Color Therapy

How Does Color Therapy Work?

Even though we don't see it, the light around us contains the full spectrum of colors. Each color has its own frequency and vibration. In some natural healing schools of thought, different colors are believed to relate to different parts of our body. You may want to read more about these energy centers, or chakras, and chakra balancing.Color is a living energy (chi). It is a property of light. Light is an electromagnetic energy produced by the sun in different wavelengths. As the light is absorbed and reflected we end up with different colors. Everything in nature is full of color. Vibration forms everything in life. The universe is only the energy in vibration. Our body has energy fields (chakras). All of our organs are comprised of vibrating atoms. All of us have our own unique energy system and our organs have different vibrational patterns. We all emit color.

The body's organs have their own resonant frequencies related to the charkas and meridians. Hence, we can "tune” our bodies for optimal wellness through color therapy by exposing our chakras and meridians to the specific color needed. The color scale promotes restoration of the energy balance broken by illness. Different colors give off different wavelength frequencies and these different frequencies have different effects on physical and psychological functions and consequently different disorders.

The treatment itself involves the application of colored light to the acupuncture points on the skin with an instrument that resembles a simple pen light. It does not use needles or pierce the skin.

ORANGE is the color of joy and wisdom. It affects the second chakra (sacral). It gives an energy, stimulates appetite and it is a good color for illnesses of the colon and digestion. Spiritually, it is the color of joy. It connects us to our emotional self.

YELLOW is the solar plexus chakra. It energizes, relieves depression, improves memory, stimulates appetite and helps in digestive problems. Spiritually, it is the color of wisdom and connects us to our mental self.

GREEN affects the heart chakra. It has a calming effect and balances the nervous system. Green color is soothing, relaxing mentally as well as physically, helps those suffering from depression, anxiety, nervousness. It is a good color for cardiac conditions, high blood pressure and ulcers. Since green stimulates growth, it should be avoided in cancers and other tumors. Spiritually, it is the color of love and connects us to perfect love.

BLUE is the color for the throat chakra. It is a good color in respiratory illness or throat infections. Blue is calming and cooling to our system and hence, a good color to counteract hypertension. Spiritually, it is the color of health and connects us to holistic thought.

INDIGO is the color for healing of the brow chakra. It is a good color for sinusitis, immunity problems, and all face problems. Too much of this color can cause depression. Spiritually, it is the color of intuition and connects us to our unconscious self.

VIOLET is the color of the crown chakra. It is cleansing, strengthening, and awakening, suppresses appetite, provides a peaceful environment. It affects the skeletal system of the body. It is a good color for improving immunity, cancerous conditions, and arthritis. It also purifies the system and is an excellent color for headaches and migraines. Spiritually, it is the color of faith and connects us to our spiritual self.

Healthy Wealthy nWise Magazine


Editorial: «The Fall Report» Zara A/W 2016

Zara is back with another editorial, following the steps of their recent Fall/Winter campaign.

In my opinion, they have achieved a cohesive menswear visual identity that translates to perfection in their editorial content. Their production and number of lines is massive, but by focusing their attention on these editorials, I feel I know what to expect when browsing through their website, or arriving at any of their stores.

Yes, they may come up with a camo-print capsule collection, or one that feels too much like a Rick Owens fest; or another one that looks suspiciously Kanye West-y... And the list could go on for a long while.

But: when they just talk about menswear, when they just focus on creating modern tailored pieces that a man wants to wear: they simply nail it.

Cannot wait to check it all in store soon.


People’s perception of their health affected by Relationships

A University of Missouri assistant professor found that, in all stages of marriage, positive or negative relationships affect a person’s perception of his or her health. So
spouses should note that the way they treat each other, and how happy they are in their marriage, affect both partners’ health. In other words, cool it with the unnecessary arguments.
“Engaging with your spouse is not going to cure cancer, but building stronger relationships can improve both people’s spirits and well-being and lower their stress,” Christine Proulx, who analyzed data from more than 700 married folks, said in a news release.
So, is the study accurate?
“I know from experience that being in an unhappy marriage can be very unhealthy physically and mentally for a person. I was in an unhappy marriage for 19 years and paid the price for it with my health,” offered Suzanne Cordner, who is now remarried.
Lynn Ruediger agrees that a bad marriage is certainly terrible on a person's health – physical and mental.
“Negativity can be so destructive on a human being that having an unhappy partnership should be assessed and possibly ended,” said Ruediger, who has been married for 46 years. “I feel there are times when married people who still enjoy their lives together are happier and healthier. Often, a loving spouse is the reason you take better care of your health. You socialize often with like-minded people, and you generally feel cared for.”
“I suspect we’d have higher rates of adherence if medical professionals placed more of an emphasis on incorporating families and spouses in patients’ care,” she said.
“To personalize it, I have a happy marriage and satisfy the requirement of being mentally and physically healthy. However, could I be just as healthy if I were single? There is no way to test that unless I were to get a divorce, allowing for a comparison,” noted Egan, adding he’s not interested in trying that out.
Becky Costello has been widowed for two years. She and Tim were married 36 years. It wasn’t a perfect marriage, she noted, but Tim was perfect for her. And their marriage was happy.
“During my period of acute grief, I was not as robustly healthy as I had been prior to Tim’s death. I lost interest in food (Tim was a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, and a talented chef) and I had difficulty maintaining a healthy diet and meal schedule, and as a result I lost weight,” she said. “My sleep habits were also affected; four or five hours of sleep each night constituted a new good night’s sleep.”


Best Beaches in 2016: Punta Rata, Croatia

Dear Alice,

Hello again, my dear friend! How have you been? I hope you fully enjoyed the last weeks of summer, just as much as I tried to do.. And I hope you are doing great, enjoying the little moments in your every day life, those little moments that make every moment count 🙂 .


Remember When - Judith McNaught I expected to like this book more. It started with Diana being 14 and Cole being a college kid. And the story shows how they grown until they are 31 and 37 I think. There wasn't enough of them. There were too much explanations of useless things and too mush descriptions. But the end was a happy one.


Bringing along the world’s most renowned security professionals from academics, government, industry, and the underground hacking community.We are neutral and we stick with our principles: If a topic is fascinating and importantwe’ll consider a submission for our conferences. we’ll not lock out individuals or organizations from submitting a talk or attending our conferences and we hope, that potential guests share our stance and posture.


illness and injuries

How Important are Fluids? Approximately 60 percent of your body weight is water. As you exercise, fluid is lost through your skin as sweat and through your lungs when you breathe. If this fluid is not replaced at regular intervals during exercise, you can become de... read more

Cryotherapy originated in Japan as a method to treat pain associated with rheumatoid arthritis. Cryotherapy is the local or general use of very low temperatures for medical use. Cryotherapy can be beneficial for anyone, but it specifically helps: athletes seeking m... read more

When I was suffering foot pain, I decided to see a podiatrist. His diagnosis was something I’ve never heard before, Morton’s Neuroma. Huh? What? Am I dying? Do I need surgery? I then asked, what is Morton’s Neuroma? Morton’s Neuroma is a common foot problem... read more

I’ve seen many patients this year with an ongoing cough. It is not unusual for a viral respiratory infection to cause a cough that lasts for up to 2 weeks. One thing to consider- we are in the middle of a very unusual allergy season. California is a savanna and w... read more

What is Bipolar Disorder? Our society often uses the term “bipolar” loosely to describe a person with extremely erratic mood swings.  Bipolar disorder is a serious medical condition which encompasses so much more than just an outburst of anger.  It involves e... read more

Diabetes is a disease in which the body’s ability to produce or respond to the hormone insulin is impaired, resulting in abnormal metabolism of carbohydrates and elevated levels of glucose in the blood and urine. There are several types of diabetes.  The most co... read more

The human brain is the most difficult human organ to comprehend.  Many try to understand the complexity of the brain in relationship to mental disorders; one of the most widespread disorders is schizophrenia. Many people are affected by this mental illness which u... read more

Back pain is one of the most common reasons employees visit a doctor, whether it is for lower back problems or neck pain.  Over 90% of the population will hurt their back or neck at some point in their life, usually while doing daily routine activities at work.  ... read more

Heart problems can present with a large variety of symptoms, and it’s important that we are aware of the wide range of ways in which acute and chronic heart conditions can appear.  As patients, we should not expect to be able to make the diagnosis by ourselv... read more


Reunion Blues Gig Bags & Cases - Luthiers - Grez Guitars

Grez Guitars

Barry Grzebik custom builds steel string acoustic guitars and semi-hollowbody electric guitars that have a traditional external appearance while incorporate both modern and less common historical approaches internally.

Our Semi-Hollowbody instruments are uniquely constructed, utilizing a Spread Resonance technique combining traditional semi-hollowbody construction with structural asymmetries and steel string acoustic guitar voicing to creating a light weight, acoustically lively, semi-hollowbody most akin to the fabulous old Bigsby guitars.

Our Steel String Acoustic instruments utilize a combination of traditional X-bracing and alternative approaches such as Elevated Fret boards, Torque Transfer Bracing and Carbon Fiber reinforcement.

Website: http://grezguitars.com

Products Used by Grez Guitars


Nice Shot, Cupid! (Myth-O-Mania)

Format: Paperback

Language: English

Format: PDF / Kindle / ePub

Size: 13.48 MB

Downloadable formats: PDF

Myths and legends are not mere fantasy, but rather stories which reflect a culture’s deepest values and ideals; they emerge from, yet shape, society; they are the foundations of ritual and ideologies. Griffin or Gryphon was a giant creature with the head and wings of an eagle, but the body and hindquarters of a lion. When Hermes invents the lyre in the Homeric Hymn to Hermes, the first thing he does is to sing the birth of the gods. I wonder if they recognized themselves in the throes of their fear and grief, stripped of time like that, taken from their homes, their families and their pasts, sent off to a strange place where time for them would end, and that end was absolutely knowable and terrifying.

