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Ha ha I tricked you--I'm not discussing anything risque here, just oil stuff. As readers of Crash Landing know, I have been pontificating at Hayekian-like length on the oil markets, and in particular whether speculators are driving up prices. My general answer has been that it is theoretically possible they are doing so, but I don't think in fact that they are. Now the one thing that has really been worrying me in my stance is this: With war brewing with Iran--where they might mine the Strait of Hormuz etc.--shouldn't speculators be driving oil prices way up? Shouldn't there be massive contango (or something more exotic involving the prices of options) in the oil market, giving people the incentive to buy oil today and stockpile it? As I speculated (ha ha) earlier, I think one of the reasons the Bush Administration was so reluctant to cease filling the SPR, is that we are going to need that oil if Israel bombs Iran. But I need to take the (un)friendly criticism of emailers to heart, when after my articles on futures markets they blast me with, "We don't have a free market in oil!!" Let's say you are a refiner and so you actually know how to stockpile thousands of barrels of oil. (Most people, especially me, would have no freaking idea how to do this.) Further suppose that you are really convinced there will be war with Iran before Bush leaves office. OK, so are you really going to pay $1.4 million to buy 10,000 barrels of oil, then shell out another $?? to warehouse them for six months, buy insurance in case someone robs you or starts a fire, etc., and then try to sell them for a total of $4.2 million when oil triples? Do you really think when oil is selling for $420 per barrel, and we realize we've got about 2 months' worth of net imports in the SPR, that the politicians are going to say, "Good job, Mr. Speculator! Like a wise squirrel, you hoarded 10,000 barrels. In this country, such foresight is rewarded with entrepreneurial profits! Ah, don't forget to pay a low capital gains tax on that profit. Our small government needs its funding too, don't ya know" ? Of course that wouldn't happen. Your oil would be seized and you'd be lucky if you didn't get shot as an example. So this explains to my satisfaction why no US citizens, at least, are stockpiling oil like crazy. It doesn't, by itself, explain why speculators aren't driving up prices, but I wonder if there is something similar going on. Bob, Speaking of the Strait of Hormuz, now that you are a Big Oil insider, tell us if the insiders think it can be mined, since at its narrowest it's 20 something miles wide? I don't know, RW. I'm in with oil guys but the only minesweeper I know is on my old computer. Back when I did research for my novel, I had looked into the basics of mining etc. I think if Iran wanted to, they could definitely move the supply curve left. Okay, just wanted to make sure you weren't a terrorist, after that Hillary/Obama plane.

Figured I'd dust of Ye Olde General Admission to do a rundown of my Top 10 Favorite Albums of 2010. I've effectively deluded myself into thinking people might actually care about my opinion, because nothing says Musical Authority™ quite like a person sitting at their computer in a basement who can neither sing nor play an instrument. Anyhow, I've traditionally thought of myself as an Indie Rock Kid. But, ignoring the fact that I'm 35, the main thing that's surprising about this list is the near complete absence of indie rock. One or two albums made it on the list, but for the most part this was apparently a year of hip hop and dance music for me. Maybe this just wasn't a good year for rock music, but just as likely, this list reflects the fact that 2010 was sort of a downer of a year, and I was trying to shake off the aura of doom and gloom by listening to music that made me want to shake my proverbial money-maker. Regardless, not many fuzzed out guitars to be found here. So, onward to the list... (In alphabetical order) Aloe Blacc Good Things - "Hey honey, I was just listening to NPR on the drive to the store and heard this really good sounding album..." I'm not sure what it means that I'm getting my music recommendations from Public Radio, but -regardless- this album is a revelation. Somehow he's managed to capture the sound of spirit of early 70's soul music while not sounding cliched or derivative. And, even when he's singing about being scorned by a lover or needing a dollar for some cheap wine, his album makes you feel like you are enjoy a lazy Sunday morning. Arcade Fire The Suburbs - Unlike Funeral, this album didn't didn't have the "thrill of the new" to it. And, unlike Neon Bible, it didn't have the opportunity to be stuck in a car with Sarah and I as we drove around South Africa for a couple weeks. Still, even an unremarkable Arcade Fire album is better than 90% of what's out there in my book. And, like both previous albums, The Suburbs continues to grow on me even after months of listening. Danger Mouse and Sparklehorse Dark Night of the Soul - While most of the albums on this list could be described a "feel good" this album is the antithesis of that. A fact that was only driven to home by Mark Linkous' suicide before the albums completion. But, that's not to say that the album is chore to get through, far from it. Instead, its an album for dark nights, rain and wine; an album for recognizing beauty in sorrow and tragedy. It doesn't hurt that, like several other entires on this list, this album features a veritable cornucopia of guest artists, with everyone from the Flaming Lips and James Mercer to Iggy Pop and even David Lynch making appearances. David Byrne and Fatboy Slim Here Lies Love - Despite my love of all things David Byrne, I have to admit that even I didn't know quite what to make of this album when I first gave it a listen. A two-disk collection of disco and dance songs roughly chronicling the life of Emelda Marcos, that Byrne has been researching and organizing for years. To make matters more surreal, it features a laundry list of famous female singers (including Tori Amos, Cyndi Lauper and Natalie Merchant) plus Byrne and Steve Earl singing the various rolls. But, despite my initial reservations, repeat listening paid off and the album revealed itself to be not just unusual but also a lot of fun. "Solano Avenue" is easily my favorite track of the albums, but "Please Don't" (featuring Santigold) is the main single, and features a video of sorts... Dessa Badly Broken Code - Oddly, another NPR recommendation. And, almost as surreal, a white, female rapper. Dessa's album inhabits a world where everyone is constantly racing into and trying to escape from self-destructive relationships, but thanks to her nimble rap skills and surprising singing voice, it was a world I found myself revisiting. This song isn't as good as others on the album like, say, "Matches to Paper Dolls" but its got a video, so here ya go... Gorillaz Plastic Beach - A cartoon bands third album, featuring a not so subtle environmental theme.... yeah, that sounds like it should be a disaster. But, despite that conceit, and despite the fact that it lacks the big singles found on the Gorillaz first two albums, Plastic Beach is possibly the Gorillaz strongest album to date. Without a big name producer to help steer the ship, this Gorillaz outing is definitely Damon Albarn's baby. That said, like the previous two outings, the disk is overflowing with an eccentric array of guest artists: Mos Def, Bobby Womack, Snoop Dogg and Lou Reed amongst others). And, of course, there are the trademarked weird and amazing videos by Jamie Hewlett... Janelle Monae The Archandroid - When I first heard this album, I was convinced it would be huge in the same way the first Gnarls Barkley CD was. But, while it does seem to have gotten its fair share of love on various critics Top 10 lists this year, it never reached that over-saturated and overplayed level other album did. Probably for the best, I suppose. While other albums on my list lean heavily on guest artists, Janelle takes another route, instead drawing from a huge spectrum of musical influences from the last 30 or so year (ranging from Bowie to Outkast), and somehow jams them together into one cohesive album that lives in a world somewhere halfway between Phillip K. Dick and Metropolis. Sadly, you can't embed the video for "Tightrope" the featured single, so you'll just have to go here to see Janelle do her thing, in all its pompadoured glory. Junip Fields - Have you ever been at a party late at night, when everyone's pretty much left, and heard the sound of rock music playing through the walls from some other distant location? Or, have you ever wondered what it would sound like if the Beta Band made 70's folk rock? If you can imagine either of those sounds, you get close to approximating the sound of this Swedish duo. As the parent of a 2-year-old, you grow to appreciate music that is quiet enough that it won't wake your child up from a nap, but upbeat enough to keep you awake yourself. And, while the end of the album flirts with being too jam band-y, one can't deny its hooks and appeal. Kenye West My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy - I thought I had this list all figured out in early December, but then Kanye had to go and release this album. Nominally a concept album in which the artist himself is the concept, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy is an overstuffed, Baroque epic that should collapse under its own self-importance. It's self-indulgent, occasionally offensive, and abrasive ...and also pretty incredible and essential listening. In the main single, "Runaway," Kanye urges the listener to raise a toast to the douche bags, assholes and jerk-offs of the world while simultaneously acknowledges himself as one. Well, Kanye, I raise my glass to you. Mark Ronson & the Business Intl. Record Collection - This is probably my guilty pleasure of the year. This is popcorn fluff of the highest caliber, but it's (I'd argue) also high quality fluff. Apparently Mark Ronson is a wealthy, privileged East Coast producer or something. I'm not too sure, but I do know the album brings a smile to my face and its mix of pop, dance and hip-hop makes me want to dance. Both timeless and soon-to-be-dated. In the album Mark confides that he just wants to be part of our record collection. Well, if I collected records, I would definitely consider it. So, that's it. My list. I'm sure I'll regret it when I look back on it in a year. It's probably worth mentioning some of my other favorites that almost made the list: Broken Social Scene Forgiveness Rock Record Broken Bells Broken Bells Cee Lo Green The Lady Killer Charlotte Gainsbourg IRM The Roots How I Got By Vampire Weekend Contra Also, the band (or individual) How To Dress Well was someone who I considered for this list. It sounds like late-80's R&B bounced off the moon and played over a crappy radio. It's an interesting one, and one that I can't help but think will gain some traction in the coming year but, ultimately, the album in its entirety was a little too esoteric. When it works though, it works... Finally, I'll mention that while the above lists reflect my picks from the 2010 releases, there are a ton of older albums that have been getting a lot of play at the Hill-Stach Manor, including... The XX The XX Mos Def The Ecstatic Basia Bulat Oh, My Darling (Stella's favorite of the year) The National Boxer Blue Scholars Hello From Oof See you next year! Biking Dry - Today is bike to work day and thus there is no better time to discuss how you can bike on most days without fear of getting wet....or at least very wet. Y... 4 hours ago

Aug 152012 Heading off the plateau today for the long drive to Yarnell. Yet another dentist appointment. One of these weeks/months I should be done. Here’s where I’ll be driving through. The meadows on the Kaibab Plateau. Also forest. Watch out for the not-so wildlife. Drop off the plateau. Past the Vermilion Cliffs. Over the river and already went through the woods. Across the painted desert. Around Mount Humphreys. Through Chino Valley where the pronghorns browse. And home to the Weaver Mountains as the sun goes down. 360 miles. How far do you have to drive to the dentist? 15 Responses to “Going to the dentist, a long drive” If you are adding the gas $$$$$ to the cost of the dentist $$$$$ you better be getting solid gold teeth installed! Beautiful drive BUT! Stay safe! Between the hours of driving and the fuel this dental process is getting way too expensive Geri. But otherwise I’d have to wait until the season’s over, which may not be until mid-November. Thirty miles round-trip to my dentist. Scenery not one iota as fantastic as yours! Jeannelle recently posted..Chopping Corn Well Jeannelle, I’d rather drive a shorter ways then settle with the lack of scenery. Oh gosh — at least it’s beautiful scenery. My hope is that you feel OK to navigate the trip back. It’s a bit of a nasty commute no matter how gorgeous. (PS: I sure wish Typepad had the ‘please confirm you’re human’ button available. Just deleted 50 spams.) Sallie (FullTime-Life) recently posted..GLAD … it’s summer Er, I’d have to drive 625m here in EA. With nothing as lovely as your scenery to take my mind off the long trip and ultimate destination. At least we get to share this beautiful country of yours although for you it’s a painful process. Hope you’re feeling better and that the end of the dentistry is in sight, Gaelyn. (((Hugs))) Jo Honestly — I’ve driven that route so many times in my life I thought I was driving it again. So pretty. And – I go one miles. So you beat me. I was suppose to have surgery this morning but it got delayed until December so the insurance would pick it up. The games we have to play. RoeH recently posted..Montezuma Well Wow, that’s quite a drive for your dental visit. I hope he’s doing good work for you. Will be nice to get it all done. At least the drive is incredibly scenic. I gotta say…..that’s a beautiful trek:) Hope your dentist visits slowly dissipate. You’ve gone a lot over the past several months. My Russian dentist is 40 minutes away. And she hurts me. That is dedication to your chompers! Mine is about 2 miles away…and I still hate going. Candace recently posted..Saved That is a long way to go to the dentist but at least most of it is an amazingly beautiful drive. Now that we have been there I take delight in looking at your images and saying to myself “I know where that is!” Martha Z recently posted..Moonrise at Mono Lake Yikes, Gaelyn – I thought the 90 miles to Denver was bad! I’m still dealing with mine, too. Good luck – hope this is it for you. I still haven’t even gotten measured for the crown. Barb recently posted..Random Thoughts – Summer Dreaming Trying to fix the scenery in your mind on the way to the dentist is a good way to later relax on the chair… And I thought we had to drive far to find snow…. It may be far but the route has such an amazing veriety of sceneries. A beautiful part of the world you live in Firely recently posted..Giraffe pattern The scenery en route to the dentist would almost make it worthwhile! How far to Algodones from Port Townsend?….Maybe 1400 miles! Ours will have to wait till winter… Stillhowlyn in 2012 recently posted..Port Townsend is…

First let's look at Georgia's remaining schedule, the records of those teams, and associated RPIs for each team (from realtimerpi.com): Keep in mind, Georgia's current RPI is in the 250 range. Based on that, we should be favored in one game (Florida A&M) based solely on schedule. We get a break in that our two most winnable games in conference, Auburn and Mississippi State, are at home. We should be favored in those two due to home court advantage. Also, we've always seemed to come up with one performance against a very good team (think Florida last season) and win a game we have no business winning. If you are doing the math at home, that is 7 wins and 24 losses. Since this is the simplest way to look at a median number of wins, I'm ok with calling this our expected number and go with 7-24. What about the upside? Realistically, we cannot be expected to beat Florida either time this year. Same goes for Texas A&M or Alabama. For that matter, the only road games we should be anywhere close to being competitive in would be South Carolina and Vandy. Furthermore, any home game against a team with a sub 100 RPI would be a huge upset. I'm willing to say we can win one of USC (not likely, but possible) and George Washington (who has struggled recently and also lost to Youngstown State). That leaves Florida A&M, one of George Washington/USC, Mississippi State, Auburn, South Carolina at home, one of South Carolina/Vandy on the road, and that one crazy game that we always have at home where we slip up and surprise someone. For good measure let's say we have two of those games. That is 11-20. Isn't 7-24 the downside? God no. We could go 1-17 in the conference and only win one of the remaining OOC games. That'd be a gut wrenching 5-26. For that matter, we could go 0-18 in the conference if Fox loses the team. The SEC, while far from being as good as it has been in some years is much better than it has been. Furthermore, Georgia's schedule, looking forward, is very tough. We get four of the top five RPI teams in the conference twice. We only play one of the other bottom feeders (South Carolina) twice. Like I said earlier, the only thing that gives me any hope for better than 10 wins is somehow the younger lineup starts to gel and we find some offense to go with the plodding game pace. You can complain about the pace of the game, but we aren't going to win Then the question then becomes is 14-17 good enough for Fox to keep his job? TD 3 comments: I think it's a 10-21 season. Upside is 13 games. We will play better with the 3 fr starting. The downside depends on KCp's health. Meh. It's basketball. Fire Fox or whatever. Nobody really cares. Isn't there a bowl game coming up?.

. Great idea. Video is a perfect way for people to share exactly what is going on. I used video to solve a problem with Comcast suport via QIK video back in 2008: Micheal dell is an innovator, he sure knows how to take his business to the heights! its an excellent idea. You can actually see the tech you are speaking to.. It occurred to me the other day how ironic it is that the newest social media platform could possibly INCREASE face to face interaction. It seems like the days of people hiding behind a name and picture will eventually be just a memory. Why “chat” when we can “hangout”? It will certainly be interesting to see, especially its implications for B2C interaction. Just a little tidbit about other possible effects of Google+ Indeed. If Facebook was about getting people to show their personality through photos, I think Google+ will be all about getting people to show it directly through video, in a much more realistic way, and also to unite people in groups, which is what “social” is all about. This spells big trouble for startups which are focused on social media based customer service apps. Google hangout, social networking and search & knowledge management could help solidify its position as a leader in the small business market. So how do you hangout with the tech guy when your computer has issues? Maybe on your iPad? That issue crossed my mind too, but I expect it to be less of an issue in the future – Dell are smart here by again demonstrating an innovative use of social media. As you say, iPads, other computers and eventually smartphones will be great for this sort of customer support in the future – the ability to clearly display the problem and solution will surely make the experience for both parties much smoother. I like that they are also thinking about group self-help, it’ll be interesting to see what ideas other brands have for using Google+’s features. I sure look forward to this initiative by Dell. Although good idea, Dell is going to have to wait, there’s currently no option for google apps for business to be incorporated in google plus (although it’s been promised). cooperation between Dell with google which is very impressive, hopefully it can make a lot of positive reaction from most customers. Great for online computer training / product introduction. Sometimes little problems with the computer could be solved easily by a brief talk. Far better than emails. I believe using “hangout” would be a better option than Facebook Pages – Hangout is fast and easy, in my opinion. All the best Mr. Dell

S Hey, Perfect timing on the contest! I shoot film so the processing and scanning never seem to match up for a entry. Shot this one while doing some bike riding around Denver. I stumbled upon a cool looking plastic chair. I moved it out into the nice spring sun to get a cool shadow snapped the photo and rode off, simple. Shot with Nikon FE2 on Fuji Neopan 100. - Ryan S This is a photograph of the reservoir that I am near. I took it during the evening where I set up both my Canon 7D and T3i and took numerous shots throughout my time there. I really enjoyed how this one came out, but it called for black and white as the colors were just slightly off. After changing the image to B&W I got an image that I really liked. The light really wasn't that great for shooting, the sky was colorless and it was too bright for really long exposures. But, I knew I wanted an image that was smooth and clean while still showing the natural movements in nature. I realized I could do this with the help of black and white. At the same time, I wanted to be sure not to catch too much movement from the wind and the geese and ducks (seen moving in the water). To do this I took a series of photos at different intervals. This one brought just enough movement to the photo to keep the rougher nature feel while being quiet and smooth. ISO: 100 Lens: Sigma 50mm f/2.8 with Canon EF Converter Shutter Speed: 4/5 sec Camera Setting: Manual Editing: Adobe CS6 (beta) — Conversion to B&W from RAW color image, and slight touch ups/changes Zev V. S I was driving home from work and and saw this statue in front of the Penrose Equestrian Center. The storm clouds behind the statute added some drama to the wild pose of the horse and rider. Wild horses + Cowboys + Afternoon Storm Clouds + Mountains = Quintessential Colorado. I shot this image in RAW and converted to black and white in post processing. I used a Nikon D3000 with a 50mm NIKKOR 1.8G lens. It was shot with ISO 100, f/5.6, 1/200 sec with a flash to fill in some of the shadows on the dark bronze. - Jeremy S Thanks for the opportunity to participate in this shooting contest, I am a very, very amateur photo enthusiast. This photo is of my 8 month old daughter in our back yard. Since watermelon is just in season we figured we would let her try some out. Here are some details of the photo: Camera: Nikon D3100 Lens: AF-S DX VR Zoom-Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G Lighting: Natural Sunlight / Stock Flash ISO: 280 Lens covers: Close-up x2 Lens with UV Filter - Christopher S S I wanted to get into this week's contest because I love black and white! However my dSLR is under the weather for some unknown reason, and I had to improvise. This was taken with my point and shoot Sony HX5V. f/11.0, 2 second exposure, and ISO 125. 2 external flashes triggered manually w/ a wireless flash. I've been in a very piano-y mood over the past week and wanted to integrate that interest into my photo. I set up my scene with a few tealights and a couple other candles (off screen) and got shooting! It was kind of fun to try and use external flashes with a point and shoot. Overall, a fun shoot! - Brian Coffman S This is a photograph I took of my horse, Gus. He will literally do anything I ask of him for just a pat on the neck and a "Good Boy!!'. This horse lives for praise. Davee Hallinan S Hey, This photo was taken in my hometown of Mississauga, ON. Photos provide a good way to remembering home when I'm homesick. It being my birthday today, and being away from home, family, friends, is driving me homesick. Time to scroll through photos. Cheers. - Bilal S This shot was taken with a Panasonic DMC-TS3 Point and shoot camera that my family won in Roll up the Rim. shot on auto from halfway up the branch (nothing too fancy, i did more of the work in photoshop), the file states an ISO speed of 100, 0 step exposure with an exposure time of 1/100. the photo is using photoshop's black and white filter with a minor adjustment on the maximum black preset. I am a casual photographer who likes to take macro pictures from angles people don't usually notice (maybe a little cliché , but i like the results). when i heard of the contest, i decided to take a walk around with my camera. this shot was taken vertically from halfway up a shrub in my front yard. out of all the 20 or so pictures i took today, this one stood out for me. - Dylan S Used a Canon EOS Rebel T2i with EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS in Av Mode at 1/500, f/5.6, ISO 100. This is a handheld capture of one of the many American Crows residing in Santa Monica's Palisades Park. Perched on the stump of a dead palm, he remained almost entirely still for quite some time, shifting his head only slightly to better observe me. I'm pretty sure he was posing. Yeah, he was definitely posing. Jeremy Brigden S Eric Cook S D300/Sigma 10-20 5" @ f / 22 (ISO 100) Montreal's recently redesigned bus station. Because of the classic typeface, I decided to aim for a noir-inspired look. The flares around the headlights/streetlamps are a side effect of a long exposure at a really narrow aperture (f/22). -Evan S Shooting Summary: Camera: Canon Digital Rebel XT ISO 400 F/13 1/50shutter speed Standard 18-55mm lens at 22mm zoom Shot in color, converted in Photoshop to black and white Story behind the photo: I took this photo while on vacation with my girlfriends family in Las Vegas last week. Her parents wanted me to take a portrait of all of us in front of our hotel (the Aria, really nice btw!) window that overlooks some of Vegas. However, when setting up the camera on my tripod and getting all the settings correct, I snapped a TEST photo before I set up the timer so I could get in the photo (I am not in this photo). Turned out to be a great "capturing the moment" photo that I really love. You can tell everyone is having a great time (even though we were getting ready to leave) and the overall feel is light and happy. Glad to share it with you guys/gals! James D. S Tom S I took the shot In Oakville, Ontario, Canada. My equipment - Canon T3i with an 18-55mm Lens, I followed your steps and used a low ISO and shot in RAW and used Photoshop's Camera RAW 6.6 to edit the exposure, sharpness and most noticeably the tone, saturation and vibrance. The shot came out so mid focused I had no reason to use any post production blurring (this is all straight from the camera) The shot was actually taken in a park called 16 Mile Creek thats stretched, you guessed it 16 Miles.(this was one of the many steep paths leading down to the creek.) I had many great shots however this one just looked perfect in Black & White. Most of the other shots looked stunning in over saturated production. If you would like to see more of my photographs check out my instragram account "ryanwattz" Enjoy Ryan Watt S I snagged this 7 shot Black and White HDR of this Porsche 911 GT2 at Festivals of Speed in St. Petersburg, FL 2 weekends ago. Shot with a Canon T2i, 18-55 kit lens, processed in Photomatix, Lightroom and CS4. Thanks. Billy Bowling

A Very Clinton Affair - Next1 of 16Glo - Previous Next Want It!2 of 16Courtesy of Smythson - Previous Next3 of 16Courtesy of J. Crew - Previous Next Want It!4 of 16Courtesy of Chanel - Previous Next Want It!5 of 16Courtesy of Essie - Previous Next6 of 16RD/Bishop/Retna Digital - Previous Next7 of 16Courtesy of Calypso - Previous Next8 of 16Courtesy of Estée Lauder - Previous Next9 of 16Imaxtree.com - Previous Next Want It!10 of 16Courtesy of Bounkit - Previous Next Want It!11 of 16Courtesy of J. Crew - Previous Next12 of 16Courtesy of Jimmy Choo - Previous Next13 of 16Courtesy of Yves Saint Laurent - Previous Next Want It!14 of 16Kevin Clemens/ELLE - Previous Next15 of 16Courtesy of Apple - Previous Next16 of 16Glo - A Very Clinton Scrapbook_Alexis_v01c_A-Very-Clinton-Affair1 of 16 Secret Service2 of 16 Tickets, check. Itinerary, check. Passport, check. This travel wallet's organization is superb for zipping through high security zones with ease. SHOP NOW: Smythson of Bond Street Travel Wallet, $545 Globe Trotter3 of 16 I secretly want to be Ilsa Lund and this play on jetsetting expat wardrobes would be a bright spot in the sky. SHOP NOW: Globe-Trotter Wheelie, $1,600 Power Up4 of 16 Confidence is key and donning a classic red lip is a quick fix to add a little power to my day. SHOP NOW: Chanel Rouge Coco in Gabrielle, $30 Politically Primed5 of 16 A good manicure keeps me feeling pretty and polished and this subtle shade of greige keeps me on trend, yet refined. SHOP NOW: Essie Chinchilly, $8 Foreign Policy Flirt6 of 16 When I come face to face with Mr. Clinton, I must remember "Be Yourself" while flirting with an older man. White House Wear7 of 16 This feminine duo is a necessity while tiptoeing through the estate halls at night — you never know what (or who) you might find. SHOP NOW: Madame å Paris Tank, $195 and Short, $165 Repair Me8 of 16 I love an all-night schmooze fest and this night eye cream will keep me bright-eyed for round two. SHOP NOW: Estée Lauder Advanced Night Repair Eye Synchronized Complex, $50 Rhinebeck Romance9 of 16 With romance in the air, I'll be wearing this inspired 'do, which is perfect for showing off my stunner earrings. Courting Candy10 of 16 Statement earrings are a must in my book and these chandeliers create the perfect pop of color and shine off the simplicity of my little black dress. SHOP NOW: Bounkit Earrings, $395 Foreign Elegance11 of 16 Sophistication is the word for this wedding and this LBD is sure to make a presidential entrance. SHOP NOW: J. Crew Silk Tricotine Sophia Dress, $130 Senate Slipper12 of 16 I want to keep it simple and elegant this evening, and I'll be ready to dance the night away in this gilded peep toe shoe. SHOP NOW: Jimmy Choo Capsule Collection State Seduction13 of 16 In this subtly sexy, yet totally romantic parfum I'll feel ready for a scandal of my own. SHOP NOW: YSL Paris Eau de Parfum, $77 Marine Minded14 of 16 This marine-conscious beauty compact will be a keen conversation starter with our eco-minded former VP. SHOP NOW: Chantecaille Les Dauphins Palette, $77 Personal CIA15 of 16 This tech powerhouse will keep me informed of political happenings, receive the new secret wedding location via text, and snap pix while rubbing elbows with politicians. Now It's Your Turn!16 of 16 I used my Glo scrapbook to pick my must haves for a wedding, fit for American Royalty.

Claire Danes' sultry ELLE photo shoot - Next1 of 31Glo - Previous Next2 of 31Carter Smith; styled by Joe Zee - Previous Next3 of 31Carter Smith; styled by Joe Zee - Previous Next4 of 31Carter Smith; styled by Joe Zee - Previous Next5 of 31Carter Smith; styled by Joe Zee - Previous Next6 of 31Courtesy of ELLE - Previous Next7 of 31Courtesy of ELLE - Previous Next8 of 31NCP/Star Max/FilmMagic - Previous Next9 of 31Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic - Previous Next10 of 31JB Lacroix/WireImage - Previous Next11 of 31Alo Ceballos/FilmMagic - Previous Next12 of 31Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images - Previous Next13 of 31Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images - Previous Next14 of 31Fernando Leon/Getty Images for TIME - Previous Next15 of 31Craig Barritt/Getty Images - Previous Next16 of 31ADRIAN SANCHEZ-GONZALEZ/AFP/Getty Images - Previous Next17 of 31Dimitrios Kambouris/WireImage - Previous Next18 of 31Christopher Peterson/BuzzFoto/FilmMagic - Previous Next19 of 31Trae Patton/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank - Previous Next20 of 31Gary Gershoff/WireImage - Previous Next21 of 31Gregg DeGuire/FilmMagic - Previous Next22 of 31Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images - Previous Next23 of 31Gregg DeGuire/FilmMagic - Previous Next24 of 31Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images - Previous Next25 of 31John Shearer/Getty Images - Previous Next26 of 31Jason Merritt/Getty Images - Previous Next27 of 31Jamie McCarthy/WireImage - Previous Next28 of 31Arnaldo Magnani/Getty Images - Previous Next29 of 31Ron Galella/WireImage - Previous Next30 of 31Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images - Previous Next31 of 31Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images Unknown-21 of 31NewClaireDanes Age of Innocence2 of 31 ELLE: See the Style Inspiration Behind the Claire Danes Cover Shoot Soul Mates3 of 31 ELLE: The Biggest Celebrity Makeovers of 2012 Starstruck4 of 31 On meeting President Obama at the White House Correspondents' Dinner: "We walked over before we could think and found ourselves shaking hands with him. Hugh realized that he'd forgotten to properly introduce himself, and." Baby Talk5 of 31 ELLE: Claire Danes' Beauty Secrets Dark Angel6 of 31 ELLE Creative Director Joe. ON ELLE: The Most-Requested Celeb Hairstyles in America Beauty Queen7 of 31. Kidding Around8 of 31 See more from Danes' shoot in the February issue of ELLE, on newsstands January 15th. In the meantime, click through the slides to see the actress’s best looks over the years. Just before Christmas, the new mom was out with her infant and husband Dancy on the streets of New York. Even bundled in an army green parka and hat, she still radiated style and joy. Winning Ticket9 of 31 The then-pregnant actress glowed at last year's Emmy Awards, winning Best Lead Actress for her role in the hit show Homeland and best dressed for this chartreuse strapless Lanvin gown from 2013's resort collection. Blue Belle10 of 31 At Showtime's Emmy soiree, Danes elegantly covered her baby bump in a cobalt blue Jason Wu sheath dress with a slightly jeweled neckline and peep-toe heels for a dose of throwback grace. Work It11 of 31 Danes looked as if she were going undercover while spotted on the streets of New York in workout gear and no makeup last summer. White Hot12 of 31 At the Met Gala, Danes stunned in a J. Mendel gown embellished with snow white crystals, Christian Louboutin heels and a chic French twist. Retro Fit13 of 31 Looking like Hollywood royalty at the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner, the Homeland star wore a curve-hugging silk Vivienne Westwood gown. High Style14 of 31 In a terracotta Lanvin crinkled shift, statement necklace, and a pompadour (the hairstyle of the moment), Danes looked fashion-forward while sticking to her minimalist mantra. Pretty in Pink15 of 31 The fuchsia-and-black Narciso Rodriguez dress the actress wore to the Hysteria premiere was vintage Danes: modern, clean, and understated. Frill Seeker16 of 31 The star garnered much attention at the 2012 Vanity Fair Oscar party in a red Valentino sheer, multi-tiered gown—a departure from her usual streamline silhouettes. Slightly messy hair kept her looking fashion-forward, not fairy-tale princess. Black Beauty17 of 31 Danes looked effortlessly elegant sitting front row at Narciso Rodriguez's Fall 2012 show, in one of his simple black double-strapped dresses. City Slicker18 of 31 On the streets of her hometown, Danes was spotted in a fitted black puffer jacket, ankle boots and carrying an oversize orange-and-black striped tote. Class Act19 of 31 The actress radiated old Hollywood glamour in a sleek black-and-white J. Mendel gown paired with pulled-back hair and a statement red lip at the 69th Golden Globe Awards. Trace of Lace20 of 31 Decked in a red ruffled and organza Valentino creation, the star celebrated with the iconic designer at his museum launch party. Work of Art21 of 31 For the 63rd Emmy Awards, Danes donned a blue georgette sequined embroidered gown from Oscar de la Renta's 2012 resort collection. Gold Rush22 of 31 At the Met Gala in 2011, Danes flexed her fashion chops in a gold metallic Calvin Klein A-line gown and Fred Leighton jewels. White Nights23 of 31 The queen of minimalism looked pretty and polished in a winter white Calvin Klein dress paired with matching sandals and a silver clutch at the 2011 Vanity Fair Oscar Party. Flower Power24 of 31 Veering from her sleek, monotone style, Danes was a pleasant surprise in this green floral Louis Vuitton gown embroidered with silk flowers and black pearls at the 17th Screen Actors Guild Awards. Pink Lady25 of 31 Possibly one of her most memorable red carpet moments: a bubblegum pink custom-made Calvin Klein halter gown for the 68th Golden Globes post-party. Crystal Clear26 of 31 Danes stunned at the 2010 Emmy Awards in a crystal strapless Armani Privé gown with a cascading train. Nude and Improved27 of 31 Wearing a Zac Posen nude dress with cap sleeves and black lace overlay, Danes kept things sophisticated but romantic at the Annual Elton John AIDS Foundation Party back in 2009. Mad for Plaid28 of 31 Danes' classic, understated choices on the red carpet are also reflected in her street style. Back in 2006, she wore a cozy wool plaid coat and boot-cut jeans. Red Hot29 of 31 Danes went all out for her turn in The Vagina Monologues in 2001, making a splash in a sharp red dress and matching boa. Teen Drama30 of 31 While starring in My So-Called Life, Danes already showed a penchant for timeless style. Eastern Influence31 of 31 That same year, she made a statement in an Asian-inspired evening coat and twisted hair that was all the rage in the '90s. NEXT ON GLO: BEHIND-THE-SCENES OF JESSICA BIEL'S ELLE COVER

