Business Dashboards Get Instant Widgets, And Geckoboard Gets ...

Geckoboard, the London-based developer of an online dashboard product that lets businesses monitor company-related information in real time through the use of widgets, has today announced two key pieces of news to fuel its growth: it has picked up its first round of funding, $1.5 million, and it is launching a new feature that lets users create their own widgets for all the services that they would want to run on that dashboard.

The funding comes from a top list of investors led by Index Ventures that also includes?500 Startups, DN Capital, HootSuite CEO Ryan Holmes, Path CEO Dave Morin,?Alexander Bruehl,?Christoph Janz and John Hunt, and it is through that investment that Geckoboard has been able to launch the new product.

?This funding will lead to an explosion in the number of integrations we can offer our customers,? Paul Joyce, CEO and co-founder of Geckoboard. ?Companies recognise the need for real-time analysis of their business metrics and the Widget Editor will help us to offer more integrations much more quickly than we were ever able to do before.? That will also help it better compete with other startups that also work in a similar space, including iDashboards and Cyfe. Ironically, calibrated the right way, a Geckoboard could even compete against HootSuite, the company run by one of its latest investors.

As of today, Geckoboard?lists?55 existing widgets on its site for users to drop into their dashboards for popular services like Google Analytics, Twitter, Salesforce, Pingdom, Basecamp, Zendesk and Facebook (maybe for when you want a little diversion?).

What today?s announcement will mean is that with a new widget editor, developers can code (with standard web programming language), debug and preview new widgets that Geckoboard hasn?t created itself. Geckoboard says that this is, in fact, the same tool it uses to create the pre-existing widgets. And that new widgets can be completed in ?less than an hour? (with a video to explain ti more here). And because they are web-based they work on any screen with a browser across PCs, Macs, tablets and smartphones.

Geckoboard has called itself the ?Chartbeat for everything else? ? in reference to the tool used to monitor traffic and other metrics on websites. Geckoboard?s rise speaks to a growing trend among businesses to consolidate ever-growing lists of diagnostics and information into simpler views to be able to better assess that information ? with dashboards being the mainstay for how it?s presented and consumed.

Since launching in February 2011, Geckoboard has picked up some 1,400 customers, including Atlassian, Groupon, Gdgt, SecondMarket and Stack Exchange.


Geckoboard is a hosted status board that collects business information from many online services and customers own data sources, summarises it to distill the key messages and displays it in a way that?s easy to understand and interpret. Businesses use status boards to pull important information locked up in disparate services together into one place to give a real-time status on the health of all aspects of your business.

? Learn more

Index Ventures is a leading venture capital firm specializing in investments in information technology and life sciences companies. The firm invests in seed, early and growth stage start-ups across US and Europe. Since its inception in 1996, Index Ventures has backed visionary entrepreneurs who have taken on incumbents and built seminal companies in a number of growth sectors including: open source software companies such as MySQL, Trolltech, Zend and Pentaho; broadband and VOIP companies such as Virata, Skype, FON and...

? Learn more

Dave is an entrepreneur. Today, he is the Co-Founder and CEO of Path, the personal network that helps you be closer with the ones you love. Previously, was an early member of the Facebook team where he spent several years working to make the Internet more social by co-creating Facebook Platform and Facebook Connect. Prior to Facebook, he spent several years learning design thinking and marketing while working at Apple. Dave received a degree in Economics from the University of Colorado at Boulder. Dave...

? Learn more

Ryan Holmes is the CEO of HootSuite, which he founded in December 2008. Ryan guides the overall direction of the company?s strategic development and core vision to revolutionize social communication. Prior to HootSuite, Ryan Holmes was the CEO of Invoke Media, a digital agency he founded in 2000 to provide holistic marketing, development, and design services. While at Invoke, Ryan and his team conceived of the idea for a social media dashboard that would effectively allow the agency to...

? Learn more

Source: http://techcrunch.com/2012/09/28/business-dashboards-get-instant-widgets-and-geckoboard-gets-1-5m-from-a-group-of-top-investors/

bedtime stories micron susan g komen kenyon martin kenyon martin big miracle slab city

Marriage, Sex and Relationships in India - 28 Sep 12

Where poverty is widespread, people believe more in religions. They are uneducated but they have hopes and dreams, based on God. Some gurus take advantage of their dreams and suck the little money that they have out of them. Let?s spread education so that they can really live their dreams.

Does a soul get more comfort by expensive rituals after death?

Sects go to extremes - Either lots of sex or no sex at all!

Video games taught children that violence and rioting is fun! They learned how it should look like when you break into a store and when they see that it works, they get greedy and steal mobile phones, game consoles, electronics and more. I think violent video games have encouraged teenagers to see this all as fun!

Isn?t it crazy how religion is often only a way to manipulate people? Just tell people often enough that something is God?s wish and they will believe it!

Don?t be shy to show a little gesture if you think it will make someone happy.

Sharing has a double effect: it decreases sadness and increases happiness!

Why do we need to pretend to be who we are not?

Every child is same and when you have this wish to give love to children, you should share your love with every child, no matter if it is yours or the child of someone else.

The only good reason for the wish to have a child is because you have love in your heart and you want to share it with a child. You want to give a child the happiness that you feel when you are loved and when you can love someone.

Cheating never works and never makes you happy. Talk with your partner about it instead. Show your husband or wife that you cherish the love in between you and that you won?t do this step that others have done in your situation.

We are one world and all are humans, not divided by race, colour, language, culture or religion. Keep in mind that we all are human.

Let your children grow up without learning violence in video games. Teach them instead to play with each other, not against each other. Show them that a child of another nation and maybe with another language is just as valuable as they are themselves.

If you want to follow a Guru, a master, a sect leader or any kind of belief, don?t have your children affected, too! Give your children the possibility to decide themselves. Show them the normal world, let them develop properly with the full capacity of their mind to be critical, to think about everything themselves and with full emotional abilities, too! Give your child the freedom and the possibility of a healthy, normal lifestyle.

Do not steal the childhood of your children by raising them in a sect.

The scriptures of any religion, culture or country can be written by very intelligent people of old times and we can see them as great literature but they should not be taught to children as ideals of how to behave though. They are fiction and many of them are full of blood and violence, creating an illusion for children that this behavior could be religious and good.

Whatever your belief is, give your child as much freedom as possible to decide on his own. If you force a child into one belief, you don?t give its mind the possibility to develop in its own way.

Teach your children respect for others and themselves. Otherwise as adults they will start having psychic problems, don?t love themselves and don?t respect their body and feelings. Sometimes they even start hurting themselves. And there is nobody to stop them and set them limits. If they are not nice to you, why would they be nice to themselves?

Children and teenagers need a balance of control and freedom.

Don?t be overprotective. Lack of self-esteem, indecision and also problems with getting into company of others are the consequences. Don?t overprotect, give freedom and let them make their experiences. They will shape the world of tomorrow, so don?t try to press them into your world. Let them free.

Life teaches every human. Let it teach your child, too! You are there for bigger problems, decisions and topics, you can protect when it is really necessary, but let your child face circumstances of life in which it learns of life. How will it learn otherwise?

Let your sons and daughters take their own decisions and carry the consequences. Don?t control every little detail but let them get the taste of being adult.

If you only ate when you were hungry, you would never have a problem with obesity. Adults and also children get hungry naturally. Don?t eat and don?t let them eat for their entertainment, from boredom or from hunger in their thoughts and eyes.

If you experience something, don?t be shy to change your opinion, even if it is the opposite of what you thought before. Change if you believe it is necessary to change, otherwise it will cost you your happiness. If you change when it is right to change, you will see that new doors open for a better future.

Making pets of animals takes away their natural freedom.

We create an animal for our entertainment and give it pain for the rest of its life. This is not taking care of nature, this is not how we should live. We should think more of the animal than of us. Does the animal like living like this? Can I give the animal everything that it would have in free nature, too?

If nobody can know anyway what will happen on the next day, why should we worry about it? There will never be an answer! We will see what will happen and we will deal with whatever comes. The past is past and tomorrow will come. Live in the presence, today, now!

There is no plan and nobody knows what will happen tomorrow. We can take our decisions and have to take our responsibility for the consequences. Nobody knows before what will happen if you go one way or the other.

I don?t like the word ?follower? or ?disciple?. Guru simply means teacher, so if you have the need for a teacher, a guru, why don?t you call yourself student? Rather than being a follower who follows blindly like a sheep, you should be a student, eager to learn more, enthusiastic for getting more knowledge and experience.