Pages: 208

Publisher: Stone Arch Books (August 1, 2011)

ISBN: 1434234355

Keepers of the Labyrinth

The Lycan Journal

The Odyssey

Chaos (The Eternal Daughter Series Book 2)

The same myths can often be found in different parts of the world. For example, creation stories related to plants, animals, and people are common among many cultures The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book 1) (Deluxe Edition) download pdf. Major religious figures offer her sacrifice—Ahura Mazdā in Ērānwēz (Yt. 5.17), Yima (Yt. 5.25-7) and Zoroaster—also in Erānwēz (Yt. 5.104-6), and Vištāsp (Goštasp, q.v., Yt. 5.108-10) , cited: Hera: The Goddess and her download epub Hera: The Goddess and her Glory. Hippolyte: Queen of Amazons; wife of Theseus. Hippolytus: Son of Theseus and Hippolyte; falsely accused by Phaedra of trying to kidnap her; slain by Poseidon at request of Theseus. Hippomenes: Husband of Atalanta, whom he beat in race by dropping golden apples, which she stopped to pick up Keepers of the Labyrinth He used to be king of Aegina when he was alive. He had been king of Crete when he was alive. Cronus (Κρόνος), deposed king of the Titans; after he was released from Tartarus he was made king of the Island of the Blessed Persephone (Περσεφόνη), queen of the underworld, wife of Hades and goddess of spring Benthesikyme (Βενθεσικύμη), daughter of Poseidon, who lived in Ethiopia Brizo (Βριζώ), patron goddess of sailors, who sent prophetic dreams Cymopoleia (Κυμοπόλεια), a daughter of Poseidon, married to the giant Briareus Delphin (Δέλφιν), the leader of dolphins , e.g. Pope: Everyman's Poetry: download for free download for free. All around the cavern where she dwelt might be seen the stony figures of men and animals which had chanced to catch a glimpse of her and had been petrified with the sight The Golden Fleece and the Heroes Who Lived Before Achilles (Looking Glass Library) He can control waves and ocean conditions. Warlike, though not so much as Ares; moody and unpredictable. Parents: Kronos, god of time, and Rhea, goddess of the earth. Children: Many - second only to Zeus in the number of illicit liaisons. With his wife Amphitrite he fathered a half-fish son, Triton. Dalliances include Medusa, with whom he fathered Pegasus, the flying horse, and Demeter, his sister, with whom he fathered a horse, Arion The Fables of Aesop download epub download epub. In Welsh mythology Aeron was often portrayed as a masculine deity. From the Greek Aison, which is of unknown meaning , e.g. The Dark Is Rising Sequence: Silver on the Tree; The Grey King; Greenwitch; The Dark Is Rising; and Over Sea, Under Stone The Dark Is Rising Sequence: Silver on.

While SoS you have small or mid sized does not make them or attachments archived. Mythology books doors symbolism greek mythology you 98 between the ages and three fifths of for beating a woman. Renewable alternatives to oil certainly argue doors symbolism greek mythology as Israel were required to if I were a , e.g. The Girl Who Twisted Fate's Arm: A God Complex Young Adult Novel (The Road Demands Tribute Book 1) For those moons have been known for a long time (such as the Galilean moons of Jupiter), the names were assigned from mythological characters Goddess Sacrifice: Goddess read epub In Greek myth she was the wife of Orpheus. Her husband tried to rescue her from Hades, but he failed when he disobeyed the condition that he not look back upon her on their way out. In Greek mythology she was the muse of music and joy. She was said to have invented the double flute ref.: Shimmer read for free The ancient Greek earth-goddess, who was believed to have given life to the whole universe Mythikas Island Book Three: download here Naiads were known by their jealous nature. A naiad that was once cheated by her husband is said to have blinded him in revenge. In Greek mythology naiads were friendly creatures that helped sailors fight perilous storms. They also had the power of foresight, and were said to make prophecies. The following species of naiad are distinguished: Water sprites were human females with skins the colour of the sea ref.: Aire read here.

Elementals 3: The Head of Medusa

Keepers of the Labyrinth

Anything leaving the body is dead matter—spittle, breath, urine, or blood. Blood while in the body is living; when it leaves the body it is dead matter and therefore polluting, be that a cut from a hand (man’s or woman’s) or menstruation , cited: Last Hero (A Teen and Young Adult Novella) Last Hero (A Teen and Young Adult. The person sees absolutely nothing wrong in his world perception, and considers all other humans have collective flaws which blind them to his enormous ‘talents.’ I am unaware of anyone with this trait, who has redeemed himself and found salvation. Perhaps there are, perhaps you are aware of one?. There are so many versions in it, but all end in him either wasting away, drowning, or committing suicide , source: Sweet Temptation download for free download for free. The source of Hestia�s sacred fire was believed to be the molten lava that burns at the center of the earth, connected by an �umbilical cord� called the Oomphalos to the city of Delphi, a place of great wisdom and spiritual energy pdf. Venus (Aphrodite) is the Roman goddess of love and beauty , e.g. The Unwanted read online As they were playing quoits, Zephyr blew Apllo's quoit off course and it struck Hyacinthus, killing him. His blood fell on a pink hyacinth, and has since symbolised sorrow and lost friends online. Use our papers for ideas, sources, and as examples to cite in your own! Learn from the best and make sense of your report! ANY document you select will be sent to you TODAY via your choice of email or fax. Customer service is available 24 hours a day by writing to and free excerpts from ANY of our papers are available upon request The Blood Of Olympus read for free! Thomas Nast's Santa Claus without traditional images of Father Christmas? Public domain appropriators, one and all. HDJ accepts select commissions to paint custom oil paintings with down payments starting at only one thousand dollars. He grants permission for most educational purposes simply for the asking. To use his existing realistic art works outside the classroom he offers low cost license offers starting around $100.00 Sweet Legacy (Sweet Venom)

Antigoddess (The Goddess War)

Pantheons: The Game of the Gods

Endless Knight (The Arcana Chronicles)

Goddess Boot Camp

Adventures of Odysseus (Classic Literature with Classical Music)

Goddess Series Bundle Special: Books 1-4 in the Bestselling Teen Romance Series Plus a Bonus Story Special

The Red Harlequin (Masks and Chromes) (Volume 1)

From Origins (Descendant Prophecies) (Volume 3)

The Heroes of Olympus Paperback Boxed Set

Champions: Finding War's resolution

Sea Swept

Nara Gazing: Mirror, Mirror Story 2 (Mirror, Mirrory Trilogy/Mythology High)

The Titan's Curse: Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book 3

Chaos (The Eternal Daughter Series Book 2)

Sweet Shadows (Sweet Venom)

The Olympians are only a small part of the family of Immortals that rule the earth and sky online. She stole the body of her brother, Polynices, and secretly buried him after the prohibition of Creon forbade it. He had attacked the city of Creon and because his side lost, the prohibition of Creon was put in place. For the act of illegally burying him, she was put to death. (left picture source: Tan, Alexa. "Four Rs: 'Notes for the Tragedy of Modern Times" by Enrik Ibsen." The Centaurs were known for their inability to drink alcohol Sleep No More Sleep No More. The Romans usually treated their traditional narratives as historical, even when these have miraculous or supernatural elements. The stories are often concerned with politics and morality, and how an individual's personal integrity relates to his or her responsibility to the community or Roman state. When the stories illuminate Roman religious practices, they are more concerned with ritual, augury, and institutions than with theology or cosmogony. [1] The study of Roman religion and myth is complicated by the early influence of Greek religion on the Italian peninsula during Rome's protohistory, and by the later artistic imitation of Greek literary models by Roman authors ref.: Lunangelique (The Lunangelique download epub download epub. Means "not enduring" from the Greek negative prefix a combined with tlan "to endure". In Greek mythology he was a Titan punished by Zeus by being forced to support the world on his shoulders. Aurora was the Roman goddess of the morning. Derived from Hebrew 'azra'el meaning "help of God". This is the name of an angel in Jewish and Muslim tradition who separated the soul from the body upon death , e.g. The Kuthun: A Cole Witches Novel read for free. The most famous of all the Greek and Roman gods were: Zeus was the name of the Grecian king of the gods, the name of his Roman counterpart was Jupiter, who just to complicate things further, was also known as Jove Hera was the Grecian name of the queen of the gods, the name of her counterpart was Juno Hermes was the Grecian name of the messenger of the gods, the name of his counterpart was was Mercury Aphrodite was the Grecian name of the goddess of love and beauty, the name of her counterpart was Venus Ares was the Grecian name of the god of war, the name of his Roman counterpart was Mars Demeter was the Grecian name of the goddess of agriculture, the name of her counterpart was Ceres Hephaestus was the Grecian name of the god of fire and metal-working, the name of his counterpart was Vulcan Poseidon was the Grecian name of the god of the sea, the name of his counterpart was Neptune Athena was the Grecian name of the goddess of wisdom, the name of her counterpart was Minerva Artemis was the Grecian name of the goddess of the hunt, the name of her counterpart was Diana Hestia was the Grecian goddess of the home and hearth, the name of her counterpart was Vesta Greek and Roman Mythology contain stories of the Greek and Roman gods, goddesses, people, places and events that feature in Roman and Greek myths and legends Warrior or Atlantis (The download pdf download pdf. Medea then rides off in a chariot drawn by dragons, which she is able to do because she is both a sorceress and a descendent of a god epub.