: Propaganda Did NGO’s help overthrow Gaddafi? Posted in Libya, News Tagged Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Libya, NGOs, Propaganda, rt, UN resolution The Gaddafi Mercenaries and the Division of Africa Julien Teil Exposing the lies of the presence of ‘African mercenaries’ in Libya The presence of ‘African mercenaries’ in Libya was a lie used by NATO and their mouthpieces in the mainstream media to de-legitimise and demonise the Libyan government … Posted in Libya, News, Videos Tagged African Mercenaries, Black Libyans, Blacks, Ethnic Cleansing, Libya, Lynching, Media, Migrant Workers, NATO, Propaganda, Racism, racist, Rebels Leave a comment How the Media Manipulates the World into War Posted in Libya, News, Videos Tagged How the Media Manipulates the World into War, Manipulation, Media, Propaganda, war Leave a comment The Libyan Tragedy: lessons for the western left By Tim Anderson opednews One might have thought that with the “humanitarian’ pretexts for the invasions and occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan fairly fresh in the mind, the western “left’ might have hesitated before backing (or refusing to oppose) a … Posted in Libya, News Tagged Libya, NATO, Propaganda, The Libyan Tragedy: lessons for the western left, Tim Anderson Leave a comment NATO’s Depraved Disregard for Libyan Civilian Casualties By Glen Ford December 21, 2011 “BAR‘ – After leaving the door open to the United States and its European allies to destroy Libya from the air for seven brutal months, Russia is now pressing for an investigation of civilian casualties inflicted … Posted in Libya, News Tagged Civilian asualties, Civilian death toll, Libya, NATO, Propaganda, Russia, War Crimes Leave a comment Libya: Human rights imposters used to spawn NATO’s fraudulent war Voltaire Network | 17 October 2011 … Libya Media Front: ‘No NATO success without Al Jazeera’ – Sukant Chandan Posted in Libya, News, Videos Tagged Africa, Gaddafi, Media, NATO, NTC, Propaganda, Rebels, resistance, Sukant Chandan Leave a comment The alleged mass graves of Abu Salim Posted in Libya, News, Videos Tagged abu salim, animal bones, Libya, Mass Graves, Propaganda, Tripoli 2 Comments Libyan rebels ‘Brigade for Purging Slaves’ targets black Africans Libyan rebel fighters are allegedly abusing dark-skinned Libyans and migrant black African workers, ignoring calls for restraint from the National Transitional Council. Black Libyans and African migrants have been targeted by Libyan rebel fighters who even have a special unit … Posted in Libya, News Tagged Brigade for purging slaves, Ethnic Cleansing, Libya, NATO, NTC, Propaganda, racist, Rebels, TNC, War Crimes Public see through NATO propaganda – see comments section of Telegraph article below Nato launches renewed strikes in bid to help Libyan rebels’ final assault By Richard Spencer, Tripoli, Ruth Sherlock near Bani Walid and Rob Crilly in Benghazi 11:43PM BST 11 Sep 2011 Nato said it had struck a pro-Gaddafi tank, two … Posted in Libya, News Tagged Bani Walid, Bombing, civilians, Libya, NATO, Propaganda, public opinion, Rebels, Sirte, Telegraph, War Crimes Leave a comment Western journalist admits calling in NATO airstrikes … Posted in Libya, News Tagged Ann Marlowe, Bombing, journalist, Libya, NATO air strike, NTC, Propaganda, Rebels Leave a comment From Cynthia McKinney: Libya Eyewitness Truth Tour Final Report Posted: September 3, 2011 by actofdefiance in Uncategorized When the DIGNITY Delegation of journalists was there, we could already see the impact of the bombing on patients in the hospital, children trying to understand what was happening, women trying to … Posted in Libya, News Tagged Bombing, civilians, Cynthia Mckinney, Dignity Delegation, eyewitness, Libya, Propaganda, report, Weapons Leave a comment 6 Comments Cynthia McKinney: Libya and Lies NATO war crimes are being excused, discounted, or covered up by those who posed as supporters of justice and peace. It is never OK to bomb people. And it is never OK to ask the peace-loving people of this country … Posted in Libya, News Tagged ANSWER coalition, Cynthia Mckinney, Demonisation, Libya, Lies, NATO, Propaganda, Rebels, US, USA Leave a comment Yvonne di Vito discusses the failings of journalists in Libya Posted in Libya, News, Videos Tagged Libya, Media, NATO, Propaganda, Rebels, war, Yvonne di Vito Leave a comment Libya and the end of West illusions Just under half of Europeans still support the war against Libya. Their position is based on erroneous information. They still believe, in fact, that in February the “Gaddafi regime” crushed the protests in Benghazi with brutal force and bombed civilian … Posted in Libya, News Tagged Bombing, Libya, NATO, Propaganda, Resolution, Thierry Meyssan, Tripoli, UN Leave a comment Libya War Lies Worse Than Iraq – Thomas C. Mountain The lies used to justify the NATO war against Libya have surpassed those created to justify the invasion of Iraq. Posted in Libya, News Tagged Africa, Amnesty International, Gaddafi, Libya, NATO, Propaganda, Rebels Leave a comment

The long anticipated #604Photowalk number 8 was finally upon us and everyone seemed pretty enthusiastic to get to some fun and friendly photography that day. The weather was cooperating for the most part (at least it didn’t rain!) and I think we all enjoyed being outdoors. So without further adieu, here are some of the sights we saw in and around UBC. This is what happens when I let a little bit of organizational power go to my head. Dance my minions. DANCE! Not only is Irv Lau (@irvlau) our administrator in charge of logistics, equipment and general stuff porter and tour guide, he has also become our unofficial model. Very GQ. One of our goals that day was to catch the cherry blossoms before they disappeared for another year. I’m glad we did see the the blossoms as they make for some pretty photos. Even though the above photo is anything but in focus, I like the effect the blur gives the shot. It’s almost as if Thomas Tang (@tmasoo) and Irv are casually stepping into another ethereal world. It was at this point in the day where I decided to become a bit more interactive with the people in my viewfinder. I had heard before that anyone can press the trigger on a camera, but that it takes a certain level of social poking and prodding to uncover a really great “moment” or particularly interesting demeanor from the person you are taking the photo of. Here is Vince Chow (@vincechow) This photo of Tianna Kwong (@tiannank) is only slightly (and hilariously) marred by the Thomas photobomb. I would have spliced Thomas out, but I think this is a better representation of that memory. The stylish shoe models of our group. Yet another photobomb care of Thomas, this time on Cicy Chan (@CicyChan). Cicy sans the sunglasses. The usually quite reserved Sukhraj Bhattal (@sukhrajb). Who can be quite animated given the right circumstances. Thomas Tang, who was oddly without a camera this time around, should be congratulated for finishing his engineering degree (and for making it back to his car without passing out from food fatigue). With the camera turned on him this time, the photographic force of nature Nhi Le (@noyophoto) looking svelte and just as comfortable on this side of the lens. One more photo of Vince sporting his blood donation band-aid. And in a rare moment of weakness I was thrown in front of the camera myself. Thanks go to Nhi Le for this photo credit. The ever popular Irv, almost definitely coordinating the world from his phone. Someone spotted this Banksy-esque stencil of Chomsky in the UBC rose gardens. A lamp post riddled with stickers from the UBC Museum of Art. A coyote made an appearance near the tail end of our walk and hardly seemed phased by the presence of so many humans. Posed and contrived, I couldn’t help but force my will upon the remainder of our group one more time for the above photo. My only hope is that my abuse of power does not end up causing a violent uprising against me. I would like to express my appreciation and thanks to those who made it out to this last #604Photowalk. It was a fun experience and I look forward to seeing you all again soon! 4 views shared on this article. Join in... Haha, love the one of me and Thomas! Great summary of our day. Thank you for the comment and the suggestion about adding share buttons! Some real good story telling shots from the Photowalk, big boss! And portraits too!! (Gotta love em brick walls) And thank you for the congratulations and yes, I survived from food fatigue, I’ll bring my camera next time! Thanks Thomas! If you want bigger, higher res photos then let me know. I’ll send them privately.

Claytons Post #10 A Clayton’s Post (The post you have when you aren’t having a post). There are 3 things I feel like highlighting today, so without further procrastination… 1) Twinkinfo.com When the WoWInsider induced storm swept over my blog this week, the most noticeable thing was the absence of comments. Well near absence… The one comment that hit my blog, that was a truly valuable comment (directed here, at the guide) was from Drayner. Now, if you are interested in Twinking a level 19 Warlock, then this probably isn’t a bad place to start. However if you want to twink something else, or want to know more, then I would have to suggest you go pay Drayner a visit… please remember to thank & leave (positive constructive) comments while you are there. Comments wont make or break a blogger (although some bloggers have broken down in the past under the weight of negative comments), but it sure puts a smile on our face, and spurs us on to do one more post. 2) Dual Spec Relativity SpicyTunas has a brilliant post up about the relative cost of the forthcoming Dual Spec system. Relative to other optional items in the game that we haven’t blinked an eyelid at. If you haven’t read it yet, get over there! PS: Did you know that he uses one of those snazzy blog plugins (that WordPress.com doesn’t have for us freeloaders) that allows you to read his blog on a portable device? While I am thinking about it Saresa at Destructive Reach has just installed a similar plugin (and is running a “competition” too), so be sure to check her blog out from your iPhone or other portable device. The closest you will get to reading my blog via a snazzy feature like that is to subscribe to it via a feedreader on your phone… the feed should give you the same look & feel. 2) Stabbed in the Iceblock Mr Euripedes has nothing to say about an upcoming change to Warriors… Mmm something strange about that? On maybe two counts… - He has nothing to say? - He isn’t a Warrior! His interest in the change is related more to the unintentional nerf Mages receive rather than to the buff the Warrior. Of course I particularly like the post not because he is talking amazingly rationally for someone with a Double Critical Q, but because he suggests it’s time to buff Fire Mages… Gnomer and Out! This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.

Schedule of His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios April 29 — May 21, 2009 Apr 28, 2009 Wed. Apr. 29, 2009Holy Eparchial Synod MeetingHeadquarters of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese, NYCThurs. Apr. 30, 2009 9:00 a.m. Holy Eparchial Synod Meeting Headquarters of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese, NYC2:00 p.m.Executive Committee Meeting of the Archdiocesan CouncilNY Marriott Marquis Hotel, NYCFri. May 1, 2009Archdiocesan Council MeetingNY Marriott Marquis Hotel, NYCSun. May 3, 20099:00 a.m.Archieratical Divine Liturgy50th Anniversary Celebration for the Assumption ParishGreek Orthodox Church of the Assumption (Kimissis)Port Jefferson, NY (631) 473-0894Mon. May 4, 20097:00 p.m.2009 Metropolis of New Jersey Clergy Laity AssemblyHis Eminence Metropolitan Evangelos of New Jersey will host a Grand Banquet in celebration of Archbishop Demetrios’ 10th Enthronement Anniversary.The Venetian, 546 River Drive, Garfield NJ 07026 Tel. (908) 301-0500Fri. May 8, 2009Visit to the Holy Metropolis of Toronto and All Canada on the occasion of the Commencement Ceremonies of the Theological School of the Metropolis Toronto, Canada 10:00 a.m. – Hierarchical Divine LiturgySt. John Chapel of the Metropolis Headquarters7:00 p.m. – Graduation Ceremony – Archbishop Demetrios will deliver the commencement address Thurs. May 14, 20095:00 p.m. - Great Vespers7:00 p.m. - HC/HC President’s Dinner honoring Alumni of the Classes 1959 and 1984Cathedral Center, Brookline, Mass.Fri. May 15, 20098:30 a.m. – Executive Committee and Board of Trustees Meetings5:00 p.m. – Great Vespers and StavrophoriaHellenic College Holy Cross School of Theology, Brookline, Mass.Sat. May 16, 20097:30 a.m. – Orthros and Divine Liturgy (Chapel)11:00 a.m. – 67th Commencement Exercises (Pappas Auditorium)Sun. May 17, 20099:00 a.m.Divine Liturgy and ordination to the Priesthood of Deacon Jason Roll Mon. – Tue. May 18-19, 2009Direct Archdiocesan District Clergy-Laity AssemblyResurrection Greek Orthodox Church, Brookville, NY Thurs. May 21, 2009Dedication and Ribbon Cutting Celebration of the new“Archbishop Anastasios & Archbishop Demetrios Missionary Training and Administration Building” of the Orthodox Christian Mission Center (OCMC) St. Augustine, FL Contact: Stavros H. PapagermanosTel.: 212.570.3530, Fax: 212.774.0237Email: communications@goarch.org

Diary of a Dairy Goat. This blog is the diary of one goat, Baby Belle, a Nigerian Dwarf who lives on a small dairy farm in Western Washington. Thursday, August 20, 2009 Pipe Gate Massage And that is what happened yesterday. Not to me, but to my Aunt Hannah Belle. It was a red letter day. The farm had been rendered spotless. This was because the dairy inspector was coming for a visit. He came right on time and inspected all around the barn. Even Walker the Talker, the little minimancha buckling who has something to say about everything, had been instructed to keep quiet. The dairy inspector nodded at everyone in the barn. We nodded back, pretending to admire him. Then he put on a hairnet, which meant he was going into the dairy. The farmer went with him, and they were gone for about five minutes. While they were gone Aunt Hannah Belle mysteriously appeared. She had been 100% banned from the barn during the inspector's visit, owing to her incorrigible behavior. In fact the farmer had put her down below with the fat girls and mended the little hole in the fence that Melly had made. "That ought to hold you," the farmer muttered with satisfaction, having woven the field fence back together with an attractively rustic snaggle of baling twine. Maybe the farmer shouldn't have said that. We watched in shock and awe as she sashayed down the aisle toward the grain cans. She hannahbelled all three of them in rapid succession, spilling 150 pounds of dry cob and 14% dairy ration onto the barn floor in a seven foot swath. She ate with lightning speed, like one of those people turned loose in a grocery store for ten minutes. Even Betsy was impressed. Then for a change of pace she jumped onto my mountain of pea hay, knocking a few bales out of the stack while she searched for hay with the peas still on it. Even Winnie was shaken by her audacity. A gasp went up as everyone heard the door of the dairy open. Aunt Hannah Belle scuttled away, moving like a worried crab with her feet seeming to rotate underneath her. She ran around the corner toward the pipe gate into the front pasture, and it seemed she had time to make a clean getaway, but then there came a familiar grunting noise. She was stuck in the gate, too fat to squirt through from the angle she had chosen. Stone cold busted. The dairy inspector, three feet away, popped his eyes in surprise to see a fat little goat teetering between the pipes of the gate. "What is that?" he said. "Oh she gets stuck in the fence sometimes," we heard the farmer say nonchalantly. "She is a little bit fat." "Isn't that cute?' said the dairy inspector. "Yes," agreed the farmer grimly, looking daggers at Aunt Hannah Belle, who had shrewdly adopted the attitude of someone enjoying a nice relaxing pipe gate massage. "Well, I better get going," said the dairy inspector. And he turned around and walked in the opposite direction. The farmer took a step into the barn, saw for the first time the hannahbelled cans and the wanton destruction of the one-goat buffet, and smoothly pirouetted back out. "I'll walk you to your car." Tuesday, August 18, 2009 Thursday, August 13, 2009 Let a Smile be Your Umbrella. Tuesday, August 11, 2009 HRH MILLIE >>IMAGE. Friday, July 31, 2009 From the West The Wind came! The beautiful beautiful sweet ocean-cool wind from the West! And we were turned free! Wednesday, July 29, 2009 The Big Sizzle. The Dangerous Case of Mr. Jimmy Because." Welcome to Phoenix." Tuesday, July 28, 2009 Cooling Center Also P.S. Zinnia is allowed out and she tried to eat a ball of baling twine. Monday, July 27, 2009 Interesting Times Also, I thought we lived on a nice cool farm where the main kind of weather would be patchy morning fog. It turns out where we live is actually stifling hot and no one can stop talking about it. Interesting. People came over and they were saying things like. "Goodness it's hot," or "is it hot enough for you?" One lady came over and she said, "is it hot enough for you?" and then she laughed and laughed. I guess this is some kind of joke, although I noticed the farmer did not laugh. I think it must be hot enough for anyone, certainly for the farmer. I have not seen a lot of farmers, really only one, our one that lives here. But I noticed our farmer is somewhat on the round side, and does not seem to like the exceeding hotness we are having, which is predicted to last all week. They are saying that it is going to be 100 degrees in Seattle in the middle of the week. The farmer's friend came over and told the farmer that even though it was 92 today it was going to be much hotter in the middle of the week. I wondered what the farmer would say and sure enough, just as I would have guessed, the farmer said, "that's interesting." But with a stony stony stony face. Hmm, I thought. Interesting. Wednesday, July 22, 2009 Atticus Pupicus Atticus Pupicus is our guardian dog. He used to let all the babies jump on him like a trampoline. But now he doesn't like it any more, those sharp little hooves in the ribs. He has aches and pains now and jumping makes him grumpy. He woofs anybody who jumps on him. Zanegray jumped on him and got woofed. When he woofs you it really gets your attention. Oh ok, you say to yourself, maybe I will not jump on you any more. Note to self. Anyway Atticus Pupicus has been very hot and short-tempered lately because he didn't have his summer haircut. It was blazing hot several days in a row, and Atty lay around panting and gulping water and digging a hole under the porch to try to find more shade. The farmer had tried to give Atty a haircut, but the clippers died going into the first turn. They were no match for Atty's magnificent dingleberries and his woolly ruff. Really there was only one person who could help Atty, and that was the kindly neighbor who really knows how to clip and has super industrial sheep shears. She came over and fixed Atty up. It was not an easy job. And when she was done, they had to get the tractor to take away all the hair. Atty is in heaven. His hair is in the tractor bucket. Tuesday, July 21, 2009 All The Way or So My Aunt Hannah Belle had two sons this year and the other day they went to their new home. This left Aunt Hannah Belle with a lot of milk and no one to drink it. "Come on Hannah Belle," said the farmer meaningfully. "You have been on the dole long enough. It is time for you to go to work." Hannah Belle kept mum and did not betray anything by her expression. Instead she watched the fat milkers trundling over toward the milk parlor. She could tell by the way Jammies was bobbing and weaving toward the head of the line that there was sure to be food inside. All right then, Hannah Belle agreed, and when the farmer took her by the collar she marched along docilely. She didn't have any gum so she just chewed her cud, eyeballing the whole operation like she was the regional manager. "Here is the ramp," the farmer explained. "Go up it when it is your turn, and on the other side you will find a nice buffet of free grain." All right then, thought Hannah Belle, shrewdly staying out of striking distance of Winnie who likes to t-bone everyone in the waiting room who dares to look her in the eye. As long as they are a lot smaller than she is. Hannah Belle got in line, choosing a sensible spot near the end. When it came her turn, she went right up the ramp, through the sliding door, and into the milk parlor. I never saw any of the rest because they closed the door, but I heard it, and so did everybody in the next few counties. Some of it went like this: "PUT YOUR FOOT DOWN! I MEAN RIGHT NOW! DO NOT DO THAT AGAIN!" Meanwhile this whole time was a festive sound of hopping, like maybe some leprechauns doing a riverdance in the milk parlor, and in the foreground the loud sucking noise the milk machine makes. Then was followed a series of questions. "CAN YOU HEAR ME? DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH THAT MACHINE COST? WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" Sadly the only answer was more hopping. Then came a pronouncement: "YOU ARE GOING TO BE MILKED OUT TODAY YOUNG LADY! I MEAN ALL THE WAY!" Followed by more jolly hopping and then the sound of the exit door sliding open, and then Hannah Belle appeared in view on the down ramp, hair slightly awry but overall I would have to say in an unfazed condition. She proceeded into the barnyard chewing her cud with an air of satisfaction. I am something of an expert on milk and I did notice that while she had been milked, I would not say that she had been milked out ALL THE WAY. No one mentioned anything about it and everyone pretended not to notice.

by Jacqueline S. Homan, author of Without Apology Combatting the scourge of human trafficking has become the sexy, trendy newest cause for privileged opportunists in need of their newest feel-good activism fix as they seek to profit by wrapping themselves in the cloak of social justice. Of course, those whom are the very core of this cause—the sex trafficking victims (or exited women) themselves—are without real, adequate and appropriate help in terms of income support, medical care, education, job training and job placement to regain control of their destiny to rebuild their lives and live with dignity while trying to do so. Restoring trafficked women to “normalized” status in society is an important goal, but there is an enormous resistance to that on the part of society, including many “allies” that will not stop their privilege-clinging and power-overing to actually facilitate restoration. Sadly, even most such “allies” look down on adult prostituted women who started out as trafficked under-aged girls. The very women and girls whom this movement is supposed to be about are exploited for their stories and then discarded and thrown under the bus by most “allies”, including many well-heeled academics who’ve been enriched with chair endowments and many other social prizes and rewards after prostituted/exited women’s stories of tremendous suffering have helped pave the career paths of those who enjoy all the status, prestige and prosperity in the name of “speaking for” downtrodden, marginalized women. After decades of throwing the poorest, most marginalized women away with misogynistic laws and policies of “benign neglect” tantamount to social Darwinism, everybody suddenly wants to cash in on the big business of helping trafficked women and girls. How odd, considering that it was this very same male supremacist society that threw away poor marginalized women and girls into the prostitute caste in the first place—first by ripping away what meager, inadequate threadbare safety net that did exist for destitute women in the name of “personal responsibility”, and second by continuing to discriminate against women for good-paying blue-collar “men’s jobs” that don’t require an expensive college education, and third by reaffirming male entitlement to women’s bodies as disposable reproductive goods and sex goods. The Obama administration has unveiled a plan inviting public participation for helping to fight human trafficking, and part of the plan is to open funding for battered women’s shelters whose funding was recently cut by the 2010 Congress. More troubling is that most of these domestic violence shelters refuse to take prostituted women who want to exit but who are also destitute and have nowhere to go. Funding for emergency shelters that turn away trafficked women and under-aged girls is funding that won’t be given to shelters run by anti-trafficking groups that help the trafficked. Cash-strapped survivor-run and/or secular NGO’s that are geared towards providing real material help to survivors get little to none of the funding from the US Department of Health & Human Services through its Refugee Resettlement Office. Non-profit groups that get the lion’s share of the annual grants from the Office of Refugee Resettlement are nearly all anti-abortion Christian organizations that are huge, deeply entrenched corporations with Catholic Charities and Polaris Project getting the most funds. This is problematic because faith-based charities refuse to provide abortion care to trafficked women and leave them no choice except to be further physically and psychologically violated by their rapists-johns by forcing them to endure a full term of incapacitating pregnancy and a traumatic, grueling childbirth—thus, continuing the rape and torture. Forcing women to get/remain pregnant against their will when they don’t want to go through it has been the time-honored way that men have oppressed and continue to oppress women, using our vulnerability to pregnancy to keep us from having an equal opportunity to have the same good jobs that are automatically handed to men, denying us full citizenship and equal civil and human rights—which is what fuels the sex trade in the first place because it limits women’s opportunities and rights. If it’s wrong for women and girls to be sexually exploited, how is it NOT also wrong for them to be reproductively exploited by their “rescuers” for the benefit of Christian adoption agencies and rich, white childless couples who are buying the “right” to further exploit those victims with forced factory-farm reproduction to provide them with babies—free grata? How does this make them any different than the johns who bought the “right” to first use these girls’ bodies for forced sex to provide him with his precious orgasm? There is something radically wrong with the system when the non-profit mega corporations (aka “faith-based” charities) that enjoy the backing of well-heeled patriarchal, misogynistic religious powerhouses get all the federal grant money from the US Department of Health & Human Services while cash-strapped secular and survivor-run non-profits started by impoverished exited women who are the real human trafficking experts can’t get funding to help destitute survivors and women who want to exit prostitution but can’t due to nearly insurmountable barriers. A trafficked teen girl who has no choice becomes that 22 year old drug-addicted woman found in a dumpster with her throat cut from ear to ear because of being thrown away by a bootstrap-happy society that pushed her into the arms of traffickers in the name of “personal responsibility” while refusing to give her real equal opportunities and provide a social floor through which no one can fall. The Exploitation Continues After Exiting Now not all men are bad, and neither are all Christians. But the fact remains that the majority are comfortable with the status quo because it privileges them at women’s expense, or else there would NOT be a right-wing War on Women where it is women (especially POOR women) who punished with gratuitous cruelty for men’s sense of entitlement, greed, and debauchery. And there would not be a pandemic of sex trafficking fueled by male demand secured by female poverty and disenfranchisement due to discrimination backed by 6,000 years of institutionalized patriarchy. People with privilege really don’t want to upset the status quo—it may mean having to relinquish some of their own privileges that come at the expense of the disprivileged. Even within the abolition movement, there is a LOT of privilege-clinging and power-overing. Exploiting women as sex goods and as reproductive chattel are inseparable. It’s the same end game: objectification, reproductive enslavement, sexual terrorism and cruelty towards women to support male supremacy and male privilege to benefit men at women’s expense, suffering and misery. Forced pregnancy/childbirth was the main linchpin that upheld the plantation slavery system in the antebellum South. African slave women were forced to breed. All for men’s sexual AND economic benefit at women’s expense and suffering. And even though not all men are porn-consuming, prostitute-abusing pigs, the fact remains that ALL men benefit from this sadistic, exploitative hierarchical system of unearned privileges in which women are kept economically, sexually, and socially oppressed in the ‘one-down’ position. And poor white women (“poor white trash”) have also been convenient throw-aways into the sex class so that men could have a free license to be sexually sadistic predators. It’s no secret that most who are thrown away into the sex caste are those who either lack class privilege or race privilege or both. Poor men get offered helping hand up and job opportunities that are denied to women; poor women get told to take our clothes off—that being “only a whore” is the ONLY place in society for us, the only “option” if we don’t want to starve or be homeless. Or end up disabled or dead for lack of health care from jobless poverty due to discrimination. This is also how you get so many rescued trafficked women who, out of utter despair, reluctantly return to the traffickers and johns. Traffickers tell their victims that there is no other place for them, that society won’t accept them and treat them nicely. Unfortunately, the lack of support, help, social acceptance, and a leg up for poor, marginalized exited women faced with no alternative except to return to prostitution gives this credence: Everybody (including many “allies” and “rescuers”) in society proves the traffickers right. Almost all of the faith-based organizations that get the lion’s share of federal grant money only help a select few kids that make good photo opportunities for their charity’s fundraising PR. What kind of message does this send to trafficked teens and adult women who desperately want to exit prostitution that they were trafficked into before reaching that magical age of 18? Meanwhile, poor adult women who either have already exited (or who want to exit but feel trapped because they’re physically and/or financially unable to exit) never get anything because there’s this idea that grown women cannot suffer and therefore don’t matter. Adult women are just discarded and written off as having made their “choice.” Almost all anti-trafficking groups focus only on children and ignore the women. The Cost to Society of Ignoring Poor Prostituted Adult Women Conservative estimates based on limited data collection place the percentage of sex trafficking victims with HIV at about 25%, but actual numbers may be much higher. According to the Office of the Secretariat of the Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS, 63% of HIV-positive sufferers aged 15-24 are women. A 2007 study published in JAMA showed that 38% of a study group of 287 sex trafficked Nepalese women and girls tested positive for HIV. The study also showed that the younger the trafficked girl, the higher the likelihood of being exposed to HIV since johns specifically request younger girls (under age 15) at brothels and johns often refuse to wear condoms and the prostituted women and girls realistically cannot compel them to. Many other regions have much higher rates than that, such as Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside where 75% of prostituted women and girls are HIV-positive. Women and children who are trafficked for commercial sex experience a tenfold risk of contracting HIV compared to any other subgroup of the population. The average age of entry into the sex trade for females is 12-14 years of age. The US is one of the top three source and destination hubs for sex trafficking. According to the US State Department, 80% of human trafficking victims are women and girls, and according to the Harvard School of Public Health study authored by Dr. Jay Silverman, the HIV infection rate exceeded 60% among girls forced into prostitution prior to age 15 from the 2007 sample of 287 Nepalese women and girls. The public health consequence, and ultimately, the devastation to society caused by male demand for commercial sex is astronomical. “Addressing the widely accepted male demand for commercial sex is critical to ending this modern day form of female slavery,” Silverman said. As sex trafficking survivor Lisa Bouvet, said: “Saying someone chose to become a prostitute is like saying someone chose to jump off the roof but no one mentioned that the building was on fire.” Those who manage to exit the sex trade also face a substantial risk of being re-trafficked if they are from a country that lacks adequate social and economic support systems because of the contempt, scorn, derision, neglect and social rejection suffered by the prostituted. Many exited women and girls, out of sheer desperation, re-enter the sex trade when they’re left with nowhere else to go and no real social and economic support because of the criminalization and stigma that comes with being a prostituted woman. And when that happens, chances of being able to re-escape and survive are almost zero. Many exited women are unable to afford proper medical care and due to total social exclusion and marginalization, they have almost zero employment opportunities and no hope of economically fending for themselves. Almost no one will hire exited women due to the social stigma alone, and finding some middle class Prince Charming to rescue her from utter destitution by marrying her and supporting her so she has a home, food, and medical care is definitely off the table. As an aside, a study of johns showed that upwards of 60% are married men with families—they bought prostituted women so they could get away with doing to a woman what they would never be able to do to their own wives. If you torture and kill one of the “madonnas”, you will likely get prison; if you torture and kill one of the “whores”, you will likely get a free pass and a pat on the back. Convicted Child Molesters Get More Social Acceptance and Better Economic Support For Re-entering Society Than Sex Trafficking Survivors According to Dr. Brian Conway of the University of British Columbia, people who contract HIV—the virus that causes AIDS—can live very, very long and high quality lives without ever developing full blown AIDS as long as their CD4 (white blood cell) count remains well above 200 on medical therapy. But the vast majority of exited women struggle in abject poverty, and in countries like the US and the impoverished regions of Eastern Europe and the Balkans, destitute human trafficking survivors don’t have access to adequate medical treatment or any social income support to be able to live with dignity. Consequently, the sex trafficking survivors who contracted HIV from johns and traffickers are slapped with a cruel, torturous death sentence: slow, painful death from AIDS related complications. Two major factors that negatively impact CD4 cell count are fatigue and stress. The stress from having to suffer in utter poverty and complete social exclusion due to stigma, compounded by the trauma levels of anyone who survived the amount of violence and torture as prostituted women have, only serves to intensify the agonizing progression of untreated HIV, which is hallmarked by ravaging and unrelenting opportunistic infections such as pneumocystis pneumonia (PCP) which causes fatal treatment-resistant pneumonia for which medical intervention does not come cheap. Untreated HIV is a certain death sentence, but it is a very slow and torturous one that surpasses the level of torture that would be permissible at Guantanamo. Treatment of HIV requires a series of antiretroviral drug therapies, of which there are several classes—each one inhibiting the mutation and multiplication of the HIV virus at different stages of cell invasion in the HIV virus’s life cycle. Often, several classes must be combined to effectively treat this devastating retrovirus which targets CD4 cells, injects healthy CD4 cells with its genetic code (RNA) which is then used by the reverse transcriptase enzyme to build HIV DNA. The HIV DNA is injected into the CD4 cell’s DNA by the integrase enzyme, establishing HIV infection in the CD4 cell. When the HIV-infected CD4 cell reproduces, the HIV DNA is activated. This is how a retrovirus like HIV destroys the immune system and causes full blown AIDS—by attacking the body’s white blood cells. And this is why multi-faceted therapy drug schedules are needed to treat and subdue or limit the HIV virus’s activity within the body. None of the current medical technologies for treating HIV can protect an HIV-positive person’s sexual partner from contracting HIV no matter how well the infected person responds to the antiretroviral therapy. So an HIV-positive john with access to good medical care and who is able to improve his healthy CD4 cell count and limit the devastation of HIV in his body, who then turns around and buys rape-on-demand sex from poor prostituted women (and likely refuses to wear a condom) then infects the trafficking victim who is unable to compel him to wear a condom—never mind dictate any other terms and conditions of the sex-for-money transaction. In fact, it is usually in attempting to refuse a particular sexual act that gets prostituted women murdered—if not by the john who wanted to hurt her as part of the “services” he paid for, then by the traffickers in whose eyes a “troublesome” woman’s life isn’t even worth eight cents. Unlike the traffickers and the johns on sex tourism “vacations” at home and abroad who paid for the “right” to get “you-do-what-I-say” sex from prostituted women and children, poor trafficked and/or exited women that contracted HIV from these self-entitled sexually sadistic men that refused to wear condoms have little to no hope at all of living a long, high quality life if they cannot get proper care due to being from a country in which women do not enjoy equal rights with men, and a country that either does not have the medical technology of antiretroviral therapy available, or that does not provide good medical care to those unable to pay for it because of that country not having universal health care. To be sentenced to death from full blown AIDS as a direct result of first being forcibly infected with it by cruel, sexually sadistic men that are carriers of HIV and secondly by lack of access to the same quality of medical care to adequately treat HIV that their class-privileged HIV-positive rapists enjoy, meets the definition of torture and crimes against humanity. In the US, convicted serial killers sentenced to death row get more sympathy and avenues for legal redress and concern for their rights than an adult sex trafficking victim who struggled to exit “the life” against all odds. Regardless of where one stands on the death penalty issue, the fact is that the way the state is permitted to execute a convicted serial killer is restricted by Constitutional laws against cruel and unusual punishment and torture—which is why no one is executed by being drawn and quartered or burned alive at the stake like they were in medieval Europe. It is also why the state cannot (in theory, anyway) execute someone with biological terrorism, and neither can an individual resort to that under Stand Your Ground Laws. Bioterrorism is precisely what traffickers and johns are doing by deliberately infecting prostituted women with a fatal, incurable STD. Women and children did not enter prostitution with HIV—traffickers and johns infected them with it. It is a crime against humanity for any other identifiable group to be targeted for death by sexual torture, destitution and bioterrorism—except women. Do the math: 95% of the prostituted are women and girls, 94% of those living below poverty suffering without basic human needs are women and girls. Women comprise 52% of the population yet women have less than 2% of all good-paying blue-collar skilled trades jobs and science careers due to institutionalized sexism and discrimination. Men comprise 88% of the government leadership and lawmaking bodies, and men comprise 98% of the top 1% of the financial elite. Although 5% of the prostituted are boys and men, nearly 100% of the sex buyers are men. Money, privilege and power are gendered. And so is the institution of prostitution. There are upwards of about 10 million trafficked women and girls trapped in prostitution in the US and only 200 shelter beds nationwide for women and girls who desperately want to exit but cannot. So the final question remains: will destitute exited women get helped with income support to live with a little bit of human dignity while they struggle to heal and rebuild their lives, or will this new anti-trafficking plan by the Obama administration merely serve as a boon for large charity executives? If this country is serious about the sex trafficking problem, then funds for destitute trafficking victims payable to the destitute exited women whether they exited 20 minutes ago or 20 years ago must come first before anyone else’s enrichment. What is needed is: income for destitute exiting/exited women to live with dignity as they try to get on their feet and rebuild their lives, medical care, dental care, therapy, advanced educations and/or vocational training and REAL job placement—guaranteed job slots for poor marginalized exited women.

