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The December 2008 issues of the Ensign and the New Era, both include articles about the dangers and risks that come from energy drinks.
In his article "The Energy Drink Epidemic", Dr. Thomas J. Boud, MD writes In recent years there has been an explosion of energy drinks with high levels of caffeine—a drug with greater risks than many realize.In addition to the risks, he does explain that
from a medical point of view there are certain appropriate uses for caffeine. For example, doctors will sometimes prescribe caffeine for use in neonatal care. In addition, used in moderation, caffeine may not pose significant health risks.What surprised me was the reported levels of caffeine in some of these drinks.
Not all caffeinated drinks are created equal; the quantity of caffeine varies greatly from product to product. To put this into perspective, consider that most cola soft drinks have from 22 to 55 milligrams (mg) of caffeine, compared to a common cup of tea that varies from 26 to 47 mg. Coffee may have from 57 mg for a cup of instant to 180 mg for a cup of brewed. By comparison, energy drinks may have from 80 to 500 mg of caffeine in one can.
Energy drinks are powerful, easily available, and well marketed. Companies boast record sales that increase dramatically every year. There is no doubt the drinks pack a punch, but is it a punch that picks you up or knocks you down? In the long run, the drinks can have a negative effect both physically and spiritually.
It's that time again - my results for the CIPFA exams I took in June were published today.
| Subject | Marks | Results |
| Accounting for Decision Making (ADM) | 42 | Fail |
| Financial & Performance Reporting (FPR) | 45 | Fail |
The pass mark is 50 and so I have come up short again - very very very frustrating.
These exams were both resits of ones I took in December when my marks at that time were 47 and 49 respectively. So looking at just the marks I seem to have slipped back, but I felt confident after taking them, I felt that I had performed better at the June sitting than in December!
Once CIPFA publish the examiners' report and model answer for the papers, I will be going through them and evaluating my answers. Another help will be reviewing the marking sheets, which I have requested, so that I can specifically see which parts of each question I scored/dropped marks on. I will probably also make a request for "script feedback" on both papers. CIPFA will then provide my with a report for each of my exam scripts outlining my strengths and weaknesses. The report will also make suggestions for improving future performance. Hopefully from all these sources I will gain an insight into how I can make the extra improvement needed to pass.
Later today I will be meeting with my managers to talk what help they can provide etc. what I will do next with regards my studies. It may be that we look into arranging some one-on-one tuition. Somebody else has suggested that I go on the course for an exam I will take in the future, but that I can't take until I pass these, so at least I will feel like I'm making progress. Another thing I will need to consider is how did sitting both exams on the same day contribute to my results? This will be the same arrangement in December - both on Tuesday 2nd, so I need to think if it will be better to focus on taking and passing one exam before resitting the other.
If asked, my family will tell you that I loved reading dictionaries and encyclopedias in my youth. I still do know - I don't think many days pass without me checking something on Wikipedia (despite it's flaws). I ordered a copy of the encyclopedia when it was first published and eagerly read it from cover to cover. Now I intend to use the new site to rediscover the well written articles anew. I am also interested in seeing the outcome of phase III, when the articles and references will be updated and supplied with links to on-line resources .
Last week on Saturday June 7, my youngest brother Matthew was married to his sweetheart Hannah. It was a wonderful occasion, the weather was really nice and everyone who came seemed to enjoy themselves. As Hannah has only recently joined the Church they will need to wait a year before going to the Temple to be sealed together forever.
In addition to the wedding it was also good for another reason, as my sisters who live away from Bournemouth came, with their families, and stayed for almost a week. It was nice to be with them, spend time with them and catch up on what is happening with them and their children, who are all growing up so quickly.
To me Easter is a time to celebrate the life we see all around us by remembering one Man's death - the culmination of His Life's Mission - an atoning sacrifice that conquered death for us all. That Man was no less than the Son of God, The Lord Jesus Christ and it is through His Atonement that He made it possible for us all to Live again (and that is only half the story). He also invites us to Come Unto Him and be made clean so that we can become like Him and dwell with Our Heavenly Father.
"The site features articles, video clips, artwork, an interactive music page and other sections all focused on the life and ministry of Christ."I think it has been put together in a such a way that is both respectful to the subject matter and appealing to those seeking the truth, who feel comfortable with new media.
My results for the CIPFA exams I took in December were published today.
The pass mark is 50, so to have come so close to passing both is very very frustrating!
Subject Marks Result Accounting for Decision Making (ADM) 47 Fail Finance & Performance Reporting (FPR) 49 Fail
Saturday January 7th, 1978 - It has now been 30 years since I was baptised and confirmed a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
A lot of things have happened since then but my reasons for joining the church remain the same - to follow the example of my Saviour and obey His commandments.