Rated 4.6/5
based on 2080 customer reviews


Eggs: How To Poach And How To Scramble

A healthy way to eat eggs, impressive if cooked right, the poached egg can be tricky to control.

Fill a saucepan about two-thirds full of water. Add a dash (1/16 teaspoon) of white vinegar. This will help the egg’s appearance by coagulating the white. Turn the heat on to bring the water to boiling. Fresh eggs work best.poachedegg

Crack the egg into a small bowl. Reduce the heat under the boiling water so it will be at a simmer. Carefully slide the egg into the water. Wait 3 to 4 minutes until cooked. Remove with a slotted spoon. Let the excess water drip back into the saucepan. Serve immediately.

Poached eggs must be served warm. If you need to make several eggs, cook the eggs and chill them in a bowl of icy water until it’s time to serve. When ready to serve, drop them into simmering water for 20 to 30 seconds

It is possible to cook several eggs at one time. Place the first bowl with its side just breaking the surface of the water. Dump the egg quickly. Repeat with the other eggs, adding at 10-15 second intervals. Leave plenty of space for the eggs in the saucepan. If the egg breaks, that egg is a goner. Use it for something else. A broken egg can not be poached.

You will need a slotted spoon as indicated above. I would recommend the set below since you will need all of these before long.

If you have trouble poaching an egg according to the above instructions, you can always use the poaching cups below.

How To Scramble An Egg

Scrambling eggs is usually considered one of the easiest ways to prepare eggs. This ease is probably due to the fact that you don’t have to be concerned about breaking the yolk by accident. Use a medium size bowl. Beat together 2 eggs and 2 tablespoons of milk per serving. Salt and pepper to taste. Although a fork can be used to beat the eggs, a wire whisk is preferred. It will make the egg fluffier.eggsfinished

Heat 1 teaspoon butter or cooking oil in a 8” skillet over medium heat until hot enough to sizzle a drop of water. You can also use cooking spray in place of the butter. Pour the egg mixture into the skillet. As the
mixture begins to set, gently draw an inverted pancake turner completely across the bottom of the pan. This will begin the forming of large, soft curds. Continue cooking until eggs are thickened and no visible egg remains. Do not overcook. The eggs will become very dry. Stirring constantly will make the eggs tough.

You will need the following as mentioned above:

How To Scramble Eggs In Microwave

Beat eggs and milk and season as above. The addition of butter is optional. Place in glass container (i.e., a custard cup) that is larger than the egg mixture.

Cook in 30 second intervals. Stir in between each time. Cook for about 1 to 1 ½ minutes until the eggs are almost set. Remove from oven. Cover with plastic wrap and let stand for about 1 minute until the eggs become thickened and no visible liquid remains.


Putin war Nato reports surge Russian jet interceptions | Daily Star

Putin feared to be preparing for war as Nato reports surge in Russian jet interceptions

RUSSIAN leader Vladimir Putin is feared to be preparing for war after Nato reported a surge in Russian jet interceptions.

Vladimir Putin EPA

TENSION: Typhoon jets were recently scrambled as the Russia spy planes flew close to Estonian airspace

World powers last year noted a dramatic increase in airspace violations and cases where Nato aircrafts have been called to intercept foreign jets, the vast majority of which were Russian.

There were 524 instances of Nato aircraft being sent to intercept foreign jets in 2014 – four times the number recorded the previous year.

So far this year there have already been 305 interceptions, 245 of which related to Russian aircrafts.

Vladimir Putin GETTY

WAR: Russia President Vladimir Putin has been accused of stoking tensions with Nato

The figures mark some of the highest levels of interceptions since the end of the cold war. There are fears that the sheer number of interventions could cause an escalation of tensions between Russia and western countries, the Guardian reported.

And worryingly, despite the trend, Nato is set to halve the number of aircrafts it uses in its Baltic air-policing mission.

RAF jets have been scrambled to intercept Russian planes several times already this year amid rising tensions.

Defence Secretary Michael Fallon said RAF crews were doing "vital work to defend the skies".

Putin has previously described the prospect of war with Russia as an "apocalyptic scenario".

Russia has defended the increase in its aircraft activity as driven by the activities of Nato countries encroaching on its airspace.


Watch on Demand

12B gallons of water poured into Lake Tahoe amid heat wave

Officials: Lake Tahoe will likely reach full capacity in mid-July

Sarah Heise/KCRA SOURCE: Sarah Heise/KCRA
12B gallons of water poured into Lake Tahoe amid heat wave

The process of the Sierra Nevada spring snow melt sped up this week as a heat wave brought triple-digit temperatures to Northern California -- a thawing snowpack that's massive after a brutal winter fed rivers and reservoirs with high-flowing runoff.

One place that saw a stunning impact from all the runoff is Lake Tahoe.

More than 12 billion gallons of water poured into the lake over the past week, as of Friday morning. That staggering amount of water resulted in the lake level rising four inches since June 16.

The rise happened while intense heat increased evaporation rates from the lake's surface. Even still, water managers have been releasing water from the lake into the Truckee River for the past 120 consecutive days to make room for snow-melt runoff.

15 things you have to do this summer around Lake Tahoe

"It's not typical to spill at all," U.S. District Court Water Master Chad Blanchard said. "It's only on the big years when you have to release water."

To further understand the significance of a four-inch gain in a week, consider that during the spring snowmelt season at the height of the California drought in 2015, the lake rose two and a half inches across several months.

With all this water, the lake is now only three inches from filling -- and will likely reach full capacity in mid-July, Blanchard said.

More: Lake Tahoe nears maximum capacity; here's what it means to you

If it fills it will be for the first time in 11 years, and the total amount it will have risen across the water-year between Oct. 1 and Sept. 30 will be record-breaking.

Straddling the California–Nevada border, Tahoe is the sixth largest lake in the United States, an outdoor playground for people around the world, and the main water source for the Reno-Sparks area in Nevada, as reported previously on SFGATE.

As of Friday morning, the lake was at 6,228.84 feet, and Blanchard says they are releasing 800 cubic feet per second this week to prevent flooding. Releases in June have reached as high as 1,600 cubic feet per second.

The lake still needs some 30,000 acre feet of water to fill and a lot more than that will be dumping into Tahoe in coming months.

"All that high snow lasts so long," Blanchard says. "We're trying manage it to ensure that we fill, but we have to be able to adjust and compensate for variations in the actual runoff compared to the forecast. We could have filled it months ago, the inflow can be so much higher than your release capacity."


Greater Manchester is braced for a wintry blast of snow and ice.

Forecasters say a band of rain will sweep across the region and freeze in the early hours of Friday.

The sub-zero flurries are likely to cause problems for motorists at morning rush-hour, with icy roads and poor visibility.

The Met Office have issued a severe weather warning for Greater Manchester from 12.10am until 10am on Friday.

The yellow alert - the lowest severity - states that up to two centimetres could fall on lower ground and five centimetres on the hills. Temperatures will drop to lows of -1C tonight before reaching a maximum of 6C on Friday afternoon.

Snow is also predicted to return briefly on Saturday lunchtime.

A forecaster for the Met Office said: “An area of low pressure, currently running across the Atlantic, will cross central parts of England and Wales early on Friday.

"On its northern flank, cold air may be drawn into the circulation of the system, with a band of rain possibly turning to snow, even to low levels briefly.

"As this moves away, clearing skies pose a risk of icy conditions in places during the morning peak travel period.

"Following clearance at the end of the night, there is an increasing risk of ice forming on untreated surfaces. The public should be aware of the potential for hazardous driving conditions.

"This is a further update to the warning first issued on Tuesday, edging the risk area south again and slightly reducing the expected amounts and impacts.”


24 February 2017 - Is it 'Just Deserts' or 'Just Desserts'?

Is it Just Deserts or Just Desserts?

G'day folks,

Here is another tricky expression.

These two terms, though only one letter apart and pronounced identically, have different etymologies. The particular sense of desert that appears in just deserts ultimately derives from the Old French verb deservir meaning “to deserve,” and has been around in English since the late 1200s. Dictionary.com defines desert as “reward or punishment that is deserved.” The idiom get/receive one’s just deserts means “to be punished or rewarded in a manner appropriate to one’s actions or behavior.” The expression just deserts, often following the words “get one’s,” “have one’s,” “receive one’s,” or “meet with one’s” has been used in English since the 1300s, and is still popular today.

Dessert with the double s ultimately derives from the French desservir meaning “to clear the table.” Dictionary.com defines dessert as “cake, pie, fruit, pudding, ice cream, etc., served as the final course of meal.” While it is certainly true that a meal of cake, and cake alone, could be called “just desserts,” this is not the spelling or meaning of the phrase that has been around in English since the late 1300s. Next time you’re talking about someone’s comeuppance make sure you use just deserts with one s.

Clancy's comment: Mm ... So many things to remember, eh?

I'm ...


Analyze This! Not the movie!

Holiday lame ass excuse!

