Beautiful Places

I grabbed these from pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/czdavies/green-gardens-globally/

Life Update

I wanted to apologize for the big gap in posts earlier this month, followed by mostly guest posts instead of original posts. I have been distracted. My wife's pregnancy isn't on a "normal" track. Nothing terrible has happened, but my wife is having to work from home a little more and they tell us we will be delivering early. It's been a turbulent week and we're retooling.

One change is that I'm trying to nail down a steady freelance gig or find a regular job to try to bring in supplemental income. I've been frustrated by some near misses lately. I've literally been told, "you're very qualified and we might call you in the near future but we went with someone else." So that's been challenging.

My organizing and branding projects have been trucking along though. I'm doing a GTD implementation of WorkFlowy.  Its going well. I like that platform. Simple. Elegant. I can recommend it with gusto.

Re: Branding,
I'm going with 3 brands--Sir Bunch: Cleric, Sir Bunch: Author, & Sir Bunch: TaleScribe
I'm going to channel my outputs into these categories. Cleric is for my Christian non-fiction, Author is for my fiction, and TaleScribe is for my other non-fiction and freelance writing/editing business. I have some pretty specific plans for products in each category. They came together much faster than I feared they would because it's more closely mirrored the input models I've been developing for two years. Not perfectly, but better than I anticipated.

I'll give more details on the branding efforts soon. Prayers appreciated. God Bless.

PS Got to see the third movie since I've been married last night for date night. We saw, "God's Not Dead." It's really good. Go see it.

Fun Fact with English: Proper use of i.e. etc. and e.g.

So it turns out that "e.g." stands for "exempli gratia," which means for the sake of example, and it indicates the list that follows are examples.

On the other hand, "i.e." is the abbreviation of "id est:" meaning "that is." It indicates a list of possibilities.

"Etc." is short for et cetera (also seen as "&c.") which means "and other things." It indicates "and so forth" or continuation in kind. So it's not considered proper to use etc. to end a list that began with e.g. but you can use it to end a list that began with i.e. Here's why. You don't have endless examples and if you did you wouldn't list them. You'd list an example to get out of having to create an exhaustive list. You could, however, have endless possibilities, in which case you'd want to end it with i.e.

For example: The director gives stage directions (e.g. lights, camera, action).  A Canterbury Tales originally contained several hundred lines in Middle English (i.e. What that aprill with his shoures soote, etc.).

Etc. is occasionally pluralized to create a lofty sounding word meaning "sundries." As in, "We took along pots, pan, and etceteras."

Sources:
http://www.quora.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Et_cetera
http://www.wikihow.com/Use-%22Etc.%22-Correctly

BUTTER! Seriously.

Another post from Dr. Mercola. I'd stop repostinng him, but I can't. He's always got something too evocative and interesting to say. and its well backed up.

• Butter consumption in the US has hit a 40-year high, largely resulting from a shift in consumer preferences away from processed foods
• Between 1920 and 1960, Americans’ butter consumption declined by over 75 percent, yet heart disease went from a relatively unknown condition to the number one killer
• Butter, especially raw butter from grass-fed cows, is rich in beneficial nutrients including vitamins, trace minerals, CLA, and beneficial fats
• Butter produced from CAFO milk is inferior nutritionally as it comes from cows fed almost entirely GE grain, some fattened up with additional sugar from GE sugar beets and cottonseed
• Buying dairy products from reputable local farmers will allow you to enjoy butter without supporting the inhumane conditions too common at factory farms

You probably want to skim the entire original article if this is a hard pill to swallow. I've not included exhaustive evidence here. My synopsis is this eat butter, not margarine or Monsanto butter.

Nutrients in Butter
*Vitamin A in the most absorbable form	Lauric acid	Lecithin (necessary for cholesterol metabolism and nerve health)
Antioxidants	*Vitamin E	Vitamin K2
Wulzen Factor: hormone-like substance known to prevent arthritis and joint stiffness (destroyed by pasteurization)	*Fatty acids, especially short- and medium-chain in the perfect omega-3 to omega-6 balance	*CLA (Conjugated Linoleic Acid): anti-cancer agent, muscle builder, and immunity booster
Vitamin D	Minerals, including selenium, manganese, chromium, zinc, and copper	Iodine in a highly absorbable form
Cholesterol	Arachidonic Acid (AA): brain function and healthy cell membranes	Glycosphingolipids: fatty acids that protect against GI infections
*The highest amounts of CLA and omega-3 fats come from cows raised on grass pastures. Their butter is also 50 percent higher in vitamins A and E, and 400 percent higher in beta-carotene, giving grass-fed butter its deeper yellow color.