Real followers always need someone to follow. When they get disappointed by the person they are following, they search for another one.

Scriptures were written by normal men. It was their experience but your experience can be very different. With time everything changes. If your experience is different than from what the Bible or the Gita tells you, why don?t you believe in yourself? Why don?t you trust your experience?

Don?t seek God in religious icons or figures. God is love and lives in our heart. If you, in a prayer or mantra, mention the name Jesus, Ram or also Hanuman, it doesn?t mean that you specify a religion you are praying to. You have God in your heart, no matter which name you say with your tongue.

Religion often has the effect of poison: it kills people, it separates them, it creates hate among them. Human is made by god and religion is made by man. God did not create people with different religions, he made us all the same.

Anger, ego and other emotions sometimes create aggression but think how far you want to let these emotions take you. Who knows, maybe time changes and a bitter relation changes again for the better. Bitter and better is only one letter apart from each other.

Sometimes need to let someone go who does not want to be around you anymore and with whom you cannot share your way anymore. It can happen that these relations get stronger again after some time. Try not to poison a relation. If it doesn?t work, quit quietly. If you can, don?t create bitterness in between you.

Give value to your relations and the people around you. See and feel their love and love them back. Store their love in your heart. Care for friendship, care for your relations, care for love.

I always believe that anything that causes fear and makes people worried and afraid is not right. You should give people trust, faith, love and compassion.

True friends stay when your philosophy and belief change.

Real friendships get more and more beautiful the older they get. Keep them alive and enjoy the age of your friendships.

Don?t bring business talk everywhere. Stop it, at the latest when you go into the bedroom. No business is allowed there anymore, just love and the relationship of you and your partner.

You need to bring love and feelings into your work. Enjoy what you are doing, meet others with happiness and feelings instead of being like a stone. There are principles in business but they are man-made. Make love and feelings a part of those principles.

Judging is good and necessary. Use your general knowledge, your mind, your intelligence and also your feelings. You can ask experts, research on the internet and find out more if needed. Get an opinion and don?t be afraid of others criticizing it. Maybe this fear prevents people from judging, too. Have self-confidence and say what you think is right and what is wrong in your eyes.

?You should not judge? is often used by masters and Gurus to keep their disciples and followers from questioning what they are doing.

If you made it your habit not to ever judge anything and anybody, you would get psychological problems as you would not be able to make independent decisions on your own and would never know which way to go.

There would be no development if nobody ever judged. You would always accept everything as it is. We need to judge.

Now you are an adult and you can take your own responsibility in your hands, even if you feel your parents were overprotective. Leave this past behind. This world is not evil and not that dangerous at all. It is there to enjoy.

Scare your fear away by being alive.

Fear is an illusion and it spoils your life. If you are afraid, you cannot enjoy. You are fine and you are able to cope with the situations that life brings you. Have trust in whatever is out there in this universe. The whole world is there for you, not against you. Let your fear go. Live.

Get the self-confidence to get out of the habits of comparing and pretending to be someone else. Love yourself, as you are. Accept whoever you are, respect your feelings of what you want to do and what you don?t want to do and love! Then your mind will be free from the worry and you will realize that others do love you as you are.

You are loveable, lovely and loving. You don?t need to do any change to yourself to please another person. You don?t need to play a role or wear a mask. This world is so big and there are so many different people in this world that it is normal if a few don?t agree with you or don?t like you. Stop comparing and just be yourself.

Meditation is a good way to discover your feelings and to come from head to heart.

If you feel you don't have love, you maybe only have lost your connection. If you did not have love, you would not be longing for love. This is the proof that you have love. You only need to reconnect with your feelings.

There are some things that are stable through all changes of life and your love is one of them.

If someone refuses to change while you yourself are developing, it can happen that you grow apart. At that point of life, you meet new people who can go along with your new view on the world. It is fine and a part of the change which we accepted in our lives.

Change is normal and just a sign that you are alive and in the flow of life. We always change for the better when we make a conscious change and decide to change along with times. We are changing in every second and it is better to accept this change than to fight it.

Increase your ego until you say ?I am god?. I am that. You are that source that you come from, you are that! Tat Tvam Asi. But not only you, everyone around you, too!

There is a thin line in between healthy pride and too much ego. Everybody needs some ego and everybody should be proud of himself. Without ego or pride you cannot survive. You cannot exist without ego because you need your ego to identify yourself.

God doesn?t want to own a house or a temple, he is just there, living in our heart. It is the greed of people who want to own land ? and if they can possess it on the name of God, they do.

You cannot bargain with God and give a big donation for a big wish and a few coins for a small one. You give it to the temple, not to God. God doesn?t care about money.

You cannot buy blessings with a donation to a temple. You cannot buy luck and a good destiny like rice on the market. You have to create it yourself!

Religion is like politics. It is a dictatorship with the Guru or leader being the dictator setting the rules. Start a spiritual revolution and come out of this suppression. Go towards real spirituality, towards democracy, where your voice is being heard.

If you have practice of meditation, you are able to focus and decide what you want to think of. Through meditation and focus you can not only close the door of your office but also the door of your mind to work related topics in order to truly relax.

If you see the typical lifestyle in the west, it is all about freedom. Freedom there does not usually mean freedom of the mind, of decision and independence of negativity but often means physical distance and financial independence.

The base for strengthening an emotional connection is physical closeness. For any close emotional relation you need to be close physically.

With children it is easy to have an emotional connection because they understand the language of emotions better than the language of intellect. If you talk to them with intelligent words, definitions and facts, they won?t understand you. If you reach out to them with love and happiness, you establish an emotional bridge in between you and them.

It is the ego of believing that you are perfect which kills all your happiness in what you do.

Perfectionism is perfect if there is no comparison.

We don?t need rituals to find God and God will not be especially happy if we do rituals for him. You can find God through love and by being in love, you do the best service to him that you can.

The wish of being perfect is driven by the wish to be an expert. Leave this wish and get into your mind that there is always a possibility to do it better, to learn something. Improvement is always possible but you are fine just as you are!

Religion is a firm and strict structure whereas spirituality is soft and flowing. Religion presses into clear and edgy shapes whereas spirituality makes round and soft. Religion comes from the mind and spirituality from the heart.

I heard Jesus is not usually an angry or short-tempered guy. He, too, believed in love instead of punishment.

Belief and religion is a personal thing. Religious leaders of any religion, be that Hinduism, Islam, Christianity or any other religion, have no right to tell people what to believe.

Even if your thoughts do not match, you can still be friends. Even if you disagree in a hundred of points, you can be friends. You need to agree at least on this one point though: you trust each other and have love for each other.

Nobody can predict the future, nobody knows it. The future is written in the stars but you cannot read and translate it. The mystery of what will come next has its own beauty, .

If someone wants to help you, find out whether he tries to make you afraid or if he gives you love and helps you through compassion and being with you. In this love you can heal, fear cannot heal you.

Soul is energy, the life in someone, our basic element, which moves us and keeps us alive. When there is no love in a relationship, we say it is dead. When there is no business in a company we say it is dead. Whenever the basic element of something is gone, we call it dead. When our basic element is gone, we are dead. And our soul is our basic element.

Words have limits. Love and Emotions are endless.

Love is nothing to show off but it is still something to show to the one you love. Isn?t it beautiful to say or be told ?I love you??

In a relationship you have to dissolve your ego without any expectations to the other one. If you don?t want to dissolve your ego, why do you want a relationship?

Human is just a puppet in a big play. You think you are in charge but there is something bigger than you. Nature, god, the universe, however you want to call it. Even if you know your body, you don?t have full control over it. Nobody knows when, what can happen. Nobody can predict anything.

Wouldn?t it be beautiful if we did not lose the value of feelings in the translation into speech? If there was a way how we can express the whole value of the feeling?

Have dinner, lunch or breakfast or maybe all meals in family. It connects you with each other. In this way love can go through the stomach. Share your day with each other, take part in each other?s lives!

Be relaxed and have fewer expectations on yourself. Look forward Even to things that are important. If you are anxious you will only exhaust yourself with stress which doesn't make anything better.

Physical closeness is the key for successful relationships.

If you did a mistake, the first part of the solution is already that you realize it and then accept it. Don't try to find an excuse but turn around and walk the other way. Simply, honestly accept that you made a mistake and for the future commit to live an honest life which doesn?t cause pain for others and later for yourself.