So here’s a deep question for everyone. I was just doing laundry and a sudden thought just hit me. What you hear and what you feel are all frequencies/vibrations. What is it when you are looking at someone or something? Is it still frequencies/vibrations? In a way yes. Right? If you are looking at an object/person it’s made of matter. But matter is made up of frequencies vibrating to form the object. But when you look at something how can it effect your emotion of the brain? Sound can trigger your emotion by it’s own frequencies. But how can looking at something effect your emotions especially if there’s silence? What is it? It’s not the frequencies effecting you. I am really stuck. I can’t think of a solution. I’m almost there but it’s something but I can’t quite put my finger on it.

In a time of war, a time of environmental disasters and a time where money is scarce for the average person in this day in age. Music tends to feed our needs as if something is hugging our soul to make us be known that everything will soon pass. It will help us cope. It will help us figure out who we are. You take away music you take away the air we breathe from as well as our connection and oneness of the universe. It’s funny from all the way from ancient civilizations all the way to the 17-1800’s the armed forces marched into battle by the beat of a drum. In modern a modern individual point of view we are fighting to get through the day. Music helps us march to fight for a pleasant and peaceful yet productive day. At least the ones who just want a relief from the sorrow, pain, and suffering one has encountered in their lives.

If movies can portray a story to help you find your inner child, find your voice of strength, stand up to the bully, than so can music. Music can help you find those. Music let’s you say, “fuck you” I’m strong and I’m going to make it! It’s so interesting how music and movies are the peanut butter and jelly to my ears. Everything is inspirational in life, you just have to acknowledge it when it finds you! That’s what great about bring human, you choose your side and you play to win. But of course good will always prevail!

The reason why I write about music and energy s because we all use energy on a daily basis and we all love music. So I just have to put the two categories together. It’s a part of life. A conversation about music and energy can last till you die of old age. That’s how vast the subjects are. I think of the unthinkable sometimes. I’m like a lightbulb that’s always shinning with a bright idea. Speaking of which. I’m very witty with my words. I like puns. For example if I’m driving or walking at night and a lamp post goes off (yes I did use the old term lamp post) I say, “I lost my idea.” Get it? This is how clever I am with my thoughts. When I mix for clients it’s just like me talking to you. I’m a clever one ain’t I?😎😎😎😎

We are all part of the universe and frequencies are what is shaping the universe. Just like our thoughts. Our thoughts shape the universe. Because everything is at a level of thought. Everything emits a frequency therefore our thoughts emit frequencies. The universe is infinite and there are infinite possibilities to create different types of music. These syncopated instrumentation along with beautiful vocals, chord movement, have the ability to alter ones mood. The mood may vary depending on the song and the person. I truly believe that people who dedicate there life to something, whom are strong passionate individuals inside and out. Whatever is present in the universe can be classified in to main categories. Pros and Cons or in depth in a philosophical sense positive and negative. Earlier when i had mentioned about everything makes a sound and everything emits a frequency relates to the fact that energy is the nucleus of everything. Its the foundation if you will. Music is energy we are energy. We are creating audible energy known as music. Music is creating who we are and what we would like to become. Or right then and there, it’s making us feel a certain way right then in the “now.” Everything is a cycle. Beginning, middle, and an end. But, then momentum brings it back to the beginning. Just because one song finishes does not mean another won’t start after. As well as just because a person dies does not mean another won’t be born. Most people do not stop and think how we are all connected. Just stop what you are doing, right this second. Put the book down. close your eyes or look around and really think i mean really think about this. We are all connected. Our thoughts are shaping the universe. Each living being has an important role in the universe. And we have human “beings” killing other human “beings”? Why can’t you just let them be? Your thoughts and actions are shaping the universe and some people who do these horrific acts are too damn stupid to really understand this!


Bhutan’s atrocities vs resettlement

Published on Jun 30 2011 // Opinion
By Karma Chhoejay

Bhutan, so-called last Shangri-La cannot forget the bitter experiences of challenges that continue to haunt the people by those horrendous episodes of the 1990s and the 1997. It sometimes traumatizes people who were the eyewitnesses and victims of the oppressive regime that launched the merciless crackdown first on the Lhotshampas followed by Sharchops community.

Both the communities demanded a simple change in the political system so as to acclaim the rights ensured globally by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It is also very clear that the demand of the people was nothing different or bizarre from rest of the world that enjoys the values of democracy. It is however a pathetic story for every Bhutanese to realize that not an inch has been moved from absolutism despite proclamation of so-called democracy in 2008.

The entire nation is deprived of their basic rights and fundamental freedoms in absence of true democracy as the ruling regime evolves with a crucial move of developing a network of elites firstly by marrying Prime Minister’s son to one of the princesses followed by another princess marrying the son of senior bureaucrat Kipchu.  Yet another surprise has been marrying third princess to the son of Kinley Wangchuk, who happens to be nephew of Kinley Wangdi, ex-husband of eldest queen Dorji Wangmo.

The world community remains lip-locked when it comes to expressing critiques to Bhutan’s system of democracy as the legacy of Wangchuk dynasty’s dynamics of charming the people has been prodigious.

The fourth monarch, who evolved into being the political woe initiator on the guidance of Rajiv Gandhi in the mid-eighties, sand-witched by his four queens, had to give up the power in favor of his eldest son crowning him the fifth King and proclaiming the so-called democracy under constitutional monarchy in 2008. Not realizing the reality of being geo-physically sand-witched between the two mighty Asian giants—China in the north and India in the south, signed yet another Indo-Bhutan Treaty 2007 annulling the spiritually comfortable provisions enshrined in the 1949 treaty.

The aftermath saw the new pseudo democracy reducing the area of Bhutan from 46,500 square kilometers to 38,000 square kilometers with no explanations given to the people. Should we call it the loss due to exclusion of India’s representation in the northern border talks? If not, is it a shift or change in the partnership after such a long period of dependence to the south? Bhutanese may not like to suddenly shift their religio-cultural and trade relationship to transfer to the north with which Bhutan has no link what so ever until this day. Particularly, with Tibet absorbed into the Chinese domain, Bhutanese people have never looked upwards for any kind of social, cultural or religious benefits.

Following eviction of the Lhotshampa en masse and mass asylum seekers from other parts of Bhutan, who escaped the brutal hands of the regime ensuing peaceful movements for democracy, the refugee community as well as the political groups explored every possible avenues in the Indian arena for support and mediation to justly resolve the entanglement. However, India remained a mere spectator despite being a key partner of Bhutan’s overall developments and largest democracy of the world.

Having failed to avail any support, the ever-weary refugee community decided embracing the proposal of third country resettlement offered as burden-sharing solution by a group of core countries led by the USA. Exiled people at least thought it wiser to opt for a long term planning by taking up the offer in the interest of gaining exposure and learning from the developed world community.

The resettlement program has given the community not only relief from the throbbing life under bamboo huts, but also gives an opportunity for their children to be educated in the western world and equip themselves for a better future both in terms of political and economic strength so that they could be well equipped to shoulder the greater responsibility of carrying out the mission of true democracy and development in Bhutan.

It is a matter of high appreciation to the core countries for accepting a progressive demography of the Lhotshampa community under resettlement program, which perhaps will be gradually followed by family members from other community from other parts of Bhutan. The urge for repatriation being miles away from people’s hope and the conducive atmosphere in Bhutan not visible owing to it’s reluctance to accept any refugees to return home at least in the immediate future, it would be perhaps a compelling moment for the Sharchops or even the Ngalong community members if any in exile to opt for third country resettlement option as a temporary measure while continue to maintain the identity of being a Bhutanese in whichever the country they decide of getting resettled.

In this context, opting resettlement by the communities other than Lhotshampa community would mean achieving multiple mileages of internationalization of our movement for democracy as a Bhutanese and help unfold the true face of the regime’s inhumane character of victimizing their own citizens. The regime’s position of stating ethnic cleansing would be proved wrong as the regimes own ethnicity too will be exposed to the outside world.

In fact, how much it is true of the victimization of diverse ethnicity and the presence of feudalistic rules will be exposed with utmost clarity.  If Sharchops, struggling for democracy and human rights get opportunity to be resettled and educated from western world, it will certainly help to bring the entire movement into a central alliance, which becomes more rational to intensify the movement vigorously. On the other hand, the Sharchops community, currently languishing in the camps given the disadvantages being unable to have free access to the Buddhist society outside the camps, accepting local assimilation will not be a relief and thus would be more beneficial should they get resettled in a third country given the advantage of mass Buddhist establishments of Tibetan refugees communities.

It is believed that the US government as the oldest democracy will help convince Bhutan to create a conducive situation for all the aspiring refugees to return home in safe atmosphere as has happened to several other countries, where too refugees had once sought for the third country resettlement as a temporary measures to give humanitarian support until a favorable situation was developed in their original homeland.

Meanwhile, it is high time that we forget the past and emerge with a new vision to centralize the movement under a strong leadership who could be able to campaign world community against the regime’s policy that left more than one hundred thousand of us displaced and suffering for the last over two decades.

(Chhoejay is President of the Druk National Congress (Democratic)-affiliated Druk National Youth Congress. He can be reached at: soundofbhutan@yahoo.com)


Daokrak's Fall

This is the largest settlement of the Broken Fang Tribe. The settlement sits on the far eastern side of the crater and is the home to a population of around 800 Orcs and is the seat for all of the leadership members of the tribe.

The city is named for the large reptilian skeleton submerged in the lake that the city is built over. Three large plateaus jut out of the lake. These have been connected by large wooden bridges. The higher ranking/class Orcs live on the higher plateaus, while non blooded members of the tribe may not even live on one of the three plateaus at all and have to dwell on the banks of the lake itself. This natural set up, gives the Orcs a stout natural defense.