My synopsis is this eat butter, not margarine or Monsanto butter.
Note about the image below, my wife and I fell hard for the "you can understand all the ingredients on the label" advertising tactic and have been on smart balance ever since we stepped back to a modified version of our diet. Ooops. I need to return to my theory, "the more they advertise how healthy they are the less likely they are to be healthy."

Here's a writing job opportunity you don't see everyday...

I'd normally post this on Thursday but I wanted to get it to you right away.
http://portland.craigslist.org/mlt/wri/4385794390.html

Gun Review Writer

compensation: Negotiable

part-time
telecommuting okay

Guns.com is currently hiring new review writers to fill specific niches within the world of firearms, including hunting, tactical, concealed carry and competitive shooting. Reaching over 2 million readers monthly, Guns.com is an online publication specializing in firearms reviews and news. We cover a broad spectrum of firearm topics ranging from products and politics to business and military news.

Duties for applicants include product reviews related to their niche; seeking out story ideas, sources, a reliable FFL and locations; producing one to two original pieces a week, which includes an article and multimedia portion.

Candidates should have strong writing skills, basic reporting skills (interviewing and research), knowledge of filmmaking and editing, an engaging on-camera presence, and decent photography skills. Also, candidates should be well versed and experienced in the topic they want to cover.

- Applicants for the Hunting Reviewer must be well-versed not only in hunting techniques and ethics, but also in laws pertaining to the harvesting of game. They must also possess knowledge on the tools of hunting including but not limited to: firearms, camouflage, ammunition, scopes, calls and clothing. Applicants should be familiar with hunting a wide variety of game in order to provide consistent content for Guns.com during most if not all available hunting seasons.

- Applicants for the Tactical Reviewer must be well-versed in both military and police tactical, strategic, and combat operations. Prior military or law enforcement service is desired. Unparalleled knowledge of equipment relating to tactical LEO operations or military actions a must.

- Applicants for the Concealed Carry Reviewer must have a concealed carry license (or else why would you apply?) and should be able to hold a conversation anywhere in the country about specifics of the topic. These applicants should have a vast knowledge of concealed weapons and holsters, as well as a solid understanding of the legal application of deadly force. Extensive training a plus, though not required.

- Applicants for the competitive shooting position must have a minimum of five years competing and have placed in the top three of a regional championship in either IDPA, IPSC, or USPSA multiple time with at least one of these victories within the past 24 months. Applicants proficient in any one sport should be willing to compete in unfamiliar disciplines, while providing insight and unique perspective.

This is a part-time, telecommute position with a competitive salary. To apply, send your resume, three samples including video, and a cover letter describing which niche you're applying for and why you're a suitable candidate to resumes@guns.com. Please put "Review Writer" in the subject line. Applicants who fail do so will not be considered.

Philosophical Question: Just for fun

If you could time travel within your life:

What age would you go to and why?

I'm curious to know you're answers. Go ahead and send them to me here.

I'd go back to my teenage years, and convince myself that I wasn't as fat as I felt like I was. Then I'd make sure that I didn't get any fatter. I'd also give myself some sage advice about woman. (I could do that because it wouldn't impact my future at all. I'd tell me to stay single as long as you can. Don't get married until you meet a woman you can't live without. Which is what I did.)

New study show's who's actually benefiting most from this economy

Here's a rare political post, but I can't help it. This is the kind of thing that the media should be all over and I'm posting it here because I bet it takes them a month or even two to mention it. And I do mean mention it. Not do a story on it, or probe it deeper. Just a brief mention or two, if at all.

Below is a sample of the story but you'll have to read the original at Investor Business Daily. But in short, the top 100 US Corporations are sectioning off certain divisions and then getting Small Business Association loans. So Uncle Sam has been funneling money to giant corporations. You remember. Those evil corporations the left was going to protect us from? Somehow, the opposite is happening. Hmm.

A $1.2 Tril Corporate Welfare State Lurks In U.S. Budget

By STEPHEN MOORE

Among our findings:  

• $1.22838 trillion in The Federal Transfer™ spending (FY2000-2012) flowed to Fortune 100 companies - an average of $12.2 billion per corporation. 

• 1.73%, or $21.277 billion, flowed to the Fortune 100 in the form of grants, direct payments, loans, farm susidies or insurance payments. The Fortune 100 each collected an average total of $212.77 million of federal dollars outside of contracts and should not be underestimated.

• The Federal Transfer™ into the Fortune 100 doubled during the eight years of the Bush Administration (FY2000- $59.820 billion; FY2008- $118.511 billion), but has been roughly flat during the first four years under the Obama administration (FY2009- $123.46 billion; FY2012- $124.055 billion). 

Read More At Investor's Business Daily: http://news.investors.com/ibd-editorials-brain-trust/031414-693376-corporate-welfare-to-fortune-500-is-exposed.htm#ixzz2wHyCD1cc 
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