The Father Factor: Fathering For A Lifetime

Last week, NFI?s Director of Military Program Support Services Tim Red sent out an email to our staff in where he bravely and candidly spoke of a moment shared with his oldest son, Travis. After attending the funeral of his son?s good friend, it gave Tim and Travis a moment to reflect and reconnect the bond between father and son. Inspired by his bravery, I too shared a bit of my own fears and concerns regarding fatherhood with the staff and felt enlightened by Tim?s ability to open up about such a private matter.

When I think of devoted dads like Tim, I always imagine they have all the answers and because of his background, I expected that he handled tough times with flair. With 30 years of military service, I was certain Tim had seen it all. I originally asked Tim if I could share his story on our blog and he was gracious enough to allow me to do so. I called Tim last evening and what was initially meant to be a quick phone call turned into a 30-minute conversation that changed my life.

Tim and I had an honest and open discussion, which allowed me to learn that part of being a father is also realizing your shortcomings and showing vulnerability. To hear from Tim that raising his oldest child had been difficult for him just astounded me. I was listening to this strong man admitting that even after being a dad of 21 years, he?s continuing to learn lessons about fatherhood.

I had to fight back my emotions hearing Tim tell his story of the trials he faced with Travis although I hung on to every word. Tim?s fearlessness inspired me to devote myself to what I do here at NFI, and to also apply the lessons he shared with me in my own life. Being an involved, responsible and committed father became an even greater responsibility to me by way of our chat.

Although tragedy had to happen in order for Tim and Travis to find a new way to reconnect, stories like this are precisely why I?m proud to be a part of the National Fatherhood Initiative family. As I grow as a father and as a man, I can always look back fondly to the chat Tim and I had, realizing that you can never learn it all in one lifetime. Dealing with the ups and downs of fathering can make even the mightiest of us feel stretched thin. However, it?s good to know that we have an entire lifetime to get it right.

Source: http://thefatherfactor.blogspot.com/2012/02/fathering-for-lifetime.html

kobe bryant war of the worlds a christmas story prime rib ny knicks sound of music ihop

Meet Me Halfway

[unable to retrieve full-text content]

Meet halfway or we ain’t gonna make it, baby/ Meet halfway if you want to get it right

[More]

Source: http://rss.sciam.com/click.phdo?i=b7f53824368fcb1681905f31c557c949

mcrib pumpkin seeds mark herzlich malawi malawi angela davis angela davis

Te-Erika Patterson: Denny's Restaurant Says YES to the Rebuild Your Life Project

I bet you'll never know what went on inside my head as I set out to teach women how to overcome failure during The Rebuild Your Life Project. Sometimes I feel like Superwoman when I set my goals. Inside my mind I have such a great idea that the possibility of an outcome that doesn't fit into my vision seems ridiculous. What could possibly go wrong?

A lot.

From the moment I gave away everything that I owned and faced my own fear of homelessness in order to teach women how to survive it, all my plans went out the window. See, I knew that I could bounce back from a loss. I'm wise enough to recognize that I don't have to be devastated by life's circumstances and my past has taught me that even if I appear to be losing, as long as I'm alive, I have another chance to try again. This led to the confidence it took to give away all of my belongings and hit the streets last April 11.

Since I was confident that I could bounce back from losing everything, I wanted to bring as many women with me as possible, so I set out to organize a job fair for homeless women, thinking that if homeless women could get jobs then that would solve all of their problems. This was a complete misconception but I wouldn't find that out until I was more than 2 months into my project.

I set a date for The Rebuild Your Life Project Job Fair For Homeless Women that was a month away from the day I began my homeless adventure. Yes, I am calling it an adventure because to refer to it as anything else would cause me to feel regret about the tumultuous journey and I don't like feeling like that.

As I engaged businesses to participate in my job fair, I was shocked to learn that most didn't want to have anything to do with the homeless for reasons they would not express directly. I had made a promise that I would remain homeless until 30 businesses agreed to participate and give homeless women a chance to work but as the day of the job fair approached, I only had 3 businesses signed up. I didn't know what to do.

I revamped my approach and did what any individual who was desperate to get off of the streets would do: each day I went door to door to every business I saw, asking them to participate. By the time the 2nd date for the job fair came around, 2 months into the project, I had changed its name to The Rebuild Your Life Project For Homeless Women and Women in Distress. I added the 'Women in Distress' tag because I wanted to include women who weren't homeless yet needed work. Even after the changes in my marketing tactics and contacting nearly 100 businesses, I only had 16 business agree to participate. I went ahead and decided to hold the job fair because if I didn't I would have to push it back for 2 more months due to the availability of the space I had booked.

