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What’s inside? Here are the questions answered in today’s reader mailbag, boiled down to summaries of five or fewer words. Click on the number to jump straight down to the question. 1. Using my stimulus check 2. Gas prices and hybrid cars 3. Worried about returning to work 4. Wedding planning suggestions? 5. Safely storing cash at home 6. CSA and safety 7. Financial success and self-worth 8. Figuring out break-even point 9. What’s the plan after unemployment? 10. Castile […]

The post Questions About Weddings, Windfalls, Castile Soap, Hybrid Cars, CSAs and More appeared first on The Simple Dollar.

Ride like the wind! This song reminds me of taking a long trip on a big V4 motorcycle, V-Max, it stands up on it’s center stand chrome sparkling in the street lights, it has a physical presence almost deadly, it radiates power, four chromed exhausts a huge 1800cc V4 just waiting for you to climb...

During the 2017 Conference & Expo in Boston, the Standards Quest took participants through a journey of the Standards Development Process.  Participants answered questions on the Public Input, Public Comment, Technical Meeting (NITMAM), and

Some better and fantastic balloon news from the USA

Adventurer David Hempleman-Adams has told how he landed a balloon in pitch black darkness to avoid plunging into one of the planet's biggest lakes.

The explorer from Box has just won the world's oldest air race with an 1,100-mile flight across the USA which ended on his 52nd birthday.

He and his co-pilot Jon Mason, 35, had been forced to choose between a complete darkness landing or the risk of ending up in Lake Michigan as they scented success in the prestigious Gordon Bennett gas balloon race.

Father-of-three Mr Hempleman-Adams took the decision to land the balloon in the dark rather than risk flying over the Great Lake without enough ballast.

He said: "I know you should never land a balloon at night but we had to make that decision as we didn't have enough sand to go over the lake and the balloon was going down."


The pair made two attempts to land in the drama on Friday at the end of the race, in which the winner is the crew flying the furthest distance.

"It's hard to judge from the air at night what is on the ground. During our first attempt what we thought were small bushes turned out to be 45 ft trees so we had to try again. We flew over the trees and landed near a maize crop."

The pair had taken off on Monday from Albuquerque in New Mexico and landed north of Chicago at 5am on Friday in their balloon Lady Luck.

They did not discover they had become the first British team ever to win the competition named after the man who gave his name to the famous exclamation until they had had a few hours of sleep.

Mr Hempleman-Adams said: "The sheriff picked us up and took us to the local hotel where we collapsed.

"We'd been flying for 74 hours taking it in turns to sleep at two-hourly intervals curled up on the floor of the basket. When we woke there was a note under the door from our chase team which said, 'Well done boys, you've won!'

"We thought we'd come second so it was a very good birthday present."

There were 12 crews in the contest, the 52nd ever held.

Mr Hempleman-Adams said. "It was a very tactical race with everyone trying to outdo each other like a game of poker."

Co-pilot Mr Mason, a consultant clinical psychologist who works in Canterbury, said: "We are a great duo and a foil for one another. David needs someone to restrain him and I need someone to encourage and push me. We arrive at a middle ground. We also work well together because we have different skills. "David is excellent at looking at the bigger picture and navigating while I am good concentrating on the detail doing what we have to do there and then."

He said he accepted the risky decision his co-pilot had made.

"It's easy to highlight the dangers but people do things all the time that are risky that, in the end, become routine.

"Gas ballooning isn't rocket science. You fill the balloon with gas that's lighter than air and you take sand with you. The risk isn't flying a gas balloon - it is flying a balloon for four days in bad weather when you are tired and in the dark."

One of their scariest moment came when the duo were hit by a snowstorm.

Mr Hempleman-Adams said: "We had some difficult weather. During the day it reached 42 degrees but at night it crashed to about 8 degrees and we would shiver.

"Once, we were up at 13,000 ft and it started to snow. The cooling on the balloon made it come down very quickly and we descended to 5,000 ft."

Another brush with death was when the team spotted two jets flying too close for comfort.

"At one stage we were over Albuquerque at 5,000 ft and two jets came in underneath us with only 500ft clearance and scared the daylights out of us," Mr Hempleman-Adams said.

The pair were due to fly back into Britain this morning.

The competition - founded by newspaper tycoon and adventurer Bennett - is described as the most prestigious event in aviation and the ultimate challenge for the balloon pilots and their equipment.

It was started in 1906, when 16 balloons were launched from Paris, but has never before been won by Britons.

It was put on ice at the outbreak of the Second World War and not revived until 1983.

The victory means the race will start from the UK in 2010.

Mr Hempleman-Adams turned to extreme and endurance ballooning after years of conquering mountains and polar regions.

He has climbed the tallest peaks on all seven continents, travelled to both the North and South Poles, completed the first balloon flight to the North Pole and the first flight across the Northwest Passage. He also completed the first balloon flight across the Atlantic in an open wicker basket in 2003. He holds the world altitude record for Roziere (a combination of gas and hot air) balloons at more than 41,000 ft.

