencil thickness down to 50um and half edging stencils with stencil steps of 30 to 50um. It is ideal for PCBs mixing 01005 (0.4 x 0.2mm) types with larger component sizes.

The fast wet or dry vacuum-cleaning system operates during the PCB transport cycle, minimising the impact on tact time. All cleaning actions are performed with a minimum use of paper. The MCP also has a special feature that keeps the stencil from shifting during the print stroke, allowing better print repeatability on any board, even Flexfoil. To accomplish this, the stencil is secured on each side of the board during the print stroke, which holds the stencil in place and prevents it from sliding on the board.

Reducing the cost of quality has a high priority within manufacturing. Of all manufacturing defects caused by the soldering process, 87 per cent are caused by soldering, and more than half of these are printer related. Costs can be significantly reduced and end-of-line yield increased by avoiding or finding defects as early as possible. The MCP’s high-speed digital-inspection camera scans the printed PCB, detecting excess or insufficient solder and bridging and eliminating them from production.

… not for nothing (‘mica pizza e fichi’)!

Thanks to Raffaele who kindly provide me this screenshot.

A while back I was driving back from a friends when I passed these beautiful creatures.

Sorry this one is a bit late guys – technology let me down!

hihi readers~ I don’t know how many readers I have, actually. Probably just a few friends of mine. So, whatever.

As most of you SSF people know. our awesome Guardian Angel, SNSD Tiffany, went online quite a few times already. Approximately 3. Twice was lurking and the last one, which was this morning at 3AM KST, she left us a bible verse again. Sweetie pie She & her fellow So Nyuhs sure do not forget us,  Sones, here.

And yea, few days ago therw was some conflict between coupling shippers. It’s over now. But those bashers better stop bashing the youtube channels ‘promoting’ other couples that you don’t support. I will obviously take actions. We are SONES. SONE means we love NINE, not two. Please get this right. SONEs, don’t we all live in harmony? Come on, we shouldn’t fight just because of that to proof what’s real or not. But the good thing is some of you apologised, that shows you understand that the current condition isn’t good. No matter what, SONES, we’re a family! <3 I love all Sones who are true in supporting SNSD.

That aside Past few days did nothing. Few days ago just continue doing NOTHING. Just spazz abt SNSD over & over. and I think for a1 and a half months, I don’t think I’ll have enough videos to supple me, unless SNSD decided on a comeback asap. Idk is it next year or end of this year.

I didn’t mention, Priya is my playgroup partner that day. LMAO. During physics we were singing all those children songs like London Bridge, Humpty Dumpty. LOL. Plain childish but fun.

I can’t login MSN today. using ebuddy.. forever? Omo.

Music Bank today rocks! I have never been this excited watching Music Bank before! Apparently because there’s Brown Eyed Girls & Yesung taking over Jonghyun for today for SHINee’s Ring Ding Dong.

Found something shitty. I tried to keep that status but you happily cancelled it without thinking. Nonetheless, my negative thoughts for you shall stay. You’ll always be the same. and i have been wanting to say this, my mum will never remember me having a friend like you. It’s a waste of space for her.

Brown Eyed Girls performance is jjang <3

cr: CodeMonmon on youtube

Music Core tomorrow. Tiffanyyyyyyyy <3 Fany’s bangs is LOVE <3

Yay to JongHyun & Jokwon who’s recovering/recovered from Swine Flu! Yay to Shin JungHwan in stable condition ^^

Saranghae Kpop <3

Each month author Lucy Harmer dedicates her journal entries to the theme of “transformative and inspirational living” – finding the fun, magic and laughter in everyday occurrences! She explores ideas, thoughts and quotes from her two books, Discovering Your Spirit Animal and Shamanic Astrology.

November 2009

Shamanic Astrology
Exploring the Personality of your Spirit Animal Sign

© Copyright 2009 Lucy Harmer

Last month in my journal (October 2009), I gave an overview of what Shamanic Astrology is. This month, I am going to explore the twelve spirit animal signs of the medicine wheel a little deeper, so that you can begin to discover the special qualities each sign possesses.