The day of the job fair, only two businesses showed up.

Dejected, depressed and feeling guilty, I wrestled with the ramifications of my not living up to my word to remain homeless until 30 businesses signed up. After much turmoil I decided that I had to move on. The Rebuild Your Life Project wasn't really about helping homeless women to get jobs, it was about teaching the mental strategies needed to overcome failure and also the survival skills necessary to beat a life on the streets.

I moved on and found myself a job. The Denny's restaurant at 2800 N. 28th Avenue in Hollywood, Florida, hired me as a server. I would recommend that every smart woman learn the art of waitressing because no matter what city you live in, you can always find work.

By working as many shifts as I could I was able to save my tips to offer The Rebuild Your Life Project Rental Assistance Grant to a woman in Coral Gables, Florida.

I then saved enough to move out of the homeless shelter and into a house with roommates, ending my time as a homeless woman. One day while I was at work, as I looked over the posted schedule for the week, my manager walked by and mentioned that our district manager would be visiting our store in two days. He pointed out the note that our general manager had posted. It stated that Brian Cunningham, our district manager, was open to meeting with any employee who wanted to see him for any reason and if the employee felt uncomfortable meeting with him inside the store, he would make himself available to meet outside of the restaurant.

My eyes lit up. This is my chance.

I know that what I did during The Rebuild Your Life Project would be beneficial to almost every woman. Watching the videos, reading the blog posts and soaking in the wisdom that I presented had already changed lives, well, according the women who were watching the videos that I posted daily on youtube as the project went on. If I could get Denny's to partner with The Rebuild Your Life Project to offer women a chance at employment, this could be beneficial for the project and the restaurant.

I sat down with my laptop and began typing out a proposal. The morning of the meeting I dressed in my Denny's uniform and took a taxi to my store. I didn't warn anyone that I would be going to meet with the district manager or what I would discuss so I was nervous, but hopeful because in my mind this is a good idea and if this restaurant had good people on its team they would recognize the impact that this venture could have on the community and on the brand. For a big business to open its doors and offer a day of open interviews to anyone in its community who needed employment would demonstrate that the business was an advocate for the people of its community which would automatically elevate the brand.

I walked into my restaurant with my head held high and my notebook holding my proposal. The district manager smiled at me and led me to an empty table where he introduced himself and asked what I wanted to discuss.

"I would like to propose that Denny's restaurant support The Rebuild Your Life Project by opening its doors to hire people from the community it serves," I told him. Although he had a puzzled expression, he listened as I explained my plan.

"What if Denny's were to choose one day and have all of their restaurants hold open interviews and each store hire one person? What do you think the community would think about this brand? You could help change lives with this."

The district manager questioned me about my education, my project and my goals. I answered each question truthfully as my heart felt like it would burst at any moment. "I'm not asking for any money," I told him. "I just want Denny's to give people a chance to work."

He shuffled the papers and looked over at me before promising to speak with his boss about the idea. "I think this would be a good idea for us," he spoke cautiously. "I can see this happening locally first with just South Florida stores for now. I'll get back to you about this."

"Thank you!" I said and did a happy dance in my chair.

I walked out of the restaurant feeling like I could move mountains. I had no idea if Denny's would actually back The Rebuild Your Life Project but in my heart, I knew it was a good idea.

All it took was that one day for me to step outside of my role as a waitress and into my role as an advocate and visionary. It's not really about what you see in front of you, it's about what you know you can become. In my mind, I am already who I believe I can become, the only thing is, no one else sees it yet.

I did my part regardless of what I look like today. I made the proposal to Denny's to partner with The Rebuild Your Life Project. All they could say was either Yes or No. If I failed again, oh well. I had already hit the bottom and survived it I could easily go back and do it again.

I wasn't afraid to hear No because I would have simply come up with another brilliant idea and moved forward with that, but this time, I didn't hear No.

Denny's said Yes.

?

?

?

Follow Te-Erika Patterson on Twitter: www.twitter.com/MySavvySisters

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/teerika-patterson/dennys-restaurant-says-ye_b_1243631.html

seahawks jets air jordans pecan pie recipe prince philip david wright sugar cookie recipe

US diplomat sees "hope in diplomacy" with NKorea (AP)

SEOUL, South Korea ? The top U.S. diplomat for East Asia is reassuring South Korea that any diplomatic dealings with North Korea will be backed up by an unwavering U.S.-South Korea military presence.

Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell said in a speech Tuesday at a dinner hosted by The Korea Society in Seoul that "there is hope in diplomacy" but that hope rests on "the reality of a very strong deterrence from the military."

He says North Korea must improve relations with rival South Korea before it can have better relations with the world.

Many are closely watching U.S.-North Korea ties for clues about the direction North Korea will take as new leader Kim Jong Un works to consolidate power after his father's Dec. 17 death.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/asia/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120131/ap_on_re_as/as_koreas_us

mississippi personhood mississippi personhood issue 2 ohio issue 2 ohio election results 2011 election results 2011 board of elections

Police: 3 found dead in VA were father, twin girls

Multiple bodies are removed from a home in Mechanicsville near Richmond, Virginia Saturday, Jan. 28, 2012. Authorities say they are investigating the suspicious deaths of a 40-year-old man and two 3-year-old girls _ all related _ whose bodies have been found in the home in central Virginia. (AP Photo/ Eva Russo, Richmond Times-Dispatch)

Multiple bodies are removed from a home in Mechanicsville near Richmond, Virginia Saturday, Jan. 28, 2012. Authorities say they are investigating the suspicious deaths of a 40-year-old man and two 3-year-old girls _ all related _ whose bodies have been found in the home in central Virginia. (AP Photo/ Eva Russo, Richmond Times-Dispatch)

Multiple bodies are removed from a home in Mechanicsville near Richmond, Virginia Saturday, Jan. 28, 2012. Authorities say they are investigating the suspicious deaths of a 40-year-old man and two 3-year-old girls _ all related _ whose bodies have been found in the home in central Virginia. (AP Photo/Eva Russo, Richmond Times-Dispatch)

MECHANICSVILLE, Va. (AP) ? Authorities on Sunday identified bodies found in a suburban Richmond home as a man and his twin 3-year-old daughters.

The bodies of 40-year-old Robert D. King and twins Caroline and Madison King were found Saturday in the ranch-style home where the father lived. The girls lived at a different address in Hanover County with their mother.

Police did not release the suspected cause of their deaths. Autopsies were planned.

Hanover Sheriff's Sgt. Chris Whitley called the deaths suspicious but said no suspect is being sought.

"Investigators continue to work with the families affected by this tragedy, as well as (to) evaluate all evidence gathered in this case in an effort to bring it to a final conclusion," the sheriff's office said in a statement.

Sunday, mourners placed flowers on the front porch of the home where the bodies were found.

"It's a tragedy all the way around, to lose two little girls at such a tender age," a neighbor, Jean Atkins, told the Richmond Times-Dispatch (http://bit.ly/wA3TA7 ). "It hurts. It hurts everybody that has heard the story."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2012-01-29-Virginia-Three%20Dead/id-a35dd5af78c54401a9711ab24bb5270c

pacquiao blanche blanche gloria allred black friday ads 2011 black friday ads 2011 pacquiao vs marquez

Police focus on SUV in fatal N. Calif. train crash (AP)

SACRAMENTO, Calif. ? Investigators on Sunday were trying to determine what motivated the driver of a sport utility vehicle to ignore a downed crossing arm and flashing lights and pull the vehicle into the path of an oncoming commuter train in Sacramento.

Three died after the Saturday afternoon collision south of downtown, including a 21-month-old boy.

One of the four people inside the Nissan Pathfinder remained in the hospital Sunday at the University of California, Davis Medical Center in Sacramento, where she was being treated for serious injuries.

Authorities also were trying to sort out the relationships of those involved and were not releasing their identifications.

In addition to the toddler, the dead included a 25-year-old woman and a 62-year-old man, who was ejected from the Pathfinder when it was struck by the southbound light rail train traveling at 55 mph shortly after 4 p.m. The impact pushed the SUV about 30 yards down the track and flipped it.

Officer Laura Peck, a spokeswoman for the Sacramento Police Department, said the woman taken to the hospital was the man's wife.

Investigators and officials with the Sacramento Regional Transit District said video from cameras mounted on the intersection showed the SUV drive around the crossing arms just before impact. That video and other pictures captured by a camera mounted on the train are part of the investigation and were not being released publicly, Peck said.

Witness accounts appear to support the video evidence that the crossing arms were down and warning lights were flashing when the SUV tried to get across the tracks.