In 2006 Mencap produced a comprehensive review of short break provision. Now, 10 years on, they are revisiting the support available for family carers to see whether recent policy initiatives and investment have delivered the much-needed change. A total of 264 family carers responded to their survey on short breaks provision and experiences of caring. They also sent Freedom of Information requests to all 152 local authorities in England that provide social care services. This report looks at short breaks provision in a climate of cuts to central and local government budgets. It examines the extent to which these cuts have impacted on the lives of people with a learning disability and their family carers. It also looks at the state of affairs for family carers of children and young people across the full spectrum of learning disability; from people with mild and moderate learning disabilities, to people with severe and profound disabilities.

I don’t know about you, but giving daily make-up a rest has been doing wonders for my skin. But in case we’ve never met before — hi, I’m Gala! — I like to maximize things. My train of thought goes something like, ‘Sure, my skin looks good… But what if I came out of quarantine looking better than […]

The post Quarantine Beauty: The Tools And Techniques That Have Me Glowing! appeared first on Gala Darling.

Product Info: Developer: Arcade Distillery Publisher: Arcade Distillery Website: Mecho Wars: Desert Ashes Twitter: @ArcadeDistiller

Product Info: Developer: Sebastian Nigro, Christ Anselmo Publisher: HItcents Website: Duke Of Defense Twitter: @tophtacular / @Seabass_N / @Hitcents

Washington-based architect and designer Michael Mannhard has unveiled designs for BladeYARD, a proposal for a Burning Man 2021 installation built from recycled wind turbine blades. Created as a visual warning of the effects of climate change and shortsighted solutions, the installation mimics a large-scale ruin with parts of the blades submerged in the sands of Nevada’s Black Rock Desert.[...]

From climbing walls to a roaming music studio, we've seen a lot of ingenious tiny house features over the years. But this tiny home on wheels from Movable Roots has a distinct feature we never thought was possible — a walk-in hot tub! The Culp is a 500-square-foot home that, in addition to its accessible, spa-like bathroom, boasts unique cork flooring and an incinerating toilet.[...]

Nestled on a gently sloping segment of land on the quiet, western end of St. Helena, California, Spottswoode Estate contains a remarkable piece of environmental history. The property became one of the first vineyards in the Napa Valley to farm 100% organically in 1985, eventually evolving into a leader in sustainable farming for the famous wine-growing region.[...]

After receiving nearly 500 submissions from around the world, eVolo Magazine has announced the winners of the 2020 Skyscraper Competition. Established in 2006, the annual award recognizes visionary vertical architecture ideas that push the limits of design and technology. First place was awarded to a Chinese team that designed Epidemic Babel, a rapid-deployment healthcare skyscraper concept for mitigating epidemic outbreaks.[...]

They That Sow The Wind…

…Reap the Whirlwind

…Reap the Whirlwind part Two

…Reap the Whirlwind part Three

…Reap the Whirlwind part Four

Cybersecurity firm Cynet today announced the launch of a first of its kind challenge to enable Incident Response professionals to test their skills with 25 forensic challenges that were built by top researchers and analysts. The challenge is available on https://incident-response-challenge.com/ and is open to anyone willing to test his or her investigation skills, between April 21st and May

The post When Will a Self-Published Book Win a Major Book Award? appeared first on Fiction Notes.

Dear Librarians who serve on one of the ALA Youth Media Awards committees (Newbery, Caldecott, Coretta Scott King, Michael L. Printz, Schneider Family, Alex, Mildred L. Batchelder, Odyssey, Pura Belpré, Robert F. Siebert, Excellence in Early Learning Digital Media, Stonewall, Theodor Seuss Geisel, William C. Morris, YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults, Continue Reading

The post When Will a Self-Published Book Win a Major Book Award? appeared first on Fiction Notes.

I can tell you--after seeing them in the bathroom mirror this morning--this shortcrust pastry recipe will give you les poignées d'amour. That's French for "love handles." Même pas peur? Not even scared? Good! Read on and discover a truly delicious and versatile pâte brisée. I should know...I've tested 10 of them in the past week--ever since you asked for the recipe! Today's Word: la pâte brisée : shortcrust pastry, a rich dough for making pie crust Audio: Listen to the words pâte brisée in this soundfile En cuisine, la pâte brisée est une pâte servant de base aux tartes salées ou sucrées. La pâte brisée désigne généralement une pâte composée principalement de farine et de matière grasse sans sucre. In cooking, shortcrust pastry is a dough used as a base for savory or sweet pies. Shortcrust pastry generally refers to a dough composed mainly of flour and fat, without sugar. Jérôme's Pâte Brisée: 4-ingredient Shortcrust Pastry (makes one large or two small tarts!) Ingredients... 2 cups flour 2 teaspoons baking powder 1/2 cup white wine 1/2 cup sunflower oil Note: ordinary white wine is all you need. Leftover wine will work as long as it hasn't turned to vinegar. For...