You did not tell your partner that you are cheating but you are trying to tell yourself that he or she would be fine with that. Anytime you do that, whenever you cheat your partner, you actually first cheat yourself with this lie.

Love is when you want to enjoy and laugh together, when you want to smile and celebrate together but also cry together and give each other support in difficult times.

When you feel that a person is not respectful towards you, remember that he probably doesn?t even feel any respect for himself, so it is difficult to feel it for you.

You can only give love to someone if you love yourself and you can only respect someone if you have respect for yourself. If someone is disrespectful towards you, he or she doesn?t respect him- or herself. They actually do not know the real meaning of respect, not for themselves nor for others.

In my relationship I want to give the command of my life and my heart to the one I love. Now you can guide me because I know you, I trust you, in your love, you will do best for me.

I want to give the one I love full control over me. Only then I will feel full freedom because I don?t even have to think for myself.

Happiness should be our normal state of mind.

Jealousy is just a natural emotion. If you feel jealous, allow it. If you struggle or fight with it, it will irritate you more. You can be jealous, but realize that it is not a grown-up emotion. Realize your feeling, accept it and let it go again. If there was a justified reason for it, express it. If it was not, express it to yourself and then let it go. There is no sense in being upset about the fact that you have this feeling.

Sexual feeling is just innocent and a part of your body. With your body growing, your feelings also get more mature with age.

Why should sex be forbidden? Can sex, being physically united in love, keep you from being in higher consciousness? On the contrary, suppressing your sexual feelings does not bring you closer to God!

Religion tells you that you are allowed to laugh and cry, to feel hungry and thirsty but not to feel horny. Is this not a natural feeling? How can you live normally and naturally while being disrespectful to one of the most natural feelings in this world? Celibacy is the most unnatural concept that you can think of.

Religious leaders act as if God is their property and they are the ones to distribute the connection. But they are not the brokers of God. You don?t need to pay them commission to establish the connection. You can just dial in yourself.

There are many religions and sects in which the leaders and gurus are those who communicate to god for the other ?normal people?. You can have this relation to God yourself!

Religion and spirituality don?t need a Guru. It is the way that you go and what you accept in life, it is nothing to learn, it is just implementing your honesty into life. It is love and you don?t need to learn love. If you are in love and you are honest, you are already spiritual.

Why do religions make people afraid? If the rules that they put up made sense, they wouldn't need to make others afraid, others would understand it on their own and follow them!

Meditation has become a sign of being spiritual or religious. Don't do it regularly however simply because your religion tells you to. Such a ritual often becomes a habit and loses its benefit.

If people forget the sense of rules, they are just rules without a background which leads to a blind following of rules instead of the understanding of life. See why rules are there and understand their meaning.

Real healing power is in each of you yourself. The right time, the right company, a loving touch, a hug and sharing words and emotions with the right person can help your healing process

A miraculous healing is usually not any miracle but just the natural strength of the body. The full credit goes to the healer who pretends that it was him who could heal.

Try to be attached to as little as possible, leave old things, throw them out and give them to someone who needs them more than you.

You can never be satisfied with material because there is no limit. There is also no end to love or God. When you are in love you want to feel it more and more. You want to feel God more and more deep.

If you are in love with God, you don?t have to ?do? meditation, it takes place itself. You are in love without doing any ritual. You also don?t need to do rituals to please your God, he will feel your love in every moment. There is no need of any special prayer, any certain Mantra if you are in love with God.

Spirituality is something very personal and individual. You don?t need to connect with a sect or join a group for living your spirituality. You need deeply felt spirituality and not show-off spirituality. Be natural about your spirituality.

If a player only enjoyed playing if he won the match, he would not be very happy in his profession. Don?t let your mind stop you from enjoying as much you can!

A relationship is something very individual and personal but you definitely need one thing: lots of love.

Many times relationships fail because there is no physical closeness. A relationship doesn?t work over phone or over internet. A lot of people try but our human nature is that you need someone close to you for a real connection.

The main factors for a good relationship are that you are physically close and devoted without any ego. If this devotion is not there, they will be far from each other even if they are physically close, sleeping and living in the same room. Then they cannot understand each other and in these cases relationships sometimes break even after a very long time.

It is your awareness of the moments. When you are hurrying, you are just focused on what you are doing, to do it as quick as possible and the moments go by without you noticing them. When you are waiting, you are really aware of each moment, you feel each moment, each breath that you take. Both ways can be meditation.

Relationships are like hand-painted pictures. Every picture is different and it takes time until you have discovered every small detail that the painter has added.

It is always possible to have a friendly relation if two people respect each other.

Maybe you are sad because you still love the other one and he or she doesn?t want to be with you but you still have to love your love! Don?t be angry with yourself for this feeling and don?t switch into hate because of this advice. It is okay to follow your heart.

You cannot tell someone to love but you can be proud of your own love. Love your feelings, love and celebrate your love. You have to love yourself and be proud of the love that you can give to others. Never stop loving yourself in this frustration. At the right time you will meet the right person, there is nothing wrong with you and you don?t need to try stopping your love. Don?t create any guilt. Your love is great.

Your decision of not feeling guilty also shows your forgiveness. When you are feeling guilty it means you cannot forgive yourself. Accept your mistake, say sorry and leave the guilt.

You want to live in guilt. If you do not want to, you can come out of it. You can just leave it and decide not to be in guilt. But being in this feeling is easier than making the decision of not being in guilt.

Guilt is the result of the wish for perfection. You want to be perfect and this mistake proves that you failed, so you carry it around, defending your mistake, blaming others, hiding so that nobody finds out that you are not perfect. Everybody makes mistakes and nobody is perfect!

A mistake is something that you learn from. Everybody makes mistakes and it doesn?t make sense to walk through life with this guilt until you leave the earth. Do your best to say sorry, to repair what is broken or to change the way if you made a wrong decision. However don?t carry it around after that otherwise you will be a prisoner of this guilt. Be free.

You can decide yourself if you want to be happy or sad. You are the one who decides to be angry, to be annoyed or to be sad. Some people decide to be in hate. But it is always you.

The truth is nowhere outside. Search in your love and in your honesty, there you will find truth.

Seekers who are searching for the truth go to someone, an organization or Guru, who might know the truth and could lead them towards it. Be careful, you can also be misled!

Many people in the ?spiritual scene? change very quickly and are not stable in their opinion because they are never sure but always in doubt.

Everyone who really loves you wants you to be happy and strong and stable in your happiness. It is difficult to have stable happiness if you cannot have a stable opinion because all the time you actually worry in which direction you have to change your opinion now!

People usually don?t lie because they want to harm someone but to hide their thoughts, to hide their feelings, shortly to hide themselves. It is one of the greatest problems that a person can have: low self-esteem.

People often lie because they don?t know their feelings and try to please everyone. Be aware of what you feel and what you say and only tell the truth!

Don?t worry what others think to find out what you feel for yourself.

Everybody is a healer because everybody has the love inside himself to heal. We all are unique but we all are one.

No matter who you are and what you are doing, in the movie of your life you will always have the main role, you will be the hero. Stop trying to be someone who you are not or different and better than others, just be yourself! You are not greater or worse, higher or lower than anybody else. God made you perfectly fine, just as you are.

Love is the most therapeutic energy.

You don?t need to pretend to be younger than you are. Don?t you see the beauty in so many old people? Your beauty doesn?t come from the outside and doesn?t change if you have a few wrinkles. Be who you are, you are beautiful!

How can all those Swamis and Gurus give liberation of attachment to material when they themselves are so attached to gold and money?

Life is short, live it! Do what you always wanted to do! Say it! Make it reality! You are the one in charge of your life. Love your life and live it!

You can communicate in silence, looking into each other?s eyes and just feeling the energy. This also works as healing, it is silence therapy. Silence can cure, just try it.

Flexibility is Hinduism's biggest quality and its biggest drawback!

Forgive and leave your anger behind. Remember that this is not an act of grace towards the other person but something that you are doing for yourself, too! Be in love, that makes it easier!

Sometimes religion is like poison. Look at these people who gather others around themselves, making up their own ?religion? by interpreting some scripture in their own way and create rules. It steals the freedom of the mind. You need to know yourself what is right for you and everybody has different ideas of what is good or bad, right or wrong.

Save your energy by not talking when it is not really necessary.

Love is the only supernatural power that exists and we all have access to it. You just need to open your heart and let it flow.