Jan. 29, 2013 TCU (7-11; 0-7) vs. Oklahoma (15-4; 5-2) FORT WORTH, Texas - TCU will continue its two-game road swing Wednesday at No. 21 Oklahoma, beginning at 7:00 p.m. from the Lloyd Noble Center. The Horned Frogs will look to record their first conference win this season and eighth overall after falling to Texas Tech in their last outing, 53-42. Wednesday's showdown will be shown live nationally on Fox Sports Southwest with Chad McKee (Play-By-Play) and former TCU men's coach Billy Tubbs (Color) calling the action live. The Horned Frogs will look to even the season series after falling earlier this month in Fort Worth, 85-79. TCU and the Sooners will meet for the 17th time in program history Wednesday night. The OpponentNo. 21 Oklahoma comes into Wednesday with a 15-4 overall record and 5-2 mark in conference play after falling to No. 1 Baylor, 82-65. Against the Bears, the Sooners hit 11 three pointers and were carried on the night by junior Aaryn Ellenberg's season-high 33 points. On the season, Oklahoma ranks No. 2 in the NCAA in three-point field goal percentage, shooting almost 40 percent from behind the arc. Individually, Ellenberg is averaging 19.7 points per game, while shooting 46 percent from three-point land. Nicole Griffin and Morgan Hook are also averaging double-figures, scoring 10.7 and 10.4 points a contest, respectively. The SeriesTCU and Oklahoma will meet for the 17th time in program history Wednesday. The Sooners lead the all-time series, 13-3, but the Horned Frogs have won two out of the last six meetings. On Wednesday, the Frogs will look to record their first win in Norman in program history. Return To SenderJunior Latricia Lovings had a breakout game against Texas Tech, recording a new career-high in blocks with nine. Her nine blocks not only ranked as the fourth-best mark in program history, but it is also tied for the best mark in Big 12 conference play this season with Baylor's Brittney Griner. It currently sits as the second-best block performance in the NCAA this season, trailing only Winthrop's Schaquilla Nunn who posted 10 against Mississippi State in November. Lovings currently ranks No. 3 in the NCAA in blocked shots per game. Coming Of Age After 18 games, Latricia Lovings has blocked as many shots as she did during the entire 2011-12 campaign, swatting away 68 shots. She has also surpassed her total from a year ago in rebounds. In 30 games a year ago, the junior grabbed a total of 169 rebounds, while this season she has already corralled 184 boards. More On MedleyZahna Medley has hit the 20-point mark four times this season, which is the most of any freshman in the Big 12. She closed out the first half of the K-State game by scoring 11 of the Frog's final 21 points, then recorded 10 of the team's final 16 in the contest. Medley is the only rookie in the Big 12 to rank in the top 11 in scoring and assists. Newcomers Making HeadwayDuring a stretch of play against Kansas State at the DMC, freshmen Zahna Medley and Kamy Cole combined to score the last 21 points of the first half for the Purple and White. During conference action, the duo has scored 40 percent of the Frogs scoring. In the last four games alone, Medley and Cole have accounted for 45 percent of the Frogs scoring. In all, the five newcomers have combined to score 70 percent of the Frogs 198 points in the last three outings against Iowa State, West Virginia, Kansas State and Texas Tech. Keep Her On The CourtSophomore Natalie Ventress, who had not missed a single free throw during conference action prior to the Texas Tech game, has played in a total of 48 games during her short career, starting 46 contests. The Fort Worth native has started 37-straight contests. The last time Ventress didn't start a game was Dec. 20, 2011 against Tulsa. The next closest Horned Frog to start that many consecutive games is junior Latricia Lovings who has started 25-straight. The Block Party ContinuesJunior Latricia Lovings has become one of the NCAA's elite shot blockers in her short time at TCU. The Fort Worth native now has 157 for her career. The junior, who closed last season ranked No. 25 overall in the NCAA in blocked shots per contest, needs only one more block. Headlines To Look AtDuring the Jeff Mittie era, the Frogs are 233-33 when leading at the half. TCU is also 136-3 when leading by 10+ at the half. Overall, when the Frogs score 80+ points in regulation, TCU is 78-2 under Mittie. The Frogs are also 184-18 when the opponent scores 60 or less. The Last Time OutJunior Latricia Lovings recorded the fourth-most blocks in a single-game in program history Sunday afternoon, but TCU dropped a 53-42 decision to Texas Tech at United Spirit Arena. In a physical back and fourth game that was a lot closer than the final score indicated, the Horned Frogs cut the Lady Raider lead to seven with 5:14 remaining in the contest, but couldn't complete the comeback despite forcing Texas Tech into 18 turnovers and 33.3 percent from the floor, which is a season-low in conference play. TCU, who trailed 27-25 at the half after being up by five with two minutes to go in the opening frame, moved to 7-11 overall and 0-7 in league play, while the Lady Raiders improved to 16-4 and 6-2 in conference action. Texas Tech is receiving votes in the AP poll. On the day, Lovings posted a new career-high nine blocks, while also tallying six points and seven boards. Donielle Breaux and Zahna Medley led the Frogs on the offensive end of the court Sunday. Both scored nine points apiece, respectively. Sophomore Natalie Ventress followed with eight on 3-of-5 shooting from the field. Up NextTCU returns home to face Texas Saturday at 11:30 a.m. CT. The game will show live on Fox Sports Net.

MOOSIC – At a time when many small businesses are struggling, Candice Chilek took the leap to reopen Thomas' Barbecue in Moosic, becoming the third generation of her family to run the restaurant. The Moosic landmark was opened 83 years ago by Chilek's grandmother, Caroline, financed by a low-interest loan of $500. Over the years, Thomas' Barbecue passed from her grandmother to her Aunt Theda Thomas. In 2003 the long-standing business closed its doors. With the economy emerging from a severe recession, Chilek reopened the business in 2010 after a seven year hiatus. Some people advised her not to reopen the restaurant, especially during the tough economy, and she had other options for the property. "Many other types of business wanted this spot, even a few law offices," Chilek said. Inspired by her grandmother's drive and perseverance, Chilek pursued her dream. "We all worked here," she said. "My mom worked here. It was my first job at age 13." Some renovation was needed, but Chilek kept the original retro themed atmosphere. "One dining room still has a 1930s-1940s feel to it," she said. "There is a World War II room and a pinup wall." Even the kitchen still boasts original equipment, including a potato peeler dating back to 1948. "We still use it all," Chilek said. But this is not what makes the food taste so good. After watching her family for years make the secret barbecue sauce, Chilek carries on the tradition. "It is not written down," she said. "When I make the sauce, nobody is allowed to add anything. Nobody." She goes to great lengths to maintain secrecy. When she goes away on vacation, she will make a pot of sauce for the staff to use until she returns. Chilek said her grandmother, who lived in Kingston at the time, developed the recipe in her kitchen and began making barbecues to sell. "Her children would collect orders for barbecues when they went to school," she said. Her grandfather, a mason, was out of work due to the Depression. They had six children to feed and a mortgage to pay. "She made her money with 25-cent barbecues and 5-cent Cokes," she said. What started as just a way to make ends meet grew into a thriving business, and when an affordable property became available, her grandmother purchased it. "It was formerly a cow pasture," she said. The original 15-foot-by-15-foot building is now surrounded by years of expansion. Pictures scattered throughout the building show changes over the years, as well as her grandmother, aunt, mother and other family members. "It is a tribute to my grandmother, mother, and aunt," she said. Owner: Candice Chilek Address: 4810 Birney Ave., Moosic Hours: 4-8 p.m., Tuesday and Wednesday; 11:30 a.m.-8 p.m. Thursday; 11:30 a.m.-9 p.m. Friday and 4-9 p.m. Saturday. Phone: 457.5720

CSBG Archive. Awhile back, I remarked (I do not recall where) that I sometimes give books more of a critical leeway if they are in a genre that does not get as much attention from comics. For instance, I was not a big fan of Love As A Foreign Language, but I admired what J. Torres was trying to do with the comic, so I probably gave it more leeway than I normally would for the same type of story in a different genre. Well, Action Philosophers works in the genre that I personally think comics is severely lacking in, and that is (non auto) biography. Each issue of Action Philosophers gives the biography of three famous philosophers (the Action Philosophers, as it were). The biographies are done in differing page amounts, some as small as 6 pages, some as long as 14. So, even if I was not a big fan of the comic, I would have to give them credit for doing something different, expanding comics into a new genre. However, the comics, themselves, ARE good. The format of the biographies is, while making the comics as accurate as possible, add comedic elements to the presentation. So presenting Plato as a “wrestling superstar.” Or depicting some of the philosophical conflicts of someone like Saint Augustine as, well, ACTUAL supernatural conflicts. Most of this comes down to Dunleavy, and he is well up to the job. His art has a nice Mike Avon Oeming feel to it. Really nice stuff. When I was a kid, the school library had these series of biographies of famous people, and the way they attempted to make the agreeable to kids was to open up the books with stories (almost certainly apocryphal) of the famous person as a child, then fast forward to their famous deeds. At the time, I probably enjoyed it (I ended up reading the entire series, so I now know more about John Muir, Cyrus McCormick and Gus Grissom than is probably advisable), but looking back, I think it is a bit of a dirty trick. To tell someone’s history, but FAKE some of it? That’s fine for entertainment, but it not a great approach for a biograhpy. Luckily, Van Lente does not do that, but rather, he gives us the truth, just presented in a fun manner. At times, the writing is noticeably cramped, but that is to be expected, given the format. I, personally, describe Van Lente’s approach as sort of like those expandable washclothes. They come in these little vials, but then you add water, and WHAMMO, they are a big washcloth!! Action Philosophers works like that. It is a short story, but by the end of it, without knowing it, WHAMMO, you’ve collected a giant washcloth’s worth of information about the subject. And since the subjects are pretty interesting people (#1 is Plato, Bohidharma and Nietzsche; #2 is Thomas Jefferson, Ayn Rand and Saint Augustine; #3 is Sigmund Freud, Carl Jung and Joseph Campbell), it is nice to know a little bit more about each one of them. Finally, another thing that I admire about the work is the pretty much neutral point of view. Van Lente is only presenting their ideas, he is not really critiquing them (although he slips a few times). He lets US make of them what we will, and to help this, he recommends a text for each one at the end of the comic, which is a lot of fun. Sorta like how Alan Grant used to recommend texts about anarky…only a lot less pretentious…hehe. Okay, so now that we know why Action Philosophers is a good comic, we can all sing a traditional Van Lente Day carol, Here we come a-wassailing Among the leaves so green; Here we come a-wand’ring So fair to be seen. Love and joy come to you, And to you your wassail too; And God bless you and send you a Happy Van Lente Day And God send you a Happy Van Lente Day. 2 Comments JEff September 20, 2006 at 10:25 am That comic sux bigtime Bill K June 1, 2010 at 6:00 am Easily one of the best comics of the 21st century! I was lucky enough to purchase a page of the original art, too

MIAMI — A season of destiny, as it had been billed in South Bend after a 12-0 regular season, was no match for a newly-minted dynasty from Tuscaloosa. The return to glory for Notre Dame, which hasn’t won a national championship since 1988, will have to wait after Alabama dominated the Fighting Irish, 42-14, to claim an historic third title in four years Monday night in the Bowl Championship Series National Championship Game here at a rocking Sun Life Stadium. With music blaring and celebrities such as rocker Jon Bon Jovi and actor Vince Vaughn roaming a star-packed sideline, the pre-game atmosphere was as electric as anything sport has to offer in what many considered to be the most anticipated match-up in college football history. But then the Crimson Tide pulled the plug on any real drama right after the opening kickoff. “We were surprised with how the score ended up, but we knew we would come out and dominate,” said Alabama All-American center Barrett Jones who imposed his will on a Notre Dame defensive front that made a living this season pressuring quarterbacks and stopping the run. “Not to take anything away from Notre Dame, but we really came out and played hard and were successful.” The Fighting Irish, boasting the No. 1 scoring defense in the country, allowing just 10.3 points a game, won the ceremonial coin flip and elected to kickoff. That was a mistake. It took veteran Alabama quarterback AJ McCarron and the Alabama offense all of five offensive plays to march 82 yards for the game’s first touchdown, a powerful 20-yard burst by game MVP Eddie Lacy who rushed 20 times for 145 yards. Six minutes later McCarron hit tight end Michael Williams for a 14-0 lead. Six minutes after that, it was 21-0 when TJ Yeldon plunged in from 1 yard line. Barely 15 minutes into the game, the optimistic hope of the Irish gave way to a painful reality. Alabama was as good as advertised. Notre Dame was not. For Alabama, Monday night’s game was a coronation as the Crimson Tide claimed the storied program’s 15th national championship. The only other team in the modern era to win three national championships in four seasons was Nebraska, which won consensus titles in 1994 and 1995 and split a title with Michigan in 1997. For Notre Dame it was another BCS bowl game collapse. Including appearances in the 2000 and 2006 Fiesta Bowls and the 2007 Sugar Bowl, the Irish are 0-4 in BCS bowl games and have been outscored, 158-57. Alabama was just clearly better than Notre Dame, adding another national title notch for the SEC conference that now boasts the past seven national champions. Chants of “SEC, SEC,” rose from the ‘Bama fans with two minutes remaining in the game. Many of the Irish fans, however weren’t around to hear it, having already seeing enough. But for those Notre Dame loyalists who dared peek through their fingers as they were covering the eyes, there was a certain peace in the dismantling. There was nothing to be ashamed of given how far this program progressed this year under head coach Brian Kelly. Sure the Irish were no match for the Tide Monday night. There’s not a team in college football that would have been. “They were just the better football team today,” Kelly said, “but I loved the way our guys just kept playing.” The Tide just had too much speed, too much size and too much experience for the Irish to overcome. As a result of those three things, Notre Dame lost because its they were overmatched at every position on the field, yes, even middle linebacker where Heisman Trophy runner-up Manti Te’o was virtually a non-factor most of the game. “It was pretty clear,” Kelly said afterward. “(Our defense) had a hard time getting off the field. A lot of that had to do with Alabama.” Alabama is the blue print for college football greatness under head coach Nick Saban, who became just the fourth coach in college football history to win four national titles. He also coached LSU to a championship in 2003. “I think it’s really special,” Saban said of the accomplishment. “One of these days when I’m sitting on the side of a hill watching the stream go by, I’ll probably figure it out even more.” In the meantime, the Irish program learned that while they’re a great team, they have much work to do before they’re the greatest team. Notre Dame’s next glory day may be on the horizon, but this night, this season and this dynasty has a sweet home in Alabama. Sports MICHAEL WANBAUGH: Irish's date with destiny delayed MIAMI — A season of destiny, as it had been billed in South Bend after a 12-0 regular season, was no match for a newly-minted dynasty from Tuscaloosa. -

The Dude: Ye Shall Tread Down The Wicked, For They Shall Be Ashes Under the Soles Of Your Feet Turner - a.k.a. "Ash Turner." He finally gets the chance to exact vengeance upon the duke who abandoned his family to poverty when he discovers the peer's secret first marriage. The Rub: His vengeance unexpectedly winds up hurting the one woman he's come to care for the most.Dream Casting: Rob James-Collier. The Plot: Ash: ALL YOUR DUKEDOM ARE BELONG TO ME. Old Duke: LOL, I'm dying, I don't care! Margaret: I DO. Ash: Wow, you're hot. We should date. Margaret: Wait, what? NO. Ash: But I respect your mind! Margaret: No! Ash: But I'm secretly illiterate and all torn up and angsty over that fact! Margaret: ... okay! Richard, Margaret's Asstastic Brother: Hands off my sister! Ash: Wait, WHAT? ... actually I'm pretty cool with that. Margaret: Yay! Ash: But I'm still going to get the dukedom and condemn your brothers to a life of impoverished bastardy. They deserve it, you see, because they picked on my brothers in school and I would do anything to protect my brothers. Margaret: But that's what I'M doing! Ash: No no no - trying to protect your brothers is silly and sentimental because your brothers are ignorant and hurtful. Margaret: ... so are yours! Ash: Yes but MY brothers get sequels. So as you can clearly see, my problems are more important than yours. Let's get married! Margaret: No thanks. Richard: BTW, Margaret, we're only filing for our own legitimacy, not yours, because otherwise we'd lose everything! Margaret: FUCK THIS NOISE. Take the Dukedom, Ashy! Let's get married! Ash: HOORAY! Margaret: ... but you still have to be nice to my brothers. Ash: Crud. Romance Convention Checklist: 1 Revenge Plot 4 Inconsiderate Brothers 1 Very Bad Mutha (deceased) 1 Fairly Good Mutha (also deceased) 1 Very Bad Dad (still alive, for the nonce) 1 Secret Disability 1 Bout of Sex in a Closet The Word: The book starts shortly after the hero utterly ruins the heroine's life - and ends up redeeming it, in the process. The hero, Ash Turner, blames the death of his sister and his brothers' poverty and sufferings on the selfishness of the Duke of Parford and his weak, spoiled sons. When he discovers the Duke secretly married his mistress as a young man years before publicly marrying his current one, Ash gains a twofold vengeance when he exposes the Duke's bigamy to the ecclesiastical courts - it renders the Duke's despised sons illegitimate and unable to inherit, and it leaves Ash (the closest legitimate relative) as the legal heir. However, the Duke of Parford also has a daughter, Lady Anna Margaret. Thanks to Ash's exposure of her father's first marriage, she was stripped of her title, outcast from society, and abandoned by all her friends. Because of that, Margaret is determined to do whatever she can to help her brothers' quest to convince Parliament to restore their legitimacy. When Ash travels to the Duke's country estate, Margaret stays on in the guise of a nurse to the ailing Duke - partly to protect her father from any attempt on Ash's part to inherit sooner, and partly to spy and gather intel she can pass on to her brothers, to convince Parliament that Mr. Turner is an unfit addition to the House of Lords. Her plans go awry when Ash spots her and is instantly attracted. An intelligent, intuitive businessman who made a fortune in India, Ash has learned to trust his instincts above anything else. He sees Margaret and immediately intuits that she is a woman of substance, and starts treating her as such as he tries to seduce her. Ash's method of seduction is clever as well as sweet. There is a twisty, reversed aristocrat-commoner vibe between the two of them. Margaret is accustomed to the life of a peer, and has been raised to believe that names, wealth, and titles are emblematic of one's worth as a person - so she is very disturbed when Ash continues to pursue her and find value in her despite the fact that he knows nothing of her name, family, or history. Because of that, she discovers her own strengths and talents only after losing everything she initially thought was important about herself. Ash is an equally interesting character. Thanks to a learning disability, he relies on his personality, confidence, and quick wit to conduct business, but at the same time he is taunted by his shortcomings, torn by the belief that his proud, brash face is all he is capable of offering to the world. This increasingly comes into play when he interacts with his university-educated brothers - he paid for their educations in order to make up for the privations they endured as children, but as a result, he feels isolated and inferior around them. Honestly, the only real problem I had with this novel was the continuation of the revenge plot. As I've stated before in other articles, there is a thin line to walk when writing a vengeful hero or heroine. I mean, most romance novels ultimately tell us that Revenge is Wrong and we should just Forgive and Love Everybody, but it all boils down to how far the hero takes it and why he's pursuing this revenge in the first place. Ultimately, I didn't buy it with Ash: - He's already wealthy as sin and his brothers are already provided for. - He doesn't even respect the prestige that comes with a Dukedom ANYWAY, so why is he screwing up so many lives to get one? - His revenge creates a LOT of collateral damage for people who either didn't hurt him (Margaret and her mother) or only in the most petty of ways (he's essentially ruining Margaret's brothers' lives because they were mean to his bros in HIGH SCHOOL) - He continues to actively try and ruin the Dalrymple's lives EVEN AFTER HE KNOWS WHO MARGARET IS because he'll just marry Margaret which will totally fix her life because protecting his brothers is an important and righteous man-problem but Margaret protecting her brothers is a weak and sentimental woman-problem. B+ this was the first romance I've read all the way through in ages, so I definitely enjoyed it. I agree with you about dragging the revenge plot out - but actually my main beef was the complete reversal of the Big Misunderstanding. Ash was so understanding of who she was, which was refreshing (a hero who gives his heroine the benefit of the doubt!), but left me feeling oddly let down. I think it's because she wrote the book as though the mistaken identity was the major conflict, but it obviously wasn't. If they'd known each other's identities right from the start, I reckon she would have gotten more mileage out of the obstacles they had to overcome to be together. It would have made for some interesting conversations, right? Her hidden identity did allow for the lovely aristocrat-commonder inversion you talk about, but it was kinda there in their characterisations already with her bastardy and his childhood. I loved Ash's inner pain with his bros, though :-)

OK, so I realise Gosstronomy has been all quiet on the gestation front this past year. And I know, I owe everyone an explanation. A blogger can’t just disappear into the ethernet and go without saying a word. I have seen the folly of my ways, and I am back asking for forgiveness. Right, ready? The sad truth is this – I got a real job. “No!” you say. “Mon dieu.” “Bastarde.” “Oy gevalt.” Well, my parents said “About time” as I set about helping Lonely Planet transform its famed travel guidebooks and figure out ways to allow people to access the same great information on their mobile phones. Yes, I was a high-priced geek who shrunk guidebooks, but I missed my freedom, I missed writing about food, and I missed people like you reading about it. Yes, dammit, YOU were missed. So after 14 well-paid months, I chucked it all in and went back to food writing. In the middle of the global financial crisis. And I couldn’t be happier. Yesterday was my first day of freedom, and it was a whole couple of hours before I got a whiff of a Spanish and Portuguese wine tasting by the Spanish Acquisition, Australia’s top distributor of Iberian drops. The tip-off was thanks for Ryan Andrijich, the former food expert on the Australian version of ‘Queer Eye for the Straight Guy’, who’s now doing catering and cooking classes in Melbourne. Thanks Ryan, I owe you one. So on my first afternoon back, I was at North Fitzroy bowls, sampling from a massive variety of sherry, whites, roses, Cavas and reds. Sausages and lamb cutlets were sizzling on the barbie as small village of sommeliers, bottle shop (liquor store) operators and chefs sampled from the extensive line-up. The Spanish Acquisition crew started us off with a chilled glass of Delgado Zuleto ‘La Goya” Manzanilla sherry, which got the palate going before we net dipped into the classic Spanish sparkling: Cava. Amid a sampling of white and rose sparklings, I was particularly drawn to the 2005 Agusti Torello Mata Brut Reserve, a fruity, yeasty and lively bubbly. Then it was onto the whites, which were in their element on this hot summer’s day. One of my favourite whites in Albarino, and there was a good selection at hand, but I found myself struggling to find a stunner among the 2006 and 2007 vintages. Instead, I was drawn to a grape I had never heard of, godello. The only way to describe it is as a Spanish alternative to sauvignon blanc, but far more interesting. The 2007 Telmo Rodriguez ‘Gabo do Xil’ , a hand-picked godello from Spain’s Valdeorras region, was fruity, citrusy and had hints of honeydew, and is a great example of an easy-to-quoff wine that still has personality. It’ll ruin that next glass of same-o Marlborough sav blanc forever. On the more seriuos wine front, it was hard to go past the 2006 Remelluri Blanco, a white blend from monastrell, tempranillo and syrah that had subtle oak on the nose with lemon/lime notes, lots of minerality and a tinge of pepperiness on the back palate – and from reading the tasting notes, lots of other things I couldn’t pick up, like pickles. Save this one for your wankiest wine friends; they’ll love it. I took a time out after downing all of those Cavas and whites in the heat, gorging on the juicy lamb to soak up the alcohol. And since I was having so much fun, time flew (as it does), so I found myself doing a speed tasting session before the Spanish Acquisition folks shut down the free-for-all. What I found were two killer tempranillos among the mix, stating with a 2006 Artadi ‘Vinas de Gain’ that to borrow the words of Mitchell Mcloud (because he said it better) – the owner of Northcote’s new Harvest Wine & Liquor boutique bottlo – was a brilliant mix of morello cherris and cola beans, confected but not sweet. Whatever, it was drinking beautifully. And while Mitchell found the 2002 Traslanzas as good but a bit light-on, I found it to be a beautiful red, with the kind of subtlety I’d be happy to find in more tempranillos. Top stuff. But just as we thought the fun was over, there was one more highlight in store for us – an impromptu performance from the comedic duo Elbowskin, Enrie and Dave, the stars of “Are We Stupid” in the upcoming Melbourne Comedy Festival. The two sang a quirky, acoutic-guitar pisstake on the humble vine, which started off with “We were gonna write a song for the sommeliers, but it was all wine, wine, wine” and then headed straight to the gutter from there. All I can remember is the use of wine varietals to describe a man who meets a woman, only to discover she’s infected with phylloxera. It was a good laugh, so the Elbowskin boys promised that they’ll send over a link to a video they produced of the song, which I’ll happily share as soon as I get it. “This is only the second time we’ve had a chance to sing it,” said Ernie – guess it’s not every day you get knowing chuckles from wineheads. For now, check out their request to move their MySpace users to Facebook. It’s not G-rated, so if the kids are around, maybe use the headset.