The agriculture of the Daokrak’s Fall is primarily done on the ground level, although there are stores of food on each level, and some small fields on the lowest plateau. There are many large farms on the lake level, the primary crops are corn, beats, and wheat and barley.

The Broken Fangs seem to have advanced knowledge of milling, and brewing, as they are able to make flour and baked goods as well as numerous alcoholic beverages.

Daokrak's Fall

The Colony norrain13


mind over matter

the flea-robert hooke

Lately, my evenings have been spent trying to untangle all the knots I've managed to tie my brain into during the day.
I've been writing about biology, and more specifically cells and micro organisms for work; and for those of you who follow this blog, you should know by now that science is not my forte.

For those just tuning in, my head is usually stuck firmly in the clouds, so microscopic living organisms and how they function are not something that holds my attention

But I came across a few  beautiful biological illustrations  by Robert Foote that grabbed my attention and sent me on a bio-inspired art hunt

cork cells-robert hooke

daniel zeller

joe whaley

jo whaley
clint fulkerson
chonaoflagettes found on google image

reproductive organs of the flower
new species of sea cucumber
new species of an acorn worm
polon IV-thomas medek


Thursday, September 15, 2005

Science meets religion

D. "Fitz" Goodwin wrote:
"There are some anti-God people who recognize that we did not have the scientific knowledge 3,600 years ago to write the laws of God."

so wot are the laws of God you ask.
Well I'm glad you did.

Firstly let us examine the givens.
God is every where.
God is everything. (except the french)
God is sometimes blue.

So from this we can deduce that the speed of God ,s, is zero.
god is every where so therefore God can't move.
s = 0

So why is god blue?
Well, consider.
God is everywhere and most 'everywhere' is somewhere else. Planets going really fast away from us draw out their viewable light making the normal wavelength longer. This is called red shift. Now as god is everywhere else more than here and god is blue we can there for deduce that god is in fact moving realy fast mostly towards us but not away. This clashes with our first Law of God : Speed of God = 0.
We must therefore state that God moves in mysterious ways. Our Second Law of God.

Part 2
Harry: The Duality of the Lord.

Sure, God can be both the Father and the Son, but is he a particle or a wave?

Fitz has shown that God's velocity is simultaneously zero and a figure greater than 1m/s (and possibly even faster than light). This suggests that if God were a particle he would be exhibiting quantum behaviour.

Heisenberg's Uncertainty principle states that for a quantum particle either its velocity OR its location can be determined but not both. Since God's location is known (ie everywhere) it stands to reason that his true velocity can never be known - as Fitz has demonstrated. However since it is extremely difficult to plot 'Everywhere' on a cartesian plane you probably cannot apply Heisenbergs Uncertainty Principle to allow further study of God's particle-ity.

Instead we should turn to those who know God's general position but not his form. This is the Agnostic Uncertainty Principle.
On a cartesian plane it is easy to see that the curve representing the AUP is asymtotic - where the closer you get to unstanding God's form the closer you are to becoming a member of a particular religion and thus are no longer Agnostic. Despite the fact that AUP can never be used in isolation to show God's true form, it does present evidence that God is indeed a particle.

Conversely, evidence of God being a wave is plentiful. By deduction, God's universal presence could be explained by him being a wave in much the same way as gravitational waves. God made the universe and fills it as well - a model along the lines of gravitational waves (where they expand as the universe expands and are therefore omni-present) provides a mechanism that is not unreasonable.

And indeed the simultaneous nature of the effect of the Lord (ie simultaneously bringing rapture to thousands, bringing euphoric effects, instatntly transforming matter into other matter) suggests a wave-like form. Admittedly this conclusion is drawn in part through lack of any evidence of particle tracks in changed matter ie The water turning into wine didn't leave the same traces as, say, a neutrino passing through 2 kilometres of water. Research on this front is continuing.

Further intrigue is found in the testemony of those who have seen God's light. Knowing as we do that God is blue (D. Goodwin 2003, Sydney Email Weekly) we can estimate the wavelength of God, and thus the energy in one of his photons ie The Power of The Lord. [Incidently the fact that the Lord is blue does explain why the sky is blue - don't beleive the lies of those evolutionist atmospheric scientists who erroneously claim that blue light is 'somehow' reflected by oxygen more than other wavelengths of light.]

The wavelength of visible light falls in the range of 400nm to 700nm. Blue light has a wavelength of about 475nm.

We can find the energy of a photon by multiplying two constants and dividing by the wavelength of that photon: E = Plancks constant (h), times the speed of light (c), divided by the wavelength of the photon (lambda nm)

However the result we get for the value of E is simply too small! After all, the light of the lord is brighter than a thousand suns.

There are only two ways to increase the value of E. One is to decrease the wavelength, but if we reduce the wavelength below 400nm God becomes Ultraviolet and thus invisible to the human eye (although this would very neatly explain why we can't see him despite his omnipresence). We know that God is blue, so changing the wavelength is not an option.

The other way to increase the value of E is of course to multiply the two constants by a third variable or constant. The bible explicitly states that God is a constant - he is everywhere and has always been so - (and therefore is not a variable). The Constant of God is respresented by (g).
So, to find the true energy in a photon of God we need to find (h x c x g) and divide by 475nm.

The problem is we don't know in what units the God Constant, (g), is measured, but we suspect that the Power of the Lord is infinite or at least very very very close to infinite. Ergo the Lord's constancy must also be infinite or close to it.

We are hereby pleased to have furthered knowledge with the discovery of the constant (g).

In the name of the wave, the particle and the holy ghost.

No comments:


Women's Tattoo Ideas - Top 3 Women's Shoulder Tattoos

Female Tattoo Pictures - Millions of Ways For Women to Express Themselves

Top 5 Sexiest Shoulder Tattoo Designs For Women

Phoenix Tattoo Designs - 5 Great Phoenix Designs to Choose For Your Next Tattoo

                            Phoenix tattoo designs are highly sought after because the phoenix has a magnificent look and is also highly symbolic. In this article, I'll tell you more about the meaning behind this tattoo and also tell you about 5 different phoenix tattoo designs you should consider before getting your tattoo. Phoenix Tattoo Meaning The phoenix has great mythological status in many cultures around the world including Japan, China and the ancient empires of Greece and Rome. Often depicted as rising from flames, it is a powerful symbol of rebirth. Tribal Phoenix Tattoo Designs The tribal phoenix tattoo comes in many forms and there are many to choose from. Most feature the bird with wings spread, a small head and a long tail. This accentuates the lines in this style of tattoo. A symmetrical version is often seen on the back or on the lower back. A tribal phoenix tattoo is very intricate and to the casual observer it might not be obvious that the depiction is of a phoenix. This is something to bear in mind when considering this tattoo. Japanese Phoenix Tattoo Designs The phoenix does feature in Japanese culture but not as much as it does in others. It is considered a bird of immortality. Many people choose to get this tattoo done in the Japanese style of tattooing with rich colours and high levels of detail with minimal skin showing. The striking unique aspect of tattoos of phoenixes in the Japanese style is the colour. Most feature a great colour range, not dissimilar to rainbow. Fiery reds and oranges are used often. There is no standard Japanese design for this tattoo so expect your artist to have his or her own particular style of drawing one. Small Phoenix Tattoo Designs Small tattoos are almost always of the tribal style. This is also handy because they usually look quite subtle. Some good areas to put one of these tattoos are on the foot, the hip, the lower back and behind the ear. Tattoos Of The Phoenix For Men Or For Women? Phoenixes can be worn by men or women. They are not generally considered to be either male or female. The major difference is in the location. Men tend to wear this kind of ink on the upper arm and chest. Women prefer the side of the torso, the back or the hip. There is no "cute" version of this tattoo but it generally does not matter - this tattoo looks equally good on both sexes.

Top 10 Awesome Tattoos and Their Meaning

                         Tattoos are a very popular and personal way to express one's originality. The design chosen usually represents something very important or else who would choose to wear it for a lifetime? If you are currently considering a tattoo here are the 10 top choices and their meaning: 1. Tribal The tribal tattoo is the most popular tattoo ever created. It seems strange that in a modern world a design that represents tribes is actually popular. It is believed the tribal design originates from the indigenous and aboriginal cultures. 2. Star Gazing at the stars has been a popular past time for as long as there has been someone on earth (and perhaps other planets) to gaze at them. Stars represent many different things to people. Sometimes it symbolizes fortune or fame. Sometimes guidance such as with the 3 wise men. Other times its considered lucky to wish upon a star and most everyone knows that if you do good in class your teacher may give you a star. Perhaps that is why a star is a favorite: it represents so many positive things. 3. Cross The cross tattoo is very popular religious symbol that is not exclusive to just one religion. The cross has long represented the Christian, Celtic, Maltese and Gothic sects. Some people wear crosses just because they like the design and not necessarily for religious purposes. 4. Angel An Angel tattoo is a design with supernatural meaning. Angels usually represent a messenger from God or a guardian angel who watches over and protects someone. 5. Wings Wings represent flight or things of a spiritual nature including many legends and myths. Wings are associated with speed and a sense of freedom. Military pilots earn their wings after they complete certain training. 6. Maori The Maori tribal tattoo is a top favorite among tribal designs. The Maori tribe were indigenous Polynesian people of New Zealand. 7. Dragon Dragons are typically creatures to be feared but some cultures worship them as part of a religious act or belief. Dragons often represent power. The dragon has been another long term favorite tattoo. 8. Phoenix The Phoenix is a mythical bird that often represents something that was destroyed that resurrects itself up out of the ashes to become something new. It often is a symbol of new beginnings especially after a loss. 9. Butterfly Women especially are attracted to the butterfly tattoo. Perhaps because of it's colorful and delicate beauty...just like a woman. 10. Fairy The Fairy is a symbol that represents a mystical and magical icon and a character of flight. The Fairy is often the granter of a wish come true. If you are looking for awesome tattoos and want a popular one consider one of the top 10. It helps to know the true history behind what the design represents so your choice can be more meaningful.