There are twelve astrological “signs” on the medicine wheel, which are represented by twelve different spirit animals. Shamanic Astrology teaches us that inner power derives from knowing the properties, characteristics, and qualities of each spirit animal (known as their “medicine”), and applying this in our own lives.

To get you started, here are some of the main strengths and weaknesses of each of the twelve spirit animals. It is really interesting to note that weaknesses are often just a mirror of our strengths and qualities. What we see as “weaknesses” can often be transformed into “strengths.” Take Falcon people, for example, whose “weaknesses” can be their tendency to be impulsive and headstrong. Transformed, these qualities become Falcon people’s strengths – their spontaneity and pioneering nature.

(If you are not sure which spirit animal sign you are, you can find out by looking your birthday up in the second table below – “Which animal sign are you?”)

Strengths and Weaknesses of the twelve spirit animal signs:

I always find it fascinating to look up the qualities of my friends, family and work colleagues. It is amazing how much their spirit animal sign can tell you about why they may behave in certain ways!

You can find out more about the personality of your own spirit animal and how you relate to the other signs, in my book Shamanic Astrology: Understanding Your Spirit Animal Sign. You can also discover the different spirit animal clans that you, your friends and family belong to, and your own special plant, stone, element, color and life path.

Which animal sign are you?
To find your spirit animal sign, just locate your birthday from the dates below, according to your place of birth. If you were born north of the equator (eg; USA, Canada, Europe), then look for your date of birth in the column headed “Northern Hemisphere.” If you were born south of the equator (eg; Australia, New Zealand, South Africa), then look for your date of birth in the column headed “Southern Hemisphere.”

This month, I wish you lots of fun and magic in exploring the strengths and qualities of your own spirit animal sign, and discovering those of your friends, family and work colleagues too!

Love and blessings,
Lucy

Shamanic Astrology is available for purchase directly through NorthAtlanticBooks.com, as well as major book stores and online retailers.

CLICK HERE to learn more about courses, seminars and workshops offered by Lucy Harmer.

CLICK HERE to learn more about Shamanic Astrology.

CLICK HERE to learn more about Discovering Your Spirit Animal.

Manna is defined as (among other things) any sudden or unexpected help, advantage, or aid to success, because as biblical scholars will attest, manna was the food miraculously supplied to the Israelites in the wilderness during their flight from Egypt.

It wasn’t long after Sammie and I fled Clancy’s backyard to the upscale boarding facility that I was blessed with my own manna from Heaven.  Just two weeks after we moved in, our trainer Meg asked me to reschedule our usual Saturday morning lesson to the afternoon.  The request came a day or two before the weekend, and was preceded by

Did I forget to tell you that Debbie McDonald will be here all weekend for a private clinic, that boarders can audit for free?

Uh, gee…let me think…my dressage idol is coming to teach a clinic, and I can be a sponge and absorb lessons without paying a dime?  I am pretty sure I would remember if you told me that!  Debbie McDonald!  My husband, my non-horsey friends, my relatives, all have been strapped to a chair and forced to watch my DVD from the 2005 World Equestrian Games with Debbie’s famous musical freestyle on her mare Brentina.  Debbie and Brentina have performed that routine numerous times.  I was lucky enough to watch it in person at the selection trials for the 2008 Olympics.  Though I think the 2005 WEG performance was their best, if you haven’t seen it, this video from the Olympic trials suffices to show what a brilliant rider Debbie is, and why I consider her such a dressage rock-star.  (Commentary is by Hilda Gurney.)

Meeting Debbie in person had me all a-twitter.  But watching her teach a clinic over the course of two days?  Pure manna.  If I hadn’t already decided Sammie’s new digs were Heaven, this would have sealed the deal.  Debbie is unquestionably one of the most charming people I have ever met, and her teaching style is awesome.  She maintained a good running commentary for the auditors, gave examples to the riders that helped them visualize the instructions, and helped improve the quality of riding for riders from First Level through Grand Prix. 

