Modifying my goals

<br />Just returned from the gym (45 minutes cardio, 40 minutes right-handed weights). I'm sitting here hooked up to my vacuum cleaner with my <a href="http://castcooler.com/index_c.html">CastCooler</a>. Greatest invention ever! Sucks the sweat out of my cast in about 15 minutes. Also worked when I didn't get the cast cover pulled up all the way and the shower shot full blast down the inside of my cast. Nothing like feeling a puddle of water on my fingers inside the water-proof cast cover. The CastCooler was worth every penny.<br /><br />New weight loss plan<br />I originally set up my BodyMedia  for Very Active, 60 minutes of moderate exercise and 30 minutes of vigorous (like jogging or StairMaster). Burn 2900 calories a day, eat 1900. This was before my broken wrist and cast. It was difficult to attain, but doable.<br /><br />With the cast, it takes a herculean effort to make these goals. I've made it a couple of times, but I've failed many more times. Failure to meet a specified goal is damaging to my spirit.<br /><br />I customized my goals today and this sounds much easier, but still challenging:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioGpCUltljPrbCq0fmYZRwbWNhiVPwrX9M4nL02-t5eYhb703dAComZTtNzHJBBXN9ngwpXQAu5V6sObII8xa0TIa6mw92AAwBxfQWcXj1jErX0RK9ZsBFbrrNdGBwyiFmafdM6cxlSLZO/s1600/bm+goals.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="301" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioGpCUltljPrbCq0fmYZRwbWNhiVPwrX9M4nL02-t5eYhb703dAComZTtNzHJBBXN9ngwpXQAu5V6sObII8xa0TIa6mw92AAwBxfQWcXj1jErX0RK9ZsBFbrrNdGBwyiFmafdM6cxlSLZO/s400/bm+goals.png" width="400" /></a></div>I have to face the reality of having a cast. Vigorous activity isn't advisable. I can still do the StairMaster and elliptical, but I just have to go a little slower. A heart rate of 140+ shouldn't happen. It's really hard for me to accept this, but it's just the way it has to be for now. I feel a little bad for myself (and stupid) that it took me almost 4 weeks to figure this out. Guess I'm a little stubborn.<br /><br />No real plans for the rest of today. Just take it easy and enjoy the incredible weather we're having here in the Northwest. Sunshine and 78 degrees.

Modifying my goals

Just returned from the gym (45 minutes cardio, 40 minutes right-handed weights). I'm sitting here hooked up to my vacuum cleaner with my CastCooler. Greatest invention ever! Sucks the sweat out of my cast in about 15 minutes. Also worked when I didn'…

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The Blurb: Track and Field Worlds

I got cable back. This was quite the wonderful happening for me. I called my large cable conglomerate (who shall remain nameless) to see about getting my Internet and phone moved. When they inquired about my cable, I told them I couldn't afford it. But they said they could get me the basic channels at no extra charge to my bill! So I decided to get it back.<br /><br />Because I have those core channels back, I get my weekend sports back. College football, the NFL, MLB on Fox, golf, and tennis. Sure, I don't get the 24-hour sports channels, but most of the important events are aired on one of the four major networks.<br /><br />One of the events that I was fortunate to view was the World Track and Field Championships on NBC. Usually, when NBC airs Olympic events, most people tend to ignore it. After all, it's not an Olympic year. Why should anybody care?<br /><br />Well, considering I had a boring weekend ahead of me, I cared. The Championships aired from Friday August 26 through Sunday September 4. NBC only aired the Saturday and Sunday events from the two weekends, and only for 1 1/2 hours in the early afternoon, but I was in front of my TV.<br /><br />I got to watch athletes that I remembered from the Olympics in 2008. A few of those athletes were not here this year - Jeremy Wariner, Lolo Jones, Stephanie Brown Trafton. But I did see a lot of familiar faces.<br /><br />Allyson Felix, who ran the 200 in Beijing, ran the 200 (and got bronze) <i>and</i> she also ran the 400 this year and got silver! I hope she doubles again next year in London. Sanya Richards, who is now married and runs as Sanya Richards-Ross, competed in the 400 but did not medal this time around. Walter Dix is a speed runner who is probably our best bet for silver in London. I say <i>silver</i> because unless Usain Bolt of Jamaica gets disqualified (like he did this year in the 100m final), there really is no chance for anyone else to win the 100 or 200 meters.<br /><br />While there were many familiar faces who repeated in their feats, I recognized many athletes from previous championships that won this year! Lashinda Demus competed in Berlin in 2009, but this year she won the 400m hurdles! Carmelita Jeter also competed in 2009 and won the 100m this year. Trey Hardee repeated as world champion in the decathlon.<br /><br />And some new athletes who I saw this week made statements for themselves to be the frontrunners for London. Ashton Eaton won silver in the decathlon. Jenny Simpson won the 1500 meters. Jesse Williams won the men's high jump event.<br /><br />If you're reading this and say, "I don't care," well, next year you'll come back and read this Blurb and go, "Hey, she mentioned this winner last year!" I'm keeping an eye out for the stars (and busts, too) of London, just for you!