While trying to think of what to write, regarding Drupal taxonomy, it was my kids’ story last night that inspired this posting about this video covering how the taxonomy module works and what it means to your Drupal site. Taxonomy, taxidermy, category, road kill let’s play a matching game, and then increase our Drupal skill. Spend some time with synonyms, take a break, eat M-n-M’s, return to Content Taxonomy, help Drupal fix the economy. We want a killer Drupal site, without the pain and UI blight of something ugly, hard to use, so let’s all learn Taxonomy and Views! I’ve got this video right here for you, it covers Vocabularies and then Terms too. It’s great to learn what can be done, now let’s all go and have some fun, being addicted to Drupal stuff, which really isn’t all that tough. Wow! that’s not something I normally do when writing about some silly Drupal video tutorial designed to help you learn more about Drupal and how Drupal Taxonomy works. But, hey, it was fun! Yes,it was fun! : ) Great!. Thanks for the great video. It would be great to have a video on Context Module. coz i think most people dont realise how effective the module is. Anyway thanks a gain for the video. ***Note: Chrismas contribution coming your way soon. Great video! An intro to context is indeed a very good idea Here are a few screen casts,if you are interested in the Context module. Szeged 2008: Szeged 2008: Boston 2008:... Boston 2008:... Quick demo: Example site:.. Enjoy. Really enjoyed that video. Provided a great all round summary on taxonomy, which, like you said, can be confusing at first. I can't quite yet grasp the importance of categorizing lists using Taxonomy versus the CCK Text field. For instance, in your example you explain how we're limited to how drupal core's taxonomy is able to present categories.. "In in order to present all option terms, check boxes for multiple selection (radio buttons), etc you need to download the content taxonomy." Instead can I just use CCK Text Field and do the same thing? I am attempting to create a job listing board for my school. So some listings I am categorizing are long but others are shorter.. It sounds like Content Taxonomy I will need for the major stuff but what about small things like (6, 7th 8th grade selection)? When I have a category that has only 3 terms, can I just as easily create a CCK field: text field and go under global settings and type in my 3 terms? So instead of using Taxonomy I'm using the CCK Text Field to categorize.. What are the advantages or disadvantages of using Content Taxonomy versus the plain CCK Fields to organize my categories? Great video. Thanks for sharing your knowledge/experience. Helped me out alot with a few things - didnt know about synonyms - Never used CCK but experiemented with adding a new content type and field its pretty good. - Nice to know what some of the other modules that are related are doing... Matt, This is a great overview of taxonomy. I especially liked your venture into relevant contributed modules - given the huge number of modules, it's helpful to get some pointers on the important modules to start with. Thanks, Micah You should write a child book on Drupal rimes! But,..I've got a problem. When you show turning on the radio buttons or check boxes with a new field using the Content Taxonomy it seemed to automatically collapse the selections from the Taxonomy Vocabulary Terms.. Do you know if there's a setting someplace that controls whether some modules appear collapsed or expanded when you're working on a node edit page? Thanks again Matt. You're a really good teacher. Jeffrey I'm having the same issue. In fact my Taxonomy Vocabulary doesn't disappear at all when adding a Content Taxonomy Field. So I'm left with both the flat list (from the Taxonomy module) and the Content Taxonomy checkbox list I created. One was supposed replace the other. I've looked everywhere and can't figure out why the Content Taxonomy field didn't replace my vocabulary listing. I also don't have a collapsible 'Vocabulary' group on create content page. Anyone got any ideas? Thanks Matt, that was really helpfull and easy to understand. Everything's clear now! What is that menu bar at the top of the page that appears around 3:18? ya it was really fun in it. i got some useful modules there. s60v5 Great video.! This is just what i was looking for, this blog is one of the best. Celebrities Gossip | Kate Moss | Sharon Stone Haha... it is really fun! Thanks for your idea! classifieds |ads|anaheim banquet hall

Clear your mind! Try not to think of anything! Uh oh, it’s too late – look what popped in there … it’s the Stay-Puft Marshmallow man from Ivan Reitman’s 1984 blockbuster Ghostbusters. It’s a fine image of one of the unlikeliest bad guys in movie history, and it’s on the front cover of issue #17 of the visual effects journal Cinefex. Gracing the back cover is a still from The Last Starfighter, Nick Castle’s sci-fi adventure from the same year. The picture shows the film’s Gun Star spaceship in all its computer-generated glory. Inside we find two articles spanning 72 pages. - Ghostbusters (article by Adam Eisenberg) - The Last Starfighter – Imagery Wrought in the Total Forge (article by Peter Sørensen) When I first saw Ghostbusters in the cinema, back in 1984, I didn’t ‘get’ it. There’s a particular flavour of American SNL humour that doesn’t always survive the journey across the pond to the UK. Plus, the movie had been so hyped, with that infectious Ray Parker Jr song playing endlessly over the radio, that maybe anything was going to be a disappointment. Or perhaps it was just me because, second time round, I loved Ghostbusters unreservedly, and I’ve loved it ever since. How deliciously spine-chilling, then, to read up afresh on the miracles wrought by visual effects maestro Richard Edlund and his team during the making of this classic supernatural comedy. Ghostbusters was Edlund’s first assignment after leaving Industrial Light and Magic to take over EEG, formerly operated by Douglas Trumbull and Richard Yuricich. Edlund tells how, after he’d taken hold of the reins, initial negotiations to work on first Dune, then Ridley Scott’s Legend of Darkness (sic) fell through. ‘I was depressed for a week,’ he says. Then, proving the old adage about feast or famine, he ‘was approached to do both 2010 and Ghostbusters just days apart from each other.’ Eisenberg’s coverage of Ghostbusters is a full-featured affair, embracing everything from Edlund’s initial restructuring of EEG – ‘Basically we had to totally change the place’ – through preproduction, location and studio shoots all the way to post and optical. As usual, the article is based on first-hand accounts, but there’s an added breadth here as we get to hear not only from the key effects personnel, but also from a range of other folk including writer/star Dan Aykroyd and producer Michael Gross. While Aykroyd tells us a little about the origins of the name Gozer, and why he chose to feature a villain made of marshmallow, Gross confesses that ‘the concept of the Stay-Puft man made everyone a little nervous going in.’ We don’t always hear from producers in Cinefex, and Gross’s voice is an especially interesting one here, giving us a wide-angle view on the production as a whole, while still zooming in on the little details. Another good voice is that of John Bruno, the EEG art director who also storyboarded all the effects scenes. The storyboard artist is something of an unsung hero, so it’s nice to hear Bruno talk in detail about his process. Gross compliments him on the way he ‘created specific illustrations that took into account … what angles were best for the effects,’ and remarks that ‘when the set was finished … we realised that what [John] had boarded many months before was exactly what we were seeing through the camera.’ Ghostbusters might be a hip comedy, but you only have to read Eisenberg’s article to be reminded that it’s also a major effects picture. We get the goods on everything from stop-motion animation to cloud tank photography, animatronics and puppetry to matte paintings. Matthew Yuricich, assisted by Michelle Moen, produced over forty of the latter for the movie. According to Gross, ‘They’re so good I can find only about half of them myself.’ There’s a lot about special effects too: those on-set physical illusions like exploding walls and hydraulically-operated earthquakes. My particular favourite is the eggs that pop out of the box and start frying on Dana Barrett’s kitchen worktop, a live stage effect that involved pre-scoring the shells of real eggs and using compressed air to fire their contents out on to steel tiles preheated with hidden burners. Every page turn of this article reveals a new effect and a new challenge for the film-makers, so it’s all the more extraordinary to remember that the entire Ghostbusters production was turned around in just a year … and that it still looks amazing. Here’s Richard Edlund’s summary of the experience: ‘Making a big picture like Ghostbusters is like fighting a war … it really is like battlefield conditions.’ Reading old issues of Cinefex in sequence as I am reveals a kind of background story arc to these major effects films – particularly when it comes to the characters involved. By tracking the careers of people like Edlund and Trumbull, we get an insight into how things are constantly changing in this ever-volatile industry. With Edlund specifically (and I realise this could just be me reading between the lines), I get the impression he was much more content after the move to EEG/Los Angeles than he’d been in the latter years at San Francisco-based ILM. ‘I’m a naturalised Angelino,’ he says. ‘I knew I just wasn’t a Marin County person.’ Moreover, he seems very happy with his work on Ghostbusters, concluding that, even though the film ‘was like doing Poltergeist and Raiders together, in half the time … ultimately, I think, we pulled it off.’ Upbeat words from a man who, back in Cinefex #2, rated his work on The Empire Strikes Back at a rather disappointing 6.5 out of 10. On the subject of story arcs, by far the most significant one in the 80s and 90s is, of course, the steady emergence of digital technology. If Ghostbusters is a hectic lightning storm spewing out the very best in optical and mechanical effects, The Last Starfighter shines with the pure, clean light of the laser-sharp cutting edge. At the same time, it’s worth noting that, like Tron before it, The Last Starfighter has a storyline in which video games play a key role, in part justifying the use of CG effects … and perhaps excusing any shortcomings those effects might have. The Starfighter article is written by Peter Sørensen, the man responsible for several previous Cinefex pieces on computer generated imagery. Once again, he offers us what is now a fascinating snapshot of the state of the art circa 1984. Back then there were no desktop PCs, and an outfit that wanted to crunch the kinds of numbers needed to make photo-real images had only one option: buy themselves a Cray X-MP supercomputer. The outfit in question was Digital Productions, a breakaway from Triple-I, operated by John Whitney Jr and Gary Demos. Sørensen is in his elements as he reels off the specifications of their monstrous number-cruncher, which was ‘absolutely jam-packed with 200,000 special microchips’ and needed a liquid freon cooling system to keep the temperature down on its monumental 100,000 watts of power. In modern-day parlance, the Cray was to all intents and purposes a self-contained render farm, running software that took its instructions from a lesser VAX 11/780 workstation and churned the necessary thousands of individual movie frame images. The VAX, by all accounts, wasn’t as user-friendly as a modern system, especially when it came to creating the model spacecraft needed for The Last Starfighter. ‘Objects are first drawn on paper in a manner similar to that of engineering blueprints,’ Sørensen explains. ‘The drawing is then placed on an “encoding table” to be “digitized”.’ A lot of this article is devoted to the intricacies of these and other processes, many of which seem quaint and clunky today. All the same, it’s clear they form the basis of everything that’s happened in the discipline since. The only thing that’s really changed is the processing power available and the sophistication of the computer interfaces. Even by 1984, the basics of geometric manipulation, mapping and rendering were all well and truly in place. When all the technological jargon gets too much, concept artist Ron Cobb is on hand to give it that human touch. Talking about his inspirations for the various vehicle designs, Cobb tells how he combined what he describes as ‘Spitfires in space … a kind of Star Wars thing that’s becoming a bit of a cliche’ with ‘some of the crazy faddishness from the attack of the killer helicopters – Blue Thunder.’ I was interested to read how Cobb drew inspiration from real-world developments reported in Aviation Week and NASA reports, and amazed to learn that he was ‘able to envision designs so clearly in his head that he skips the sketching stage … and confidently makes blueprint-like drawings right off the bat.’ It’s fun to read about the various glitches all these new techniques, including the moment when the operators forgot to use the appropriate computer commands, resulting in a randomly-coloured Gun Star that ‘came out looking like a black-light “flower power” spaceship.’ You can also sense the excitement – and frustration – that came from working with systems that promised so much, but were not yet perfected. Director Nick Castle cites the big advantage of working digitally as the ability ‘to do everything in one pass … that saves you the loss of several generations, which is great in terms of look.’ But some of the new tricks he wanted to try, like scanning the face of actor Lance Guest on to his computer-generated counterpart, remained tantalisingly out of reach. ‘There were time problems,’ Castle laments. This frustration is evident in Sørensen’s somewhat evangelical text as he lapses something that occurs only rarely in Cinefex: editorial comment. ‘Perhaps the major problem with The Last Starfighter,’ he states, ‘is the fact that the imagery still suffers at times from the overly clean, surrealistic-reality problem.’ But he ends on a positive note, asserting that, ‘Those problems could have been overcome if there had been a little more time to dote on details.’ More interesting to me were Ron Cobb’s closing remarks about the impact of computers on, well, everything … and in particular the uncertainy that still surrounded the new technology. ‘I think there’s a real need for the culture to grab ahold of this technology,’ he says. ‘To most people, computer graphics is a detached, alien technology … It’s a shame if that persists.’ It’s worth noting, however, that Cobb was clearly in awe of the Cray, saying that it ‘reminded him of the monolith in 2001.’ His remarks remind us that these were the frontier days when computers, in the minds of most people, were still magical things. What better place then than Hollywood, that fabled western land of the American Dream, to make the magic real? There are oodles of behind-the-scenes photos in the Ghostbusters article, including some hilarious shots of Mark Wilson and a team of puppeteers performing Onionhead (AKA Slimer) on the EEG stage. My favourite image, however, shows Bill Bryan’s head and shoulders poking out of the top of the Stay-Puft suit, while the marshmallow man’s detached foam rubber face sits grinning in the foreground. When it comes to The Last Starfighter, there are plenty of frame blow-ups demonstrating the slick quality of the Digital Productions CGI images. To the modern eye, they have that pristine computer-game look that betrays their origins, but there’s no doubt that, for the time, they were damned impressive. In a photograph that shows the reality of working with 1980s computer technology, Kevin Rafferty is shown poring over his encoding table with a pair of hand-held cursor devices, painstakingly converting detailed blueprints into digital assets. Thanks again for another fine entry. Cinefex 17 has always been a personal favorite, largely because of my enduring fondness for “Ghostbusters,” which, as a film and a cultural touchstone, has certainly stood the test of time, but also for our coverage of the deservedly less memorable, though perhaps more historically significant “The Last Starfighter,” which was an important milestone in the evolution of computer generated imagery. The inclusion of producer Michael Gross in the “Ghostbusters” article may have been unusual for Cinefex, but since he was responsible for production oversight on the film’s visual effects, it made perfect sense to include his well-informed voice. And we had a personal connection. Michael and I grew up in the same town and have been close friends since high school, when he and I and other like-minded pals made amateur movies together. Michael was always an extraordinary artist and designer, and prior to his film career, was, among other things, art director of National Lampoon during its heyday. (His “If You Don’t Buy This Magazine, We’ll Kill This Dog” cover is invariably ranked among the best magazine covers ever.) By way of my relationship with Michael, I played a small part in “Ghostbusters’” early development. Director Ivan Reitman was a master of film comedy, but he had never done a visual effects film – and this was going to be a big one – so Michael called me in for some consultation early on. My major (perhaps only) contribution was putting the filmmakers in touch with Richard Edlund. I knew that Richard was planning to leave ILM to set up his own effects studio, but, to the best of my recollection, it was not common knowledge at the time. I arranged a meeting with Ivan and Michael and Richard that led to their collaboration on “Ghostbusters” – which happily worked out very well for all concerned. Thanks for dropping by, Don, and for adding your own memories to this blog. I’m sure I’m not the only person fascinated to learn of your matchmaking role in the early days of Ghostbusters! I agree that both Ghostbusters and The Last Starfighter were touchstone movies, in very different ways, which does indeed make this a particularly memorable issue. “My favourite image, however, shows Bill Bryan’s head and shoulders poking out of the top of the Stay-Puft suit, while the marshmallow man’s detached foam rubber face sits grinning in the foreground.” Funny, that, and the front cover are my favorites, too. Hey Bill. I never thought the Stay-Puft marshmallow man would be posting a comment on my blog. Thanks for reading. I hope those pesky proton packs didn’t leave too many scars! Cheers, Graham

Sunday, January 23, 2011 Day 23: Youth In Revolt (2009) R, 1 hr. 30 min. Directed by: Miguel Arteta. Release Date: January 8, 2010. DVD Release Date: June 15, 2010. It's probably a good thing that Michael Cera found this niche acting job market, because otherwise he'd be totally screwed. My concern is what's going to happen when he's obviously NOT 16 (as opposed to being only somewhat not obviously 16). The good news is that he's pretty funny in Youth In Revolt. I don't always like Cera, in fact I think other than Scott Pilgrim v. The World, and Juno, I haven't liked him in anything. I also liked Zach Galifianakis in this movie and I don't like him in ANYTHING. Youth In Revolt is your basic coming-of-age film with a few twists that aren't totally unique. It's all about that first flush of romance and the pull of first love. As a species, humans are never dumber than when we're in that moment of our lives, and Youth is a testament to that stupidity. What is unique is that this movie wasn't set as far back in the past as I had thought (based on the clothes of the cast members). My clue was the purchase of a dog with a "Subway card with four stickers on it." It's also unique that this coming-of-age movie is funny. Ridiculously so. There are one-liners and situations that are so hysterical that if they aren't being freely quoted on the internet, they should be. Justin Long bumps this up just a bit and I regret that his part wasn't a bit bigger. But the man does do a good cameo. The multi-personality creation between Nick and Francois is brilliant. I especially like that regardless of which is talking or moving around, there's no change in perspective on the part of the rest of the cast. Although what self-respecting modern teenager would create an alter ego that wore white sansabelt pants and a blue button down linen shirt? Don't get me started on the mustache. If this movie has a fault, it's that none of the cast of characters feel real in something other than fits and starts. It's not that this keeps the movie from being funny, but it takes the story from being funny because these things could happen to funny because of how ludicrous these people are. Labels: michael cera

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The Best Thing about a Postal Strike Is that all your packages arrive at once! Here at last is my Fall Felted Bag from my partner Penny Here's the HUGE bag she made for me and it's full of goodies! Question is, will my laptop fit inside? You bet it will and Penny has sewn in an extra pocket on the inside which is exactly the right size for the mouse! Well done Penny, it's a really great, useful bag, thanks a million. But wait, Penny sent more... The dark yarn you can't quite see is Hacho 100% Merino which is SO soft, Regia Bamboo and a thick single from DuraSport with some Canadian Kool-Aid for dyeing with. How fabulous is this? But wait there's more... Clods (apparently addictive so I haven't opened them yet!) Cadbury's Dark Chocolate and some handcream(Penny, how did you know I had just finished my last tube?) And a really pretty beaded bag - isn't this lovely? Inside is a necklace and a pair of earrings which are beautiful but can I take a decent picture of them? No of course not. I'll keep trying though as you deserve to see them - they're great. So thanks to my new friend in Canada who sent me a wonderful package that was definitely worth the wait. I love it all and don't worry I won't be giving any of it away Penny!! Oh yeah, the worst thing about a Postal Strike? Is people who buy something from you on eBay (or via your website) in the middle of a Postal Strike and then complain that their parcel hasn't arrived..... Messages vary from ' bk not arrvd...problem? thnx' (I kid you not, people really do use text language to complain.) to the longwinded letter of meticulous complaint spanning several paragraphs. It's been impossible not to write sarcastic replies beginning with 'Yes, there's a problem - it's called a Postal Strike, it's beyond my control.' or ' You may not be aware but we have been having a series of Postal Strikes.....' I'm at the end of my tether with them and I don't think I can bear to write anymore replies. Off to try and finish my Tilted Duster.... 4 comments: I am glad your package finally arrived. I didn't know there was a postal strike until you wrote it on your blog. Glad the lap top fit in the bag. Guess the heavy piece I put in the bottom of the bag will work out if you are going to use the bag for your laptop. My exchange bag should be arriving anytime now and I am ansy with anticipation. Wow - great swap! Love the bag - how nice that your laptop fits. Hope the postal strike ends soon! My package arrived today, and it's GORGEOUS! Thank you, details are being posted on my blog now... And there is another connection here.... Those people need to just shut the fuck up! Who complains about an item not arriving when there's a bloody postal strike?! Idjits. Pardon my language. Love your new bag!! :)

Tag work (26)). craving HDL Mood: excited Posted on 2009-06-18 09:31:00 Tags: health work Words: 91 I had a physical yesterday, and like last time my HDL is still low. (it's 28...somethings and normal is 40...somethings). benchmark analyzer! Mood: proud Posted on 2009-02-24 10:20:00 Tags: projects work Words: 164 So I wrote this benchmark analyzer to analyze benchmarks that have many parameters and try to figure out what the important ones are. To that end, it creates a decision tree in R, and also generates lots of boxplots to visualize the different parameters. Here's a sample report (with boring data). It also (somewhat cleverly) saves the original .csv file with the web page it generates, so you can save the page and send it to a colleague who can play with the options and rerun the analysis. It occurred to me as I was prettying this up that most benchmarks don't involve lots of parameters, and so the probability that anyone else is going to find this useful is pretty low. I'm OK with that because - it's useful to me right this very moment for work stuff - I had fun writing it and learned some more about R - pretty graphs! - it was good to work on something other than whereslunch.org for a while! (no subject) Mood: okay Posted on 2008-07-23 10:14:00 Tags: asmc work worldofwarcraft Words: 195 Rehearsals are going pretty well, albeit a bit tiring. We're about to get into "oh crap the shows is really really soon and we all suck" mode (it's an annual occurrence), but once we buckle down I think all will be well. After rehearsal last night, I arrived home to find a few "dude, did you steal all the stuff in the guild bank?" IMs. Not a good sign. Tried to log in to WoW and couldn't, so I reset the password online and discovered that I had, indeed, done so. The weird thing is that the thief took basically all 5000 of my gold, but didn't sell any of my soulbound gear, and cleared out most of my bank but not all of it. And didn't find the 8 Primal Mights and 450 gold on my auction house mule. Anyway, I filed a petition to get my crap back, which I think they usually do, and presumably they'll restore the guild bank as well. Yet another way WoW is better than the real world :-) This week I've been superproductive at work...let's see if that continues today. This article about purity balls is kinda creepy.!) not as deep as it sounds Mood: content Posted on 2008-04-01 14:42:00 Tags: work Words: 70 From one perspective, being notified of a problem as you get to work and later fixing that problem means you haven't made any progress - from your point of view things worked as well as they did before you came to work. From another perspective, there was a horrendous bug that you didn't know about and now that it's gone peace can reign over the codebase. I find it very satisfying!? *twitch* Mood: nervous Posted on 2008-02-06 13:49:00 Tags: health work Words: 97 My right eye has been doing this weird twitching for the past 5 days or so. It doesn't happen all the time, and it doesn't hurt, but sometimes it'll just start twitching like the eyelid is stuck open or caught on something. And the eye does feel a little dry. Anyone have any clue whether this is serious or not? It's a little irritating, but I can live with it if it's not the sign of some larger problem (eye falling out, for example - that would be bad). Work meeting #1 today, big work meeting #2 tomorrow....) big day Mood: nervous Posted on 2008-01-09 09:18:00 Tags: rant work mortgage house Words: 89 Big work meeting today after lunch. We met with our mortgage guy yesterday and everything seems to be in order, so bully for that. After work we're gonna view the house again and then, in all likelihood, make an offer, which is exciting! This just in: the house was not used previously to manufacture methamphetamines (yes, this question is on the seller's disclosure). Also, $32 per month is a ridiculous sum of money to pay to a homeowner's association, for use of a pool that we'll probably never use. . [ Fill out Poll ] [ View Poll Results ] [ Discuss Results ] [ Close Poll ] Poll #1109699 Elevator floor distribution - which is faster? Starting at floor 1 and going to floor 8, which set of stops will lead to a faster ride? Stopping at floors 2 and 3 7 (58.3%) Stopping at floors 3 and 6 2 (16.7%) They'll be almost exactly the same 3 (25.0%)! over! Mood: content Music: 50 Cent vs. Michael Jackson - "In Da Starlight" Posted on 2005-08-08 11:36:00 Tags: asmc charlottesweb work Words: 455 Wow...so, crazy weekend. Friday night was gala night, which was very well attended. The show went pretty well, then I went out and hung out with my family - it was nice to see them again, although I'm going to see them next week on vacation as well :-) Then I was cashier for silent auction people, and then my family and djedi and I headed over to Kerbey Lane Cafe which was good (although the service was quite slow). After that, bed, then we met my family for brunch the next morning at Whole Foods and went back to the theater for two more shows. By this point I was really getting tired - my part is pretty high-energy (stumbling all over stage and whatnot), so it takes a lot out of me. Anyway, after that we went to church and came home and had wildrice13 over for dinner. Unfortunately, I had some work stuff I was pretty worried about so I went in to work to try to fix stuff while djedi and wildrice13 played some FFX-2. I ended up spending longer than I meant to at work (3.5 hours) but I eventually got in a groove (involving listening to my current music over and over again) and fixed both of my major issues, which I was quite pumped about! Came home, and FFX-2 was passed (including the special 100% cutscene) not too long afterwards. Congrats! Sunday I slept in a little bit, which was really nice, then back to theater for two more shows, striking the set, and the cast party. We didn't stay too long because we were tired, then we headed up to destroyerj's for a monitor-viewing and games, including a rousing game of Simpsons Clue (Smithers did it!), Snipe Hunt, and a few rounds of Bop It! So, today is my day between shows, and Charlotte's Web rehearsal starts tomorrow. I need to work more on memorizing my lines. Busy week between gamenight, two rehearsals, and djedi's birthday (happy birthday!). I think I'm done with djedi's code for now - it seems to work and the major source of confusion we had was cleared up... So I wear a nightguard now when I sleep so I won't grind my teeth (which I apparently do like nobody's business...). The last time I had a nightguard it was for orthodontics work I had, and it hurt every morning when I woke up (presumably because my teeth were trying to shift back or whatever), so I was pleasantly surprised to find that this one doesn't hurt much at all, and it only makes it a little harder to get to sleep (which hasn't been much of an issue so far given how exhausted I've been!). Yay!.

GORHAM, ME (Jan. 28) — With 12 seconds remaining in the game and the Western Connecticut State University men's basketball team holding a one-point lead over the University of Southern Maine, senior Gary Robinson (Torrington, CT) missed the front end of a one-and-one that was rebounded by Southern Maine. Nine seconds later when USM's Chris Pagentine was fouled, he sank both foul shots, giving the Huskies a thrilling 85-84 win over the Colonials. Senior guard Chris Pagentine (Lexington, N.C./North Davidson) calmly sank two free throws with 2.8 second remaining in regulation to lift the University of Southern Maine Huskies to an 85-84 win over the Western Connecticut State University Colonials Saturday afternoon at Hill Gymnasium in Gorham, Maine. With the win Southern Maine rebounds from a two-game skid to improve to 8-10 overall and 2-7 in the Little East Conference. The loss is the first in three games for the Colonials who dip to 15-4 overall and 6-3 in the LEC. The Huskies’ win over the Colonials avenges an 88-58 loss earlier this season. Pagentine was able to sink the game-winning free throws for the Huskies following an outstanding defensive effort from senior forward Jeremy Jackson (Laplace, La./Independence). After blocking a shot on the Colonials previous possession, Jackson was able to coral a huge defensive rebound off of a missed free throw that would have given the Colonials a two-point lead with seconds remaining. However, Jackson’s career-high 15th rebound of the game gave the Huskies another possession trailing 84-83 with 12 seconds to play. Fouled on the perimeter while attempting to drive to the basket, Pagentine sank both ends of a 1-and-1 for the win. The Colonials were unable to get a shot off in the final seconds of the game. Jackson finished the game with a monster double-double on 25 points and 15 rebounds. He added three assists, one block and one steal. Pagentine, who was 7-for-12 from the field, had 18 points and two assists. Sophomore guard Brandon Tomah (Princeton, Maine/Calais) and junior guard Alex Kee (Bath, Maine/Morse) chipped in with 15 and 12 points each. Kee had four assists, while Tomah had three assists and three steals. Senior guard DaQuan Brooks (Atlanta, Ga./Bristol Central (Conn.)) led the Colonials with 24 points and nine assists. Senior forward Gary Robinson (Torrington, Conn./Hotchkiss) added 14 points and six rebounds, while junior Michael Jensen (Gales Ferry, Conn./Ledyard) and sophomore center James Barnes (Middletown, Conn./Xavier) had 12 and 11 points each. Barnes led the Colonials in rebounding with seven boards. The Huskies trailed Western Connecticut by as many as 11 points in the second half. Following a three-pointer from junior guard Ryan Pelletier (Wolcott, Conn.), the Colonials held a 72-61 advantage over the Huskies with 8:42 to play. The Huskies responded however scoring 13 straight points to lead 74-72 with 5:12 remaining. Four different players scored for the Huskies in the run, led by four points each from Jackson and sophomore forward John Roberts (Falmouth, Maine). Brooks scored five straight points for the Colonials to regain a 77-74 lead with 4:02 to play and both teams battled over the next one minute and 19 seconds before Tomah canned a game-tying three with 2:43 on the clock for an 81-81 deadlock. The Colonials Jensen responded to Tomah’s three with one of his own for a 84-81 Western Connecticut lead before Pagentine hit a jumper to pull USM to within one 84-83 with 1:19 on the clock. Jackson came up with the block on the next Colonial possession and then secured the big defensive rebound setting up Pagentine for the game-winning heroics. Southern Maine on Tuesday (7:30 p.m.) when it hosts Colby College. Western Connecticut hosts Connecticut College on Tuesday (7:30 p.m.). Both games are non-conference. Newspaper Box Score SOUTHERN MAINE 85, WESTERN CONNECTICUT 84 WESTERN CONNECTICUT (15-4, 6-3 LEC) DaQuan Brooks 10-22 1-1 24; Gary Robinson 6-10 0-1 14; Michael Jensen 4-8 0-0 12; James Barnes 5-8 1-2 11; Ryan Pelletier 3-5 0-0 8; Luis Bridtter 4-5 0-0 8; Jengodji Gates 1-2 0-0 3; Michael Kennedy 1-3 0-0 2; Mark Redding 1-5 0-0 2; Robert Bentil 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 35-68 2-4 84. SOUTHERN MAINE (8-10, 2-7 LEC) Jeremy Jackson 10-12 5-8 25; Chris Pagentine 7-12 2-2 18; Brandon Tomah 6-14 0-0 15; Alex Kee 5-12 0-0 12; John Roberts 3-7 0-0 6; Conor Sullivan 1-7 4-5 6; John Sewall 1-3 0-0 3; Ethan Cushman 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 33-68 11-15 85. Western Connecticut........... 44 40 - 84 Southern Maine................ 46 39 - 85 3-point goals--Western Connecticut 12-28 (Michael Jensen 4-8; DaQuan Brooks 3-8; Gary Robinson 2-5; Ryan Pelletier 2-4; Jengodji Gates 1-2; Michael Kennedy 0-1), Southern Maine 8-20 (Brandon Tomah 3-6; Chris Pagentine 2-5; Alex Kee 2-6; John Sewall 1-2; Conor Sullivan 0-1). Fouled out--Western Connecticut-None, Southern Maine-None. Rebounds--Western Connecticut 35 (James Barnes 7), Southern Maine 36 (Jeremy Jackson 15). Assists--Western Connecticut 17 (DaQuan Brooks 9), Southern Maine 12 (Alex Kee 4). Total fouls--Western Connecticut 10, Southern Maine 12. Technical fouls--Western Connecticut-None, Southern Maine-None. A-323

One of the primary concerns about expanded oil drilling in the Arctic is that the Arctic is far away from everything. Until very, very recently, no one lived anywhere near the Arctic; even today, it’s pretty sparsely populated. As we’ve noted before, an oil spill a few hundred miles from New Orleans in 2010 took months to stop. How long will it take to cap a broken well in icy water thousands of miles from any resources? To that end, governments interested in exploring resource extraction in the Arctic came together to develop a plan for just such a contingency. And as Greenpeace notes, the plan sucks. From the BBC: In 2011 The Arctic Council members [Ed. - Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia, Sweden, U.S.] signed the Nuuk Declaration that committed them to develop an international agreement on how to respond to oil pollution in the northern seas. … The plan says that “each party shall maintain a national system for responding promptly and effectively to oil pollution incidents” without requiring any clear details on the number of ships or personnel that would be needed to cope with a spillage. Seriously. Greenpeace has a copy of the full draft document [PDF]. It can be summed up in three bullet points: - Here are the countries making this agreement and here is what “oil” means. - If anything happens, we agree to deal with it. - Here is everyone’s emergency contact information. Think I’m oversimplifying? Go look. This took them two years. Sweden’s ambassador to the Council thinks the agreement is great, saying, “The agreement is a great step forward for the protection of the Arctic from an oil spill because it sets up a system for the states to co-operate in practice.” Because if this weren’t in place — what? If Shell fucked up and caused a spill, Russia and Canada would just tell the U.S. “tough shit”? No, if there were a spill that threatened the shoreline of any country, it would get involved with or without this document. And I suspect everyone already has the right phone numbers. There will be a spill in the Arctic. That’s not me saying it. That’s Shell Alaska Vice President Pete Slaiby saying it. When that happens, it would be nice to know that there’s some sort of well-funded, well-staffed, resource-heavy international entity standing by to spring into action. That there’s something there in the empty Arctic that can be on-scene in short order to deal with the problem. But, you know. Lip service is good too. Hat-tip: Brian Merchant.