As wonderful as it was to be surprised by the Debbie clinic, I learned that such clinics are a regular occurrence at Shadow Ridge.  The barn owner and trainer, Kathy Pavlich, is an accomplished rider and trainer in her own right (she was Grand Prix champ on her fabulous horse, Komo, at our regional championships this year), and brings big name trainers in from Europe (Bert Rutten from the Netherlands and Judy Harvey from Great Britain) every couple of months to train her and Meg, and any boarders who wish to sign up.  I have now had the privilege of auditing clinics by Bert and Judy, who are astoundingly talented.

I just learned that Debbie will be back in April, for the California Dressage Society’s Regional Amateur Clinic.   Last year, the clinic was held at my barn (with a different trainer), and my friend Kristin rode in it.  Watching Kristin ride was my first exposure to this barn, and it feels a bit like kismet that next year’s clinic will feature Debbie.  I am tempted to put my application in, but somewhat fearful that I may actually be selected to ride.  Riding under a top international rider/trainer is intimidating enough, without it being my dressage idol.  But as much value as I get from auditing clinics, I know that the benefits of riding in one would likely be exponentially greater.  I’m still having so much trouble getting consistent, forward, work from Sammie, though, that I’m afraid I’ll embarrass myself in front of Debbie, the other riders, and the auditors.  Think of your most embarrassing red-faced bumble from Junior High, and that’s what I’m afraid of.  I was a geeky awkward kid growing up, and a part of that shy girl who was teased by the popular kids resides within me to this day.

What do you think?  Should I risk humiliating myself and just go for it?

Ranger Fans Katie and Chris Moonen show support for their team and fallen Ranger Ben Fanelli

This is a follow-up article on Ben Fanelli that appeared in the Waterloo Region Record.

Hearts are with Fanelli as Rangers return to ice

November 02, 2009

By Jeff Hicks, Record staff

KITCHENER — Jason Akeson rifled the puck into the net.

The twine behind Sarnia Sting goalie Adam Courchaine bulged and launched a water bottle into the air.

An Ontario Hockey League crowd of 5,719 cheered another game-winning Kitchener Rangers goal on Sunday at the Aud. The bottle fell to the ice, behind and to the left of the net.

It landed on The Spot.

Two nights earlier, Rangers teammate Ben Fanelli lay on his back with his head on that spot. Blood slowly seeped onto the ice from a cut above one eye and spread in a sickening puddle.

On Sunday, Fanelli remained in intensive care at Hamilton General Hospital with skull and facial fractures. His condition, as reported by the Rangers, remained critical but stable.

Rangers chief operating officer Steve Bienkowski said that Fanelli has regained consciousness at times over the weekend.

According to the family, he has recognized them on those occasions.

His Rangers teammates came to the rink and played. What else could they do?

“We’ve got to keep going,” Akeson said. “As hard as it is, as shocking as it is, you’ve got to keep battling. It’s good to come here and lose your thoughts for a couple hours.”

Win a game. Lose their thoughts. Then, back to brutal reality.

Their teammate, a 16-year-old rookie from Oakville, is in rough shape.

This is head trauma, Rangers trainer Dan Lebold said. These matters are much more delicate than your typical concussion.

Read the rest of the story here: http://news.therecord.com/Sports/article/623020

Dressage tests are a formalized sequence of movements, with transitions between the three gaits (walk/trot/canter) at designated points along a 20 by 60 meter arena, marked by letters.  For instance, the rider and horse enter the arena at A, proceed to X (the center of the arena), halt, salute, proceed toward C at a trot, turn left, canter in a 20 meter circle at E…etc. 

So, needless to say, success in dressage requires at a minimum the ability to ask your horse for — and get — transitions from walk to trot to halt to trot to canter…you get the idea.   As someone who had her confidence crushed by a lesson horse who ran away at the canter, one of the things I loved about Samba from the beginning was her Whoa.  She had a great stop button on her!  Unfortunately, by June, that seemed to be her only button under saddle.  “More Whoa than Go” was a description I thought I wanted in a horse, but the reality of a horse that refused to move at all, let alone pick up an upward transition from walk to trot, brought me to tears.  I knew that if I couldn’t solve this issue, Sammie would be for sale within the year.  I just can’t afford to keep an unrideable horse. 