Sometimes you can either go left or right and there is no way in the middle. Follow your heart. No decision makes the world stand still, everything will go on, no matter which way you go.

Make one meal a day a meeting point, a ritual for the whole family together.

Be aware while cooking and eating that you are doing something important. Love your food and don't waste it.

Respect your food. Your stomach is not a garbage box. You are doing something important when you are eating.

You learn in school how long it takes for light to travel from the sun to us and how much power it takes for a rocket to go to the moon. But still you believe that any man has the power to make gold out of nothing or harm you with his black magic?

You have everything that you need now! You have every reason to be happy! Be happy and love your life!

Accept yourself as you are. You can follow a good and healthy example but don't go in any competition. You are fine as you are.

Teach your children that there is nothing wrong if you get wrinkles when you get older and that grey hair doesn?t take any of your beauty. Teach them to love themselves. Help them feel good in their body just as it is.

If you work with sex, do it, but don't call a sex workshop a Tantra workshop!

Be your own master. We have enough to do with mastering ourselves and don?t need anybody else whom we can master.

Guru is not a title, it is a relation like brother or father. Swami is a title for a spiritual person. This is the difference.

We dont need more temples in India, we need more toilets!

You don?t need a church or temple to pray and get in touch with god.

Many people only say their prayers with rituals, when they are in temple or church or only pray if they have a mala. Praying with a mala is not wrong but it is not the only way. You don?t need a mala for praying. And you don?t need a church for getting in touch with God.

We don't need all these complicated philosophies. We just need to learn four letters: love. It is that simple. Live in love, believe in love and share love.

You share everything with everybody and everybody shares everything with you. Just out of love. In this case the source is love, not ego. When you want to share your happiness with others and want to share other peoples? pain, sharing is a great and positive thing.

God is there for you in every moment and he does what is best for you.

If you don?t receive what you wished for, accept that it is God?s wish for you not to have it. He does what is best for you.

Enlightenment is being in love.

If you want to get in touch with god, why do you need an agent for that? Make direct contact through love.

If you live in love, you are spiritual.

We need to integrate the worldly and material life with spirituality.

Everybody is spiritual in his own way. Even if you don?t go into a temple or church or are not sure about god, you are spiritual if you believe in love.

Be honest with your feelings. If the other one likes you or not, it is okay.

How can gurus who love the material, silver and gold, call themselves Paramahansa? A true Paramahansa is not interested in wealth.

Don?t be shy to sing when you feel like it. It is a wonderful expression of your emotions and it opens the fifth chakra, the communication chakra.

Some people have the ego to think of themselves as God and want to have their picture, their shoes, a picture of their feet or even statues of themselves on altars.

You are the creator of your world. If you want to make yourself small, you can, but you can also realize your strength and see that we are all human, all the same. There is one love and one god for all of us.

The Guru and master who started a tradition also asks you to pay for being a follower and franchisee. And in this business the essence of yoga is lost.

Yoga is only yoga. Without any tradition?s name in front or behind. People have to understand the essence, the real meaning of yoga which is not any specific style and not only physical exercise.

How much would Patanjali, the author of the Yoga Sutras 3000 years ago, charge you for becoming his franchisee and using his name and Sutras?

People put a label on everything, on themselves and everybody else, creating limitations! We are all the same, have the same soul and live on the same planet.

Give yourself a treat by moving your body, stretching, breathing! Enjoy your body and feel good in it! Whatever you do, enjoy it! Have fun!

Beauty is not about physical appearance. We are not only the body, there is a soul and a beautiful soul is much more important than figure, colour or shape.

Most people are focused on the body. Understand that you are not only the body.

Things turn out best if you do only one thing at a time. Only if you always put your full concentration on one action you can do everything with love. That is meditation.

Whatever you do, offer it to God. You are not acting, whatever you do is for God and from God. Put your heart and love in what you do and enjoy doing it.

I will be happy to feel myself always as being a good student. But I see here many times that this desire of being a master comes. People want to be in charge. They want to be a master and it actually is their unfulfilled wish that shows in this way.

I am just a simple person who believes in love and prayers, not in magic.

I love what I do and I do what I love.

You are not responsible for everything and everybody. Relax, lean back and watch what others are doing. It is fine, enjoy whatever comes!

I only follow one rule: Break one rule daily. And I believe that we need to get rid of all other rules if we want to live free and with open heart.

The explanation of why healing works is not important. Important is your experience.

If our attitude is positive, it can change everything including our way of living. If we say ?yes? to life, to love, to laughing, enjoying and having fun, we can change our lives.

We need to learn to say no instead of having a formal attitude that keeps us from being honest and expressing what we really want.

People cannot express what they feel. They often do not even really know whether they like something or not. They look at their neighbours and see what their reaction is. Then they can imitate it. Easy.

Bookish knowledge only creates confusion

There is always something good in everything.

People have to develop their consciousness and stop killing animals to fill their stomach. They have a soul like us and god is in them, too.

Love is not a spark, it is the light that shows you the way. A spark is a spark, only for a moment and when it is gone you are in darkness. Love is the light.

A friend is someone who lends you his shoulder and is standing with you in every situation.

Not any belief is good or bad, no person is good or bad and no place is good or bad. It is only your perception.

Places and times change and we need to keep our mind flexible so that we can leave old rules and traditions behind.

People often say and do things that they don?t believe in. How long can you play such a drama? You have to live in your original consciousness.

You need hope to believe, to survive and live. This whole world and everybody keeps on breathing because of hope.

When you change yourself, things start changing around you. It works!

How can you expect a change from others if you cannot change yourself?

Being happy in the happiness of your beloved is true love.

We all are human, not god, so we do mistakes. Accept your mistake and leave your ego, then you won't feel guilty. Guilt is created when you do not accept your mistake because of your ego. Don't make yourself feel guilty for making mistakes.

If you made a mistake, don't follow your ego. Accept the truth, even though you were wrong. Don't live for your ego.

In western cultures family relations and love relations are often destroyed by ego, when all energy is spent on destroying, creating problems and separation.

Ego can make you blind so that you are not able to see the truth which will affect your decisions.

Making an effort to make your loved one happy makes you happy. This is love: you want to make your beloved happy.

Many people try with force and effort to keep happiness away because they want to be victims. They are always sad and hurt, no matter what happens.

Instead of trying to make others happy, try to make yourself happy without worrying about the whole world. If you are happy, people will see you happy and will become happy.

People lose their happiness in the effort of keeping others happy although it is impossible to keep everybody happy. Everybody has their own ego and that will clash with each other, no matter what you do. Make yourself happy first.

Being happy is the biggest worship of god. I don?t think that God would be more happy about any other ritual or method of worshipping.

Do not pretend to be older or younger than you are. Playing a role looks artificial. You appear more serious and real if you just are who you are.

The push of sexual force onto your mind can even make angry and violent. That is why it is good to let sexual energy flow in body and soul, not in the mind.

Possessiveness comes when the mind is involved in sex. If our sexuality is on the level of spirit or soul, possessiveness will not appear.

Sex is a very holy and spiritual act and the subject of soul and body, but not of the mind. If it comes into the mind, it will make you sick. You should enjoy sex with your soul and with your body. Don?t think of it, just do it!

Everybody has a heart and a soul. The body is the temple of our soul, in which it lives and we should be very respectful with it. We should not make an exhibition with it and we should not have rules to hide it. Both is not right and if you do one of both, you are disrespecting your body.

You are more than a body and not only your body. People should love you not because of your body. Your real freedom would be if you did not use your body as a medium to attract people?s attention.

What is special in any part of the body? Everybody has the same body parts. You do not need to do extra effort for hiding anything and not for exhibiting, either. Why can?t we just be normal and natural?

Love can exist without sex but sex has to be with love.

Sex is not only physical. It is more about feelings than about the physical aspect. With money you can hire a body but not feelings and surely not love.

Making love does not only mean sexual activities. Hug someone, create a lovely atmosphere and just love someone. Letting your love flow is making love for me.

Death is the last event of our life and we should welcome it with open arms and a smile. Don't be afraid of life and don't be afraid of death.

Sensitivity is a jewel of humanity. If there was no sensitivity, everybody would be just like stone!

Being a victim is not a cure. It can be a tendency of behaviour and you have to be brave and leave it. You need to have the strength to step out of the role of being a victim.

Don't enjoy being a victim. Don't keep your problems like companions but let them go.

All Gurus like to say ?Money is bad and you should not keep it. Give it to me.? That is how they are rich. Is that their wisdom?