Each week (with the exceptions of illness and various conferences) I have been able to renew my commitment to Him by partaking of the Sacrament.
I can not imagine my life without the Gospel. It gives me real peace and stability. I am truly grateful to my parents and many other teachers who have helped me learn and grow in the knowledge of the Great Plan of Happiness.
My results for the CIPFA exams I took in June were published today.
I am disappointed that I still haven't passed FPR! Even more disappointing is that my score has dropped significantly when compared to December. Back then I was only a little short of the pass mark. Where did I go wrong? OK I felt under time pressure again. I know that given more time I would have answered the questions better, but time pressures are all part of the exam. I still need work in my exam technique for this paper. I need be more ruthless when allocating my time to questions, so that I do not get bogged down in one and not leave enough time for the others. I will be sitting down with some of my fellow students, who have passed this module, so that they can help me see where I am going wrong. On reflection, was sitting 3 subjects in June pushing it too much.
Subject Marks Result Finance & Performance Reporting (FPR) 28 Fail Taxation (TAX) 52 Pass Public Finance (PF) 55 Pass
Issac Asimov said
"The only constant is change."This truism is so relevant to how we use the Internet.
Yesterday was local election day in many parts of the country. In Bournemouth the whole council was up for election. 54 councillors, 3 in each of the 19 wards. The result was a "True Blue" swing of massive proportions!
Many at work had the feeling that the Tories would be back in charge. For that to happen only 9 seats were need to change hands from the LibDems, but with a loss of 23, it meant that only 5 of the sitting LibDem councillors were returned, along with 2 new councillors. Hopefully the new administration will not get to bullish about their majority and not do anything too hasty. We will wait and see.
Full Results - Ward by Ward
I am just amazed with the simple idea behind the Perpetual Education Fund. Lend a student money to pay for his education. Once they graduate they repay the loan over the next five to ten years. The money can then be recycled and loaned again to another student. The fund was started in 2001 and in the past 6 years has helped 27,000 individuals in 39 different countries. Here in the UK the government runs a state system of student loans administered by the Student Loan Company. I think the only reason why many students in the UK complain about this system is that until 1998 all state education was free up to and including university courses. I wish more could see how blessed they are.
Came across this post Simple, but not simpler which starts off with this alleged quote from Albert Einstein "Make everything as simple as possible, but not simpler". Which turns out wasn't the words he actually used. Apparently that is a paraphrase of the full quote "The supreme goal of all theory is to make the irreducible basic elements as simple and as few as possible without having to surrender the adequate representation of a single datum of experience" see Occam's Razor. Seems the world started out by simplifying his quote.
My parents both currently spend a majority of their time during the week volunteering for the Church as Family History Support missionaries.
One of the main areas of development in the Family History programs of the Church is New FamilySearch. It is currently in a second phase of beta testing. Dad emailed me details about how to apply to get involved in the beta testing. I've now been accepted and have had my first experience with the system. There are still things to iron out, but it does look very promising.
OK it's done. Bournemouth Council met last night and agreed the council tax increase for 2007/8. My role has been a supporting one. I've didn't have to make any decisions about what services are cut or where extra money will be spent in the coming year, but a lot of my time (increasingly more and more, as we approached this week) over the last 6 months has been all towards supporting the decision makers in their duty to do so.
I just love to listen to Elder David A. Bednar. So I had been looking forward to hearing him speak at the CES Fireside last week since we got the list of speakers late last year. He introduced his talk by talking about how water is the most valuable of all resources and then linked that to the Saviour's teaching about how He and the gospel were Living Water. For us the scriptures are a reservoir of this vitally important resource. Like our bodies which lose water each day during normal activity, we must drink of the living water regularly and not endure periods of dehydration.
It was another wonderful talk and one in which he gave us an insight into the process he personally uses whilst searching the scriptures. He spoke of identify and making copies of all the scriptures which included a word in all it's forms (his example was gather). Next he prayerfully reads each and looks for connections, patterns and themes using coloured pencils to mark those with similarities. Then he cuts up the verses and collects them in piles according to his markings. It's something I would like to try and is made easier by having searchable scriptures on-line.
Earlier Elder Bednar had talked about the different methods obtaining living water from the scriptures and liken them to the different groups in Lehi's Vision of the Tree of Life.
I really enjoyed John Welch's article in the February Ensign The Good Samaritan: Forgotten Symbols. I have read other items of his in the past, which have come to my attention via FARMS.
The parable of the Good Samaritan is one of the most well known of the Saviour's teachings and yet reading his article I see how much more there is to it. It is quite breath taking, how much can be taught in 13 verses, using just over 300 words. It's very POWERFUL!