Opinion | Columnists Dangers of ‘dynastical democracy’ Perhaps people reach for known brands such as Trudeau or Le Pen when crises make them frightened by uncertainties - Image Credit: AP - Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton Kennedy. Roosevelt. Bush. Clinton. Gandhi. Bhutto. Gore. Aquino. Miliband. Le Pen. What do these familiar names have in common? They are all, in one way or another, names of political dynasties — families from whom more than one member has come to prominence in political life. Justin Trudeau, son of former Canadian prime minister Pierre Trudeau, became the most recent addition to the list as he announced his intention to run for Liberal party leader this week. The Clintons and the Milibands skew the trend — marital and fraternal bonds rather than a multi-generational lineage. But Trudeau’s recent rise to prominence in Canada reminds us that dynasty — the “trusted brand” of the alpha family name — still plays a significant role in many democracies. What does this tell us about how modern democracies are operating? For surely “dynastical democracy” is in some sense a contradiction in terms? Take France and the US: Countries founded, in part, on a conception of civic nationalism in which “all men are created equal”, not the hereditary power of monarchies. When Hillary Clinton announced her bid for presidency in 2007, it was noted that, at that point, “40 per cent of Americans have never lived without a Bush or Clinton in the White House” — although America’s hereditary low-point of the new century was surely in 2000, when Al Gore, son of Senator Albert Gore, ran against George Bush, son of, well, George Bush. Even Barack Obama’s election — a democratic endorsement of a figure who did not emerge from a dynastical elite — was met with inevitable references to Kennedy’s “Camelot” and the iconography of golden-age patrician politics, while a Vogue interview with Chelsea Clinton this summer gushed that she was “waiting in the wings” before a (natural? entitled?) turn to politics. When the last French presidential elections were in the party-primary stages in 2011, the Socialist party’s Martine Aubry, daughter of Jacques Delors, was a possible presidential candidate alongside Marine Le Pen, inheritor of her father’s xenophobic Front National. Dynasties once governed Europe, of course, in the monarchies that cling on in constitutional arrangements or, in the case of coalition Britain, are utilised through their weddings and jubilees to reinforce the regressive notion that all’s well and everyone “in their right place”. Elites are self-perpetuating; the different spheres of power interplaying with one another, meaning the economic elite can more easily dabble in politics — think of the Mitford sisters trying ideologies on like dresses. Dynasties that emerge in republics are perhaps more compelling: From Bonaparte to Gandhi, a name can become so bound up with the nation’s birth that it comes to embody it in the eyes of many. There is also an obvious gendered dimension: Many modern female leaders have been daughters of presidents and prime ministers, as though the importance of bloodline negated the usual disadvantage of female-ness, little help as that is to most women. Dynasties in modern dictatorships are common enough — hard to think of an autocrat without thinking of his playboy son, PhD-plagiarising or Ferrari-crashing, who gets appointed something like minister of finance, no doubt on the basis of his qualifications. State corruption in the form of clientelism and kleptocracy manifests when the nation’s wealth becomes diverted to the ruling family and those whom nepotism grants access to this walled world. But what’s striking if you look at the current political landscape is the prevalence of dynasties in self-proclaimed liberal democracies, where the descendants of statesmen are voted into power. In countries like the US, it may be facets of democracy itself that cultivate dynasties — the mushrooming cost of electoral campaigning leaves politics to those who have already accumulated wealth as well as connections. It can be bound with the historical dominance of a party and a family’s role within that party, such as the Congress party in India. Perhaps, as with the truism that extreme ideologies become more electorally palatable during economic crises, voters do indeed reach for “trusted brand names” when crises make them frightened by the world’s uncertainties. The negative effects of “democratic dynasties” are obvious: A fossilisation of the elite decays democracy as well as social and economic mobility, fostering “rent-seeking” behaviour in deference to the powerful families. But political discourse can deteriorate as names become more important than issues. You don’t need to say the name “George Bush” to know that a dynastical tendency might mean you don’t get the most competent candidate, and — while having a political family heritage doesn’t mean you can’t be a competent politician — those who haven’t struggled to make a name for themselves are likely to be made of different stuff to the pioneer who carved out their own place in the world. Perhaps it is worthwhile asking ourselves: As voters, why do so many of us keep going for the “trusted brand” of dynasties? And if we are living in an era of the “democratic dynasty”, how did we come to choose our own aristocrats? Heather McRobie has studied and worked on human rights and women’s rights issues in Jordan, Germany and Bosnia.

HP Support Forums Join in the conversation. - Subscribe - - Mark Topic as New - Mark Topic as Read - - Float this Topic to the Top - Bookmark - Subscribe - - Printer Friendly Page Black screen with blinking cursor[ Edited ] 08-01-2012 05:45 PM - edited 08-01-2012 05:53 PM Yesterday I experienced a blue screen occurrence, which I did not take seriously. I let it run its course and simply restarted. Following the blue screen I used my computer as I normally would. I ran a thorough virus scan last night to assure that my computer was clean and nothing came up. Today, while I was browsing the web, my computer shut all of my applications and restarted. After the restart I have been unable to get beyond the black screen with the blinking cursor. I am using an HP Pavilion Elite e9220y PC. I am using Windows 7 64-bit. Besides the blue screen, I have had no forewarning of this occurrence. Recently I have downloaded the game series "Dawn of War" through steam. Today I updated "Minecraft." Beyond those two recent additions to my computer, I cannot recall installing anything. Thus far I have used another computer running Windows 7 64-bit to create a system repair disk to access the system recovery tools. I have run the Startup Repair option multiple times and come up with nothing. However, it did recommend I unplug devices and try to restart windows. I did this to no avail. Currently I only have my mouse, keyboard and monitor plugged in. I have also tried a System Restore to earlier today where a Windows Update: Type "Critical Update" was said to have been installed. I have been able to use the "Recovery Manager" to Backup files onto an external hard drive that I connected through a USB port, So I do not believe that anything is wrong with the hard drive itself. Please help me with this problem. Sorry for the long post. Solved! Go to Solution. Re: Black screen with blinking cursor 08-01-2012 07:35 PM Boot from the Repair CD again, select Repair Your Computer and choose the Command Prompt. Enter the following commands and tap enter after each one - note spaces as shown. Bootrec.exe bcdedit /export C:\BCD_Backup c: cd boot attrib bcd -s -h -r ren c:\boot\bcd bcd.old bootrec /RebuildBcd bootrec /fixmbr bootrec /fixboot Re: Black screen with blinking cursor 08-01-2012 07:58 PM Re: Black screen with blinking cursor 08-01-2012 09:10 PM Since you have backed up your files you could go for the Recovery Manager option to reinstall back to Factory specs. Re: Black screen with blinking cursor 08-01-2012 09:13 PM Re: Black screen with blinking cursor 08-01-2012 09:23 PM Do you have a Recovery Disk set? If not phone hP to order one,usually around $20. Choose your country here>> Contact HP and next look for the phone option to get the info page. Re: Black screen with blinking cursor 08-01-2012 10:58 PM Re: Black screen with blinking cursor 08-02-2012 08:52 PM You're welcome.Sorry it couldn't be solved more easily.

- Mark all as New - Mark all as Read - - Float this item to the top - Bookmark - - - Invite a Friend Why I’m Not Reading George Eliot, Same Goes for COBOL Critical transformation decisions can't ignore application functionality. But how do you "read" all your code beforehand? - machine learning - transformation experience workshop - visual intelligence explorer Ropes, Strings, and Threads In my recent posts, Meet the Clones in My Neighborhood and You're Only as JUNG as You Feel, I mentioned how JUNG could be used to extract clusters of cloned code from a complex graph of an entire application. This has been very helpful to drill down into code to look at sub clusters as in the tiled image below. (I’ve substituted number for module names, since this is actual code.) But even with this simplified image, the team wanted to convey more meaning in our next generation tool: Visual Intelligence Explorer. The amazing thing about JUNG is that it allows our team to have complete control over the image rendering process. So we can control how the lines are drawn between the nodes. Up till now, with other tools, we’ve been coloring the lines, green for a weak relationship, red for a strong one. But using JUNG we’ve discovered lines convey meaning more intuitively when weighted instead of being colored. This is especially useful in large graphs, where lines can hide other lines and get lost in the tangle. Line weights are natural and intuitive. Think of cable, rope, twine, string, and thread. Just the sound of those linear objects conveys strength. Cables pull barges, ropes rope cows, twine bales hay, string wraps packages, and threads? Well a thread is what I’m hanging by with this metaphor. But just look at the image below, over 200,000 lines of code are represented by this graph of code modules, what’s important, what’s not? Let’s add some weights to those lines. Here’s a zoom-in of the same image. Here we’ve made four types of lines; the weakest are dotted lines, the threads. Then we move all the way to our ropes and cables. The point is now we can see the most important cloned code. Our Visual Intelligence Explorer is taking shape very quickly. Please check back here, soon I’ll be posting about using the text search engine Lucene to find legacy source code signatures. - asymmetrical - inferential statistics - lucene - metacognition - span query - text search - visual intelligence explorer - visualization tools

>>. @Dex Why would you be spending money on a fuckbuddy? I think you need to learn the difference between one of those and a girlfriend. Anyway, wasn’t this posted ages ago? lol Dex, what a post. I guess this is cool in some ways, but part of me is screaming, “Just go outside, damnit!” Master’s thesis on that? Really ? I think Tacx has him beat at present The Tacx is a little more expensive….. Considering google street view is a series of images, why would you expect it to be anything other than a slideshow? Were you expecting a video to construct itself out of images? Why would you expect that it would be a smooth experience? Anyone who has used street view knows that you can’t smoothly scroll through it, you need to continue to click to advance to each next segment along the route. @Marco I was wondering the same, but after all, it’s not engineering or computer science, it’s “a 12-month intensive course that is designed specifically for art and design graduates” @Marco Agreed. This is trivial. Its sad that some people spend money on a degree like this thinking it will land them a real job. This would be a cool project if an 10 year old had done it, but coming from a masters student this is just sad. Good luck finding a job in this economy “Whets” your appetite, not “wets.” Common mistake. For a master thesis, for any course, this really is sad. You can determine the direction with a single latching hall sensor, if you place the magnets such that both the north and south poles pass over the hall sensor, and the distance between the magnets is much larger then the width of the magnet. Pedaling in one direction would give a small duty-cycle (short high pulse), and the other direction would give a large duty cycle (short low pulse). I’d like to thing any masters student would be able to figure that out. The concept of point-of-view rides could be viable, with a number of improvements. First of all, a larger number of magnets would be a good idea, to get a shorter measurement interval. It would be really cool to incorporate steepness or pedal torque data in the stream, and use an eddy current or other electronically controllable brake on the bike, to mirror the pedaling torque required for a given speed to the actual ride. A panoramic view (from a panoramic helmet camera) would be really cool, because that would enable the use of a VR helmet. You can really make it as simple or complicated as you like. There could even be a commercial market for the ride data… A masters thesis? Seriously? Wow. What a piece of crap. A masters thesis on… Generating forward/back/left/right keystrokes from and exercise machine??? Really? Seriously??? Wow. I’d be embarassed to be that guy. What a fail. People with REAL masters thesis’ are going to laugh this guy out of the indistry!!! Also, HAD, you should be embarassed for posting this worthless writeup. FAIL. Go sit in the corner for a MILLION YEARS. it says “PART OF” a master’s thesis, FYI — lots of theses in design and the applied arts involve a portfolio of projects, and this could be just one of them. No one is going to get a master’s degree just for making this one thing. I like HaD, but frankly the cranky bitter frustrated-engineer mindset that shows up in the comments (not on the site content, imagine that) is just gross. If we left everything up to the designers and artists we’d have gorgeous products that felt great to use but didn’t work mechanically; if we left it all up to the engineers every single product would work fine but it would be a 600 pound stainless steel cube. People here need to learn to accept that they can do some things better than other people, and other people are much better than them at other things, rather than the whole “omg you mean he didn’t wind his own resistors from carbon wire what a fucking n00b HaD sux” bullshit attitude. Out(in) for a leisurely ride and Dammit,I looked, the light was green and WHAM one frame later and I get hit by a bus. To make things worse it had an add for Microsoft Windows mobile 7 on the side. @Marco My thoughts, exactly. It’s awesome — breaks the monotony of stationary exercise equipment nicely, except it looks like his screen is too small and not ergonomic enough to get really… immersed. i think it’s a great project and creative and resourceful. i finally wrote a book: To those of you who appreciate the project, Thank you very much, for those of you who dont, thats up to yourselves, whatever, considering I come from an art background and never touched so much as an LED prior to this year, I feel I did all right out of it, as for a job in the ‘indistry’ at least I can spell the word! Also this was only a tiny PART of the Masters Thesis not the complete assessed work for the year, I guess it is easy being so critical when hiding behind your computer screens, Thank you to those of you who at least tried to be nice about it. First off I saw this more than a year (maybe two) ago already, so this guy steals stuff for a thesis? And @jake you scream he should be embarrassed then type the word “indistry”… This still isn’t going to get me on an exercise bike, though I would happily jump on one if I could play some San Andreas from the seat. At least use a head-mounted display to give you more immersion. @M4C Simulator sickness would be a huge problem. HMDs require significant further development before you can really just drop them in like that. @Lette The electrical side of this is really not that complicated no matter how you set it up, and you chose an approach that would seem sensible to someone with much more experience in the topic area. I wouldn’t worry about that too much. The design and human sides of this are much more complex and interesting anyway. This would be really cool if you recorded favorite routes, and then just used faster / slower key inputs into VLC based on the interval between passes. It would be fairly simple to code as well. On a side note, people around you would look quite funny. @Whatnot I’m doing pretty damn good for typing all this crap from a blackberry, dammit! Also, I agree with Whatnot, saw this somewhere else a long time ago! hello, made same thing one year ago using an usb keyboard controller to allow not electronic people to build one. used to allow my father to distract when do some cyclette exercises (he has some problem walking…) allow also to choose location with super easy interface, with best city around, and an option to randomize location based on db. is usefull for people with some disabilities, and funny for all others… @ Jake and others, yup This idea was out before, I never said I was the first to come up with the idea, far from it, but this was built for people with disabilites and have no experience with computers and also to prove that something like this can be built at little or no cost, all build and code is original though, I didnt steal anything thanks!! Why did you have to “prove” something that was already common sense? Only required input: Left, right, forward, back. Lol. I’m sorry, sounds like it’s better suited for a highschool science project. I’m shocked that anyone would consider this a relevant thesis topic, it must have taken all of what, 2 days to finish? If that??? A thesis is supposed to mean something, be relevent and complex… *sigh* You know, I just realized something. You *aren’t* an electrical person, are you. See, I’m going on the assumption that your “Interactive Media” description implied that you were some sort of electrical engineering technology student or something. If you don’t have an electrical background, then bravo for figuring out the use of hall sensors and whatnot, but still – If I did my masters in EE with a thesis that tried to do someting that had already been done 10 times over, they’d tell me to go to hell and laugh me out of the office. Maybe things are different in your program. I dunno. Jake, but who said its EE? :) u clearly havent read any of my post or blog to find out anything about the project, its all there if you read it!! Im not an engineer I am a creative with a background in art and absolutely no background at all in electronics of any kind, if you had read the full post you wouldnt have had to ‘realise’ that! There is a massive difference and the Masters was not just based on this build alone because yes, its very basic electronics, but graded rather on the quality of content in research and explanation and in showing documentary evidence of everything involved in this project, not just the build but working with people with disabilities and palliative illness themselves. The project was built for them and was PROVEN for them because the majority if not all the people I worked with during this project in the care centre had never heard of a hall sensor much less an arduino!! Try not to be so critical when there is far more to the picture than what you read in a brief blog post, where my engineering fails it makes up for in the HCI, user studies and Human factors involved, thats the side of interaction design I studied! I use the Taxc almost every day in the winter for a Cycling Trainer .. You can import Google Earth kml..with elevation controlling a torque inducing motor to mimic very realistically hills both up and down .. Ride it .. Save it .. Upload to a Tacx supported web site and “race” against ppl from all over the world . And there is a Live REal Time way to ride with other riders . . the cost is around $1200 pricey for most, but for a serious Cycler it’s not much…

Work/Life Balance in Library School 05/12/2011 § 14 Comments our schoolwork, we must obtain as much library experience as possible prior to graduation so that we can maximize our job prospects. Even those of us who are fortunate enough to land paying part-time library work find it necessary to broaden our CVs through volunteer positions or unpaid internships – often more than one! In order sell ourselves to potential employers, we participate in conferences, blog, tweet, network, maintain digital portfolios, and try to find time for a beer once in a while. Such overextension can quickly lead to exhaustion and burnout…but in this economic climate where jobs are scarce, we’re all anxious to set ourselves apart from the hundreds of other candidates out there. So, how can we be successful librarians and lead balanced lives? This is a question I’ve been grappling with throughout my first semester. I came to library school after several years in the workforce, in a position that I adored but that also demanded my every waking moment. After three years of seventy hour work weeks and a personal life that was in complete limbo, I finally admitted that my lifestyle was not sustainable. When I started at library school in the fall, I wondered what changes I could make that would allow me to downshift. I still wanted to work hard, but I also wanted to enjoy my life. So I decided to be systematic about how I spent my time in library school. I asked myself what achievements and skills potential employers would seek in me after graduation. I knew that varied work experiences and French language abilities would be high on the list, so I took a part-time job at a public library as soon as I could. I enrolled in a French class (I hope to find work in Montreal so bilingualism is important). I also signed up for two student committees, took volunteer opportunities when possible, and committed to presenting at one conference at least this year. Although these activities have spread me pretty thin, probably too thin to downshift successfully, I feel I’ve made a good decision about how to allot my time. Happily, I also find that I am devoting a great deal more time to my relationship, family, and friends, leading to a much greater sense of well-being in my personal life. I do have more balance than I did before. Even so, I still struggle. Letting go of my own perfectionism has been a major hurdle for me this semester. Sometimes I find myself thinking thoughts like, If I didn’t have so much to do, I would have a perfect GPA. Then I berate myself for not being good enough to do it all and have a perfect GPA. I continually have to remind myself that being well-rounded is not only important, but healthy. The ACRLog has an interesting post on this subject. According to them, many libraries are experiencing difficulties attracting solid candidates in the Gen X and Gen Y age brackets to directorship positions, as the younger librarians prefer to devote more energy to their families and friends than to a stressful, demanding position that is not perceived as rewarding. While I am not sure that Gen X and Gen Y are really that easy to pigeonhole, for me the main point of the article was that the younger librarians are not pursuing advancement simply for the sake of advancement. They want their lives to be fulfilled in every context. As librarians-in-training with many demands on our time, how can we avoid exhaustion and burnout? The website LIScareer has a list of articles that deal with these issues in a library setting. I can also share with you some time management techniques that have kept me sane this semester: Limit Your Available Time I had a professor who always said, “Work expands to fill all available time.” I didn’t understand what she meant back then, but now I realize how true this statement is. Since I don’t want my work to dominate my life, I try to limit my available time. For example, just because I have all Saturday to complete a homework assignment doesn’t mean I have to take all Saturday to do it. I ask myself, could I finish it in five hours? If the answer is yes, I work as efficiently as I can to get it done in that five hour block. Ironically, I’ve found that the work I produce in these limited chunks of time is usually better than it would be if I dragged it out for days. Ask Yourself Where Your Time Really Goes In the same way it’s easy to lose track of how much money you spend if you don’t record every purchase, it’s easy to lose track of how you actually spend your time. I might tell myself that I worked on my essay until 3AM, but if I was checking Facebook every few minutes then that’s not really true. I want to exercise but keep telling myself I don’t have the time, when I could easily scrap the TV I watch before bed to get up early for a swim. Being aware of where your time really goes can make a huge difference in your efficiency. Give Your Work All You’ve Got – Then Leave It used to be that the boundaries between work life and home life were a lot more distinct. You just left the office and that was it. These days, the onus is on you to set those boundaries. This requires some planning and communication, but a few simple changes can help a lot. Do schoolwork on campus or in a coffee shop, not at home. Tell your coworkers that you don’t check your work e-mail on weekends. Try to have an established routine even on days when you don’t have classes so that you don’t unintentionally end up wasting the whole day. Above all, work as hard as you can while you’re working – then get out of there and stop thinking about it! How about you? What do you do to manage your time? Drop me a comment here or e-mail me at lauramariesanders at gmail dot com! Good article Laura! I struggle with time management. I usually start out my semester with a calendar of all homework due dates, and sometimes weekly schedules with To-Do lists. But somehow these efforts become futile after the first two weeks. My homework always seems to stretch to fill all my empty time…but you’re right I do waste time on “distractions” like Netflix or Facebook. I have considered spending more time on campus to do my homework, instead of doing it at home. I think I will try that next semester. When I do work on campus, I feel in the school-mode and I do feel more productive, whereas when I do work at home, I’m more likely to wish I just go to bed or relax. Thanks for sharing. Hopefully I can do better in the spring semester. Netflix is the worst when it comes to distraction! I could spend hours on it just watching movies. Great article- I know finding a balance can be very, very difficult. I find it quite hard to fit in everything I’d like because while I am in library school (online program through UW-Milwaukee) I am also working a full time job (database editing/managment, sort of library related). Internships are impossible because of work. So I rely more on volunteering and networking. A big help for me is asking the professors for reading lists/syllabi early on, so I can start reading before the classes begin for the semester. The best advice I can give is to not worry about your lib school grades. Seriously. No one will care if you didn’t get a 4.0. Your time is better spent getting work experience, or picking up a new language, or building tech skills…pretty much anything else. Rebecca, I have heard that from so many recent graduates who now have good jobs. And I have tried to make that my attitude this semester…but it’s hard not to slip back into my old perfectionistic habits, particularly when everyone around me is freaking out about grades all the time! And, as a corollary to that, don’t avoid useful classes just because you won’t get an A! I saw this happen depressingly often when I was in grad school. You mean classes like Cataloguing? It’s pretty much been the bane of my existence this semester…but I have to admit, it’s a highly useful class, so much so that I think it should be mandatory for all library school students. I’m totally guilty of dragging my work out for days. I need to sit down and just get my projects done. I look forward to the day when I don’t have to work and go to school full-time. Annie, me too! There are many days that I don’t have the mental energy to do homework at the end of a workday. I am only going to school part-time and working full-time, and I’m looking forward to only having to work. One more year to go…. Thanks for a great article! I’m just wrapping up my first semester. I also feel like I’ve been spreading myself fairly thin though I’m really happy and feel like I’ve achieved some kind of balance. Your tip about limiting available time is really helpful, though. I’ll give myself a day to finish an assignment (usually well in advance) but then I think, “Oh, I have the whole day to work on this” and then it gets dragged out. Limiting it to smaller chunks of time will help a lot – definitely will try it next semester! [...] spend time with my friends and get plenty of sleep. Hack Library School has had some great posts on work/school/life balancethat I recommend checking out. Perhaps you’ve been able to keep that balance during school, if [...] [...] The Finals Push: Dealing with Your Stress How I Learned to Keep Worrying and Love Library School Work/Life Balance in Library School You are Now an Information Professional: First Year Reflections Hack ThisEmailFacebookTwitterLike [...] [...] already feeling my stress level increase. I’ve been going back over the HLS posts on work/life balance and dealing with stress, and it’s nice to have the reminder that I’m not the only one [...].

A wise and noble people... Were nowhere to be seen... More than 200 native and nonnative people shouted down a sheriff who was delivering a court order that called for the immediate removal of a blockade at a proposed uranium mine north of Sharbot Lake.Once again, it's the inarticulate, nonsensicle voice of the cult of personal victimization. You'd get more coherent communication from a boxcar load of starving, tormented chimps. Yesterday, two sheriffs, escorted by Ontario Provincial Police, were met on the road outside the mine by Ardoch and Shabot Obaadjiwan First Nations warriors who would not allow the court officers on the property. Shabot Obaadjiwan war chief Earl Badour, who oversees the security of the protesters at the site, said he met the officers with a group of about 24 warriors.And then he held his breath until he turned blue. "I said to them we were not speaking," said Badour. Badour then signalled for the native flag to be turned upside down as a symbolic gesture that "all natives are in distress." Technorati Tags: Earl Badour, Frontenac Ventures, Ardoch and Shabot Obaadjiwan First Nations 18 comments: "I said to them we are not speaking.." Yeah? ..and this court order says i don't really give a rats ass if you speak or not..speaking is over, upholding the law is where we are now at.. What part of shut up and obey do they not understand? Tell them you are going to come back with the riot quad next time.. * kursk said... Tell them you are going to come back..." that would involve political will... not a commodity in generous supply, in ontario these days. * Police in Ontario actually attempting to enforce the law, I don't believe it! And the Indians shouldn't, either. Hold fast, Chief, the Great White Father in Toronto will cave pretty quickly, there's an election coming. Hand out some "Dudley George" masks, that should have everyone on the run. Oh, yeah, anything around to burn, tires, police cars, bridges? Prison for all those idiots. Unfortunately this is not just a native issue in this case. Us righties are pissed too. View from the local Con candidate. Property values are already being affected and sales dipping in the market. This thing is screwing more then just these natives. * "ewalden said... his is not just a native issue in this case" totally not the point, my friend. how can you negotiate, or even discuss what's happening here, if the aboriginals hijack the issue and then act as if they're starring in a less-civilised remake of "lord of the flies." maybe next time they'll decide your house is on sacred land. watch property values plummet then. anarchy is most decidedly not the answer... not now... not ever. * Mining Uranium in anyone's neigborhood gets them worried about health and environment issues. Native or non native, increased cancer risk and contamination of out natural resources is no joke. I am thankful that the community both sides of that gate, are there to stand against the mine. * "anon said... Mining Uranium in anyone's neigborhood" again... how can you negotiate, or even discuss what's happening here if you replace the law of the land with hysterical lawlessness? * Apparently King George II gave them the land in 1763 in a proclamation that also recognized the nation-to-nation relationship that the Crown has with the indigenous peoples of North America and acknowledged the Aboriginal title of their homelands. From what I hear these particular lands were never ceded. So the rule of law (and the Ipperwash commission) would suggest the discussion should be as one between nations, rather than cops and trespassers. I would have thought even a righty would be against a Mining act, such as the one we have in Ontario, which allows the Government to sell the mineral rights to my (non-native) land to a corporation without even consulting me. The Algonquins just cut a better deal back in the day than we colonial subjects did. * "anon announces... From what I hear these particular lands were never ceded." from what you hear? there's an entirely new concept... "anecdotal law." no real study, or law school required... "your honour, rumour has it..." lemme know how that works out the next time you're in court. * It's not new, it's at least as old as "stand-up law": If you can't refute a point with facts then hit'em with a zinger. The pivotal question in cases such as this one is what is required on the part of the Crown (as well as its agents, and ministries) to maintain the honour of the Crown and to achieve reconciliation between the Crown and Aboriginal peoples as is required under Section 35 of the Constitution Act of 1982? Aboriginal title and rights are still in existence in the Kiji Sìbì (Ottawa Valley), including what became Northern Frontenac County. These lands were never ceded or surrendered to the Crown. As the Algonquin community holding title and rights within the lands in question, and as an Aboriginal community whose rights are embedded, recognized and guaranteed in the Section 35 of the Constitution Act of 1982, clearly both the Province of Ontario and the federal government have Constitutional duties and obligations to protect aboriginal lands from the detrimental activities associated with uranium mining. What’s more, Frontenac Ventures Corporation should not have been granted claims or staking rights on these traditional lands without prior notification by the Ministry of Mining and Northern Development, and they should not have been allowed to purchase crown lands without our consent, as the Algonquin people are the only autonomous authority within those lands. * it's good to know this is all so legally "cut and dried"... all the aboriginals have to do is stop acting like crazy children and go to court and get their own injunction. oh wait... they don't recognise the "white mans law", do they? * neocon realized...'oh wait... they don't recognise (sic) the "white mans (sic) law", do they?' By George!!! If I interpret your naive regurgitation of post-colonial jargon correctly, I believe you've got it. Or at least you are getting close. At any rate they are also blockading on the settlers' behalf. Supporting good conservative ideals, as expressed by Randy Hillier, PC Candidate and longtime leader of the Lanark Landowners Association: "First, Ontario should award all property owners the subsurface rights to their land... "Second, revenues from mineral revenues on Crown lands should be shared with municipalities...(well, they may have their own interpretation of this one) "Third, it should be the local people themselves who decide whether mineral exploitation goes ahead..." source: "Ontario Mining Law is a Mess" By Randy Hillier and Scott Reid * anon protests... they are also blockading on the settlers' behalf" ya just gotta love that aboriginal altruism. and randy hillier, of course... it's exactly the same thing. remind me again... which tract of land have randy and his band of conservative thugs illegally occupied this week? * Skeletons in legal closet Activists charge Law Society made away with stolen Six Nations funds By DEB O'ROURKE As rain drizzles onto the old stone cobbles outside the Law Society of Upper Canada on Queen West this August 21, Six Nations activists are giving the org, to which every Ontario lawyer belongs, a back-to-school history lesson. It's being taught by Janie Jamieson, one of the originators of the ongoing Caledonia reclamation. She charges that the venerable society, founded in 1797, was funded in part by money stolen from the Six Nations trust. "Canada has a deep-rooted history in regards to its illegal activity and discrimination against Indians," she says, addressing 30 supporters outside the Law Society's building. Jamieson's argument comes from Six Nations perusal of archival Indian Affairs records. These, Aboriginal legal experts say, demonstrate clearly that money raised by the Crown through selling or leasing Six Nations land in the 18th and 19th centuries and supposedly held in trust for them was siphoned off to many government projects, with no record of repayment. Among these were cash payments made to fund budding municipalities and various public works and a mystery 1847 transfer in the amount of $1,000 to the Law Society of Upper Canada. "Our money was used to run many projects that created this country," says Six Nations' Philip Monture, who has spent 30 years researching issues related to land rights. "Between the 1830s and Confederation, our money was used to start running the country. There were no financial institutions per se that were creating revenues like Six Nations lands were. We built a lot of the infrastructure within the province of Ontario today, and we've got no returns for it." At Indian and Northern Affairs , media rep Patricia Valladao responds that a lot of complex historical issues are at stake, and ongoing negotiations between Six Nations and government are a painstaking process. "The parties have to work through these challenging issues," she says, "but the use of the media in negotiations is not conducive to a peaceful and timely result." And the Law Society itself? The organization exists, it says, to uphold the "independence, integrity and honour of the legal profession." It's made its home in Osgoode Hall, famous for its ghosts, but it seems unaware of this embarrassing skeleton rattling in its closet. "The issue predates Confederation, and the Law Society is conducting a search of archival records,'' says spokesperson Susan Tonkin. "We don't have all the necessary information available yet." Native rights lawyer Chris Reid, attending the rally, points out, "One of the issues we've raised both in the case of Caledonia and in the case of the Ardoch Algonquins and uranium is the failure of Canada and the government of Ontario to respect their own law and the many treaties or agreements that have been made with Indian nations." A sign carried by a tall Mohawk man puts the argument succinctly: "Break a treaty break a law." Meanwhile on the campaign trail, Conservative John Tory steps into Mike Harris's brimstone-scented tracks in this election with a promise of zero tolerance for Aboriginal occupations. Tory is using the oldest trick in the New World: turning legitimate native protestors into criminals in the eyes of the public. In this day and age, governments accomplish this by stalling on landclaim negotiations and then relying on the courts to grant injunctions. It's a strategy that the Ipperwash Inquiry found repugnant. Caledonia demonstrators defying a court order faced a violent OPP raid a year ago last April, holding lands they never relinquished. The Algonquin today face similar issue in their anti-uranium blockade at Sharbot Lake near Kingston."Every time a judge has made an injunction against indigenous people, it has led to more violence against us,'' says Robert Lovelace, a former Ardoch Algonquin chief who is showing his support at the Law Society protest. As the protest winds down, lawyer Sarah Dover offers to take demonstrators to see the Law Society's replica of the two-row wampum a document in the form of a beaded belt, one of the earliest treaties between European settlers and the Haudenosaunee, the centuries-old Iroquois confederacy. A motley crew bearing cameras, signs and a baby, we file in past three skittish security officers. Even the baby is walked through the metal detector. We tiptoe upstairs, through a maze of marble, mahogany and tapestry. A couple of demonstrators point upward. Glowing above our heads, embedded in a stained glass window, are images of wampum belts. Like the relationship between Canada and the Iroquois, these windows and this building are older than Canada. Like Osgoode Hall itself, the rule of law is built on earlier foundations. In a quiet back stairwell, we find the replica wampum, presented when Mohawk Michael Mitchell of Akwesasne was called to the bar. Two parallel beaded rows represent the two sovereign nations: the canoe of the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) and the boat of the settler peoples from other parts of the world who came to stay. Though they travel the same river, they don't intertwine or merge. Two parallel lines move forward, side by side together. NOW | SEPTEMBER 13 - 19, 2007 | VOL. 27 NO. 2 * "anon said... It's being taught by Janie Jamieson" take a closer look my friend... janie jamieson's got about as much credibility as peewee herman. * * oh, by the way... where does janie jamieson stand on beating a man unconscious with a two by four? or is that just considered counting coup? *