Learn how to use MLM Prospecting to get the edge in MLM Network Marketing. Use this easy secret tip to dominate your competition.

Oswin sleeping on my desk. #cat https://ift.tt/30d1MCx

Oswin: a portrait. #cat https://ift.tt/3adw6l1

Oswin enjoying her first supervised enrichment activity. It ended when the nearby construction made a loud upsetting bang. #cat https://ift.tt/2TSjmef

Oswin is starting to enjoy her backyard walks. #cat https://ift.tt/2uRzodQ

A bowlful of Oswin. #cat https://ift.tt/380irvF

Oswin’s in the laundry basket. https://ift.tt/2IWsKXi

Windows can't fix all the bugs on each release. I'll look at some of the reasons Windows might not fix something you consider important.

Why Didn’t Windows Fix My Pet Peeve? from Ask Leo!.
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The award recognizes those who have demonstrated a strong commitment to the undergraduate experience through dedicated efforts in student organizations, athletics, community service, religious life, residential life and the arts.

Princeton ecologists Peter and Rosemary Grant led a team of researchers to discover how genetics and hybridization affected the beak shape of finches on the Galápagos Islands.

Environmental News FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

This article answers a question on how to close a browser window or tab using JavaScript.

Would you believe there are 231 references to wine in the Bible Wine is an element of the JudeoChristian concept of the Eucharist or Holy Communion during Mass when wine is offered as representing the blood of Christ or the presence of Jesus on Earth

Did you know that there was a connection between our large 7000 inhabitant village of Wingerworth Randolph Hearst and the a museum across the pond in St Louis No neither did I until I treated our village as if I were a visitor on a first visit . As a v

Yesterday was Day 45 Our five o'clock briefing was delivered by the less than charismatic Mr Gove who told us more of the same . He spelled out the numbers of deaths the numbers of tests that had been undertaken. The numbers rolled off his tongue . Traf

Kedarkantha the Prominent winter trek in Garhwal Himalayas Uttarakhand INDIAKedarkantha Trekheight is around 3800 meters. And the Kedarkantha trek offers 6 days vacation

Kedarkantha the Prominent winter trek in Garhwal Himalayas Uttarakhand INDIAKedarkantha Trek height is around 3800 meters. And the Kedarkantha trek offers 6 days vacation

Since you seem to like my wine emails here is a subject near and dear to us Californians. French wine. Let me start out by saying this about the French. They love to bad mouth Napa Valley after their BIG loss decades ago. On most wine tours in Franc

Monday 4th OctoberWell after the last blog entry I wanted to be a bit more upbeat but we've not had the best of starts today. First port of call was the Darwin Dam Darwin Damn more like as there were barricades preventing any viewings. Never mi

Day 5 30th September 2010Breakfast outside and then away to the Steppes for more headwinds and a puncture in my front tyre caused by those wicked prickly roadside plants. Furhter down the road I repaired a puncture for Kristine. which was the four

The 28 or so hours traveling here has proven to be more than worth itWhile the flight from Houston to Santiago was overnight and in the dark the three hours from Santiago to Punta Arenas were spent winging over the Andes. Amazing is a word overused i

The first rule of panic mode is you don’t talk about panic mode. And this is purely for personal reasons, but I don’t want Scotland to reject us

It used to be unthinkable. Now it’s thinkable. In fact, in some minds, it’s already been thought. Scotland might be voting yes to independence and splitting from the rest of the union. I’m not Scottish, and I’m therefore powerless to intervene, although I would personally prefer Scotland to stay – but only for entirely selfish and superficial reasons. Reason one: I’d rather not be lumbered with a Tory government from now until the day the moon crashes into the Thames. Two: I quite like Scotland and the Scottish, so it’s hard not to feel somehow personally affronted by their rejection. Why did you just unfriend and unfollow me, Scotland? What did I ever do to you? What’s that? Sorry, you’ll have to slow down a bit. Can’t understand a word you’re saying. Don’t you come with subtitles?! Ha ha ha! No, seriously, come back. Scotland? Scotland?

Apparently the consequences of a split in the union could be calamitous. The skies will fall and the seas will boil and the dead shall rise and the milk will spoil. There will be a great disturbance in the force. Duncan’s horses will turn and eat each other. Starving ravens will peck out your eyes halfway through the Great British Bake Off. Your dad will give birth to a jackal full of hornets. And in London’s last remaining DVD shop, Gregory’s Girl will quietly be re-categorised as “world cinema”.

Definition: (adjective) Out of breath, as from strenuous exercise.
Synonyms: pursy, blown.
Usage: After crossing the finish line, the winded runner fell to the ground and lay there panting.