Davis resident Ravin Pratab, 42, was in a car that was waiting to cross the tracks when he said he heard a loud bang and then "saw a light-rail train heading south with a big truck smashed on it."

Authorities said six of the roughly 50 passengers on the light rail train were taken to local hospitals but had only minor injuries.

On Sunday, the tracks were cleared and the intersection was open, with no sign of the previous day's collision. A white teddy bear was placed at the base of the pole holding the crossing arm, on the same side of the tracks where the SUV had been before it attempted to cross.

Regional transit officials said trains were operating on their regular schedule after a section of track was repaired Saturday night.

One question investigators are trying to answer is the length of time the crossing arms were down. The light rail train passed through the intersection after two Union Pacific freight trains, going in opposite directions and using different tracks, had passed by.

Neither Peck nor a spokeswoman for the transit district said they knew the length of the interval between the time the freight trains cleared the intersection and the commuter line came through. The light rail system has its own dedicated tracks.

Drivers in Sacramento often can wait up to 10 minutes for a freight train to pass, then might have to wait several minutes more because of an approaching light rail train. The extended wait times can be a source of irritation ? and missed appointments ? in California's capital.

Alane Masui, a spokeswoman for the Sacramento Regional Transit District, said Sunday that determining the length of time the crossing arms were down and the interval between the trains was part of the ongoing investigation.

Sacramento's light rail system, started in 1987, carries an average of 50,000 passengers a day. On weekdays, it's packed with those commuting between the suburbs and state government jobs downtown.

Masui could not immediately say whether Saturday's collision was the deadliest in the system's history or how many collisions between light rail trains and vehicles had occurred in the past.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/us/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120130/ap_on_re_us/us_suv_light_rail_crash

battlefield 3 release battle field 3 battle field 3 dana wilkey dana wilkey chuck liddell chuck liddell

Scientists link evolved, mutated gene module to syndromic autism

Friday, January 27, 2012

A team led by researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine reports that newly discovered mutations in an evolved assembly of genes cause Joubert syndrome, a form of syndromic autism.

The findings are published in the January 26 online issue of Science Express.

Joubert syndrome is a rare, recessive brain condition characterized by malformation or underdevelopment of the cerebellum and brainstem. The disease is due specifically to alterations in cellular primary cilia ? antenna-like structures found on most cells. The consequence is a range of distinct physical and cognitive disabilities, including poor muscle control, and mental retardation. Up to 40 percent of Joubert syndrome patients meet clinical criteria for autism, as well as other neurocognitive disorders, so it is considered a syndromic form of autism.

The cause or causes of Joubert syndrome are not well-understood. Researchers looked at mutations in the TMEM216 gene, which had previously been linked to the syndrome. However, only half of the expected Joubert syndrome patients exhibit TMEM216 gene mutations; the other half did not. Using genomic sequencing, the research team, led by Joseph G. Gleeson, MD, professor of neurosciences and pediatrics at UC San Diego, broadened their inquiry and discovered a second culprit: mutations in a neighboring gene called TMEM138.

"It is extraordinarily rare for two adjacent genes to cause the same human disease," said Gleeson. "The mystery that emerged from this was whether these two adjacent, non-duplicated genes causing indistinguishable disease have functional connections at the gene or protein level."

Through evolutionary analysis, the scientists concluded that the two TMEM genes became joined end-to-end approximately 260 million years ago, about the time some amphibians began transitioning into land-based reptiles. The connected genes evolved in tandem, becoming regulated by the same transcription factors.

"Prior to this transition, the two genes had wildly different expression levels," said Jeong Ho Lee, MD, PhD, and first author of the study. "Following this transition, they became tightly co-regulated. Moreover, we found that the two encoded proteins coordinate delivery of factors key for cilia assembly."

Gleeson said the findings suggest the human genome has evolved to take advantage of fortuitous ancestral events like gene translocations to better coordinate gene expression by assembling into specific modules. When these modules are disrupted, however, neurodevelopmental diseases may result.

###

University of California - San Diego: http://www.ucsd.edu

Thanks to University of California - San Diego for this article.

This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.

This press release has been viewed 19 time(s).

Source: http://www.labspaces.net/117123/Scientists_link_evolved__mutated_gene_module_to_syndromic_autism

carlos pena dog the bounty hunter doppler radar tacoma narrows bridge db cooper chicago weather tupelo honey