Our negativity lives on our back. It is difficult for us to see but we need to explore it. We can easily see the back of another person. Work on seeing and reducing your own negativity.

Trust in yourself and have confidence. You don't need anyone who makes you afraid with stories of a past life or makes promises for the future. Live in presence and have trust in your love.

Nobody in the world can tell the future.

What does it mean if you say ?I am not 100% vegetarian?, ?I eat meat only when I go out?, or ?I only eat fish?? It means you are not a vegetarian at all. You feel guilty about it. You are only eating, not killing, but someone killed for you.

Vegetarianism starts at home. Show your kids how to caress animals, your cat just like farm cows! Why can you eat a cow, not a cat?

There are people who are very impressed when you make your talk complicated and others who like that. They like it complicated because it satisfies their ego to understand it.

People often make things more complicated than they are so that they can satisfy their ego by managing something difficult. If you want, you can do that and make everything difficult. Or you can leave your ego and just do it the easy way.

If you are focused on negativity, you will attract negativity. You should be focused on positivity, then you will attract positive things for your life. It can be difficult to rebuild positivity but it is necessary in order to be happy.

Keep an open mind and don't decide how something will be before it happens. In this way you keep yourself from having fun and being happy. Let it happen and then decide. It is more fun!

Take your own responsibility without relying on others or thinking about other people?s judgment.

People who judge often have an inferiority complex and believe others judge them. If you are in your full love to yourself, you don't need to judge others.

If you always only think of the happiness of others, you forget your own happiness. When you have established your own happiness with what you do and with who you are, when you accept your heart, your personality and your own life, then you can help others to find their happiness.

Sometimes ego and anger can bring a darkness to your heart with which you do not even care about the happiness of your children although you love them. This love is not pure but driven by ego.

We all have to be like children. We need to find our inner child which is innocent and has the freedom to express.

It is your own decision how you want to spend your life. You can live a true and honest life. Take your decision and have the courage!

People often have different faces, for work, for home, for friends and so on. That makes it difficult for you and others to understand you. Just be who you are!

A greeting card is only a symbol to express what you have inside your heart. It doesn?t matter how big or expensive the card is, you cannot send anything that you do not have. And if you have best wishes in your heart, they will arrive even if you do not send them by post.

You have to make the decision to love everybody. You have to have the decision to have love in yourself. This is the decision. And then love for the universe will flow naturally.

Love at first sight happens because you have love inside you. Something triggers it, it starts to flow and you fall in love.

If someone cannot accept you how you are, how can they love you? And then, why do you need to worry about what they think? We do not accept others as they are and we do not accept ourselves as we are. And then we struggle.

Love should always be unconditional. If there is any condition, it is not really love. If someone leaves because of a condition you don't fulfil, you do not have to feel guilty or have an inferiority complex. Those who really love you, love you how you are, not because of something or a certain quality.

Follow your teachings yourself. Your teaching only has power if you live it yourself with your honesty. A smoker cannot give a lecture about the harm of smoking.

I don?t like rules but I like discipline. It makes your will power strong.

I do not like rules. I said many times that we are always living in rules but we should make it a rule to break one rule daily. But that should be your decision and not controlled by anyone else.

If you only drink in company but don't want to, realize that this urge comes from outside. Why is the outside controlling you and brings you into a situation that you don?t want? Be strong in yourself.

Don?t do what you don?t want your children to do. They learn what they hear and follow what they see. Love your child. Give clear signs what is good and what is not.

We often live for others, trying to make them happy by being how they want us to be. We want to wear a mask of what we are not. But you cannot make everyone happy! We have had this experience hundreds of times but still we do the same again and again. Be original and who you are.

Some women feel ugly without make-up. Your outer appearance can strengthen your confidence for a few moments but you know exactly who you are inside. Learn to face your originality. Accept yourself. See that you are beautiful just as you are. Real beauty comes from inside.

When women wear a lot of make-up like a mask, it hides their originality and who they really are. Maybe they want to entertain themselves by being someone else for a day. But for how long can you entertain yourself in this way without losing who you are?

Beauty shines from within - not through Make-up.

In the West, many people live in negative thinking and live in fear with a negative attitude. They are hopeless, suspicious, doubtful and always see the dark side of things. Most of all, they don't enjoy life. Come out of this negativity and see how beautiful life is!

You invite others to celebrate because you want to share your happiness. It makes you happy when others celebrate your happiness together with you. If you are happy but alone, you cannot really enjoy it. When you are sad, too, and someone is there with whom you can share it, your sadness is reduced. You need closeness so that you have somebody to share your happiness and sadness.

If you have a continued physical relation, the emotional relation will naturally develop by itself.

When you hear that someone says after the first night ?It was really a good night, I had wonderful sex?, they did not necessarily do anything special. It is amazing because sex itself is such a great thing. It is not the quality of the woman and the man, it is the quality of sex itself.

Spirituality does not tell you to break the hearts of others by breaking all bonds. Of course you can go the path of spirituality with the relations that God gave to you. You can take them along on your way instead of breaking their hearts.

God can be your friend whom you trust, with whom you can share everything and who can be mother, father, son or daughter to you.

Making a relation is easy. Breaking a relation is also easy. But to maintain a relation will need devotion, love and trust.

When you have a physical relation with someone, it brings an emotional connection and an emotional relation requires physical closeness.

Bonding a relation in terms like 'open', 'short term' or 'long term relationship' shows your insecurity and your doubts. It sounds like a contract. This may suit business relations but it doesn?t fit if you want to establish a relation on the physical, emotional and soul level.

A successful relationship comes from devotion, not from ego and expectations. Leave your expectations behind and accept and respect the other one. In order to accept, respect and love in a relationship, you definitely need to accept, respect and love yourself.

Why do we want to change somebody? Why can?t we change ourselves? And if we cannot even change ourselves, then how can we expect any change in somebody else?

In a relationship acceptance is necessary. If we cannot accept the other on how he is, we will not be able to maintain a successful and loving relationship.

The key for a successful relationship is to allow your partner to express his feelings the way he wants. Love is not about owning and controling. Give this freedom to the one you love.

Love is the soul of our soul. Without it, you can be alive, but your soul is dead. We need love, it is the essence of our essence.

Real prosperity is happiness that is not disturbed by a fluctuation of numbers. When you are happy you should have a big generous heart which will try to make others happy.

We are mostly happy when we take but true happiness is when you enjoy giving.

If someone has trust and love, they can see God in a sculpture or statue, too. It is the power of their belief and love.

It is normal to have ?negative? emotions like anger, sadness or jealousy. Allow them, accept them and let them go. If you fight and struggle you will suffer more. Find a reason to be happy again

If you make relationships and break up after one week, I call it experience, not love. It is your search, looking for love. So many people can come and go, an ongoing process until you find love. But love never finishes.

God is love and love is God. The definition that you give for ?God? you can also give for love. God is infinite. Love too. There is no end and no limit. Love cannot be finished, it is simply impossible.

Low self-esteem lets people worry about what others think of them. Don't try to be perfect in your action and reaction. You are perfect as you are.

Silence is very necessary. It is a jewel of life. Most of our energy is consumed by talking. Be silent and save it.

Knowledge you can get without limit. But getting knowledge and knowing is something different. You can collect knowledge or you can get to know. There is a difference between talking about love and falling in love.

How would you describe spirituality? And what can you get from reading someone?s experience? For you, spirituality can be very different. And that is truth.

Addiction is mainly a question of the mind. People can spend half a day on a flight without any cigarette but on the ground they cannot survive an evening without smoking. If you can spend half a day without it, it is also possible a full day, a week, a month, a year or the rest of your life. It is a question of the mind and the determination.?

Learning is not only for children. Life can always teach you something, your age doesn?t matter. It is wonderful to be curious for something new, something you have not experienced yet.

When shopping becomes an addiction like gambling, when your house gets more and more full, when you walk in the city and realize that you already have everything in those shops full of useless things, it is time to rethink on what you spend your money.

Please do what you enjoy. Enjoy your life! It is too short not to enjoy it. And you can have the trust that even if you do not know what it will be good for in your future, if you stop worrying you will see that there will be the right thing at the right time for you.

You belong to god, you belong to love. You don?t need to belong to anyone or anything which manipulates your mind and where you lose your freedom of being yourself.

We do not want to be controlled. And if we don?t want to be controlled, why do we have the wish to control somebody? Trust is the foundation of any relation or love. Trust and leave the idea of controlling your partner!

