Wednesday, December 24, 2014
Monday, December 22, 2014
Austin looks anorexic
Austin lost a ton of weight...nope, he just got taller
You have such a good looking son
Austin has a girlfriend, you're okay with that?
Are you losing weight, you look like your losing weight...nope, same weight.
That body
Omg I can almost fit my hands around your waist (hands placed on my waist)
You look so F-ing hot
You look like a man
Look at that tight ass, I want my ass to look like yours (slaps my ass)
When did she get so smart (cause I'm not standing right here)
All words spoken to or about Austin and I yesterday......ahhhh, the holidays.....
How I tried to condition my brain....
Think positively, think positively, think positively......
Let no compliment or insult penetrate your bubble :)
Build a forcefield of energy that understands people talk, period.
What I learned by sheer self awareness and observation yesterday.....
My mother is a natural leader
She doesn't complain
She goes out of her way to make others feel loved and accepted
She opens her home to anyone in need of nurturing or a place to go
People flock to her
They trust her with their problems
They confide in her
She is able to reach people on levels they need simply by being her
She's absolutely beautiful :)
Annnddd.....My family drinks a shit ton of red wine at christmas....;).
Austin lost a ton of weight...nope, he just got taller
You have such a good looking son
Austin has a girlfriend, you're okay with that?
Are you losing weight, you look like your losing weight...nope, same weight.
That body
Omg I can almost fit my hands around your waist (hands placed on my waist)
You look so F-ing hot
You look like a man
Look at that tight ass, I want my ass to look like yours (slaps my ass)
When did she get so smart (cause I'm not standing right here)
All words spoken to or about Austin and I yesterday......ahhhh, the holidays.....
How I tried to condition my brain....
Think positively, think positively, think positively......
Let no compliment or insult penetrate your bubble :)
Build a forcefield of energy that understands people talk, period.
What I learned by sheer self awareness and observation yesterday.....
My mother is a natural leader
She doesn't complain
She goes out of her way to make others feel loved and accepted
She opens her home to anyone in need of nurturing or a place to go
People flock to her
They trust her with their problems
They confide in her
She is able to reach people on levels they need simply by being her
She's absolutely beautiful :)
Annnddd.....My family drinks a shit ton of red wine at christmas....;).
Saturday, December 20, 2014
Parasites and the evolution of primate culture
Learning from others and innovation have undoubtedly helped advance civilization. But these behaviours can carry costs as well as benefits.
And a new study by an international team of evolutionary biologists sheds light on how one particular cost – increased exposure to parasites – may affect cultural evolution in non-human primates.
The results, published Dec. 3, 2014, in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B, suggest that species with members that learn from others suffer from a wider variety of socially transmitted parasites, while innovative, exploratory species suffer from a wider variety of parasites transmitted through the environment, such as in the soil or water.
“We tend to focus on innovation and learning from others as a good thing, but their costs have received relatively little attention,” says McGill University biologist Simon Reader, co-author of the study. “Here, we uncover evidence that socially transmitted pathogen burdens rise with learning from others – perhaps because close interaction is needed for such learning – and environmentally transmitted pathogen burdens rise with exploratory behaviour such as innovation and extractive foraging.”
Chimpanzees, for example, live in groups and have a wide range of such behaviours, such as digging for food underground or eating new kinds of insects. Previously, studies have not been able to determine whether costly parasites force primates to engage in more exploratory behaviour – by diversifying food sources, for example – or whether exploratory behaviour leads to their having more parasites, Reader notes. “Our results support the idea that exploratory and social behaviours expose primates to specific kinds of parasites.”
“The findings also lead to questions about how people and other primates have developed solutions to minimize these parasite costs – such as eating medicinal plants – and may help us better understand how the processes underlying human culture arose,” Reader says.
The research team, led by Collin McCabe of Harvard University and Charles Nunn of Duke University, based their analyses on databases obtained by surveying thousands of articles on primate behaviour and parasites.
Pretty Amazing :)
Archaeologists unearth royal entry complex at Herodian Hilltop Palace
The main feature is a 20-meter-high corridor with a complex system of arches, allowing the King and his entourage direct passage into the palace courtyard. During the excavations, the original palace vestibule, decorated with painted frescoes, was also exposed.
Part of the unique palace entry complex discovered at Herodian Hilltop Palace by Hebrew University archaeologists. (Credit: The Herodium Expedition at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem)
Archaeologists from The Hebrew University of Jerusalem’s Institute of Archaeology have discovered a monumental entryway to the Herodian Hilltop Palace at the Herodium National Park. The unique complex was uncovered during excavations by The Herodium Expedition in Memory of Ehud Netzer over the past year, as part of a project to develop the site for tourism.
The main feature of the entryway is an impressive corridor with a complex system of arches spanning its width on three separate levels. These arches buttressed the corridor’s massive side-walls, allowing the King and his entourage direct passage into the Palace Courtyard. Thanks to the supporting arches, the 20-meter long and 6-meter wide corridor has been preserved to a height of 20 meters.
The Hebrew University archaeologists — Roi Porat, Yakov Kalman and Rachel Chachy — suggest that the corridor was built as part of Herod’s plan to turn Herodium into a massive artificial volcano-shaped hill, a vast and impressive monument designed to commemorate the architect-King.
Surprisingly, during the course of the excavations, it became evident that the arched corridor was never actually in use, as prior to its completion it became redundant. This appears to have happened when Herod, aware of his impending death, decided to convert the whole hilltop complex into a massive memorial mound, a royal burial monument on an epic scale.
Whatever the case, the corridor was back-filled during the construction of the massive artificial hill at the end of Herod’s reign. The upper section of a new monumental stairway stretching from the hill’s base to its peak, constructed during the course of this building phase, appears to have been built over it.