NAZI "BUDDHISTS" IN SRI LANKA FUCK OFF! and CHRISTIANS IN THE ZENDO! Here are some "Buddhists" who don't have a fucking clue what Buddhism is all about. This story just disgusts me to no end. I have no idea what the fuck is up with these so-called "Buddhists" in Sri Lanka. But I do not represent them and I want nothing at all to do with jack-offs like this. I hope they ban my books over there too. This kind of nonsense makes me embarrassed to call myself a "Buddhist." The Jathika Hela Urumaya (the hardline "Buddhist" ruling party in Sri Lanka) can bite me! More power to you Sarah Malini Perera. This shit makes me want to convert to Islam too! How's that for a typical Brad Warner style reasoned argument? ANYWAY, the 2010 Southern Dharma Retreat Center Zen retreat with Brad is now done. So let me tell you about it. I counted 18 or 19 brave souls up there in the mountains of North Carolina. As always this was a very interesting group. People come to Zen retreats for all kinds of reasons. One woman was a born-again Christian and missionary to Africa who wanted to check out this Zen stuff. One other woman was drafted in by her friend when her friend's daughter who'd originally signed up came down with strep throat. One guy went to Woodstock. One guy was a Rinzai priest (the enemy!). Someone asked about doing zazen retreats for the "wrong reasons" or something like that. But I don't think there are wrong reasons. If you just come along to experience three days of peace and quiet away from the job and the kids, that's just as valid as someone who's all gung-ho about The Great Way of the Buddha. Maybe more so. It was a bit of a hard retreat for me because I caught a cold on the first day. It was all I could do to just get through all the talks and stuff without keeling over. I felt a little bad about that. To make up for my lack of energy I read the group the intro to my new book, which takes place at the Southern Dharma Retreat Center. See, last year, just before that retreat I'd been dumped by a woman I was truly crazy about (perhaps literally so). And I was feeling pretty broke up the entire time. I figured that story would be a good intro to a book about sex and zen. The rest of the book is less personal than that. I guess that's kinda sad for all the anonymous commenters who got all worked up that the book was gonna be a big catalog of my sex life. Maybe next time. Did I mention I got recognized by random people while I was in Austin -- twice? No? It's true. The first one was a college student on Spring Break who turned around as we waited for a light to change and asked my name. I thought he was gonna try to sell me something! Turns out he's an avid reader of this blog! I'm sorry I've forgotten your name if you're reading this. But I forget names as fast as I learn them. The next was a guy at a CVS. This is getting spooky! (Hence the photo above)(It's a joke)(The star is for H.B. Warner, a popular star of the 30s now sadly forgotten) This weekend I'll be in Brooklyn at the Zen Center there running a retreat. There's still space available. All info is on this link here. Then I'll be at Sheppard College in West Virginia. The date is April 8th, but I don't have the other specifics yet. Then it's on to Baltimore and following that, Richmond, Virginia. So be there or be a Sri Lankan hardline "Buddhist!" (And this: Oh my God(zilla)!) 77 comments: Hello Suckahs! Wow No. 2 That's right.. The book is all about MY sex life :) Re: Daigan's comment -- Folks, it actually IS! As I previously commented about control. One meter. The rest doesn't matter. If Islam is so desperate as to accept s Perera as a convert, then all Buddhists throughout the world should be praying for their survival on an hourly schedule. From the story you linked to, Brad, her arrest appears to be due to some violation of Sri Lanka's export laws and/or postal regulations. Many countries, including many west European countries, have very strict laws governing the import and export of items for sale. It looks like she was trying to illegally ship books out of the country without paying some kind of tax or duty or some other fee, or otherwise trying to get around some regulation she thought she could get away with getting around. Nazism is serious business. Accusing people of Nazism should only be done for some good reason. For starters you should have some idea of what the fuck you are talking about. You can find more news about her if you use another spelling of her name: Sarah Malani Perera. Also, Sri Lanka is still emerging from a little thing called a Civil War -- which lasted for more than 25 years and which cost more than 80,000 lives. The people that the Sri Lankan government were fighting against were literally the inventors if suicide bombing as we know it. None of the news reports, including the one Brad linked to, give an official reason for her arrest. Therefore all claims that she was arrested "for offending Buddhism" are purely speculative. And screaming about NAZIS on the basis of such speculation is bullshit. Brad is using Nazi in the metaphorical sense of the word meaning "overly authoritarian." It is thus commonly used on the Left Coast. Of course the German National Socialists were talking socialism while being lap dogs to the corporatists. We have the anti-socialist party in America being the lap dogs of corporatists (e.g. the republican fascists). "Fascism should more properly be called corporatism because it is the merger of state and corporate power." -- Benito Mussolini In the UK. Blatant self-promotion corner: Hey kids (sorry about the suckahs thing, I couldn't bring myself to shout out #1 like a f-in loosah), I just updated my google profile with a new pic that should amaze even Mysterion (one meter, schmeter). Just click on my blue name and all will be revealed! Now, Alan, that's entertainment (if not attainment, schmattainment..:). I'm more interested in the Christian who attended the retreat...especially a "born again" Christian who was a missionary in Africa. That's pretty hardcore. Wonder what she was looking for? By the way, Brad...I always seem to miss you when you visit the Austin Zen Center!!! Maybe I'll run into you next year... john e mumbles, As a true lover of color, your new picture is glorious. When your organ of generation causes and effects weather patterns, this is news. (Man there are so many puns in that sentence I am proud). Cheers. To prove that I like color, type my non-anonymous name into google and follow the first link. Self promotion to no point whatsoever. Wow! Bee-uti-Full photos, Alan! I only perused the front page but will take more time and look. Thanks so much. Very Cool! Wow! Never thought I'd hear about Buddhist fundamentalist. That is really fucked up! Hmm. The idea that a country could elevate Buddhism to a national religion is one thing. The fact that buddhists who arguably should know better could go along with that dicta is entirely another thing... On the other hand--delusion is delusion, and no one is exempt. The Sri Lankans are not alone. Ever go to Thailand and make bawdy jokes about their royalty in a public forum? About the Rinzais being the enemy.. An old zen monk one day told me: "The Christian idea about loving your enemy is a joke. The real challenge is to love your brother" :) We here sometimes get in touch with the rinzais. Just some weeks ago they invited us (the Soto guys) for together watching the Dogen movie at their place. Apuleius, An interesting point. I did take the news story at face value, and maybe I should question it. It would be interesting if this turned out to be a big PR stunt by the author. But the very existence of something that can be called a "hardline Buddhist government" is ... I just have no words for how absurd that sounds. Also, the article title is a reference to the old Dead Kennedys song "Nazi Punks Fuck Off". The DKs were not accusing the punks of actually being Nazis, but of acting like fascists. Honest, the last 13 years has been Soto all the way! (Was facing the inside of the room while being time keeper that is "Rinziaesque"?) It was a very intimate Sesshin. I mailed my application to Great Sky Sesshin. I will get an extra can of "spray on Soto" from Target. I'm floored that such a thing as "hardline Buddhist nationalists" actually exist. I never would have guessed. BTW, I'm friends with your pal Sean Saley - I told him you were coming to town (Wash DC area), and he said drop him a line... Allison Concerning Sarah Malini Perera: It's true that the article looks very bad on the face of it. But I am by nature paranoid, and when I see a news item that tries to make Buddhists look bad I automatically assume Opus Dei is behind it. So far there is still very little information, at least in English, available about what is really going on. And as far as I can tell, no one had ever heard of this "author" until a couple days ago. Sarah Malini Perera has lived in Bahrain, where she converted to Islam, since 1985. In Bahrain Islam is the official state religion. Shia Muslims are the majority, but the country is dominated politically and economically by Sunni Muslims. All religious groups in Bahrain must obtain a license from the Ministry of Islamic Affairs. All anti-Islamic writings are prohibited by law in Bahrain. Women only received the right to vote and to stand in elections in 2002 in Bahrain (in Sri Lanka women got the right to vote in 1931, just 11 years after the US). If Sri Lanka is home to "Buddhist Fundamentalism" then we need to develop a whole new vocabulary for talking about Al Qaeda, the Taliban, Saudi Arabia, Iran, etc. Isn't it nice of the Sri Lankans to show how any religion, even Buddhism, can be used as an excuse to oppress and judge others. i don't think this a new occurence though, right? didn't buddhists support hirohito during world war 2? also, taoism had a huge military cult in china called the yellow turban sect, and if taoists can go fundamentalist, any religion can. I had a Dead Kennedy's T-shirt back in the day that said "Too Drunk To Fuck". The DK's never intended that people take the message literally, just a public service announcement pointing out a potential occupational hazard. well that takes care of birth control and no need for the morning after pill either We here sometimes get in touch with the rinzais. Just some weeks ago they invited us (the Soto guys) for together watching the Dogen movie at their place OMG! Dont you know? Once you go Rinzai You never go back! All organized religions seem like a scam to me, even the Buddhist ones. Some of the most beautiful places on earth are ruined by religious nonsense. Ever think about putting out another D-13 album Brad? hey john e... I've had an interest in historical alchemy. Cool that you've written a book. Do you know where the phrase "As Above So Below" originates? I thought I had read that it came out of an alchemical tradition. yes, from experience coming down with a cold at the beginning of a sesshin sucks the good part: sesshin (aside from samu and being tenzo helper is sitting quietly and at the end of a 7 day sesshin your cold is gone! (bust be buddhist healing bajic!) (said while blowing nose) a "too drunk to fuck" t-shirt? now THAT is awesome. "holiday in cambodia ... everybody dressed in BLACK!" In general, crowds throwing rocks at someone, regardless of their religion scares me. theres a whole lot of folks calling themselves buddhists in the world who may or may not actually know what the fuck they are talking about. Including me. It was my understanding that while certain buddhists in japan supported the military regime in the 1930's that the regime itself made Shinto the official and sole state religion out of a fear that Buddhism would make it harder to whip up the kind of fanatical nationalism needed to conduct a 10+ year war. Yeah, I cut the sleeves off, and the neck out, back then you had to make your own modifications, rips and tears and safety pin chic hadn't been co-opted by Wal-Mart (and Green Day -snap!) yet. re; Anonymous said..."as above so below" -a whole appendix in my book is dedicated to the completely apocryphal info on that one. It IS the most famous alchemical phrase and basically sums up the whole thing nicely... Just a note of thanks to Brad... What a great retreat. It was nice to talk the "nuts and bolts" of Just Sitting with someone in the know. I actually woke up Monday morning and was sad that I wouldn't be spending 5 hours staring at the wall of a zendo. If we're talking about the same person, I think the Christian at the retreat wound up there by accident, due to someone pulling out at the last minute due to sickness. I don't think that she participated much in the sitting. It looks like she was trying to illegally ship books out of the country without paying some kind of tax or duty or some other fee. Usually there's a duty or tax when importing, not when exporting. Most countries want to export as much as possible. So this explanation doesn't make sense to me. was sad that I wouldn't be spending 5 hours staring at the wall of a zendo. Five hours a day of zazen isn't much for a seshin. Did Brad fill up the rest of the time with talks, or did you take long walks in the woods? Ray -- wrong Christian! One of them sat the whole darn thing! 5 or 6 hours zazen, with talks, meals, and time for walks in the woods is a pretty typical Dogen Sangha retreat, Jinz. (They're not silent either). It was a retreat that was open to novices, and as such, the amount of time spent in the meditation hall was about right..in my opinion, at least. :-) Thanks for the clarification, Brad..I was only aware of the lady that spoke up during introductions. Someone who thinks Buddhism is tolerant and has never persecuted other religions isn't very familiar with their history. In California (a different world) Jesuits who had 'lost their faith' would join Zen Retreats throughout the 70s. It's a kind of 'don't ask, don't tell' thing but, out here on the left coast, a lot of former Xtians use Buddhism as a one-step recovery program. It's no secret that perhaps 1/3 of the cardinals have lost their faith. *****************************". source ****************************** Near the end of her life, Mother Teressa was an atheist. Mother Teresa - Lived as a Saint, died as an Atheist Bless her sacred heart, she woke up! In the meantime, are you guys getting door-to-door Xtian promotion-bots 3 times a week like we are out here? DESPERATION. I'm not anti-rattlesnake... Mrs. Beulah Bucklen, 59, of Charleston, W. Va., died last night, eight days after being bitten twice by a rattlesnake in a snake-handling ritual at Jesus Pentecostal Church at Frazier's Bottom in Putman County, near Charleston. Roscoe Bucklen, her husband, said he persuaded her to seek medical attention when she became violently iii the day after being bitten. Bucklen, who was sitting in his car outside the church when his wife was bitten, said: "I've seen that snake before. It's as big around as your arm. It hit her twice between the thumb and forefinger on the left hand. They had to pull the fangs from her." (Ft. Worth Star Telegram Sept. 25, 1972) 20-C. Darwinism at work, and play. This looks like fun. Absolutely LOADSA stuff about mean, vicious Buddhists. 1972 ??!! What the hell, have all the snake handlers gone to the rattler rapture? SALVATION ON SAND MOUNTAIN is an incredible read, for anyone curious about this very extreme form of Xtian worship. Also, HOLY GHOST PEOPLE, a film about snake fondlers and poison drinkers that I think parts of are on Youtube...SSSSssssssssssssssss...... Jinzang, are you arguing that Toyotomi Hideyoshi's ban on Christianity was because he was a Buddhist? From my reading, he was concerned by the Europeans who insisted upon combining business with Christian missionary activity, and he increasingly came to view such activity as dangerous and subversive both to his own rule and to Japanese society in general. Originally, Nobunaga had actually encouraged the foreign missionaries, owing probably to his desire to check the militant Buddhist sects that opposed him. Anonymous Allison said... I'm floored that such a thing as "hardline Buddhist nationalists" actually exist. I never would have guessed. Don't be floored. This is a reaction to the invasion of Islam. Fundie Xtianity and Fundie Islam share dualism. They are right and any and all others are wrong. 1972 - Ceylon changes its name to Sri Lanka and Buddhism given primary place as country's religion, further antagonising Tamil (Hindu) minority. the Tamils of Ceylon Strictly speaking, the Tamil (Vel) people invaded Ceylon from the North. Ceylon was originally a land of the Dravidians. Archeology has confirmed this a number of times over during the last 50 years. wikipedia So there is a conflict between those who were long ago invaded and those who invaded 2,300 years ago. Same everywhere. Everywhere, the same. Ist das nicht richtig? Or they're not "in the spirit" or whatever. Regardless, it takes balls of steel to pick up and hold a huge pissed off timber rattler and dance around with a bunch of other people shouting and clapping and stomping their feet "in the spirit." It strikes me that 100 reported cases is not all that many...besides, this is something the Hopi people have done for millennia to ensure rain for their corn harvest. My old alchemy teacher Jean Dubuis used to say "Big trouble equals big reward." And John Lennon sang "whatever gets you through the night." It's alright, it's alright. To whom it may concern, For a bunch of people who sit around staring at a blank wall for a significant portion of their lives, casting aspersions on people who dance around with snakes seems kind of strange. The snake stuff at least sounds kind of interesting. It might even be more dangerous:-) Jeeeez. Cheers. all right, I deleted snake bites. Dakhinathupa in Anuradhapura is currently identified by archeologists as a Buddhist temple and NOT the mythical tomb of 2nd century BCE Tamil king Elara. When a new culture arrives, they claim that the preexisting stuff was theirs. The Aztecs claimed Olmec structures, the Xtians claimed Mithraic and Ptolemic stuff, Islam claimed the Hindu (Qube - Kaaba). Chinese Buddhism - and its Japanese offspring - are somewhat distant from the Pali Tripitaka. After all, China had to integrate Taoism and the remnants of Confucianism into their Buddhist Traditions. And both Jodo Shu(Pure Land) and Jodo Shinshu (New Pure Land) introduce a Christianized 'heaven' concept where none exists upstream. One day, I plan to introduce "New, Improved Pure Land Buddhism." But first I must decide on the art work and logo. How about: "Marked improvement in liturgy does not disturb famous Buddhist simplicity." Islam is like the borg. Once the followers reach a certain size they wipe out all other religions. Could Brad do what he is doing in any country with Muslim majority? It was the growth of Islam that led to destruction of several buddhist centers in different parts of Asia. No other religion is allowed to operate freely in Islamic countries. Even Zazen will be banned. Then what will you do? Buddhism's like the Borg too. So many times in dharma talks I've heard the sentiment "resistance is futile". On behalf of my previous link to vicious Buddhists, I apologise for the many dead links therein - but if you're keen and persistent you'll find many that do work, and seem to confirm this to be true. In islamic countries, you sit ZAZEN on the toilet. Alan, I could look at your photos all day.. Really interesting! And for the ladies... Actually, the Xtian fundies have the same concept for America - forced conversion to the Xtian religion (which is borrowed from Buddhism). There is plenty of ignorance to go around. "A careful comparison, word by word, sentence by sentence shows that the Christian Gospels are Pirate-copies of the Buddhist Gospels. God's word, therefore, is originally Buddha's word." oxeye, Thanks, but don't waste your day:-) It's only entertainment. I know for an absolute fact that the only reason they have any appeal at all is their novelty. If more people were doing this kind of stuff, it would be a huge yawn. I read someone who was quoting Susan Sontag on photography to the effect that the first person who took a picture of Half Dome had it easy. Any photograph would hold great excitement. The following photographers have the harder job, to re-imagine a scene that becomes more and more known with each new photograph. Saw your work. You are doing exciting things with color. I'll have to show it to my wife, she is the Rothko fangirl in the family. Cheers. I've done zazen in Jordan, which is a predominantly Muslim country. I had a conversation about Buddhism in the hotel restaurant late at night (one of the other musicians in the orchestra asked me.) Also, I saw THIS internet cafe. There are Christians and Jews in Jordan, so I imagine there could be some Buddhists, but there might not be any. Challenge everything A snake? A hundred foot pole? Belief's a killer! jinzang said Someone who thinks Buddhism is tolerant and has never persecuted other religions isn't very familiar with their history.. You know the old Buddhist saying: ""Fighting for peace is like fucking for virginity." The moment fighting starts, peace is lost. A generation after the fighting stops, peace may be restored - unless the parents teach their children bigotry.. This looks like fun. The Trimondis are not a valid source of information about Tibetan Buddhism. For example, they write this:. This is caricature, if not outright slander, not sober analysis. There is at least one Buddhist in Jordan right now. Her name is Katy. The Trimondis are not a valid source of information about Tibetan Buddhism. Oooh! My link! Let me defend it! From the brief tour I made of their site, Jinz, it is clear that the Trimondis have an agenda: "Buddhism - if it will become congruent with western values like democracy, human rights, equality of gender etc. must be “reinvented” The condition therefore is an open, critical and honest debate", they write.? The site links to very many articles - must be over 50, by no means all written by the Trimondis - which I think are useful in challenging our wishful thinking about "Buddhism" as a world religion...many of which back up your original point: Someone who thinks Buddhism is tolerant and has never persecuted other religions isn't very familiar with their history. Jinzang. I haven't read much of the comments but I came upon M's quote: "Fighting for peace is like fucking for virginity". I think virginity is usually produced by only one means. Else than this I think we’ve been there before. Somewhat before Jundo. I’m sure a few can still recall. Hasn’t been that long. Or it has been quite long, in a way.. As above, so below. Then Thich Nhat Hanh is an idiot, as peace does not equate to the end of suffering. Extremist Islam is a cancer that should be scalded with boiling water, and that women is a proponent of it. Oh Brad, sick 'em! You are quite dashing in that pic by the Hwood star!! :) Any more details on the event at Sheppard College in West Virginia? April 8th is tomorrow and I would definitely be interested in attending. AHEM!! As Above, So Below! Respect!! Well said I was reading the Dhammapada when I heard about the trouble in Sri Lanka. I hope the JHU finds time to reflect on scripture in the midst of their troubles. I don't know much about the Zen school, but your use of language seems to suggest klesha. I have heard that the Tibeatn can speak and act with a foul manner without klesha. I can't. :D Righteous indignation is hypocrisy, are you the same as the JHU? Be Well! fuck u bitches