If you really and truly love somebody, why are you eager to possess that person? True love is not about owning.

Money does not make people rich or poor. Someone who has 1000 Dollars seems rich to someone who only has 100 Dollars whereas he seems poor to a millionaire. Numbers don?t make you rich. Some millionaires whom I consider poor and I have seen people who don?t have money but who, to me, are very rich people because of their big heart and generosity.

Earning money is an art. Saving money is a bigger art. Spending money is the biggest art. You cannot enjoy money until you spend it. Let this energy move.

Source: http://www.jaisiyaram.com/blog/relationships/11631-marriage-sex-and-relationships-in-india-28-sep-12.html

Mia Love Plaquemines Parish paul ryan alabama football michigan football

A guide to foot health and the best shoes | Quick Tips for Fitness

The feet are silent hard workers of the human body. Although they don't help us see our surroundings, figure out what to say, or move stuff around, they still play a vital role. An important part of human life is going from one place to another and that is the primary responsibility of the feet.

The highest state of mobility is achieved only through proper foot health. Feet are healthy when they are free from any problems that might cause impairment to foot structures and its normal functioning. There are many variables that influence the state of foot health. One of the most vital is wearing the best type of shoes.

Moving barefoot is something inevitably done by everyone, but to keep feet healthy, we have to step up in the proper footwear. To achieve healthy feet, wearing the proper or best shoes for the job is essential. The feet are subjected to varying levels of stress in different activities. To ensure that the feet are able to maintain balance and support weight in different activities, shoes should complement the needs of the feet.

Different activities generally require different sets of footwear and no single pair of shoes is best-suited for all activities. However, all general activities have recommended footwear that cover the various needs of the feet during movement. Different activities like walking, running, cross-training, and sports in general place varying degrees of stress on the feet and are met with specialty kinds of shoes. Properly fitted shoes are also a key consideration in order to keep feet healthy. The right shoes with the right fit ensures that the feet are comfortable and balanced and also prevents damage to the feet resulting in corns, calluses, and plantar fasciitis.

The right kind of shoes for an individual are also heavily influenced gait type which are basically foot structures and movement patterns that affects walking. Gait types such as neutral pronation, overpronation, and underpronation are significant factors that determine an individual's best pair of shoes. The perfect pair of shoes plays two important roles, to maintain effective and efficient foot movement and keep the feet healthy for another day at work.

Source: http://tips-for-fitness.blogspot.com/2012/09/a-guide-to-foot-health-and-best-shoes.html

brock lesnar retires new years wake forest wake forest old dominion insync the duchess

Boy Scouts: Response to sex abuse was 'insufficient'

State of Oregon via AP file

This undated image made available by the State of Oregon on March 18, 2010 shows Timur Dykes. In April 2010, a jury decided the Boy Scouts were negligent for allowing Dykes, a former assistant scoutmaster, to associate with Scouts after he admitted to a Scouts official in 1983 that he had molested 17 boys, according to court records.

By Miranda Leitsinger, NBC News

As the Boy Scouts of America prepares for the court-ordered release of records detailing accusations of sex abuse by members and leaders, the organization acknowledged in an open letter this week that its response in some of the cases had been ?plainly insufficient, inappropriate, or wrong.?

The letter comes after the Oregon Supreme Court ordered the Boy Scouts to release ?ineligible volunteer? files from 1965 to 1985 that chronicle suspected or confirmed instances of child sex abuse. Media organizations had sued for the release of the files, part of a 2010 case in which a jury decided that the Scouts were negligent for allowing a former assistant scoutmaster to associate with the organization's youth after he admitted molesting 17 boys in 1983, court records show, according to The Associated Press.


Some 829 of the files from that time period (Jan. 1, 1965 to June 30, 1984) involve suspicions or confirmations of inappropriate sexual behavior with 1,622 youth, according to a report by Dr. Janet Warren, a professor of psychiatry and neurobehavioral sciences at the University of Virginia, for the Boy Scouts. The report, released Tuesday, was completed in 2011.

?Dr. Warren?s report shows that, as part of our broader Youth Protection program, the BSA?s system of ineligible volunteer files functions to help protect Scouts,? Wayne Perry, national president, Tico Perez, national commissioner, and Wayne Brock, chief Scout executive, said Tuesday in an open letter to the Scouting community. ?However, we also know that in some instances we failed to defend Scouts from those who would do them harm. There have been instances where people misused their positions in Scouting to abuse children, and in certain cases, our response to these incidents and our efforts to protect youth were plainly insufficient, inappropriate, or wrong.

Watch the most-viewed videos on NBCNews.com

?For any episode of abuse, and in any instance where those involved in Scouting failed to protect, or worse, inflicted harm on children, we extend our deepest apologies and sympathies to victims and their families,? according to the letter. ?While we believe the files are an inconclusive record, the BSA will undertake a similar review and analysis of the IV (ineligible volunteer) files created from 1965 to present and ensure that all good-faith suspicion of abuse has been reported to law enforcement.?

The developments were first reported by the Los Angeles Times, which noted that Warren?s team was paid $75,000 to complete the study.

Warren?s findings included:

--? The total number of alleged youth victims identified in the files was 1,622. Of these, 1,302 were involved in Scouting, for 112 it was unclear, and for 208, they were not involved in Scouting.
--? 486 of the men identified in the files as suspects were arrested at some time for a sex crime. It may have occurred before they got involved with Scouting, as a result of the incident noted in their file or after they left the organization.
--? In 531 of the cases, there was information indicating alleged inappropriate sexual behavior with multiple youths.?
--? In 252 of the cases, the available information indicated alleged inappropriate sexual behavior with only a single victim.?
--? 128 of the men in the files had their registration revoked within a year of signing up.
-- Police were involved in the investigation of 523 cases.
-- Six men placed on probation offended against a Scout during their probationary period, while two men were accused of inappropriate sexual behavior with a youth after their probationary period had ended. ?
-- After being denied registration by the BSA, 175 men were identified as having sought to re-register with the organization, in some cases under a different name at another location many years after their initial entry into the files. They were denied entry into the Boy Scouts.

?My review of these files indicates that the reported rate of sexual abuse in Scouting has been very low,? Warren wrote in a summary of her report, in which she also said the ?files broadly refute the notion that these were ?secret files? of hidden abuse.?

?I believe that these files show that children in Scouting were safer and less likely to experience inappropriate sexual behavior in Scouting than in their own families, schools and during other community activities supervised by adults,? she wrote.

But an attorney who has filed several suits for former Scouts said Warren?s review didn?t take into account abuse cases that weren?t in the files.

"Personally I have represented more than a hundred men abused by Scout leaders whose names were never entered in the ... files -- even after BSA paid out substantial settlements on account of these abusers," Timothy Kosnoff, a Seattle attorney, told the Los Angeles Times. "The files are only the tip of the iceberg. Most perpetrators never get caught."

The Boy Scouts said they expect the files from the Oregon case to be released soon. They said that, beginning in 2010, the organization mandated that all suspicions of abuse be reported to law enforcement authorities and that they have always required members to follow local laws on reporting of abuse.

More content from NBCNews.com:

Follow US News from NBCNews.com on Twitter and Facebook

?

Source: http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/09/27/14127464-boy-scouts-admit-response-to-sex-abuse-was-insufficient?lite

zappos hacked jane fonda jon huntsman bit coin huntsman w.e. episodes

LDOE Press Release: Communication is a Top Concern for ...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE?

Louisiana Believes & LDOE Logo
Date:?09/27/2012
Contact:?Public Affairs, (225) 342-3600, Fax: (225) 342-0193

COMMUNICATION IS A TOP CONCERN FOR TEACHERS AND PARENTS
Advisory Committees Provide Feedback to State Superintendent on Louisiana Believes

BATON ROUGE, La. ? Parents and teachers urged State Superintendent of Education John White to step up communications on the importance and impact of major changes in the classroom. The feedback came from advisory committees convened to identify challenges to implementing Louisiana Believes, the state?s plan for continued improvement in education. During September, White met with more than 100 members of the four advisory committees, which represent teachers, principals, superintendents and families and communities across the state, to define strategies to support Common Core State Standards and Compass.

?Parents need to be more aware of the big changes that are happening in the classroom,? said Christy Cormier, a member of the Louisiana Believes Parent Advisory Committee. ?The new academic standards are much tougher and our kids will be expected to perform at a much higher level than ever before ? starting this year. I look forward to the day when Louisiana Believes is more than a plan.? As a parent of a 4th grade student who has a developmental disability, believing is the cornerstone to her education and success in life.? Knowing that each Louisiana Believes committee member is committing to believing in our children, our families and educators gives me great hope for my daughter?s future.?