The excavators point out that not only was the arched corridor covered over in the course of the construction of the hill-monument, but also all the structures earlier built by Herod on the hill’s slopes, including the Royal Theater uncovered by the expedition in 2008, while still led by Prof. Ehud Netzer, since deceased.
Part of the unique palace entry complex discovered at Herodian Hilltop Palace by Hebrew University archaeologists. (Credit: The Herodium Expedition at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem)
The only edifice not covered over was the splendid mausoleum-style structure, identified by Netzer and the expedition as Herod’s burial-place. Together with the monumental cone-shaped hill, this constituted the unique Herodian Royal burial-complex.
During the course of the current excavations, the original impressive Palace vestibule, blocked when the corridor became redundant, was also exposed. This entry-room, decorated with splendid painted frescoes, had a magnificent entryway leading into it, and offered evidence of the rebel occupation during the Great Revolt (66-71 CE), including Jewish Revolt coinage and crude temporary structures.
In addition, the excavations in the arched corridor also turned up impressive evidence from the Bar Kokhba Revolt period (132-135/6 CE): hidden tunnels dug on the site by the rebels as part of the guerilla warfare they waged against the Romans. Supported in part by wooden beams, these tunnels exited from the hilltop fortress by way of the corridor’s walls, through openings hidden in the corridor. One of the tunnels revealed a well-preserved construction of 20 or so cypress-wood branches, arranged in a cross-weave pattern to support the tunnel’s roof.
In the future, according to Mr. Shaul Goldstein, Director of Israel’s Nature and Parks Authority, the excavation of the arched corridor will allow visitors direct access to the Herodium hilltop palace-fortress, in the same way that Herod entered it two thousand years ago. There are also plans to provide tourists direct access from the structures on the slope, the Royal Theater and the Mausoleum, via the earlier monumental stairway, to the hilltop Palace.
– Header Image – Aerial view of Herodium complex where Hebrew University archaeologists unearthed a unique palace entry complex. (Credit: Tatzpit Aerial Photography)
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Friday, December 19, 2014
Someone just texted me a link to this and I'd have to say......I couldn't agree more :)
8 Reasons Why You Should Marry The Complicated Girl
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“Why wasn’t it me?” Carrie asked the love of her life right before he married another woman. “No, seriously. I really need to hear you say it. Come on, be a friend.”
“I don’t know. It just got so hard… and she’s…” replied Mr. Big.
“Yeah.”
I know it’s cliché to quote “Sex and the City,” but it’s still so relevant.
This episode revealed to girls like me what we’ve subconsciously known for a long time: We are the type of girls you should be with, but you don’t want to be with.
Mr. Big was probably going to finish that statement with “easy.” Natasha, his soon-to-be wife, is easy — as in, she just goes with the flow. She doesn’t get angry or challenge him to be better.
She nods and laughs and is always comfortable. She’s sweet and good-natured and lets him do whatever he wants.
Carrie is complicated. She doesn’t put up with not getting everything she deserves. She craves more from Big. She has opinions and a life and dreams for the two of them together. She sometimes argues with him at inopportune times because she’s passionate and emotional, and she cares.
Not that Natasha doesn’t care. But, she is a basic girl who wants to keep the peace at any cost, even if that means she put her needs aside. Her mind isn’t quite as analytical and imaginative as Carrie’s, so she can put up with more. She’s simple.
I am not simple. I am a challenge for any man, I will admit. As hard as I try to be the simple girl, it is just not in my nature to be one. I demand more from everyone because I see great potential.
I only want the best for myself and for my partner, so I will never just go along with some semblance of a mediocre, passionless relationship.
An unevolved man or a boy will always want the simple girl. He doesn’t want to have to work hard for anything, especially not a relationship. He doesn’t want to be challenged or confronted.
But, a real man knows that by being with a complicated girl, he will be better for it. At times, this girl can be difficult, but he knows her intentions are good. With healthy communication, the relationship will become stronger.
This is the type of girl you should marry. You may think it’s not what you want, but you want her. The easy girl will never satisfy you. She will be sweet but uninspiring. She will always leave you wanting more.
Even stubborn Mr. Big came to realize he didn’t want it easy, and he ended up cheating on Natasha… with Carrie.
Complicated girls are creative and, at times, emotional. She may also have a touch of what some people call “crazy” or “bitchy.” But, no one will love you better. No one will make love to you with as much passion.
No one will encourage you to follow your dreams. You will have many deep conversations with her that make you question your beliefs and ideas. She will outsmart you on many occasions. It won’t always be easy, but it will be more satisfying and always entertaining.
A simple girl has a simple mind. Things won’t be so hard when you are with this girl; it will be calm seas and smooth sailing. This is the type of girl you probably imagine yourself marrying, not the one who is opinionated and smart, who doesn’t always agree.
But, if you want to be the best you can be and expand your mind and capabilities, marry the complicated girl.
Marry the girl who tells you exactly what she expects and follows through.
Marry the girl who demands your respect.
Marry the girl who can talk politics, even if her opinions are different from yours.
Marry the girl whose eyes flicker with passion about a number of different subjects.
Marry the girl who won’t let you get away with slacking on your talents.
Marry the girl who pushes you to be better every day.
Marry the girl with whom you sometimes fight.
Marry the girl who is your equal or greater.
My dad always says the thing that attracted him most to my mom was the fact that she was smarter than him. Only a real man can say that and know it’s good for him.
Don’t get me wrong; a complicated girl who is not yet mature will be a pain in the ass. She will pick fights with you about everything, and you will always feel like a failure in her presence because you won’t know how to make her happy.
But, with a little experience and wisdom, this is the girl who will become wife material. And, once she’s at that point, you better never let her get away, or you’ll risk losing the best thing you ever had.
Wednesday, December 17, 2014
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