FLAT EARTH SOCIETY and MOTH Over the last couple months while I've been traveling two more Dimentia 13 downloads have become available. I've been scurrying around too much to promote them like I should have been. So here goes: FLAT EARTH SOCIETY Flat Earth Society is Dimentia 13’s pop album. It was 1989 and I had been making Dimentia 13 records for five years. Two years before the first Dimentia 13 release I’d been a member of the hardcore punk band Zero Defex who had also been on a few compilation albums. After seven years in the music business at age 25 I had yet to be able to earn anything close to a living wage and I was getting desperate. It’s amazing how old you can feel at 25. In spite of being known as a hardcore punk guy in Zero Defex and a psychedelic dude in Dimentia 13, I had always been interested in pure pop music for its own sake. In those days I wrote songs constantly. When preparing the Dimentia 13 records I tended to pick the most psychedelic pieces from among the dozens of demos I made each year. Or else I’d dress up the pop songs I wrote in psychedelic clothing, adding vintage Farfisa organs or Mellotrons or fuzztone guitars to disguise the goofball pop songs underneath. Which is what most of the original psychedelic bands of the Sixties did anyway. By the late 80s a lot of vaguely psychedelic and overtly Sixties inspired bands were selling records and getting noticed by the emerging “alternative” scene — bands like REM, Robyn Hitchcock and the Egyptians, The Stone Roses, and a boatload of others now long since forgotten. I wanted a piece of that action. So I decided to tone down those elements I felt were tying Dimentia 13 to the narrow confines of garage/psych revival scene. There would be no Mellotrons or Farfisa organs, no sitars or backwards tapes, the fuzztone guitars would take on a more contemporary sound, and I would admit musical influences and lyrical references from after 1967. I also worked out a new guitar sound I was particularly proud of. I bought a giant red hollow bodied Eko guitar, made in Italy in the late Sixties and plugged it into both a bass and a guitar amp at the same time, added some vintage spring reverb and turned it up to seventeen. In the studio it sounded amazing. Unfortunately that sound didn’t transfer well to tape. You get a hint of how awesome it was on the James Bond theme-inspired riffing of album’s first song Can This Be True Love but elsewhere it gets lost. The band on this album was me on lead vocals and lead guitar, Jeff Lisk on drums, Joe Nofziger on bass, and Louanne Varholick on vocals and keyboards. Jeff was a hot shit drummer in Chicago at the time. He was very good and he knew it. His playing on the record is really sharp and precise, but it's a little too clean for my tastes these days. Joe had been my best friend since seventh grade and kindly drove all the way up to Milwaukee from Columbus, Ohio to play on the album. Louanne had been the bassist on the previous album, Disturb The Air. But she was a better keyboard player and singer so I had her do what she did best instead of being hampered with the bass, which she was never all that enthusiastic about. The musicianship on this album is far tighter and more professional than on the previous Dimentia 13 records. I hoped the resulting album would help me break out of the tight bound confines of the pysch genre and maybe even make some money. In the end, though, it didn’t sell any better than the previous Dimentia 13 records. In fact, it did a little worse than the albums that came before. In the end, it was the final album I put out on Midnight Records. It took me a long time to start liking this album again. At the time of its release I thought it was great. But when it met with poor sales and critical indifference I started looking at it as a failure, a reminder of a bad time in my life and a misguided attempt to sell out and be commercial. Nowadays I can listen to it and enjoy it, but for years I couldn’t. These days I sometimes play a couple songs from this album when I give talks about my books. Buddha Was A Good Ol' Boy always gets a laugh and God Pt. III, which I also play at speaking gigs sometimes, is a prototype for some of the topics I write about these days. In fact the lyrics on most of the album are really philosophical and very much inspired by the Zen training I’d been going through for close to a decade by then. Here to tempt you into buying the album are two tracks that I had intended to include as bonus tracks on the download. I’m not sure why I didn’t. I think I just spaced out and forgot to send them to the people at Smog Veil Records who arranged the download. The good news is that you now can have them absolutely free of charge. Hopefully they will act like the first taste of crack a dealer gives you and make you need to buy the rest. SKULL SHINING This instrumental was meant to be a bonus track on the original CD release. But it never made it on there and I don’t remember why. It’s based on a riff I once heard the Meat Puppets play. It’s also the most overtly psychedelic song recorded during the album sessions. So maybe that’s why it was left off. I like it a lot now and if I could I would make this the first song on the album. TELL ME WHERE SHE’S GONE This is probably the most overtly pop song recorded for the album. Again, I don’t recall why it was dropped. In fact, I didn’t even remember recording it for the album until I found it on a cassette about a year ago. I remember thinking at the time I wrote the song that it had the potential to become a college radio hit. So why would I have left it off the record? Who knows? Anyway, I was especially proud of ripping off one of the riffs from the 70s prog rock masterpiece Hocus Pocus by the Dutch band Focus in the middle section. MOTH This was the final album I recorded as Dimentia 13 for Midnight Records. It was never released by them, though, because I had a huge argument with the record label. I felt like I deserved to be treated better. In retrospect they treated me pretty fairly. It’s just that they were never very open with me about what they were doing. Whatever. I remember trying to correct some of the mistakes I’d made on Flat Earth Society with this record. I was no longer so obsessed with making a contemporary sounding album. So some of the overtly psychedelic sounds I’d eliminated on Flat Earth Society are allowed to return. The result is a much more balanced album. It’s still more of a pop album than the early Dimentia 13 records. But it’s truer to what I really wanted to hear. Because of the disputes with Midnight Records, this album was never really finished. I made a mix that I submitted to Midnight. But it was awful. I was trying to recapture the sound that Glen Rehse had created when he produced the Disturb The Air album. But I didn’t really know how he accomplished it. So I just overloaded every track with reverb and echo until the whole thing sounded like it had been recorded in a cave. It was a murky depressing sound and for years I thought of this as a murky depressing album. Then late in 2009 when I was cleaning out some old boxes I came across a cassette of rough mixes for the album. These were created as reference mixes to guide in making the final mixes later. I told the engineer to simply make all of the tracks we recorded audible and not add any effects. When I listened to these again I discovered that the album itself was not murky and depressing at all. It was just all that reverb and shit I added on later. For the currently available download version, I used these rough mixes and ran them through a digital mixing system to bring out some of the nuances. The only song on which I used the mix I had considered “final” back in 1991 was Anjalina. The rest are rough mixes. The band on this album was the live version of Dimentia 13 as it existed in 1991. I sang lead vocals and tortured the guitars. Joe Nofziger, my best friend since seventh grade plays bass and sings backing vocals, and Steve McKee, once the drummer of my favorite Akron-based punk band The F-Models plays drums. The lyrics are a kind of autobiographical rock opera about my return to Akron after three years in Chicago. But that would have been such an incredibly mundane subject for a rock opera that I never let anyone know that’s what it was. The Pamela Song is about a girl I dated in Akron. The Calico Girl in the song of that name is someone I left behind in Chicago. That same girl is also the subject of Panther. Anjalina isn’t about a girl at all, but is about my friend Jim Bradler who had died a few years before very suddenly when he was only 25 years old. The song lists off a whole string of phrases he used to say, like “give me her number.” Precious One is my attempt at writing a Badfinger song. But I was too embarrassed to use the original heart-on-my-sleeve romantic lyrics I’d written and instead wrote a bunch of psychedelic sounding nonsense. Love Song '73 was my attempt to write the kind of song The Partridge Family might have played in 1973. Again it’s about someone I knew. Walk Like An Insect contains my poor attempt to do a rap about the then-current state of the country. Another Song About Heaven is a parody of the band Warrant, who were huge at the time. The reason I wrote a Warrant parody is because Joe had been in a band called Blu whose drummer Steve Chamberlin had moved to California and joined Warrant. We’d both been friends with Steve and were kind of amazed by this. Honey I'm Your Ghost was an attempt to write a Cramps song. Lux Interior was from Akron. Smash Your Head was about the frustrations of trying to make it in the music business. Somehow all of this stuff related to Akron and what was happening in my life there at the time. I still really like this album. I know it sounds egotistical to give your own record a glowing review. But I was trying to write and record songs that I personally liked. So, of course I’m gonna like them! But I feel like this is a happy, upbeat album even though some of the specific subject matter is not. It’s an album about fighting the good fight even when you feel like you’re probably going to lose in the end. Here is my favorite song from the MOTH LP, available for free on this here blog to hopefully make you feel guilty enough to buy the rest: Anjalina 71 comments: STRIKE ! Regards, Gerald G, touché! Good stuff. Both tracks were fun distractions from Genjokoan while waiting at Narita Airport. Thanks for sharing! Well, as the "outside independent member", I would like to offer a seat to my brother Brad, if he would have it. Blogger gniz said... If Jundo starts an objective, autonomous board of directors/oversight committee then something good has come of this. I'm not really holding my breath though. Filling such positions with a bunch of Treeleafers who want to please Jundo or have shown themselves to be good little soldiers is not gonna cut it, imo. then jundo cohen said... Well, as the "outside independent member", I would like to offer a seat to my brother Brad, if he would have it. Seriously, I cannot think of anyone who would be a better candidate for that, and it would be a great bridge so that people can see that the things between him and me were a tempest in a teapot. So, consider it hereby officially offered, and I ask you to talk with him about it and see if you can get him to accept. He would not have to be involved in monitoring every post, but any member could write to him with a complaint and he would investigate and write about it as he wishes. I think it a nice idea. Please talk with him about it, as it is a serious offer. If not, I will try to find an unrelated, respected Zen teacher (not related to Genpo! :-) )who might step in in that role. I will keep you informed of how the rest of the board is set up, and I expect you will post about it. Gassho, J Since you gave up your Apartment March 1, 2010 which coincides with Katagiri Roshi's 20th anniversary of his death you are welcome to crash at my Phoenix pad and check out the scene. And the bowling is great! The tunes aren't bad. Thanks for sharing them! A courtyard common to all will be swept by none. Dude, Anjalina is awesome. It's cool how the balance between retro-psychedelic and dance pop ended up with some good old new wave punk like Anjalina. I love that kind of stuff. "A courtyard common to all will be swept by none." True enough Seagal.. The Godless Commies never sweep their courtyards except when threatened by force. Taigu posted this on the treeleaf site. - [Taigu, teacher at Treeleaf Sangha, was born in 1964, started Zazen early and received Shukke Tokudo in 1983 at age 18 from Rev. Mokudo Zeisler of the Deshimaru Lineage. Received Dharma Transmission from Chodo Cross in 2003. Now resides in Osaka, Japan.] This seems odd.. at least to me, that Mike Cross, who was basically told by Jundo Cohen that he needed psychiatric care after he was booted out of Dogen Sangha, decides that Pierre Turler has what it takes to be a teacher in his former teacher's tradition. Then Pierre partners up with the same Jundo Cohen at Treeleaf after Jundo is booted from DS. Does this make any sense at all? Why did Taigu go to Mike Cross for his transmission and Jundo Cohen for students? If this was a job resume I wouldn't hire him. Because they are the sane, wise and gifted ones in the disfunctional crazy family? That also explain a lot of the jealousy directed toward them around here and in DS, Now I know already 3 people of Dogen-Sangha (or at least former DS participants, regarding Jundo)who would need psychiatric care!!! Every organization has different ways to handle people ! As far as I know Nishijima, he is not the one who recommends psychiatric care for his students. And I can't get this impression from Brad either. re: the music. Good stuff. I liked it. Jundo! Have you lost your mind? Why are you always posting your personal things in this blog? Collecting soldiers? Lost Brads email-adress? You got dharma-transmission? For what? Holding Nishijimas hand, when he signed the documents? Man, even Seagal Rinpoche is a little more joyful than you. Try to be diplomatic or diplomatic, but not diplomatic. As Mysterion postulated once: I know an AUTHORITY when I see one... Kónnichi wá ! Gerald At least Chet has the courage to place a picture of himself beside his words. Some people have it, some people don't. Peace back at ya. The it I was referring to was courage, not Chet's picture. :) by Jundo on Sat Jun 19, 2010 3:51 am Hi Guys, I just had a nice chat with Chet. He said I could discuss this subject here, because he does all the time ... including on this thread.. Source Awwww, I'd propose a group (grope?) hug if I though that Rinz wouldn't go for my nuts with that scary looking set of choppers. Regards, H. "Buddhism ia based in the psychological grammar that says we cannot eliminate the so-called negative forces of afflictive emotions. The only way to work with them is to encounter them directly, enter their world, and transform them. Thus, according to Buddhist psychology, anger can be transformed into mirrorlike wisdom or clarity; pride can be transformed into equalizing or equanimity and generosity; desire can be transformed into discriminating wisdom or discernment; jealousy can be transformed into unhindered wisdom or enlightened activity; and ignorance can be transformed into the wisdom of our True Nature, or clear and energetic intelligence." Exerpt from: The fruitful darkness by Joan Halifax So there's hope for everybody. "So there's hope for everybody." Hi, There sure is; too much in some cases we need hardly mention. However, the "psychological grammar" of hope might not be all it's cracked up to be... sincere effort, on the other hand... Regards, Harry. Sincere effort is sooo hard.. Hope on the other hand is so easy a child can do it. Hi Anon, I find that kids, up to a certain age (sometimes 9, sometimes 90), are much more direct and honest than 'hope'. I find that they just want things straight away and if they can't get 'em straight away, rather than hang around pissing everybody off with their wonderful, elaborate 'hopes' (that are just extended, complicated 'wants'?) they bawl their eyes out, stamp their feet, scream and shout, call us adults evil, hurtful bastards... and then just get over it. Regards, Harry. Back in the cassette culture days I used to write reviews of all kinds of independent musical releases for SOUND CHOICE and OPTION mags. If I couldn't find a way to say something nice about the tunes, I would always find something to compliment the musicians on, knowing myself how much blood sweat and tears goes into recording. In that vein, I have to say that the album cover artwork on both Flat Earth Society and Moth is excellent! Harry: Hope is dope. John E: You ain't that good yourself old son. But you got a hell of a haircut. Dope indeed. ...BTW, I'm having a funny exchange over on the About.com Buddhist blog with Zen Master Barbera there arising from her post about one of Brad's posts here: It involves koans and the role of the language/expression of realisation and non-realisation. Rinz, you might get a kick out of it, seeing two Sotoist ley bums floundering around like hapless self appointed Zen authorities. Regards, Harry. Dear Jundo, You wrote: ." That describes my condition too. I have post-trauma stress-condition which is essentially a disregulation of the part of my nervous system I can't control. It resulted from experiencing some significant physical injuries from accidents in childhood. Although I'm now receiving therapy, when my system is 'activated' by a stressful event I charge up with energy and become disconnected from how my body feels. I also interpret things suspiciously, act more aggressively, and say and do things I wish I didn't, etc. Later I will 'collapse' with exhaustion and feel unmotivated for extended periods. I don't know if your friend has the same condition, but from your description that person might be interested to read about the kind of therapy I am receiving: Best Wishes, Anonymous Hayzus Christi, Harry. You've got alot of time on your hands. Put them to better use and you and Barbara get a F'in room... Rinz, Anything you read is read subjectively, you can't help but read it "your way." How you read it is simply how YOU read it. One person's "words divorced from practice don't mean anything" is another's poetry. I find Babs assertion that you shouldn't read sutras without an advanced zen person to guide you a little odd. This is exactly what many fundamentalist christians say about the bible. Reading it on your own may even lead you to unbelief, so you should have a theologian or preacher standing by to interpret everything for you so that you don't misunderstand. Presumably we need a mullah handy before we can read the quran too. Perhaps we need a genuine advanced communist available before we read the works of Marx and Engels. So you need an orthodox soto zennist standing over your shoulder telling you exactly what Dogen meant by xy or z. I don't buy it. I do think a strong zen practice is important to understand either the sutras or writings of any old master, including Dogen. But to suggest it requires someone to interpret it so that there's no misunderstanding seems to enforce orthodoxy to the nth degree. Perhaps the 'adnvanced zen person' herself has misunderstood the whole point of a text. Who gets to determine who is advanced or who has misunderstood? I keep expecting Babs to say; "Ahhh Grasshopper..." Barbera said wanted: "a teacher who has good understanding of dharma." So who is it? Brad, Jundo or anonymous?." Delusion mixed with realization. Defilement with purity. Throwing them both out and overturning the bowl sounds like a good zen answer but it points to an attachment to emptiness, a one-sided view. Such a throwing away leaves no way for buddha to actually function and save all beings. What will the community eat? The adept must be able to drink the milk and leave the poison though they are mixed in one bowl. I'm thinking of renting "Baraka", anyone seen it? High-def beautiful footage from around the world? Anyone got any super-chillout movie recommends? Thanx ... John E Mumbles, In your three posts in this blog you are critical of three different people. Telling Brad his music isn't that great, telling Harry he has too much time on his hands, and telling Rinz the one true way to read.... That's impressive man....R u that critical of everyone in real life? This blog has become so boring. Fuck it, I was having a really bad day. Thanks for pointing that out Anonymous. My apologies to all. ... Rinz, I hear ya, but on the very basic level before "you" let go, where I saw Harry and Barbara's discussion, its only your world: Welcome to it. Anonymous said... This blog has become so boring. That's because all the trolls came over to my site the last day or two, they'll be back when things die out... I remember "Tell Me Where She's Gone" from back in the day, maybe from a demo. It's quite the good song and nice to hear it again. Thanks Dale! I'm nothing more than an ANONYMOUS CUMSHOT, so take this for what it's worth: Jundo's behavior over on "Reblogging Brad Warner" shows that, if anything, he's regressing and becoming even more childish (in a not-good way) and passive-aggressive. And to think he and the other one are about to start cranking out Zen cybermonks. "Baraka", anyone seen it? Yeah, I liked in and you probably will too, as long as you like the music of Philip Glass. "Unmistaken Child" was also pretty cool. The high point of the movie is actually the shots of the beautiful Himalayan scenery. Baraka? Isn't he some character from Mortal Combat? Trolls Come Home! Please, for God's sake... Come HOME! Leave Reblogging alone and come back to your first love. Without you this blog comment section is dying... dying, I tell you. We need you so much. We are so sorry we were mean and disrespectful to you. ." R. A. Lafferty Nice quote. I love R.A. Lafferty. ...Subjectively speaking, of course. R we ther yt? Word Verification = chills Oh oh oh... I've got one! "What others criticize you for, cultivate, for that is you." -Jean Cocteau Statement from Zen Studies Society Posted by Philip Ryan in : Zen , 4 comments. UPDATE: In response to further questions (see comments below), the Board writes: “While Eido Roshi has resigned from the Board, he remains abbot of NYZ and DBZ. Internal discussions continuing.”. February 21, 2010 10:23 PM If any of you fine folk at Treeleaf, and I believe there are many, want to take a peek into what someone very close to you has been up to recently, take a VERY CLOSE look at comments to Gniz's post, "Genpo and Jundo are not one the same." I think you might recognize one of the trolls over there. He is posting from Japan. SOMEONE IS POSTING ANONYMOUSLY FROM JAPAN? WHO IS IN JAPAN AND KNOWN TO POST ON THAT SITE? Regarding the "best buddhist blogs" award this blog has gotten.. I looked over the list, and it seems that Brad is the only one who isn't completely nuts. Good job, Brad. Some of you may think all of this dharma soap opera is a modern or american thing. These are from a discussion about Shen Hui over on ZFI: About Shen Hui: "For him to say he cared nothing for his own life is a laugh! He wanted that robe and lineage for his own. He wanted to be the seventh patriarch. Later in his life he was involved in selling ordinations. Wanna be a monk? Pay enough and we'll ordain you on this platform, right here in this square!." Then there's this from another site by Vladimir K on the Northern vs Southern Chan split: "Although history has, in a sense, vindicated Shen-hui’s position, in many respects he was, at best, a questionable (though highly effective) evangelist for Ch’an. He was not above making up stories to promote Hui-neng and his “school”. He claimed that Bodhidharma and all subsequent masters in the lineage taught the Diamond Sutra rather than the Lankavatara Sutra, a claim Yampolsky (1967:34) dismisses as “pure fabrication.” Dumoulin (1994:113- 114) called him “unscrupulous” in his attacks on the Northern School. Shen-hui accused Northern School practitioners of attempting to steal Bodhidharma’s robe, trying to cut off the head of Hui-neng’s mummified body, effacing Hui-neng’s tomb inscription and altering the inscription on Shen-hsiu’s stele to call him the Sixth Patriarch (Yampolsky, 1967:28-29; Dumoulin, 1994:113-114) He also claimed that he was a tenth stage bodhisattva, a claim Poceski judges as “outrageous”." Wow. Selling ordination certificates. Is this any different than charging for Big Mind seminars? To support the military too. What if Genpo gave his money from Big Mind seminars to George Bush to finance his invasion of Iraq? Does Jundo claim that he's a 10th stage bodhisattva? As the dharma turns. You have testicles? Huh. Sure sounds like you're hatin' on Me, brutha. I ain't fat, except with love for you Rinz. It's ok John E.. Rinz gets confused.. We all love him here. Some of us even love his Mama. CAPTCHA : lessof : I kid you not You guys wouldn't know Ken Show if he bit you in the ass! I definitely love his Mama long time. Shoot, he may be my son for all I know. Rinz! Son! Come home to your unenlightened everlovin' Papa!! Sorry I neutered you, boy, it was for the sake of the barnyard animals... Mama sez sorry, too. We proud, Son, keep up the Kensho! Look to your heart, son. Your Mama and I know you have abandonment issues. Come home. We did a bad, bad thing (OK we do that often, ...blush!). Enlighten us with your wisdom, son, we are sad old fornicators. What? Koan got your tongue? What happened to Anon108? Did you nice folks run him off? o/ Hi Captcha = miashe :-)

Joe P. Asher Staff Writer The Cumberland City Council questioned Mayor Carl Hatfield concerning the financial report during a meeting on Tuesday. A city vehicle that had been sold as surplus was the subject of a heated discussion. Council member David Dixon brought up the matter of the vehicle. “It (the financial report) has surplus police car $100. We were supposed to have been paid $700,” said Dixon. “Actually the car was $800 and there was $100 paid on it. For some reason payments were left to be paid that we didn’t agree to. It only shows here $100. So the car only sold for $200?” asked council member Charles Raleigh. Mayor Carl Hatfield explained the circumstances behind the deal. “The council member bought that car from us,” said Hatfield. “He paid $100 down with the agreement that he would not accept his $600 council pay. Then he paid the other $100.” According to members of council, the transaction is not shown correctly in the report. “The money should be shown under income that it came back in after the check was issued,” said Dixon. “We didn’t issue the check,” explained Hatfield. “The money stayed in the general fund. The $100 you see there is his balance of the $800 he owed on the car.” “How did the agreement come back to even let him pay payments?” asked Raleigh. “We were supposed to sell that for $800 cash.” “He was without a car,” said Hatfield. “The city didn’t lose a dime.” Council member Carolyn Elliot pointed out there could be some bookkeeping problems. “You sold an item for $600, you only got $100,” said Elliot. “Somewhere in the books it should show that $500 has not been paid. You can’t just keep money in there without paying it out.” “It’s going to look like the money was saved during the year,” said Raleigh. “You should have paid it out and put it back in.” Dixon stated there could be problems during the next audit. “The auditor’s going to come in here next January and show that we had a check for $600 that never came back,” said Dixon. “It’s just a matter of record keeping,” said Elliot. “I don’t keep records at home like that, we sure shouldn’t do it in city hall.” “I don’t know what you’re going to do about it, but like David said I believe it’s going to be caught by the auditor,” said Raleigh. Hatfield said that the city did not lose any money. “We’ve got records that show nobody profited from this deal,” said Hatfield. In other council activity: * Jim “Muggins” Bennett and Cleon Cornett were presented with the key to the city for their service to the city; * A Motion was passed to adjust future meeting agendas to include sections for old business and new business; * A motion was passed to replace the light bulbs in city hall. Reach Joe P. Asher at 606-573-4510 or jasher@civitasmedia.com

: [1] For full coverage of the daily activities and the uncritical reportage of the major media see the Daily Alert, the official mouthpiece of 52 Presidents of the Major American Jewish Organizations, especially March 4 – 6, 2012. [2] See the AIPAC video reports and the list of speakers. , 3/2/2012 and subsequent reports. [3] White House press release of Obama’s declaration that US subordinate relation to Israel is “sacrosanct”, March 4,/20/12. [4] The reference is to Noam Chomsky whose laughable effort to downplay the influence of the Zionist power configuration is widely rejected and is once again refuted by the most superficial observation of the proceedings, pledges and prostrations of all top US policy makers at the AIPAC meeting. [5] Netanyahu’s public pronouncements and AIPAC speech were duly recorded, amplified and supported by the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and especially the Washington Post (2/6/2012). He explicitly called on the US to militarily attack Iran on behalf of Israel, on the basis of Teheran’s ‘capacity’ to make a nuclear weapon. According to Netanyahu “we can’t afford to wait much longer …” Prime Minister’s Office 3/5/12. [6] New York Times, 3/5/12. [7] Prime Minister’s Office as quoted in the Daily Alert, 3/6/12. [8] AIPAC video daily reports, 3/6/12. [9] For example, just one of the numerous Zionist billionaires, the casino tzar, Sheldon Adelson has already contributed “tens of millions of dollars” to influence the current Presidential elections. Haaretz, 2/29/12. Haim Saban, another Israel-Firster billionaire, bought the principle Spanish language TV outlet in the US , UNIVISION, and then proceeded to promote sensationalist Israeli propaganda about an Iranian-Islamist “takeover” of Latin America . [10] AIPAC press releases, 3/7/12 – 3/10/12. [11] A survey of the Daily Alert , from March 4 to March 9, reveals there is not one single article that discusses the alternative of a diplomatic settlement with Iran , while over a dozen articles feature calls for war. [12] For documentation and details on the decisive role of Zionist policy makers in launching the US war against Iraq see my The Power of Israel in the United States ( Atlanta : Clarity Press 2006). [13] New York Times, 3/1/12 [14] The 52 Presidents of the Major Jewish Organizations repeatedly endorsed Netanyahu’s pretext for war. See Daily Alert, 3/6/2012 [15] Quoted in, 3/2/12. [16] Ibid. [17] Key Zionist Congressional operatives include Representatives Berman, Cantor, Harman, Lieberman, Ros- Lehtinen, and Levin as well as their Christian side-kicks, like McConnell and Pelosi among others who appeared at the AIPAC war fest. AIPAC promotional flyer 3/2/12. [18] See The Power of Israel in the United States (op cit.) [19] See “On Bended Knees: Zionist Power in American Politics” in James Petras, War Crimes in Gaza and the Zionist Fifth Column (Clarity, Atlanta 2010. [20] The Power of Israel in the United States , op cit. [21] Though Ross has formally resigned, he is still a key Obama adviser on the Middle East. See Haaretz 1/27/12, [22] One of the key Zionist operatives is Jeffrey Feltman, Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs. He played a crucial role in support of Israel‘s bombing of Lebanon in 2006, during his term as Ambassador, calling Hezbollah a “terrorist organization”. He dictated policy to the US client ruler Fouad Siniora. Feltman twice served in Israel. He was stationed in Gaza where he collaborated with the occupying Israeli Defense Forces. He worked with uber-Zionist US Ambassador Martin Indyk backing Israel’s position in the phony “Peace Process” from 2000 to 2001. Other Zionists in key positions include Jack Lew, current Chief of Staff to President Obama; David Plouffe senior adviser, Dan Shapiro, Ambassador to Israel; Steven Simon, Head of Middle East/North Africa Desk at the National Security Council; and Eric Lynn, Middle East policy advisor. Jewish Virtual Library a Division of the American-Israeli Enterprise 2012. [23] Prominent Zionists, who served in strategic positions in the foreign policy realm of the Obama regime, included Rahm Emanuel, Chief of Staff to the President, David Axelrod, Senior Advisor; James Steinberg Deputy Secretary of State; and Richard Holbrooke Special Envoy to Pakistan/Afghanistan (deceased). [24] Several studies estimate that Jews make up about 25% of the Forbes 400 richest Americans; over half are contributors to Israel or Zionist organizations or causes. J.J. Goldberg in his book on Jewish power estimates that 45% of Democratic fundraising comes from pro-Israel Jews. (Jewish Power: Inside the Jewish Establishment, Reading: Addison-Wesley 1996) [25] Steve Rosen, a top policy director of AIPAC, along with his colleague, Keith Weissman admitted to handing over confidential documents to the Israeli embassy. Rosen later filed suit against AIPAC for firing him and Weissman and refusing to pay their legal fees; he claimed that the Lobby frequently condoned its employees’ receipt and illegal transfer of classified US government information citing numerous AIPAC documents to back-up his case. The Jewish Daily Forward, 12/15/2010. [26] The owner and publisher of the Atlanta Jewish Times, Andrew Adler, urged Netanyahu to order the Israeli secret spy service, the Mossad, to assassinate President Obama, Haaretz 1/21/12. Rabbi Michael Lerner, a moderate Zionist critic of Israel, has been subject to four attacks on his home in the past two years, while accused of being a ‘self-hating Jew’ by Zionist fanatics. Mainstream Zionist organizations dissociate themselves from physical violence, while slanderously labeling opponents and critics of Israel as “anti-semites”, which has created precisely the political climate that encourages the less balanced among their audience to violent activity. Leading Zionist ideologues have been extremely active in inducing colleges and universities to fire critics of Israel, as was the case in the failure of DePaul University to renew the contract of a widely published scholar like, Norman Finklestein. Professors Walt and Mearsheimer, authors of an erudite study of The Israel Lobby, were subject to vitriolic attacks by American Zionist leaders, including A. Foxman of the Anti (sic) Defamation League as well as a superficial critique by left-Zionist Noam Chomsky. The racist rantings of uber-Zionists like David Horowitz and Pamela Geller helped to detonate the Islamophobic and Zionophilic mass murderer, Anders Breivik, in Norway . [27] See the Atlantic Jewish Times editorial 1/20/12. [28] The editor of the Atlantic Jewish Times who called for Obama’s assassination was not charged with any federal security offense. The confessed Zionist spy, Colonel Ben-Ami Kadish, who stole secret US nuclear weapon plans for Israel , did not spend a single day in jail although he paid a $50,000 fine for handing over scores of documents to Israel . (See Grant Smith Foreign Agents, Institute for Research Middle East Policy (IRMEP) Washington 2008. On AIPAC spying see IRMEP 2/6/12. [29] Not to be ignored, the rarified atmosphere in high level scientific research journals has been politicized – most outrageous is the censorship of a genetic-immunologic study (by a leading international team of scientists) showing the close genetic relationship, if not identity between Levantine Jews and Palestinians. University libraries around the world were advised to ‘tear-out’ (eyes closed) the offending study from the pages of the journal, Human Immunology, lest such data might undermine the racist ‘raison d’etre’ for an exclusively Jewish State. (see Journal axes gene research on Jews and Palestinians, Robin McKie, Guardian-Sunday Observer ( London ), November 25, 2001 and Hum. Immunol. 62 (9): 889–900.) [30] A review of new reports and editorials of the New York Times, Washington Post and Wall Street Journal, published by the Daily Alert during the AIPAC conference, reveals a close alignment with the extremist militarist position of the Israeli regime and AIPAC leaders See Steve Lendman ‘New Times Promoting War on Iran’ 3/3/12. [31] During the month of February 2012, the Israeli Army and armed paramilitary Jewish settlers carried out 145 attacks on Palestinians, killing and wounding dozens, demolishing homes, seizing thousands of acres of land and uprooting scores of families: The Wall and Settlements Information Center, Palestinian Authority 3/1/12. Neither the New York Times or the Wall Street Journal or the Washington Post reported on these Israeli crimes against Palestinian civilians. [32] Among Chertoff’s current clients are the manufacturers of the intrusive and nationally detested ‘body scanners’ used at US airports. He was also instrumental in the release and repatriation of a dozen Israeli Mossad agents arrested in New York and New Jersey within 24 hours of the 9/11 terrorist attack. Three of the nine justice s,Ginsberg, Breyer and Kagan, are Zionists unwilling to challenge the Executive usurpation of war powers and promotion of torture and rendition. The others are all affiliated with the Roman Catholic Church. Not a single Protestant-affiliated Justice (numerically the majority religion in the US ) has been appointed to the Supreme Court since the 1990 appointment of respected constitutional scholar, David Souter (by George Bush the First), because of their ‘unreliability’ (code-word for upholding the Bill of Rights and Constitution). The recent appointment of Justice Elena Kagan, whose lackluster academic career did not deter uber-Zionist Laurence Summers from appointing her Dean of the Harvard Law School, uderscores the mediocre criteria used in the high judiciary. The most recent appointment of Sonya Sotomayor to replace the brilliant (and Zionistically ‘unreliable’) J.P. Stevens, was promoted heaviliy for the Supreme Court on the basis of her strong ties to Israel, starting with her first (of many) ‘leadership’ tours to Israel (see The Jewish Chronicle – Life story Israel trips tie Sotomayor to Jews, Ron Kampeas – May 26, 2009). [33] Financial Times 3/6/12, p. 9. [34] Howard Kohr AIPAC executive director, during his vitriolic war mongering speech at the conference exceeded even Netanyahu’s explicit call for an immediate military attack on Iran. See AIPAC daily report, 3/16/12. [35] Most experts agree that the oil price increase has stymied ‘economic recovery’ and if it continues to rise will plunge the world back into deep recession. [36] Obama’s speech to the AIPAC meeting pointedly called on the Israeli leaders to tone down on their military rhetoric, clearly linking rising oil prices to Israeli war mongering. [37] See Grant Smith, ‘AIPAC Directors Use of Classified Missile Data, Harmed National Security – US State Department’, Business Wire 2/6/12. [38] Financial Times 3/1/12, p. 17.

When Did the Potters Go Into Hiding? this wiki Forum page During her 2007 appearance at Carnegie Hall, JKR mentioned that Lily and James were full-time fighters for the Order "until Lily fell pregnant with Harry" and "then they went into hiding," which contradicts her 2004 World Book Day statement that it "looked as if the Potters would have to go into hiding" at the time of Harry's christening. In the 2005 MuggleNet/Leaky Cauldron interview, however, she stated, "At the time that they christened Harry, they were in hiding," leaving open the possibility that they went into hiding before Harry was born. It seems JKR changed her mind about when the Potters went into hiding between writing OotP and HBP. In DH33, when we see Snape go to beg Dumbledore to keep Lily safe, it's autumn ("...the sound of the wind in the branches" and "Though leaves and branches still flew through the night air around them..."). This scene could thus fall in late 1979, when Lily was a couple of months pregnant, or in late 1980, when Harry was a few months old. But late 1979 seems more likely, given that the prophecy was worded "The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches," not "has arrived," implying its subject wasn't born at the name Trelawney made it. The order of events thus seems to be: - Autumn 1979: Lily finds out she's pregnant. - Autumn 1979: Snape overhears Trelawney making the prophecy - Autumn 1979: Snape tells Voldemort about it and he targets the Potters. - Autumn 1979: Snape goes to Dumbledore, seeking protection for Lily. - The Potters go into hiding. - July 1980: Harry is born while his parents are in hiding. This leaves open the question of how Voldemort learned Lily was pregnant, much less expecting a boy, but I think there's enough evidence from various sources to support the above order of events. What does everyone else think? ★ Starstuff (Owl me!) 00:08, August 7, 2011 (UTC) - I would say that the 2007 statement would be the more "official" as it is the latest statement made by Rowling. However, personally, I think that a large amount of time in hiding is unfeasible since it means that Pettigrew waited a long time before betraying the Potters. Perhaps this is one of the things that Pottermore will clear up in the coming months. - Cavalier One (Wizarding Wireless Network) 00:30, August 7, 2011 (UTC) - I'm revamping the Lily Evans article to include more known canonical information and I was wondering how to cover information about the Potters going into hiding. Personally, I always had a bit of trouble accepting that Pettigrew's betray came suddenly, I'd find it more believable if the Potters were in hiding for two years and he had that long to progressively grow frightened enough to sell them out. ★ Starstuff (Owl me!) 02:38, August 7, 2011 (UTC) - I'm inclined to agree with Cav and go with the more recent interview. After all, Lily's letter to Sirius in Deathly Hallows mentions Peter visiting them around Harry's birthday in late July, and they still weren't killed for another three months, so it's not unreasonable to think he'd been conflicted enough to wait for quite some time before betraying them. Then again, we all know the REAL reason is simply because it's J. K. "I hate teh maths" Rowling. - Nick O'Demus 10:26, August 7, 2011 (UTC) - Snape has overheard the prophecy in late 1979 or early 1980. It must have been later than Halloween 1979, because Harry was born on 31st July 1980, so he was conceived around Halloween 1979. - Snape asks Dumbledore to protect Lily after Harrys birth, because they talk about "her son". The weather is not necessarily in autumn, it could well be winter or early spring, when the dry leaves are still around. But if we assume that it is autumn, then it would be in 1981, because it would take even Voldemort some time to find out about all children born at the end of July 1980 to parents who have thrice defeated him. (The prophecy could also be referring to Neville Longbottom, but by attacking Harry, Voldemort "marks him as his equal".) - So lets say Snape talks to Dumbledore in autumn 1981 and tells him, Voldemort thinks the prophecy is referring to Harry. Dumbledore warns the Potters and they use the Fidelius Charm to go into hiding. BUT only because they change to Pettigrew as Secret Keeper at the last moment, he is able to betray them. I think that he did it immediately, because Sirius talks about how happy he must have been realising that he could be of great service to his secret master. No sense in waiting, imho. Bearig 20:05, March 27, 2012 (UTC)

Insects of the Arnold Arboretum Results from our visual survey (results from Bee Bowls to come later): Diptera: Mosquito (Culicidae) Midge (Chironomidae) Housefly (Muscidae) Hover fly (Syrphidae) Hemiptera: Tree hopper (Cercopidae) Leaf hopper (Cicadellidae) Water strider (Gerridae) Hemlock woolly adelgid (Adelges tsugae) Hymenoptera: Bumblebee (Apidae) Vespid wasp (Vespidae) Honeybee (Apidae) Lepidoptera: Inch worm (Geometridae) Checkerspot butterfly (Nymphalidae) Coleoptera: Flat bark beetle larva (Cucujidae) Click beetle (Elateridae) Birds of the Arnold Arboretum From Robert Mayer at the Arnold Arboretum, here is a list of our morning birding findings! Location: Arnold Arboretum Observation date: 5/1/11 Notes: sun/clouds 55 Number of species: 22 H= heard only Canada Goose 2 Red-tailed Hawk 2 Mourning Dove 5 Red-bellied Woodpecker 2 H Northern Flicker 2 H Great Crested Flycatcher 2 H Warbling Vireo 1 H Blue Jay 3 Black-capped Chickadee 2 White-breasted Nuthatch 1 H American Robin 20 Gray Catbird 6 European Starling 3 Yellow Warbler 5 Yellow-rumped Warbler 2 H warbler sp. 1 Brian and I heard another warbler possibly Northern Parula Chipping Sparrow 1 Song Sparrow 3 White-throated Sparrow 2 Northern Cardinal 4 Red-winged Blackbird 6 Common Grackle 15 House Sparrow 4 Please fill out this interest survey for the 2011 BioBlitz. 2011 BioBlitz is here - May 1! Please join us for the second annual Harvard University Campus BioBlitz! Contact info: During the event, call: Adam Clark (857)-544-6782, Andrew Brownjohn (315)-877-7457, or Sam Perez (617)-852-4635 The Agassiz Zoological Club is named in honor of Prof. Louis Agassiz, the founder of the Harvard Museum of Comparative Zoology. (see site: harvardbioblitz.tumblr.com/) Times: ROUGHLY midnight Sunday, May 1 to midnight Monday, May 2 Location of coordinating center – MCZ Labs, 4th floor What is a BioBlitz? Over 24 hours, the total plant and animal life of the area will be cataloged to the best of our ability and recorded in a public database hosted by the Encyclopedia of Life (EOL). Over time, the HUCBB will provide an invaluable record of the changes in diversity over time, and the types of species present on campus. When will this happen? The BioBlitz will begin at midnight on Sunday, May 1st and continue through midnight on Monday, May 2nd. Volunteers will lead taxa-specific sampling expeditions across the campus, cataloguing plant, insect, bird, etc. life. Samples will be identified in the field or sorted under microscopes. How do I participate? Show up at any point over the 24 hours, either at our sampling location (see below) or at the coordinating center at the MCZ Labs. Student experts will lead guided nature walks for each trip, provide collecting equipment, and help with specimen identification. See which trips you are interested in – we’ll be leading them all day! Locations: North Area – Harvard Yard, MCZ Labs area, Radcliffe Quadrangle Southern Area – River Houses, Charles River How can I get involved?: Email the AZC above, and cc Adam, atclark@fas.harvard.edu. We are looking for volunteers who would like to attend guided walks, taxonomists and naturalist who would like to guide walks, and photographers or writers who would like to record events. Sampling Trips (as of April 21): All images from 2010 BioBlitz. All corny trip names are solely Adam’s fault. 1) 9AM-12PM: “The birds and the bees” - insect and avifauna of the the Arnold Arboretum. a. A guided tour of the forests, fields, and rills of the Arnold Arboretum. We will be looking at local insects and birds, and will collect data for part of a New England-wide inventory of pollinators. b. At 10:30AM, we’re meeting up with Robert Mayer, a naturalist at the AA, to go on a guided birding trip of the facilities. c. MEET AT Harvard Yard subway entrance (by “the Pit”) at 8:30AM 2) 2PM-4PM: “A walk in the woods” - guided walk featuring the plants of Harvard Yard a. Taking advantage of Harvard Yard’s tree map, we will visit and identify plants from around the campus. b. MEET AT John Harvard state at 2PM 3) 4PM-6PM: “Sleeping with the fishes” - fish and aquatic arthropods of the Charles River, by the Harvard Woman’s boathouse a. Using water nets and seines, we will collect fish, insects, larvae, and other aquatic animals to record the diversity of the Charles River. Waders or sandals are highly encouraged. b. MEET AT Women’s Boat House at 4PM 4) 12AM-2AM: “Three sheets to the wind” - light trapping for nocturnal insects a. We will set up light traps in the MCZ courtyard to see the local insect wildlife. b. MEET OUTSIDE the Harvard Geological Building (by 26 Oxford St.) at 12AM. Insects and arthropods, round 1. Arthropod pitfall samples have finally been sorted! Three pitfall traps were placed at each of seven sites, and left open for about 24 hours. Where possible, insects were later sorted to family, arthropods to order. Results from hand collecting and light trapping at night will be available later this fall. Data tables are available through Google Docs here:. Pictures of each specimen can be found hosted by Google Picassa at. Images are named by (site code)_(taxonomy)_(number of individuals)_(morphospecies code). Below is a summary of findings. Please keep in mind that “individuals” data is sketchy at best. When many (>10) individuals were present, they were not counted. Name Site Species (ID) Individuals Boathouse B 22 31 Lowell House LH 12 30 Lowell Hall LL 18 30 MCZ Courtyard MCZ 11 28 North Yard NY 26 46 South Yard SY 20 28 Stadium S 16 18. Fantastic, a whole family of hawks right where I buy my groceries! The Boston Globe reports on a family of red-tailed hawks that is nesting right by the Fresh Pond Parkway in West Cambridge. Watch the video! It really shows how people have a great innate enthusiasm for nature when it’s pointed out to them. I’ve noticed that the ‘aha!’ moment tends to be when they can make a connection between what they’re seeing with their own eyes with something they’ve read in a magazine or see on TV. For biology educators the challenge is to trigger the thought: “I never thought I’d see this with my own eyes!” (Via MB Saffo.) We are about half done ID-ing the pitfall and light trap samples. We have photos of them all, and will post them soon! Rob’s Sightings Rob Gogan emailed us recently with the following notes. This morning (5-3-10) on my way to campus, I saw these birds: - Magnolia warbler high among young leaves and catkins of white oak tree across the street from Shannon Hall - Goldfinch flying over Charles near Weld Boat House - Warblers high in elms in Harvard Yard In the blog for 5-2, I suggest you add to the caption of the gorgeous ink-cap mushroom photo that the host tree is an American Elm. Also, please add to the Radcliffe Yard part of the blog that we stopped at the Radcliffe crabapple tree. This tree nearly died when Harvard discussed fully merging with Radcliffe in the mid-90’s. Then, Harvard announced that the Radcliffe name would live on as the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study was announced. A new crabapple was planted next to the old one at this time. Suddenly, the old tree burst into new life, and has thrived ever since. As we pondered it, Chris noticed a palm warbler flitting among its leaves. Rob saw it poke its beak into a tube-rolled leaf and extract a fat green larva, which it ate in three or four bites. Also, I suggest that you add that Sam spotted some lichen with fruiting bodies growing on the north side of the giant pre-Columbian, Central American stone sphere behind Tozzer Library. Also on the giant sphere (from Costa Rica) was a fat insect larva of some kind, a few spiders, and lots of tiny red mites… Thanks Rob! That Big Mushroom… Gen Lewis-Gentry at the Farlow Herbarium took a look at our Stropharia photo and suggested that it might be Stropharia rugoso-annulata. It’s one of the common mushrooms seen around the area, and was first described by William Farlow himself (picture of Farlow below, from HUH website). Farlow was Professor of Cryptogamic Botany at Harvard from 1879 until the turn of the century, and helped to establish botany (then including mycology) as a scientific discipline in the country. His description of Stropharia rugoso-annulata was published posthumously in the Icones Farlowianae, which has sumptuous color lithograph plates illustrating each of the species described - each printing is slightly different because the stones were all inked by hand. The type was described from Massachusetts, and was ‘rare’ at the time, but it’s now very common growing on mulched beds, which was where we found it (in a flowerbed in the Div School). The character to look out for, apparently, is the annulus around the stipe, which has a star-shaped appearance when seen head-on. The cap is chestnut-brown with a purplish hue, and the spores are ‘snuff-brown’. Back in the day when most people would know the color of snuff very well…. Fish is now IDed! The small fish we pulled out of the Charles has been identified by Prof. Farrell as a juvenile Largemouth Bass.