Starting this year, the writing assessment will align to the Common Core State Standards, which are rigorous, internationally-benchmarked academic standards adopted by Louisiana in 2010. Under the old assessment, students were asked to write an essay about a personal experience or opinion. Under the new assessment, students will be asked to read and respond to a passage, which measures their ability to develop and defend a line of reasoning based on their understanding of content.

?We need to up our game. When you raise academic standards for students, you raise the bar for teachers as well,? said White. ?Compass provides a process to give constructive feedback so teachers can continually improve their classroom instruction.?

Compass is the state?s new teacher evaluation system, which, for the first time, will evaluate teachers in part on student learning. Half of a teacher?s evaluation will be based on how much a student learned from one year to the next, and half of the evaluation will be based on observations by principals and administrators.

Issues raised by superintendents and principals underscore the importance of providing clear communication. Explaining the shift to Common Core State Standards, determining how to elevate teacher leadership, and placing a strong emphasis on pre-K education were issues raised by school leaders.

The Teacher Advisory Committee formed workgroups to develop strategies to improve communication between the state and educators and to develop recommendations, tools and processes for helping teachers implement Common Core State Standards. One of those groups, the Teacher Communication Workgroup, will provide invaluable feedback on components of the Department?s website, newsletters, and communication to teachers in the classroom. Teachers and members of the Family/Community Advisory Committee stressed the need for parent-friendly information about the instructional shifts taking place in the classroom and the importance of new teacher evaluations and performance measures. A work group formed by the Community Advisory Committee will focus on providing feedback on the best practices in communicating community-led change with parents and implementation around at-risk students.

Membership on Louisiana Believes advisory committees is voluntarily. Interested participants submitted letters of interest to the Department and were selected based on their diverse professional backgrounds and geographic representation, as well as recommendations from educators and community groups. The four Louisiana Believes advisory committees are scheduled to meet quarterly.

The next Louisiana Believes Teacher and Parent/Community Advisory Committee meetings will be held in early January. A tentative schedule, which is subject to change, is below:

Teacher Advisory Committee
Date Time Location
Thursday, January 3, 2013 1:00pm-3:00pm Baton Rouge
Saturday, March 23, 2013 TBD TBD
Tuesday, June 4, 2013 TBD TBD

?

Superintendent Advisory Committee
Date Time Location
Thursday, December 13, 2012 10:00am Baton Rouge
Thursday, March 21, 2013 1:00pm Baton Rouge
Thursday, May 16, 2013 1:00pm Baton Rouge

?

Principal Advisory Committee
Date Time Location
Wednesday, December 19, 2012 1:00pm-3:00pm Baton Rouge
Monday, March 18, 2013 TBD TBD
Thursday, May 9, 2013 TBD TBD

?

Parent/Community Advisory Committee
Date Time Location
Wednesday, January 9, 2013 TBD TBD
Monday, March 18, 2013 TBD TBD
Saturday, May 11, 2013 TBD TBD

About Louisiana Believes

Louisiana is implementing bold reforms to transform education, a statewide initiative called Louisiana Believes. Louisiana Believes is based on three fundamental beliefs ? a belief that all students can learn, a belief that empowering teachers and school leaders will unleash the learning potential of students, and a belief that families know better than government what is the best pathway to success for their students. These core values are the foundation of policies to ensure each student, in every grade, year after year, remain on track to succeed in college and professional careers.

About Common Core State Standards

In 2010, Louisiana adopted the Common Core State Standards, which define what students need to learn in English language arts and math at every grade level in order to graduate fully prepared for college or a professional career. The new standards are more rigorous, more focused on critical content, and more relevant to what students need to know to be successful after high school. Students will be measured on their achievement of these new learning expectations in 2014-2015.

About Compass

Compass was created by Act 54 of the 2010 Regular Legislative Session and will be implemented this school year. For the first time, teachers will be evaluated, in part, on student learning. Half of a teacher?s evaluation will be based on how much a student learned from one year to the next, and half of the evaluation will be based on observations by principals and administrators. These new evaluations will determine compensation, which was required by?Act 1?of the 2012 Regular Legislative Session.

# # # # # #

Louisiana Department of Education Website >>>
Contact the Louisiana Department of Education >>>

Source: http://blog.nat.k12.la.us/ldoe-press-release-communication-is-a-top-concern-for-teachers-and-parents/

lindsay lohan playboy cover lindsay lohan playboy cover shooting at virginia tech shooting at virginia tech harry morgan john lennon death john lennon death

Sony ties up with Olympus, takes 11 percent stake

FILE - In this Feb. 27, 2012 file photo, newly-appointed President of Olympus Corp. Hiroyuki Sasa, left, speaks as his predecessor Shuichi Takayama, second left, and two outside directors of the company, Hiroshi Kuruma, second right, and Yasuo Hayashida, attend a press conference in Tokyo when the entire board of scandal-tainted Olympus resigned and the new president was tapped to lead a turnaround at the Japanese medical equipment maker. Sony and Olympus have agreed on a business alliance that will see Sony Corp. invest 50 billion yen ($640 million) for an 11 percent stake in the embattled medical equipment and camera company. Olympus has been on shaky ground after its British chief executive turned whistleblower and helped unearth a scandal involving a systematic cover-up of massive losses. (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara)

FILE - In this Feb. 27, 2012 file photo, newly-appointed President of Olympus Corp. Hiroyuki Sasa, left, speaks as his predecessor Shuichi Takayama, second left, and two outside directors of the company, Hiroshi Kuruma, second right, and Yasuo Hayashida, attend a press conference in Tokyo when the entire board of scandal-tainted Olympus resigned and the new president was tapped to lead a turnaround at the Japanese medical equipment maker. Sony and Olympus have agreed on a business alliance that will see Sony Corp. invest 50 billion yen ($640 million) for an 11 percent stake in the embattled medical equipment and camera company. Olympus has been on shaky ground after its British chief executive turned whistleblower and helped unearth a scandal involving a systematic cover-up of massive losses. (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara)

FILE - In this April 12, 2012 file photo, office workers leave the headquarters of Sony Corp. in Tokyo. Sony and Olympus have agreed on a business alliance that will see Sony invest 50 billion yen ($640 million) for an 11 percent stake in the embattled medical equipment and camera company. The deal, announced Friday, Sept. 28, was widely expected as Sony president Kazuo Hirai had expressed interest in such a move as part of a turnaround at the Japanese electronics and entertainment company. (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara, File)

TOKYO (AP) ? Sony is expanding its sprawling electronics to movies business empire with a new venture ? looking inside the human body.

The company on Friday said it will spend 50 billion yen ($640 million) for an 11 percent stake in Olympus Corp., an embattled maker of endoscopes, which are the long thin camera-equipped instruments that allow medical professionals to peer inside the body.

The deal was widely expected as Sony president Kazuo Hirai had expressed interest in moving into the medical equipment business.

Olympus Corp. is the world's biggest maker of endoscopes and is also known for its cameras. It has been on shaky ground after its British chief executive Michael Woodford turned whistleblower and helped unearth a scandal involving a systematic cover-up of massive losses.

Sony Corp. has its own problems and is hoping new businesses will be part of its turnaround. Sony has reported losses for four straight years as it fell behind in portable music players, flat-panel TVs and smartphones. Sony's red ink for the latest fiscal year through March was the worst in its 66-year history.

The two companies said they will set up a new medical equipment company together later this year, 51 percent owned by Sony and the rest by Olympus.

The alliance between Sony and Olympus will focus on the camera business as well, and both sides can benefit from sharing their technology, and working together to become more competitive, they said. In such alliances, companies can share in procurement on parts, boosting their bargaining power with suppliers and lowering costs.

"I will do my best to make this meaningful and profitable for both Olympus and Sony," Hirai said in a statement. Sony will become the biggest shareholder in Olympus after acquiring the 11 percent stake.

Olympus President Hiroyuki Sasa said working with Sony will help shore up Olympus' finances, and that its endoscope business would benefit from Sony's image-sensor technology.

Sasa and Hirai plan a joint news conference Monday morning in Tokyo, where they will likely face questions about how two troubled Japanese companies getting together might lead to them competing more successfully on the global stage.