The Blurb: Track and Field Worlds

I got cable back. This was quite the wonderful happening for me. I called my large cable conglomerate (who shall remain nameless) to see about getting my Internet and phone moved. When they inquired about my cable, I told them I couldn't afford it. B…

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“SEISMIC SHIFT” IN THE MIDDLE EAST

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: red; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">TURKEY...... EMERGING POWER</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="266" mozallowfullscreen="mozallowfullscreen" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Mr03VJ6Elag?feature=player_embedded" webkitallowfullscreen="webkitallowfullscreen" width="320"></iframe></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">Since the </span><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">GAZA flotilla fiasco last year, relations between TURKEY and ISRAEL have become rather chilly.  Tensions between the two countries deteriorated after TURKEY expelled Israel’s ambassador. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">Triggering the move by TURKEY was the release of the UN report on the GAZA Flotilla incident which stipulated that ISRAEL’S actions were legitimate.    </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">Looking closer at the current rift between TURKEY and ISRAEL, it becomes clear that TURKEY among the GAZA Flotilla incident more prominent reasons for the current “warmongering” with ISRAEL. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">By distancing itself from the Jewish State it has more bargaining power among fellow Muslim countries, which eases its expansionism strategy towards the East. Assertive TURKEY over the past couple of years has been steadily increasing its influence in the BALKANS, thanks to aimless and indifferent EU strategies in the region and focuses intensely towards the East. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWb5lbkrI4t8f3I_OpW5ywA4bFeVnST5EEzYoz_UnxIoUGBJoaYZ0uzZXrAgw-k0KSPPZZ1fqHBlbeJx-kzlwIcIHIP2PFMh2d_NnguZjvz00ONJriPgt3U1lCNL-WkkUn7umtQIJhXDfZ/s1600/Turkey_to_israel_pipes.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWb5lbkrI4t8f3I_OpW5ywA4bFeVnST5EEzYoz_UnxIoUGBJoaYZ0uzZXrAgw-k0KSPPZZ1fqHBlbeJx-kzlwIcIHIP2PFMh2d_NnguZjvz00ONJriPgt3U1lCNL-WkkUn7umtQIJhXDfZ/s200/Turkey_to_israel_pipes.gif" width="200" /></a></span><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">Furthermore TURKEY wittily uses its economic growth to strategically invest in regions which could benefit the country. Thus it becomes imminent that TURKEY is rather annoyed about ISRAEL which has joined forces with TURKEYS arch enemies, CYPRUS and GREECE to extract gas from a 350,000 hectares gas deposits found on the border of CYPRUS’S and ISRAEL’S economic zone in the eastern Mediterranean.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">TURKEY claims that hydrocarbon resources also belong to Northern CYPRUS, which has been under TURKISH occupations since 1974. According to TURKEY, CYPRUS has no right to exploit resources belonging to TURKISH CYPRIOTS and therefore threatened to intervene, for clearly the “joint venture” between ISRAEL, GREECE and CYPRUS is a hindering stone in TURKEY’S expansionism ambitions, both economically and politically. As for CYPRUS and GREECE, cooperating with ISRAEL provides a prosperous opportunity to counteract the realignment of regional powers which are currently taking place in the Middle East, with an increasingly assertive TURKEY.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">The expelling of ISRAEL’S ambassador also comes precisely in September, the month in which the United Nations referendum on the recognition of a PALESTINE ARAB STATE is due for debate, an issue which is of vital interest to TURKEY and its self-imposed role as moderate Islamic power broker in the region and its stance on IRAN. </span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">Thus a seismic shift in the region is currently underway, where new political cards are currently being reshuffled, leaving TURKEY and SAUDI ARABIA (both Sunni dominated countries) and the USA on the one side, GREECE, ISRAEL, RUSSIA and to some extend CHINA on the other side. </span></div><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiABJAxE8UPpSyPzujH9axw07IUL87chrQIlQXhoqNKaN5UOuSBepLi3QYQ3h49qkyTIi5oae-8DakZ1u8W60ko_AszS2KxRnTxqYsGZNkKaBvVfJkoodDp4AJxthanVGOkJsznxvx_YOo/s1600/Islam-by-country-smooth.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="165" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiABJAxE8UPpSyPzujH9axw07IUL87chrQIlQXhoqNKaN5UOuSBepLi3QYQ3h49qkyTIi5oae-8DakZ1u8W60ko_AszS2KxRnTxqYsGZNkKaBvVfJkoodDp4AJxthanVGOkJsznxvx_YOo/s320/Islam-by-country-smooth.png" width="320" /></a></span></div><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Map from Wikipedia Commons</span><br /><span style="font-size: large;">Green:  Sunni</span><br /><span style="font-size: large;">Blue: Shiite</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">See also:  </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://news-these-days.blogspot.com/2011/06/does-turkey-really-need-eu.html">http://news-these-days.blogspot.com/2011/06/does-turkey-really-need-eu.html</a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://iwpr.net/report-news/syria-becomes-focus-iranian-turkish-rivalry">http://iwpr.net/report-news/syria-becomes-focus-iranian-turkish-rivalry</a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-08-23/turkey-boom-most-since-ataturk-lets-erdogan-take-up-masterpiece.html">http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-08-23/turkey-boom-most-since-ataturk-lets-erdogan-take-up-masterpiece.html</a></span></div><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oV92xAd274A&feature=relmfu">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oV92xAd274A&feature=relmfu</a></span></div><div style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><br /><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div>