LiveHealth Online

An introduction to LiveHealth Online, healthcare provider Anthem’s telehealth service, which allows patients and doctors to communicate online. This project as a collaboration with APCO Worldwide.

Simple vector illustrations impart an approachability, while a muted color palette keeps the tone both serious and professional.

Dynamic movement that is reminiscent of “swiping” a device, unique and seamless transitions, and music that is calming and reassuring allowed us to deliver a wealth of information at a steady pace and kept the viewer engaged, empowered and informed.


Use advanced navigation for a better experience.

Chronic stress is a killer

Doing the research for my upcoming book “The Not So Overwhelmed Leader,” I came across some great information about chronic stress that is really important for leaders to keep in mind. Stress researchers remind us that stress in and of itself is not bad — it’s a part of life, and it keeps us actively engaged. The problem is chronic stress — when we are overloaded and, instead of getting time for self-renewal, we continue our pace and get hit with more stress-inducing experiences.

The key for all of us is to learn to live with rhythm — to build into our lives times where we actively engage, and then other times where we back off for rest and renewal. In the Bible, the concept of Sabbath — taking a day off each week for rest — is presented as a gift, something that helps us live better. As Jesus reminds us, “Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.” (Mark 2:27).

If you want to get a little geeky, and learn more about how stress — especially chronic stress — works, read on. This is an excerpt from the book “Brain Longevity” by Dharma Singh Khalsa, MD, and it talks about what chronic stress does to our bodies and brains. Enter Dr Khalsa:

Many people think stress is an outside force that causes them to feel tension. That’s not stress, though–it’s a “stressor.” Stress is the feeling that can result from a stressor. This may seem like a trivial distinction, but it’s vitally important. It means that if you don’t perceive a stressor to be stressful, then it’s not one. Some researchers define stress as any difficult situation that you can’t control.

If you can control a difficult situation, it will probably be good for your brain. It will coax your brain to make new synaptic connections between neurons, as you attempt to resolve the situation….

But if you perceive your situation as out of your control, you will be much less likely to engage these neurons in creative problem solving, and much more apt to secrete the hormones that will “cook” your brain.

The primary factor in determining job stress, most experts agree, is a person’s degree of control over the work situation. If people are free to make their own decisions, they feel much less stress on the job than people who must constantly defer to others. Therefore, jobs that have high demands, but also high degrees of authority, are actually less stressful than jobs with fewer demands but less authority Thus, being a nurse is often more stressful than being a doctor….

People who have the least sense of control–and the highest levels of stress–are often those who have a personality trait called “learned helplessness.”

Here is what happens when you activate your stress response:

1. You release adrenaline, causing your blood sugar to rise, your blood pressure to increase, your heartbeat to accelerate, your arteries to constrict, and your digestion to slow. For a limited time, your mind and muscles work efficiently.

2. If the stressor is severe, or persists for more than just a couple of minutes, you also secrete cortisol. This “locks in” a long-lasting stress response.

A small amount of stress, over a very short period, is healthy. It causes a mild degree of excitation, and helps people to become involved in productive activity. This healthy level of stress, sometimes called eustress, actually helps prevent unhealthy levels of stress. When you have absolutely no stress, you soon become bored, and then boredom itself causes unhealthy stress of levels.

Further, a very mild degree of stress, at intermittent moments, is good for our brain. It causes you to release norepinephrine, the excitatory neurotransmitter. You need norepinephrine to move hour short-term memories to long-term storage. You also need it to help give you a positive mood.

Therefore, your key to successful stress management is to keep just a mild, healthy degree of stress in your life. Your stressors will then feel like challenges, not problems. Then, when you meet those challenges, your brain will engage in creative thinking, grow new dendrites, and make new synaptic connections.

Unhealthy levels of stress occur primarily when you feel as if your ability to deal with your stressors is inadequate. That creates the nerve-racking, depressing, annoyed feeling that we all identify as stress.

If you experience unhealthy levels of stress only very occasionally, it will do little damage. But if you experience prolonged, high-level stress on a daily basis, it will profoundly disturb your physical, intellectual, and emotional health. If you do experience this type of chronic, uncontrolled stress, you will soon become a victim of one of life’s most damaging phenomena, the “general adaptation syndrome.” Watch out for this syndrome! It can “cook your brain.”

How the General Adaptation Syndrome “Burns Up” Your Brain

In 1956, the endocrinologist Hans Selye became one of the pre-eminent pioneers of stress research, when he wrote the first major book on the damage that stress does to the body. In that book, The Stress of Life, Selye described how stress gradually assaults the body, through a mechanism that he called the “general adaptation syndrome,” which is the broad set of changes your body goes through when it is chronically subjected to the stress response.

There are three stages to this set of changes. The first is the “alarm reaction,” when you secrete adrenaline and cortisol, causing your entire body and mind to spring into action against the stressor. The second stage is the “stage of resistance,” in which your mind and body try to pinpoint the threat, and activate only the most appropriate resistance mechanisms. During this phase, the secretion of adrenaline and cortisol decreases, while the “battle” against the stressor is fought only by the most appropriate organs or systems. Then, however, comes the most insidious phase: the “phase of exhaustion.”

During the phase of exhaustion, the specific, appropriate organs or systems that are “fighting” the stressor wear out, and become depleted. Your mind and body then “draft” other organs and systems to “join the battle.” When this happens, there is again a surge in the secretion of adrenaline and cortisol.

During the exhaustion phase, most of the organs and systems in your body are affected, and some are badly harmed. Often there is substantial enlargement of the cortex of your adrenal glands. There is also often a shrinkage of your thymus, spleen, and lymph nodes. There is generally a decrease in the number of your immune system’s white blood cells. Excess stomach acid is secreted. As a rule your blood pressure increases. Your sex hormones almost always decline.

Of course, when these changes occur, illness often follows. It’s common for people who suffer from the general adaptation syndrome to have chronic high blood pressure. It’s also common for them to develop minor illnesses. Sometimes, high levels of chronic stress can even contribute to catastrophic illnesses, including heart disease and cancer.

Mortality and illness among the chronically stressed rises sharply. For example, an older person who has lost a spouse is ten times more likely to die within one year of this loss than an older person whose spouse is still alive. Similarly, when a person gets divorced, his or her probability of significant illness over the next year increases by 1,200 percent.

Even recovery from injury is hampered by chronic stress. In one recent study, skin wounds among highly stressed subjects took an average of forty-nine days to heal completely, while skin wounds among non-stressed subjects took only thirty-nine days to heal. Research even indicates that stress can significantly increase levels of “bad” LDL cholesterol.

It’s not only the body that suffers from stress, though. The brain does, too. When the exhaustion phase of chronic stress hits, learning ability and concentration nosedive, partly because of the effects of cortisol. In one revealing study, students with high levels of chronic stress scored 13 percent lower on IQ tests than students with low stress.

High blood pressure caused by chronic stress also reduces cognitive function. As I’ve already shown, “What’s good for the heart is good for the head.” And few things are worse for the heart (and the head) than high blood pressure.

In addition, the exhaustion phase of the general adaptation syndrome causes a deficit of the important neurotransmitter norepinephrine–particularly in the frontal love of your neocortex, where much of your abstract thinking takes place.

Chronic stress causes norepinephrine to be shunted away from your limbic system. As you’ll recall, your limbic system controls your emotions. Because of this lack of norepinephrine in the emotional center of your brain, chronic stress can cause you to experience biological depression, anxiety, and malaise. If your chronic sress lasts long enough, it can even biochemically create anhedonia–the inability to feel any emotional pleasure.

Another unwanted mental effect of chronic stress is its influence on brain waves. A person experiencing stress has a predominance of “uptight” beta waves, rather than “calm” alpha and theta waves. Beta waves are also less conducive to learning and concentration than alpha or theta waves.

Finally–and most harmful of all–chronic stress creates oversecretion of coritsol. And cortisol, as mentioned previously, wages a “three-stroke attack” on your brain: It starves the brain of its only energy source, glucose; it interferes with neurotransmitter function; and it leads to the eventual death of brain cells.

Another tragic consequence of unrelenting stress is its assault on the mechanism that naturally shuts off your cortisol production. This cortisol shut-off usually occurs when the threats against you have passed. When your limbic system’s hippocampus is healthy, it has the ability to give your endocrine system “feedback,” and tell it when to quit producing cortisol.

But when your hippocampus becomes damaged by chronic stress, this feedback turns into the destructive “feedforward mechanism.” The feedforward mechanism keeps demanding that you secrete more and more cortisol, even when you no longer need it. This unfortunate phenomenon is especially common in older people, whose hippocampi have been compromised by many years of stress. When the feedforward mechanism occurs, a degenerative cycle is created.

As you can see, chronic stress is a killer. It kills the body, the intellect, and the emotions.

Leave a reply


How good are our xG models?

The results are in…

  3. 11tegen11 (@11tegen11). Methodology here.
  4. FootballStatistics (@stats4footy), no methodology available.
  5. @SteMc74. Methodology here.
  6. Willy Banjo (@bertinbertin). Methodology here.