Earlier this week, Sasa was at the Tokyo District Court to enter a guilty plea for Olympus, along with three former executives who faced charges as individuals, in the opening session of a trial into the fraudulent financial reports.

Olympus has said it hid 117.7 billion yen ($1.5 billion) in investment losses dating to the 1990s.

Prosecutors outlined in detail the elaborate schemes concocted over the years, using overseas bank accounts, paper companies and transactions controlled behind-the-scenes, all to keep massive losses off the company books.

___

Follow Yuri Kageyama on Twitter at http://twitter.com/yurikageyama

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/495d344a0d10421e9baa8ee77029cfbd/Article_2012-09-28-AS-Japan-Sony-Olympus/id-e45813a649694913a1eded03a8be7255

anencephaly tesla model x lou gehrig toby mac blue ivy carter photos purple squirrel blade runner

US Navy tests mine-seeking sub during Gulf drills

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) ? The admiral in charge of the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet says a prototype mine-detecting drone was put through more tests during military exercises in and around the Persian Gulf this month.

The advanced sonar-equipped Kingfish sub is being evaluated by the Pentagon. Vice Admiral John W. Miller says the sub was used for the first time internationally during the maneuvers of more than 30 nations that wrapped up this week.

The Navy says drills were not designed to specifically confront a threat from Iran. Tehran has warned it would try to close the Gulf's strategic Strait of Hormuz in retaliation for sanctions over its nuclear program.

Miller told reporters Thursday that the Kingfish could eventually be deployed with the Bahrain-based 5th Fleet and other places around the world.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/us-navy-tests-mine-seeking-sub-during-gulf-154535860--finance.html

iOS 6 Features lindsay lohan big brother 49ers Shakira chick fil a chick fil a

MGIC Announces Status Update Regarding Freddie Mac - Business ...

MILWAUKEE, Sept. 28, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- MGIC Investment Corporation (NYSE: MTG)?announced the following update on the status of the matters in the August 1, 2012 letter from Freddie Mac.??

  • The amount of the capital contribution from MGIC Investment to Mortgage Guaranty Insurance Corporation ("MGIC"), MGIC Investment's principal insurance subsidiary, is reduced to $100 million from the prior $200 million.? Also, the date by which such contribution is to be made is extended to December 1, 2012 from September 30, 2012.
  • The jurisdictions in which MGIC Indemnity Corporation ("MIC"), MGIC's subsidiary, is approved by Freddie Mac to write new business is expanded to cover all of the 16 jurisdictions besides Wisconsin that have specific regulatory capital requirements when MGIC is not able to write new business in a jurisdiction because MGIC would not meet those requirements, after considering any waiver that may be granted.? Also, the period for which MIC is approved is through December 31, 2013 rather than the prior December 31, 2012 date.

Continuation of Freddie Mac's approval of MIC requires the $100 million capital contribution be made by December 1, 2012.? It also requires the two additional conditions in Freddie Mac's August 1, 2012 letter be met.?

The first condition is that by October 31, 2012 MGIC and Freddie Mac must reach agreement as to substantially all terms to resolve their pool insurance dispute.? The status of the parties' communications regarding this dispute is subject to a confidentiality agreement with Freddie Mac. ?Therefore, MGIC Investment will make no comment about this condition.

The second condition is that by December 31, 2012 the Office of the Commissioner of Insurance of Wisconsin ("OCI") must provide written confirmation to Freddie Mac that MIC's capital will be available to MGIC to support MGIC's policyholder obligations without segregation of those obligations.? MGIC understands OCI, Freddie Mac and the Federal Housing Finance Administration have had discussions relative to this condition and that these discussions will be continuing.

Curt Culver, Chairman and CEO of MGIC Investment and MGIC, said "I am pleased with the spirit of cooperation all parties have shown in moving forward to reach this point.? While there can be no guaranty that the open matters that remain can be successfully resolved, I am hopeful we will continue to make progress."

As with Freddie Mac's January 23 and August 1, 2012 letters, Freddie Mac's expanded approval for MIC may be withdrawn by Freddie Mac at any time.? The August 1, 2012 letter from Freddie Mac is filed as an exhibit to the August 2, 2012 8-K report of MGIC Investment.? The description of the August 1, 2012 letter in this press release is only a summary and readers should consult the actual letter for the exact terms.?

About MGIC
MGIC (www.mgic.com), the principal subsidiary of MGIC Investment Corporation, is the nation's largest private mortgage insurer as measured by $166.7 billion primary insurance in force covering 1.0 million mortgages as of June 30, 2012. MGIC serves lenders throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, and other locations helping families achieve homeownership sooner by making affordable low-down-payment mortgages a reality.

From time to time MGIC Investment Corporation releases important information via postings on its corporate website without making any other disclosure and intends to continue to do so in the future. Investors and other interested parties are encouraged to enroll to receive automatic email alerts and Really Simple Syndication (RSS) feeds regarding new postings.? Enrollment information can be found at http://mtg.mgic.com?under Investor Information.

SOURCE MGIC Investment Corporation

Source: http://www.businessreviewusa.com/press_releases/mgic-announces-status-update-regarding-freddie-mac

kentucky derby beltane capitals john edwards conocophillips octomom dan savage

Louie, Season 3

Louis C.K. in the season finale of Louie. Louis C.K. in the season finale of Louie

Courtesy FX.

I started off this TV Club hoping that Season 3 of Louie would be ?as loose and weird and ambitious and tonally uneven and emotionally dead-on as ever.? Thirteen shows later, knowing now that Louis C.K. and some version of his crew flew all the way to China for what amounted to, at best, one-fourth of one episode of half-hour television, the ?as ever? part seems absurdly quaint. Perplexing, heartbreaking, hilarious, bizarre, a little lost, a little sexist?this season was, in the immortal words of Superchunk, ?everything at once.?

Last night?s finale was all that, including, despite both David and Jonah?s beautiful assessments, a little disappointing. The opener, with Louie slouched and forlorn on his couch as the camera pulls back to reveal Lilly and Jane tearing open their Christmas presents with delight, and then flashing back to reveal the hell that Louie went through to create that delight, was pretty much perfect. Jonah said it better than I ever could: Sweating, and ultimately sobbing, over a fucker of a doll in order to make your kid happy/shield her from unhappiness, is not going above and beyond?it?s being a parent. (Please direct all complaints about over-parenting philosophies to the comments, thank you.)

The elevator family tableaux hit me much harder than Liz?s death (which I thought C.K. kinda screwed up by cutting so obviously to the hospital?s New Year?s Eve cheer). Being alone is one thing?being left alone, as your family shoots down an elevator shaft and off on a two-week vacation with Patrick, seems much worse. To know what having a family is, and then to not have it all the time, and then to watch some other guy have it?this is the kind of stuff I have nightmares about.

Whether Louie was searching for a mate, a friend, or his runaway (well, closeted) daughter, most of this season was, in some form, about Louie not wanting to be alone. He may have stolen a boat in order to not reunite with his father, but all that did was leave him more adrift. Even the three-episode ?Late Night? arc feels, in hindsight, like an attempt to let Louie finally commit, and hopefully marry, his career. The finale addressed Louie?s fear?and reality?of loneliness head-on, with those awesomely named local news anchors taunting Louie from behind the TV screen.

Jonah, I wish I saw in that final scene what you saw?camaraderie, community, Louie feeling not so alone. You must have turned off the episode smiling. Instead, I saw a stupid American pronouncing Chinese funny, trying to make his hosts laugh on command, as if performing for Jack Dall. And I saw C.K. (lovingly) condescend to another culture, as he did in the Ramon episode: If colorful Latinos really know how to live, Chinese villagers understand the meaning of life.

But, hey, no hard feelings. I don?t know what in this episode, or season for that matter was real, what was a dream, and what was whatever the third choice would be?and it really doesn?t much matter. Like Louie arriving at the mighty Yangtze only to find a tiny stream but a tiny stream surrounded by gorgeous landscape but gorgeous landscape in the middle of one of the most populated cities in the world and that city being utterly foreign and yet kind of familiar and way better than being in Mexico with your brother-in-law, I?ll suck up the disorientation, embrace the emotion, and rationalize the let-downs of whatever the hell all that was.

Pleasure over-analyzing and sounding pretentious with you guys,

Source: http://feeds.slate.com/click.phdo?i=4ecb9427e36351ecc47f1f284c1d8c57

cate blanchett drew brees drew brees nfl news tebow tebow jets romney etch a sketch