Lisa and I had begun the process of ensuring Samba was not in any pain.  We knew the saddle fit was ok (not great, but certainly not causing discomfort), and had gotten the equine dentist out to pull her wolf teeth.  Getting her out of Clancy’s backyard and into a professional barn with quality (safe) footing was the final step in our transition to a forward-thinking horse.

When we got to the Heavenly barn, Sammie started to blossom.  The first thing I did was sign up with Meg for part-training, meaning Meg works with Sammie three days a week.  Any or all of those three days can be spent in a lesson, as opposed to Meg training or riding Samba.  I opted for a once-weekly lesson and two training sessions.

Meg began working Samba on the ground, as she still needed a week without a bit in her mouth in order to heal fully after the dental work.  Once Meg was able to start working Sammie in a bridle, she quickly taught her that forward was the new buzzword.  I was amazed at how quickly Sammie bonded with Meg, and how willing she was to do everything Meg asked of her.  I shouldn’t have been amazed, though.  Sammie is a very intuitive mare, and she seems to know instantly who she can trust.  It was the same with Lisa, and Meg’s experience and confidence translated instantly.  We were off and running!

I soon learned that I have a long way to go toward earning Sammie’s respect.  I don’t have the strength or finesse in my seat and legs as Meg does, and Samba requires a great deal of convincing that I really mean it when I ask her to trot.  Some days, it takes the better part of 20 minutes to start getting consistent walk-trot-walk transitions, but I’ve learned to ride Sammie “Survivor” style: Outwit, Outplay, Outlast.  

As the 2009 show season draws to an end, I decided to verbalize my 2010 goal to Meg, and I’ll (gulp) announce it here: I want to ride Sammie in a rated show at Training Level.   I realize that the progress Sammie and I are making together is quantified in baby-steps right now, but as long as we’re making forward progress, I am optimistic for a March debut at Introductory level in a schooling show, with our first “official” competition in June. 

Stay tuned for future posts about our progress…and cheerleaders welcome!

Story from the Wall Street Journal. (H/T Andrew)

Excerpt:

Dr. Braun’s group found that at 21 days, the fatherless animals had less dense dendritic spines compared to animals raised by both parents, though they “caught up” by day 90. However, the length of some types of dendrites was significantly shorter in some parts of the brain, even in adulthood, in fatherless animals.

“It just shows that parents are leaving footprints on the brain of their kids,” says Dr. Braun, 54 years old.

The neuronal differences were observed in a part of the brain called the amygdala, which is related to emotional responses and fear, and the orbitofrontal cortex, or OFC, the brain’s decision-making center.

[...]The balance between these two brain parts is critical to normal emotional and cognitive functioning, according to Dr. Braun. If the OFC isn’t active, the amygdala “goes crazy, like a horse without a rider,” she says. In the case of the fatherless pups, there were fewer dendritic spines in the OFC, while the dendrite trees in the amygdala grew more and longer branches.

A preliminary analysis of the degus’ behavior showed that fatherless animals seemed to have a lack of impulse control, Dr. Braun says. And, when they played with siblings, they engaged in more play-fighting or aggressive behavior.

In a separate study in Dr. Braun’s lab conducted by post-doctoral researcher Joerg Bock, degu pups were removed from their caregivers for one hour a day. Just this small amount of stress leads the pups to exhibit more hyperactive behaviors and less focused attention, compared to those who aren’t separated, Dr. Braun says. They also exhibit changes in their brain.

The basic wiring between the brain regions in the degus is the same as in humans, and the nerve cells are identical in their function. “So on that level we can assume that what happens in the animal’s brain when it’s raised in an impoverished environment … should be very similar to what happens in our children’s brain,” Dr. Braun says.

Read the whole thing.

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Outside stable no 2 @ national museum Paleis Het Loo in Apeldoorn, The Netherlands – October 2009.

The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) announced October 28 that it will keep basic interest rates for dong unchanged at 7 percent per year, starting this November.

The central bank’s Governor Nguyen Van Giau said other key loan interest rates would also be kept stable including refinance rates for credit institutions at 7 percent per year and discount rates at 5 percent, and the rate for overnight loans in Vietnam’s interbank market at 7 percent per year.

The central bank’s monetary policies aim to support economic growth while reining in inflation to a reasonable rate, Mr. Giau added.

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