“SEISMIC SHIFT” IN THE MIDDLE EAST

TURKEY...... EMERGING POWERSince the GAZA flotilla fiasco last year, relations between TURKEY and ISRAEL have become rather chilly.  Tensions between the two countries deteriorated after TURKEY expelled Israel’s ambassador. Triggering the move by TUR…

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Website review - The Teaching Library

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Today I would like to point you to a fascinating reading website: <a href="http://www.teachinglibrary.co.uk/">http://www.teachinglibrary.co.uk/</a>. <br /><div closure_uid_5ucf2e="135"><br /></div><div closure_uid_5ucf2e="135">This is a site where teachers can find books to read to their class as well as some free lesson ideas on the books listed on the site. Each book has a list of activities spanning a few subjects. I came across this site through <a href="http://cyber-kap.blogspot.com/">Technology Tidbits</a>.</div><div closure_uid_5ucf2e="174"></div><br /><div closure_uid_5ucf2e="250">This post is actually going to be taken verbatim out of the teaching library website so that you can see its potential. It is taken from the page: <a closure_uid_5ucf2e="249" href="http://www.teachinglibrary.co.uk/book/the-true-story-of-the-three-little-pigs/">http://www.teachinglibrary.co.uk/book/the-true-story-of-the-three-little-pigs/</a> (The books are linked to Amazon.com). What fascinated me about this page is the idea of telling a story from a different character’s point of view</div><div></div><br /><div closure_uid_5ucf2e="140"><div closure_uid_5ucf2e="254"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><strong>The true story of the three little pigs</strong></span></div></div><div closure_uid_5ucf2e="186"><div closure_uid_5ucf2e="292"><em><span closure_uid_5ucf2e="291" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="color: blue;">Author:</span> <span style="color: blue;">Jon Scieszka</span></span></em></div></div><div closure_uid_5ucf2e="190"><br /><div class="separator" closure_uid_5ucf2e="248" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdP7OMLAP7MWZlu86f-2lIeG9_y1eMQtXLpLPodnwwStl6FALy55TVaJkKOCOOyG4MS2yYeOPM-5PNkPTQfRwA-UbyQTiM1WC0sNB3etl9iV5_3gIWageA82Jy20yjhK7l8Owb0C88oCY/s1600/3+little+pigs.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdP7OMLAP7MWZlu86f-2lIeG9_y1eMQtXLpLPodnwwStl6FALy55TVaJkKOCOOyG4MS2yYeOPM-5PNkPTQfRwA-UbyQTiM1WC0sNB3etl9iV5_3gIWageA82Jy20yjhK7l8Owb0C88oCY/s400/3+little+pigs.JPG" width="315" xaa="true" /></a></div><br /><br /><div closure_uid_5ucf2e="255"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0140540563/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=teachinglibrary-21&linkCode=as2&camp=1634&creative=19450&creativeASIN=0140540563">BUY THIS BOOK</a></span></div></div><div closure_uid_5ucf2e="197"><br /><div closure_uid_5ucf2e="290"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><strong>Book Description…</strong></span></div></div><div closure_uid_5ucf2e="141"><br /></div><div closure_uid_5ucf2e="142">"You may think you know the story of the Three Little Pigs and the Big Bad Wolf – but only one person knows the real story, and that person is A. T. Wolf. His tale starts with a birthday cake for his dear old granny, a bad head cold and a bad reputation. The rest (as they say) is history.</div><div closure_uid_5ucf2e="143"><br /></div><div closure_uid_5ucf2e="143"><span closure_uid_5ucf2e="201" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><strong>Teaching Ideas</strong></span>…</div><div closure_uid_5ucf2e="144"><br /></div><div closure_uid_5ucf2e="144"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><u>Literacy</u></span></div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Write another well know story from a different character’s point of view… Could you write Peter Pan from Captain Hook’s point of view… or the Three Billy Goat’s Gruff from the Troll’s point of view</li><li closure_uid_5ucf2e="154">Alexander T. Wolf became know as the Big Bad Wolf. Can you write a story which explains how he got this nickname? Did he do something big and bad, or was somebody trying to get him into trouble?