Now for the results:

And the winner is…. Michael Caley!

How NOT to evaluate your xG model

Expected goals is a complex metric. Not only because it is difficult to calculate, but mostly because the models are very hard to evaluate. This is something I realized after recently creating my own Expected Goals (xG) model. (For those who are unaware what xG means; it’s a metric describing the probability a certain shot will end up being a goal. The simplest example for this is a penalty, which has an xG of about 0.75. In other words, about 3 out of 4 penalties are scored.) I soon realized it is very hard to determine how good my model really was, as I had nothing to compare it with.

Therefore I first set out on making a benchmark. In this case that benchmark would be a perfect xG model, so it is possible to ask yourself: how close is my model to being perfect? *(What does a ‘perfect’ xG even mean? I discuss this in the appendix since it is quite technical.)

How can you possibly have a perfect xG model?

I don’t. If I would I probably wouldn’t even have to write this article. It is however fairly simple to find out how a perfect model would perform. I might not know the exact xG values for all shots during this BPL season, but let’s assume I do know them for this BPL season in an alternate universe (stick with me). Let’s just for now assume that the xG values I calculated for this BPL season were actually 100% correct (which they are definitely not). The only thing we miss now are actual results in this ‘second universe’, so to gather these all I had to do was simulate all matches once using the ‘perfect’ xG values. This is also known as a Monte Carlo simulation. This gives one possible outcome of all matches. Let’s look at a 4-shot example:

table3At the left we can see that in reality, out of these shots only shot 1 was scored. Next to that we can see the xG value my model assigned to those shots. Simulating these xG values gave the results on the right. These simulated goals now have the xG values as their true underlying probabilities. In other words, these xG values are ‘perfect’ and the ‘simulated goals’ on the right is one of the possible outcomes.

Whatever measure we are going use, we can always check how a ‘perfect’ model would perform to compare. In the rest of this article, I will use this method as a benchmark.

R-squared is really, really not ok

When checking around the web what methods were used, I was surprised to see that R2 was the most common way of evaluating whether an xG model was any good. In most cases I would see a plot similar to this:

What we see here is the amount of goals all 20 teams in the 2014/2015 Premier League scored, and the sum of the Expected Goals a model of mine assigned to all shots taken by that team. Next I applied a linear regression which gave a R2 of 0.807. This sounds great!

But it isn’t. For several reasons:

  1. Information loss
    By summing all the xG values over a season, we lost a huge amount of data. We started with around 10000 points but reduced it to 20. Furthermore, this only gives us a sample size of 20, which is way too small.
  1. Is 0.807 even good?
    How good is this R2 figure really? Apart from the fact that the small sample size probably means that the value relies heavily on variation, it is also not as good as it sounds. If we simply count the shots a team attempts in a season and plot it against the goals scored, in this specific example you’ll get an R2 of 0.712! Over large samples like we use in this example, the xG per shot tends to be pretty similar for all teams, meaning the xG values you calculated won’t improve your results by much. Even more shockingly, a single simulation of the ‘perfect’ model gave a R2 of 0.755, which is lower than what our model achieved. Obviously over a larger sample of shots it will outperform my xG model, but the fact that it doesn’t here shows how unreliable these numbers are. The variance over such a small sample size appears to be so big, that we really can’t say anything useful about this R2 value.
  1. It’s theoretically wrong
    R2 measures how much variation of the response variable (actual goals) is explained by the decision variable (xG). To do this it finds a linear function that is the best fit. The line in the above example is:

Actual goals = -6.18 + 1.11 * xG

    This is NOT what we try to model when we create xG. The idea behind xG is that 1 xG is worth exactly 1 actual goal, which is not what is assumed by the linear regression method. For example, using the above formula we would expect to score 38 goals when we score 40 xG. This is clearly not what we aim to measure when using an xG model.

Go on then smartass, what metric should we use?

I have to admit that although I know R2 is wrong, I’m not sure what the best way is to evaluate xG models. Personally I believe a good way to evaluate an xG model is by looking at smaller samples than entire seasons. One could for instance look at single match totals of xG values and actual outcomes. That will make the influence of individual xG estimations much bigger, while single matches usually are the smallest sample in which we actively look at xG.

In an upcoming blog I will explain this method. Furthermore I will evaluate a set of xG models from i.a. Michael Caley, SciSports, @SteMc74, myself and more, using this method. Then we’ll finally know how close we are to a perfect xG model and which one is closest. If you want to participate with your own xG model please contact me on Twitter (@NilsMackay).

*Appendix (What is a perfect xG value?)

Since xG attempts to predict whether a shot ends up in the goal or not, one might say that a perfect xG model takes into account all possible variables. It would take into account things like: wind speed, wind direction, keeper positioning, the keeper’s reaction time, the way the ball is hit etc. However, such a model would perfectly predict whether a shot will become a goal or not and therefore only return values of 1 and 0. In other words for every shot it would say either: “Yes, this shot will become a goal” or “No, this shot will not become a goal”. Such a model would return the same xG values as the amount of actual goals scored in a match, which would be rather useless. The purpose of xG is (in my opinion) not to predict right before a shot gets taken whether it becomes a goal or not. The way in which it is used is to assess the quality of a chance and thereby the quality of a team’s performance.

Therefore I prefer to look at xG as the probability a shot becomes a goal when the given player tries to score from that exact situation. This will give answers like: “If Messi tried this shot from this exact situation 100 times, he would probably score 24 times”, which would correspond with a 0.24 xG value. In this article, I assumed this definition of an xG.

Introducing my Expected Goals model

While browsing the web in March 2014 I stumbled over an article by Sander Ijtsma (@11tegen11) and Michiel de Hoog (@MichielDeHoog) explaining why Lex Immers, at the time a regular starter in the midfield of Feyenoord, was one of the best players in the Eredivisie. At the moment, that was a very controversial statement, as Immers was known to blow huge chances regularly. Many Feyenoord fans even blamed him for Feyenoord not winning the title that season, as Feyenoord finished second behind Ajax with only a four point difference. The general consensus was that Immers was not good enough for a team like Feyenoord.

The article however gave a different view of reality, as it introduced me to the concept of Expected Goals (xG), a measure which quantifies how big a chance is. Basically, every shot on goal is given a value between 0 and 1, illustrating the probability that the shot will end up in the back of the net. The article showed that Immers was actually not blowing chances at all, but was scoring as much as expected. Furthermore it showed that Immers was actually very good at creating chances for a midfielder as well. The more analytic way of looking at football resonated with me, probably also partly because I was at the time (and am currently) a student in Business Analytics. After reading the article I started following the football analytics community (mostly based on Twitter), very interested in what it had to offer.

Soon after, I decided I wanted to play around with the data myself, so I wouldn’t be dependent on answers of other people for my questions. My first step was to create my own xG-model. I have to admit it took longer than I expected at first, but the first version of it is now done. That is also what this article is about. I will explain my methodology, which is different from those of the models I’ve seen so far, and test to see if it is actually doing what it suggests: predicting the probability a certain shot will end up in the back of the net.

The variables I used to predict the xG-values are the following:

  • Shot location
  • Whether it’s a header or a shot
  • Whether it’s a penalty or not
  • Whether it’s an own goal or not

Obviously there are many more factors which influence the chance of a shot going in, such as assist type, positioning of defenders and many more. Especially assist type is something I might pick up later, but for now I tried to keep it simple.

All models I know calculate the influence of shot location by dividing it into several factors such as distance to goal, and angle to goal (some use even more). Although it might be a good approximation, to me it sounded like a very complex way to compute the influence of location. The problem is that the goal posts make the distribution of values across the field very complex. For instance, a shot from 10 cm on the outside of the goalpost on the goal line will have an xG-value of practically zero, whereas the xG-value for a shot from 10 cm on the inside of the goalpost on the goal line will be about 1. This makes the exact values very hard to approximate by using angle and distance only.

To me it sounded more logical and precise to calculate the probability of a goal for a shot from a certain location by literally counting how many shots were taken from that exact position and counting how many of them ended up in the goal. Thus I divided the football pitch into squares of about a square meter, by making 100 squares in the length of the field and 50 squares in the width. Doing this for shots only gives the following field, in which a white corresponds with high xG-values and red with low xG-values:

This is a mess. Even though I’ve used 10 seasons worth of shots (about 80,000 shots) for this, the sample size seems to be too small as the differences between neighboring squares is too big at certain locations. Furthermore, lucky long shots screw up the values for locations far from goal, as not many shots are attempted from such range. This makes the influence of one lucky goal very big on the resulting xG-value. The plot for headers was very similar.

To fix this, I decided to calculate the xG-value of a position by looking at all surrounding squares. This increases the sample size significantly, apart from the fact that it makes sense intuitively. The probability to score from a certain location won’t change significantly if you move less than 1 meter from that position. The actual shots from the square itself were given some extra weight.

This still has some issues. Lucky goals from long shots still have a huge influence on the xG-value for that square. Furthermore, by also counting the squares around the actual square, the problem with the goalposts arises again. To solve this, I decided that squares that didn’t have a minimum amount of shots taken from them and goals scored from them, would be set equal to the minimum xG-value, which is about 0.017. This means that no matter from where a shot is attempted it will always have at least an xG-value of 0.017. The idea behind this is that players will only attempt a shot if they think it’ll have at least a certain probability of ending up in the goal.

This sounds very specific, but really all it does is eliminate weird xG-values for squares with a too small sample size, and eliminate incorrect xG-values for squares from which there was never scored before. I think it’s safe to say that if in a sample of 80000 shots there isn’t a single goal scored from a certain location, the xG-value for that position is probably not that big.

The updated field, for shots only, then looks like this:

That looks better. You can clearly see that if the angle becomes too sharp, the chance to score drops immensely. The lucky long shots are accounted for, and the probability a shot becomes a goal rises quickly as you approach the goal. On the goal line it is nearly 100%. The field for headers is slightly different and generally gives lower values, but it looks quite similar.

Does it work though?

Although it looks pretty, the question that arises immediately is: does it work? Or in other words:

  • Does it correlate well with the actual scoring chances within the sample data?

And more importantly:

  • Is it able to predict the probability a shot outside the sample will end up in the goal?

Let’s start with the first one. To check if the model even agrees with the sample data, I grouped shots in small bins which are determined by xG-value. For example, if a shot is given an xG-value of 0.12 it is put in the bin that contains shots with values between 0.1 and 0.2. Next I calculated the average of the xG-values in the bin, and calculated the number of those shots that actually became a goal in real life. This gave the following table:

Just to clarify, the actualxG values are the percentages of shots within the bin that were scored. The modelxG is the average xG-value that the model assigned to those shots. Thus the values within the modelxG column are by definition within the range of the bin, which is not necessarily true for the values in the actualxG column.

Once again the effect of sample size is easily visible. The bins that contain the most of the shots have the highest accuracy. I’m pretty happy with the overall results. For most of the shots the actual bin value and the model bin value are less than 0.3% apart. For more rare shots this increases slightly, but the percentage differences for those shots is still fairly small. Notice that all 26 shots in the bin for values between 0.9 and 1 are scored thus far. This is likely a ‘hot streak’, as a 100% chance practically doesn’t exist. The model rates the average xG-value for those shots at around 94%.

The fact that the model’s values are close to the actual probabilities was to be expected. The model itself uses the number of times a shot went into the goal from that position. The fact that the values are similar doesn’t say that much, apart from the fact that the model describes its own sample adequately. More interesting is to see if the model is able to predict the chance a shot will become a goal for shots outside of the sample. The sample I used for this model are the seasons 12/13 and 13/14 for all 5 major leagues (Premier League (ENG), La Liga (ESP), Bundesliga (GER), Serie A (ITA) and Ligue 1 (FRA)). To see if the model has predictive value, I will do a similar test as above, except for the fact that the shots will be from the season 14/15 for those 5 leagues. These shots are not used to make the model. The table now looks as follows:

I’m very happy with the results. The difference for the small chances increased slightly, but is still below a 1% difference for most shots. As we can see the chances within the 0.9-1 bin are not all scored this time, as we expected.

Obviously these figures aren’t perfect. For instance, let’s look at the 0.1-0.2 bin. The model predicted the shots to be scored at around 14.1% of the time. If we would simulate all the 9886 shots within this bin using that probability, chances are about 1394 of them would be scored. In reality, only 1315 of those shots were scored. A simple binomial test shows us that if the probability of 14.1% is correct, the probability that 1315 or less goals would occur, is practically zero. That’s solid proof that the model isn’t perfect, but that’s also not the point of what I did. The model I created only uses location and some very basic things to calculate the scoring probability, while in real life the scoring probability is obviously dependent on more variables. It does however give a very decent estimate and is easy to understand. The addition of more variables should improve the results even more.

Hope you enjoyed! If you did, please share. My next blog will be expanding on this subject. It’s my first blog so any comments/advice/feedback would be appreciated. If you find a flaw in my reasoning or calculations please let me know!


Trogg 20

The Berzerker known as Trogg

Berzerkers are deformed, demonic creatures who dwell in The Land Beyond. Led by the warlord Trogg, Berzerkers are ferocious warriors who live their lives fighting and scavenging across the wastelands of the Land Beyond. They come in varying forms, the most common of which is a humanoid body with rough skin, red eyes and a beak-like muzzle. It is possible that the Berzerkers are all a product of magical transformation. Since the Enchanter King Shirob was turned into Trogg by The Dark One, it could be that all Berzerkers were once foxes or other races native to the Nameless Zone.

Ad blocker interference detected!


a beach walk

I wish you would’ve held my hand
I wish you could’ve understand
right across the dampened sand
along the sandy beach

and along the sandy beach
it was like you were out of reach
so unwilling just to teach
teach me the way

hidden from the path that lay
bidding time from day to day
like there’s a huge price to pay
for this little miss

“wait” you tell this little miss
look in her eyes and plant a kiss
let her have this moment in bliss
et her understand

till today
how I wish that day
would turn out a different way

if you would’ve held my hand
stop and say you understand
right across the wet sand
and gave me a kiss

ack. yeah. back to poetry again o_O

guess what I’ve got -grins- yep yep yep *dance around* I’ve got the soundtrack for lotr: rotk. lalala~ and I’m gonna watch it this sat (whoopey doo!) with wil and ter and their friends I guess -gives a big cheesy smile- I can’t wait. but stupid stupid fir spoilt it by telling me legolas majored in only one scene -pouts- when I meet him to watch rotk again I’m gonna hammer him. I’ll freaking pound him to minced meat for telling me. I am so mad! -mock scowl-

been busy trying to make the layout for sfa but I realised I’ve got alot more to do plus, I still have unprettyful to set up -sighs-

and I’m still sneezing -sniffles-

yeah. it’s been 7ners night. two nights in a row too! ;D

wednesday was bad work day for me. shan’t go through details so I was hoping that by meeting 7ners later in the evening would cheer me up. boy. not only did they cheer me up. they made me laugh. haha..

we met at fullerton hotel (well, outside technically) as srjc was having their prom night there. we saw cheng teng off to the prom after we met her and took pictures together. she was wearing this really lovely black gown and as she walked away from us, sis (was it?) said, “it’s like sending cinderella off.”

and the funny thing? jo and I said at the same time, “in black?!” -rofl-

we chilled around boat quay the coffee bean there and we all hated the part about walking through boat quay. well, jo detested it. coz all the hostess would be trying to get you to sit down and have a drink. hmm. we could have after all we were all (except pk) legal and it was ladies’ night.. haha. but bah, I hate beer o_O

so we sat at where the big bird sculpture was and talked most of the time. sis taking random shots, pwen looking into pk’s phone messages -chuckles- a nice girls’ night out. it’s weird. I kinda miss boss come back soon boss! hope she’s doing fine in aussie.. lucky her!

and unfortunately, I’m blogging in my workplace and I can’t use the comp tonight when I get home so I can’t upload the pictures

last night pwen & I wanted to get an interview at rockymaster’s but turns out we need to make an appointment o_O so we (plus pk) just chilled at heeren and took neoprints. bah. the first one really looks nice but we look so pale.

so I suggested going over to far east plaza where the neoprint machines were much better. and really, we had a whole load of fun just taking snaps after snaps ;D I spent a total of 9 bucks on this man. come to think of it, pk and pwen cheated me! -scowls- the last neoprint we took, I paid 2 whole dollars more and we all got an equal share of the pictures!

I protest!!!

you guys so owe me man. but let’s go take again another day. and yeah, can’t upload coz I can’t use the comp -wails-

today, work at the restaurant was ok I guess. I didn’t need to give out flyers so that’s a pro. I broke a bottle of tiger and that was a con. but overall it was ok. hey 7ners, remember miss susanna (sp?) ho? the netball teacher? she’s a friend of my boss and she came to eat today!

she told me to sit down coz she wanted to talk to me (uh oh..) but what she wanted to say was that she wanted to recruit me into sac alumni o.O I’m. not. kidding.

apparently, she’s the new president and she wants to make the alumni a more ‘hip’ place. so she needs support from us youngsters o.O but I think it might work. coz the last batch that was running the alumni was like, grad in 60’s batch? -jaws drop- yeah. that old (oops)

she’s trying to get sac alumni special discounts at 77th street. turns out that the lady who started this franchise is an ex-sacian! not kidding! so what say you guys? help me spread the word in friendster since I’m not in there. lol..

and to end it off, I shall just paste this thingy I got from destined.org ;p

if I were a month I would be: june
if I were a day of the week I would be: wednesday
if I were a time of day I would be: 1500 hours
if I were a planet I would be: pluto
if I were a sea animal I would be: dolphin
if I were a direction I would be: north
if I were a piece of furniture I would be: arm chair
if I were a sin I would be: envy
if I were a historical figure I would be: cleopatra
if I were a liquid I would be: vodka
if I were a tree I would be: cedar tree
if I were a flower/plant I would be: white/blue carnation
if I were a kind of weather I would be: sunny
if I were a musical instrument I would be: drums
if I were an animal I would be: koala
if I were a color I would be: blue
if I were a vegetable I would be: celery
if I were a sound I would be: voice
if I were an element I would be: fire
if I were a car I would be: I’m into cars so I’ll just say subaru. lol
if I were a song I would be: what I really meant to say – cyndi thomson
if I were a movie I would be: my sassy girl
if I were a book I would be written by: amy tan
if I were a food I would be: pizza
if I were a place I would be: the beach
if I were a material I would be: silk
if I were a taste I would be: bittersweet
if I were a scent I would be: chocolate
if I were a word I would be: hopeless
if I were an object I would be: paper
if I were a body part I would be: eyes
if I were a facial expression I would be: unhappy
if I were a cartoon character I would be: lilo (lilo & stitch)
if I were a shape I would be: broken heart
if I were a number I would be: 7

and secondly,

happy birthday daddy!