</li><li><div closure_uid_5ucf2e="147">Write the recipe that the wolf used for his granny’s birthday cake.</div></li><li><div closure_uid_5ucf2e="148">Write the newspaper article which reports on the Wolf’s activities that day.</div></li><li closure_uid_5ucf2e="153">The wolf complains about being ‘framed’. Can you explain what this means? Could you write a story about another bad character who was ‘framed’ and didn’t really do the bad things that they are well known for?</li><li><div closure_uid_5ucf2e="152">Compare this version of the story with this cartoon video:</div></li></ul><br /><div closure_uid_5ucf2e="173"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="345" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/e4Lx5Bmpojw" width="420"></iframe></div><div closure_uid_5ucf2e="159"><em>The Big Bad Wolf - A silly Symphony made by the Walt Disney Studio</em></div><div closure_uid_5ucf2e="158"><br /></div><div closure_uid_5ucf2e="158"><span closure_uid_5ucf2e="202" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><u closure_uid_5ucf2e="203">Science</u></span></div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><div closure_uid_5ucf2e="160"><div closure_uid_4rnjsv="115">Explore the types of food that different animals eat. This could lead on to discussions about food chains and habitats.</div></div></li><li><div closure_uid_5ucf2e="161">Think about different materials. Which would be the best to build a house with? Could you design an experiment which tests the strength / ‘huff and puff’ (wind) resistance of different materials?</div></li><li>Why might the wolf have a sneezing cold? Explore how he can keep himself fit and healthy in future.</li></ul><div closure_uid_5ucf2e="162"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><u>Life Orientation</u></span></div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li closure_uid_5ucf2e="163">The pigs are very rude to Alexander. Can you think of reasons why this might be? How should they have behaved?</li><li closure_uid_5ucf2e="164">The wolf gets very angry at the end of the story. What strategies could he have used to control his anger?"</li></ul><div><div><div></div></div></div><div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Some of the other books</span></b>...<br /><div></div><br /><a href="http://www.teachinglibrary.co.uk/book/charlie-and-the-chocolate-factory">http://www.teachinglibrary.co.uk/book/charlie-and-the-chocolate-factory</a>/ (Raold Dahl)</div><div><a href="http://www.teachinglibrary.co.uk/book/the-twits">http://www.teachinglibrary.co.uk/book/the-twits</a>/  (Raold Dahl)</div><div><a href="http://www.teachinglibrary.co.uk/book/double-act/">http://www.teachinglibrary.co.uk/book/double-act/</a> (Jacqueline Wilson)</div><div><a href="http://www.teachinglibrary.co.uk/book/owl-babies">http://www.teachinglibrary.co.uk/book/owl-babies</a>/ (Martin Waddell)</div></div><div><br /></div>If you are a Language teacher I think you will enjoy looking around this site. <br /><div></div></div>

Literacy Reading Website review Website review - The Teaching Library

Today I would like to point you to a fascinating reading website: http://www.teachinglibrary.co.uk/. This is a site where teachers can find books to read to their class as well as some free lesson ideas on the books listed on the site. Each book has …

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