Berlin, the Cold War Years – Part 4. At the end of World War 2, what remained of pre-war Germany was divided into four zones of occupation. Each of the Allied powers; the United Kingdom, United States, France and Russia, controlled one of them. The capital of Germany, Berlin, was also. Remnants of the infamous Berlin Wall – February 2012 Remnants of the infamous Berlin Wall – February 2012 Having free, unhindered access to East Berlin and Museum Island was a real treat for me. Below is the Der Deutschen Kunst Museum, the House of Art Museum. Deutschen Kunst Museum – Berlin – February 2012 Deutschen Kunst Museum, Berlin. Joseph Goebbels visiting – 1937 Bundesarchiv_Bild_183-H02648,_München,_Goebbels_im_Haus_der_Deutschen_Kunst.jpg Also on the Island, the Berliner Dom, or Berlin Cathedral. In the 1940′s, it suffered considerable damage from bomb blast waves and incendiaries. Over the years it has been slowly restored. Berliner Dom – February 2012 With my passion for military history, I naturally wanted to see this building below, Wilhelmstrasse 81-85. Luftwaffe Historians would know that in 1933, the newly formed Reich Aviation Ministry, headed by Hermann Goering, occupied it. The complex was demolished in 1935 and was re-built. The building you see today, with over 2,000 rooms. Wilhelmstrasse 81-85, Berlin - February 2012 The Bebelplatz is known as the site of the infamous Nazi book burning ceremony held on the evening of the 10th May, 1933. Today, a memorial by Micha Ullman, consisting of a glass plate set into the cobblestones, shows empty book cases below. Bebelplatz, Berlin – February 2012 At the end of the day the GDR, and East Berlin, were occupied by the Soviet Union and their military were ever present. Russian T-62 driving passed a Kindergarten - East Berlin 1983 There were ‘Restricted Areas’ where the Soviets preferred us not to go. We naturally ignored them. I got this one to take home as a souvenir. Russian helicopter taking an interest in us. Hip (Mi-8) – East Berlin 1983 This one is a deadly Hind-D (Mi-24). The worlds first Attack Helicopter. East Berlin – 1983 Below are some photographs of the Treptow Soviet Memorial. Although the GDR was part of the Warsaw Pact, the Soviets were still very much an occupying power. The memorial below, to the Soviet soldiers killed in WW2, is of a significant size. Main entrance. The people give you an indication of its size. East Berlin – February 2012 View from the main entrance. Note the vertical slabs either side – East Berlin, February 2012 Each slab was carved with a scene depicting elements of WW2 – February 2012 Treptow Park Memorial – East Berlin, February 2012 The view looking back towards the entrance. East Berlin, February 2012. For an interlude, I will share a few shots of my very first parachute jump. I did my jumps between my first tour in Northern Ireland and coming to Berlin. I completed my jumps with the Dutch Commandos, my first one landing on my feet, arse and head. Not quite the perfect roll I had anticipated. Gulp, I’m ready. 1981 Yes that is me. My chute did open. Yes you do have to carry your own chute back!. Troops start to flood in on the outskirts of East Berlin – 1984 First one is a FROG (Free Rocket Over Ground) 7 resupply, the second a FROG 7 TEL (Transporter, Erector, Launcher). FROG 7′s played a key part in the missile attacks on Israel during the Yom Kippur War. Ural 375 – East Berlin 1984 Troops also arrived by rail – East Berlin – 1984 BRDM at the front and two ACRV’s, Armoured Command and Reconnaissance Vehicle. East Berlin 1984 Many of the troops were camped out at various parks and car parks on the outskirts. East Berlin 1984 Night time operations were a regular part of our life, often staying out for days at a time. East Berlin 1984 Posing shot… - East Berlin 1984 Then the fun and games begin…. Can you spot him? East Berlin 1983 See him now? And another. The VOPO were never far away. East Berlin 1984 The more troops and equipment that arrived, the more reinforcements to make life difficult for us. East Berlin 1984 Underside photographs were a key goal. This one showing a mine plough attachment. Weld thickness would also help in determining the thickness of a tanks armour. East Berlin 1984. This is of a BMP-2, moving at the time. East Berlin 1984. The tensions steadily got worse. Don’t forget, we didn’t recognise the GDR government, let a alone the Police. West Berlin police had no authority over us either, as we were also an occupying power in West Berlin. East Berlin 1984. The glasses were fashionable at the time! BMP-2, the latest MICV, Mechanised Infantry Combat Vehicle, in the GDR and Soviet arsenal. An AT-5, Spandrel anti-tank missile sits on top of the turret. East Berlin 1984. BMP 1. A close up of the AT-3, Sagger, anti-tank missile. The wire guided missile devastated the Israeli tanks during the Yom Kippur War - East Berlin 1984 SA-13 Gopher, Surface to Air Missil carrier. – East Berlin 1984 SA 8 Gecko, Surface to Air Missile carrier – East Berlin 1984 T-72 tank, the latest in the GDR Army, the NVA, National Volksarmee. East Berlin 1984. During the parade preparations they didn’t like us being around. A bit difficult when one of your team is six foot eight and built like a brick wall. – East Berlin 1984 SA 9 Gaskin, Surface to Air Missile, mounted on a BRDM 2. East Berlin 1984 SA 4 Ganef. Surface to Air Missile, resupply vehicle. Big! Flew at Mach 4 and could reach a height of 20 miles. Now I know why I didn’t join the RAF (Best air force in the world). East Berlin 1984 FROG 7 TEL, East Berlin 1984. The German Navy was always in attendance. East Berlin 1984. Tatra 813 towing and M1974 artillery piece. East Berlin 1984. T-72 East Berlin 1984 BMP -1, MICV with troops. One draw back was thin armour and fuel tanks in the back doors. East Berlin 1984 Silkworm TEL, Surface to Ship Missile. East Berlin 1984. Silkworm missile resupply. East Berlin 1984. T-72. East Berlin 1984. T-72. East Berlin 1984 The military were pretty high tech, not so the cars. The famous Trabant. One Trabant hit us and didn’t leave a mark, but the cars front end fell off. Berlin 2012. The VOPO, Volkspolitzei’s main mode of transport in the 80′s. Berlin February 2012. I shall finish off with an old photo of the ICC, the International Congress Centre. West Berlin 1982. . My intention is not to portray a particular message, but just share some of my photographs and experiences with you. Photographs are copyrighted to Harvey Black

Believe it or not, 2012 marks our 20th season of day hikes into our remarkable public lands. When Don Baker began his first hikes with some of you in 1992, I’m sure he had no idea that his program would continue well into the 21st century. Today, the Don Baker Legacy Hikes are going strong, as is High Country Citizens' Alliance. We hope you will join us on this season’s hikes. All those original hikers are invited to help celebrate our 20th hiking season. New friends are more than welcome, as always. Our knowledgeable staff will join us from time to time to shed light on significant topics. This season’s schedule is: June 27: Old Kebler Wagon Road (easy first hike, 6 miles r/t) July 4: Celebrate Independence Day in Crested Butte—no hike scheduled July 11: Miller Ranch State Wildlife Area* (easy, 4 miles r/t) July 18: Walrod Gulch (moderate, 4-5 miles r/t) July 25: Beckwith Pass (moderate, 5 miles r/t) August 1: Standard Mine via Elk Ck. (moderate-strenuous, 6 mi. r/t) August 8: Rustlers Gulch (strenuous, 8 mi. r/t, limit 10 people in Maroon Bells Wilderness, bring water sandals) August 15: Castle Creek (moderate, 7-8 miles r/t; bring water sandals) August 22: Crystal Townsite (strenuous, 6 miles r/t; bring water sandals) August 29: Oh-Be-Joyful (moderate-strenuous, 10 miles r/t; bring water sandals) *A representative from Colorado Parks and Wildlife will join us for a tour of this 1600-acre conservation project. Please remember that “easy” and “moderate” are relative terms, and at altitude and in mountainous, rugged terrain, challenges exist. All hikes require suitable capability and acclimation, as well as water, hat, raingear, sunscreen, lunch, hiking boots and sense of adventure. All distances are approximate. Registered hikers meet at the Crested Butte Visitors Center parking lot at 8 AM and carpool to trailheads (please bring vehicles). Our online reservation system makes hike registration easy. To reserve space for the next week’s hike, visit after 5 PM on the Wednesday prior to the hike you’d like to join. (If you have no internet access, you may call 349-7104, ext. 3). We will continue to abide by Forest Service regulations and environmental ethics, limiting our group size to a maximum of 15 people (or fewer in certain Wilderness Areas) each week. (Please, no pets.) We encourage you to register early and bring your friends to introduce to these majestic mountains and to High Country Citizens' Alliance. Thank you for your participation and support for our conservation work over the years. With your help, we will continue to prevent a molybdenum mine from encroaching on our public lands, water and communities, as well as advocate for sound management and wilderness designations for environmentally sensitive public lands. We look forward to seeing you on the trail! Sincerely, Sue Navy In Don's own words: "There is no better medicine than walking the trails through our splendid and inspiring public lands! Thanks to HCCA's persistent efforts, these essential natural resources remain protected and preserved. Membership support has been critical to HCCA's work and longevity. Please bring your membership up-to-date and if possible make an additional contribution to support HCCA's ongoing mission. It's an investment in our future!"

As told to Michelle Badash, MS Patricia is a 32-year-old criminology professor at a state university. She is married and has a five-year-old son and a three-year-old daughter. They live in the suburban area where her husband grew up. What was your first sign that something was wrong? What symptoms did you experience? I first had a problem in graduate school when I developed a rapid pulse rate and high blood pressure for no understandable reason. I would also get hot flashes. Shortly thereafter, I developed the worst headache I’d ever had behind my right eye and on the right side of my head. I went to the university clinic to see a doctor there. After an initial exam, he concluded I had a migraine, along with other problems. He prescribed some medication that helped a bit. What was the diagnosis experience like? I saw various doctors at the university clinic. I had insurance that only covered my visits to the clinic and really did not cover specialists. I was referred to a cardiologist eventually, but not a neurologist or headache specialist until just about 6 months ago (I’m now in a new state with new insurance). What was your initial and then longer-term reaction to the diagnosis? I had heard of migraines, and discovered that my mother experienced “painless migraines”. I was very uninformed and just assumed it was a headache, something I’d deal with from time to time. Now I realize that migraines are not just headaches, and dealing with chronic migraines is more of a challenge than I’d ever have imagined. How do you manage your disease? I am currently managing this disease, but not very well. I have tried several types of medication: five migraine abortives, eight rescue pain medications, and five migraine preventives. I am currently taking two preventives—Prozac and Atenolol. I use two abortives—Amerge and Relafen (which is more of a rescue) when a migraine hits, and I use either Darvocet or Fioricet as a rescue, but only 2 times a week—same for the Amerge and Relafen. Recently, I began to have menstrual migraines for the first time. For this type of migraine, I am now trying Relafen 2 times a day starting 2-3 days before I expect the headache (which is hard for me because I am irregular). I also use Benadryl (generic), ginger, and/or Reglan (generic) for nausea. Now I can knock out the nausea within an hour, which is a new and wonderful thing! I am also trying “alternatives”—I recently started taking 500 mg of feverfew every day, and I do see some improvement. I also take magnesium and vitamin B2. Since I am prone to stomach ulcers, I have to be careful with the feverfew, B2, and Relafen. So I also take ginger for nausea or upset stomach, and drink chamomile tea when my stomach hurts. I take Tums during the day if necessary, but not within two hours of taking any medication. Without my husband, I couldn’t do what I do. He’s learned what to do when a migraine hits: he immediately gets me coffee or diet coke, makes toast for me to eat when I take medication, etc. And even my five-year-old son will trot over with sunglasses, because light (even from the television) hurts my eyes. I joined two on-line support groups to get and give support. I did not realize there were so many people struggling with the same disease. I have done a lot of research—books, websites, journal articles—on migraine, stroke, epilepsy, anything I can get my hands on. Most importantly, I was referred to a headache clinic and work with a doctor and nurse practitioner who specialize in migraines and work closely with me. I’ve had to take my health firmly into my own hands and help direct my care. I’m not particularly assertive, but this disease has made me so, at least as far a migraine care is concerned. Did you have to make any lifestyle or dietary changes in response to your illness? I’ve made LOTS of changes. I go to bed at the same (early) time every night now. I get up early in the morning to avoid any “sleeping in” headaches that can morph into a migraine. I drink just about the same amount of caffeine every day—not too much, not too little—to avoid caffeine withdrawal headache and allow the caffeine to help me. I kept a food journal for four months, trying to identify a food trigger (to no avail). I drink almost no alcohol now because I fear it might trigger a headache. I try to exercise almost daily to release endorphins that might help. I cut back on committee work on campus to avoid very heavy stress, since stress is the only trigger I identified. I also make sure to drink as much water as I can every day, because that seems to help. And mostly, I just try to stay healthy. I take a lot of vitamins now. I recently bought some books on meditation and relaxation and plan to look into this as well. Did you seek any type of emotional support? I seek emotional support from my family and from the two online support groups. Sometimes people who do not have this disease do not understand it. They have the attitude, “take some aspirin and get over it.” But it’s not that easy. So it’s really helpful to know others have the same problem and go through the same stuff. Did/does your condition have any impact on your family? Well, both my five year old and three year old know what a migraine is. I have missed some birthday parties (for their friends), trips to the theater, school parties or events, trips to the zoo… all because of the migraines. That can upset my kids, but all in all, they handle it well. My husband is nothing but supportive, though I don’t think he really understands the disease—but then, neither do I. The rest of my family lives far away, and I don’t think they have any idea what migraines have been like for me. What advice would you give to anyone living with this condition? I would tell anyone living with this condition several things: Read as much as you can about this disease so you can have an informed conversation with your doctors. Find a specialist right away—not just a neurologist, but a headache/migraine specialist. Listen to that specialist—give the medications and/or therapy a try no matter how bizarre it sounds. Most importantly, trust yourself. If a medication is making you sick or making things worse, tell your doctor firmly that you need to discontinue it. Try alternative therapies like herbs, acupuncture, etc. under the direction of your doctor (or at least informing him/her). Tell your family and friends what migraines are like so they can have some understanding of what you are going through. Know your rights at work, in case you need to take a step back and slow down. Find people who will listen to you and not judge you—online support groups are really great that way! Interviews were conducted in the past and may not reflect current standards and practices in medicine. Talk to your doctor to learn more about how this condition is diagnosed and managed today and what treatment approaches are right for you.

Tags and Lyrics – Fixing a Broken Heart – Indecent Obsession & Mari Hamada Tags and Lyrics. [00:02.00]There was nothing to say the day you left [00:08.09]Just filled a suitcase full of regrets [00:14.31]I hailed a taxi in the rain [00:20.19]Looking for some place to ease the pain, ooh [00:28.60]Then like an answered prayer [00:32.27]I turned around and found you there [00:40.62]You really know where to start [00:45.83]Fixing a broken heart [00:51.56]You really know what to do [00:53.98]Your emotional tools can cure any fool [01:00.53]Whose dreams have fallin’ apart [01:05.72]Fixing a broken heart [01:11.57] [01:17.47]Now I could understand what you going through [01:23.72]There must be a plan that led me to you [01:29.72]Because the hurt just disappears [01:36.58]In every moment that you are neat, yeah [01:44.08]Just like an answered prayer [01:47.93]You make the loneliness easy to bear [01:56.37]You really know where to start [02:01.57]Fixing a broken heart [02:07.05]You really know what to do [02:09.79]Your emotional tools can cure any fool [02:16.33]Whose dreams have fallin’ apart [02:21.70]Fixing a broken heart [02:27.31] [02:29.51]Soon the rain will stop falling baby [02:34.95]So lets forget the past [02:37.87]’cause here we are at leat [02:42.31] [02:45.15]You really know where to start [02:50.24]Fixing a broken heart [02:55.73]You really know what to do [02:58.23]Your emotional tools can cure any fool [03:04.59]Whose dreams have apart [03:09.91]Fixing a broken heart [03:15.61]Fixing a broken heart [03:22.81]

Nothing is better than a concert by one of your favorite bands…..and it’s even better when it’s FREE! I went to the Mohegan Sun Casino Friday night to catch Ace Frehley live in concert at the Wolf Den. For those of you who haven’t been, the Wolf Den is an intimate club that sits right in the heart of the casino surrounded by the sounds of slot machines and gaming tables. The Wolf Den holds about 400 people and it usually brings in some of the better known Hard Rock acts. Earlier in the month, Kix played there and Helix is coming in April! A lot of tribute acts get on that stage and play for the casino patrons as well. Being a KISS fan, I knew that an Ace Frehley solo show would bring tons of New England KISS fans to the casino so my friend and I got there for 3:30 in the afternoon (showtime was 8pm), had a nice meal at one of the buffets, and got in line around 5pm. As predicted, the KISS Army came out in force. We counted and we were within the first 50 people but the line stretched to over the 400 capacity. The cool thing about the Wolf Den is that it is primarily open so you can see the show from the casino floor, there were people three deep around the arena and many fans took over slot machines close by to take in the show. We had a great table inside, very close to the stage with a perfect view, so I didn’t run down to the front when Ace and the band came on. Ace was joined by Scot Coogan (drums/vocals) and Anthony Esposito (bass/vocals), who both played on his new record, ANOMALY, as well as, new guitarist Todd Youth. Ace Frehley setlist: Intro – Fractured Mirror Rocket Ride Parasite Snow Blind Sister Pain In The Neck Into The Void Speedin’ Back To My Baby Rock Soldiers Love Her All I Can Talk To Me 2000 Man Strange Ways New York Groove Rip It Out Hard Times Shock Me Ace guitar solo (w/smoking guitar) Let Me Know outro Shout It Out Loud Encore: Deuce Love Gun Cold Gin This was a great concert…..a KISS diehard’s dream! Ace and his band came out and put on an energetic show full of Ace solo and KISS classics. Not surprisingly, Ace and the band focused on most KISS material that featured Ace either as lead singer or primary songwriter. It was extremely cool to hear deep tracks like ‘Rocket Ride’, ‘Strange Ways’, ‘Hard Times’ and ‘Talk To Me’, songs that were rarely played live by KISS during their ’70s heyday. Ace also pulled out 4 songs from his 1978 KISS solo record (‘New York Groove’, ‘Rip It Out’, ‘Speedin’ Back To My Baby’, ‘Snow Blind’) and 2 brand new songs off ANOMALY (‘Sister’ & ‘Pain In The Neck’) but one of the most gratifying songs of the set for me was ‘Rock Soldiers’ from the first Frehley’s Comet album…..to this day, Frehley’s Comet is one of my all-time favorite bands. The ’78 solo album songs were great also, the Ace album was my favorite by the four members and it was so cool to finally hear ‘Rip It Out’ and ‘Snow Blind’ live. I thought ‘Sister’ came out great live and Ace announced that this was the first performance of ‘Pain In The Neck’ ever so we got a little extra KISStory at the show. The audience was mostly KISS fans so all the KISS classics got huge ovations, as did the entire set. ‘Parasite’, ‘Shock Me’ and ‘Shout It Out Loud’ were all great but the encore really brought the house down with cool versions of ‘Deuce’, ‘Love Gun’ and ‘Cold Gin’. Ace also managed to get in a great guitar solo complete with his signature smoking guitar and then he was joined by the band to complete the ‘Let Me Know’ outro solo with the signature KISS moves…..something that got the crowd really going! What a show! Ace and the band played 20 songs in an hour and 45 minutes, including an extended guitar solo and the opening into tape of ‘Fractured Mirror’ from the ’78 solo record…..so it was really 22 songs worth of time! You can’t ask for much more! It was a great show at a great venue for a great price…..FREE! Definitely catch Ace on tour if you can…..check out Ace Frehley.com for tour dates.

[Edited on 2010-10-22 to describe how to use TextEdit to apply this key mapping] [Edited on 2010-11-12 to mention that TextEdit sometimes adds a .txt extension] I'm a longtime Windows user who recently purchased a Macbook. Overall I'm very impressed with the machine, but it does have a learning curve, especially for the key bindings. The first thing I noticed was that the Macbook does not have the Del and Ins keys at all, and the Home, End, PageUp and PageDown keys require pressing 'Fn' and then an Arrow key (which is understandable because the keyboard on a small Macbook is somewhat cramped -- also, I've asked a couple users who have not used PCs much before using a Mac, and they did not even know these keys existed, or what they would do with them) However, when I'm not on the road, I like to use a nice full sized Microsoft Natural Keyboard, to reduce tendinitis. As a (former) hard-core programmer, I very extensively use the Home, End, PageUp and PageDown keys to quickly navigate code or text documents. I was very dismayed to discover that Apple pretty much doesn't do anything with these keys. In hunting through all the configuration options, I noticed that you can reconfigure a lot of key mappings through the System Preferences utility (go to the apple in the upper-left corner, select System Preferences..., click on Keyboard & Mouse, and click the Keyboard Shortcuts tab). This was useful for a start, but I quickly determined that the Mac wouldn't allow me to bind keys to any of the 6 special keys (Home, End, PageUp, PageDown, Delete, Insert). This made me sad. I did discover, however, that it is possible to switch the Control and Command keys. This is a big help because now all the windows favorites like Ctrl+c for copy, Ctrl+v for paste, Ctrl+x for cut, and Ctrl+z for undo now work the same on both systems. I still switch frequently between Windows and Mac platforms, so it's very nice to have the same key mappings. Most recently, I discovered that there is a special file you can create that allows special mappings to the 6 special keys. This made me happy. I was now able to get much closer to having a unified key mapping. For more details, see this article. To do this, create a new file called ~/Library/KeyBindings/DefaultKeyBinding.dictand put the following text into it (You'll probably have to create the directory the first time -- this is okay). /* ~ */ } Remember: These key mappings assume that you've switched Control and Command. If you don't want to make this switch, replace each @ (command) with ^ (control). Here are steps to take to apply these changes: - Open TextEdit under the Applications folder. If TextEdit was already open, create a new document using File->New. There should be a window labeled 'Untitled'. - Select the text within the window above, copy it, and then paste it into your new TextEdit window. - In TextEdit, convert this to plain text (the default is rich text) by selecting Format->Make Plain Text. - Next, select File->Save As... In the "Save As" dialog box, navigate to your home directory (look under PLACES on the left side for a house picture that has your name next to it). In your home directory, double-click on the Library folder. If you see a KeyBindings folder then double-click on it. If not, then click on "New Folder" (within the Library directory), name the new folder KeyBindings (with no space), and then double-click on it. Type DefaultKeyBinding.dictfor the filename (at the top) and then click Save. - Warning: TextEdit will sometimes try to 'help' you by appending a .txt extension to the filename. Make sure this doesn't happen. If asked to use a .txt extension, tell TextEdit to instead use .dict. It will not work if you use .txt. If you have trouble, see comment by Nathan below. - Before these changes take effect, you need to log out and then log back in. There you have it! I know this emulation isn't perfect (not all applications honor this mapping), but it's a good start. Please drop comments if you have any questions or suggestions for improvements. Thanks much! I've been looking for something like this. Perfect! Many thanks, that's very helpful! thank you so very very very much! Thanks for this post! They all seem to work for me on Leopard 10.5.6, except for one. I am having trouble making Shift-Insert work for paste. Strangely, Shift-Delete works for cut just fine. Any ideas? Aaron: This is a problem that I have in other non-Cocoa applications as well. I really do miss the Shift-Insert paste option, because I use my left-hand for the mouse, and my right hand for cursor navigation and cut/copy/paste (at least on Windows systems). On Mac, having to use Ctrl/Cmd-V forces me to either take my hand off the mouse, or move my right hand to the left-side of the keyboard, either of which slows me down. I suspect that the 'Insert' key is actually some kind of help key on Macs -- pressing Insert sometimes changes the mouse cursor to a question mark. A real Mac keyboard doesn't even have the Insert key, but has the 'fn' key in it's place (which is completely different than Insert). I think that the bindings to the Insert key are at a higher level and have to be remapped using a different approach. Since this key is not on any standard mac keyboard, I suspect it may be a low-level hack. I would be very interested in finding this out too! Thanks a lot for your perfect work! It'll be cool if Shift + Insert became work too... Let's keep us informed! // Dmitry Kovba moveWordBackwardAndModifySelection doesn't work too:( // Dmitry Kovba WRT moveWorkBackwardAndModifySelection not working, it seems Cocoa doesn't like the $ to be infront of the @ I was able to make it work using this minor change: "@$\UF702" = "moveWordBackwardAndModifySelection:"; /* Shift + Cmd + Leftarrow */ "@$\UF703" = "moveWordForwardAndModifySelection:"; /* Shift + Cmd + Rightarrow */ Thanks for the suggestion to swap shift and cmd! I've confirmed that this works and have modified the code with this change. Cool, so in addition to swapping $ and @, I have another binding suggestion for you. Many times I've hit delete to backspace by word which is the windows behaviour. On mac, it deletes the whole line! So, here's another binding to try: "@\U007F" = "deleteWordBackward:"; // cmd + delete left Kevin G Oops, I had a typo in my previous comment, I intended to write that on Windows backspace that deletes by word. -- Kevin G Thanks a lot for your post - it made my life a lot easier. However, I managed to switch command and control on the desktop applications as you suggested, but they don't switch in the terminal - do you know how to do that in the terminal as well? @Anonymous: For Mac Terminal.app key bindings, I wrote up a brief discussion here: This doesn't include ctrl and cmd, but will hopefully give enough information to get started... :) Awesome, thanks for this info! I'd like to switch my control and command keys like you mentioned but then I can't quite get used to pressing ctrl+tab to switch applications. Do you know if it's possible to change that shortcut? Noah: I haven't found a way to change ctrl+tab to alt+tab for switching windows, so I've been having to re-learn that aspect of the windowing system. I would be interested if anyone else finds a way to change this... :) I ended up not switching the Control and Command keys; instead I added Keyboard Shortcuts for All Applications, setting ^C for Copy, ^Z for Undo, etc. This way I can keep my precious Alt+Ta... oops, I mean Command+Tab :) Thanks for posting here I have switched the Control and Command keys, what is the next step (where I have to past your code..?). Please explain me once. I am not familiar with programming. If it’s works for me it would great help for me… Siva: I've added new instructions for non-programmers that should hopefully help. Look back at the main article, possibly pressing 'Refresh' on your browser, and you should see these instructions. Hi Matthew V Ball, Thanks for your great, great help I am looking for this change from so many years. I also tried in the way of keyboard keys power supply changes which was not a great IDEA. I need one more facility in Windows 7. I need every NEW FOLDER WITH NOTE PAD in single click. I strongly believe you are the correct person to do that. If you do this that would be great help for me. Siva: Unfortunately, I never used Windows 7, and won't be able to help in that regard. OK, to save anyone else the hours of pain I've just endured trying to get this working, here's a little tip. I'm a total Mac newbie, so you'll have to forgive me my ignorance here... I'd tried time and time again to get this working and the DefaultKeyBinding.dict file I'd created simply wasn't being picked up. No shortcuts were working, even ludicrous ones like mapping letters to other letters. The cause? The file I'd created using TextEdit had an invisible .txt extension on it. *facepalm* I only realised this after I downloaded the KeyBindingsEditor utility () and it created the correct file for me, showing up the other file with the txt extension. Thinking about it now, I'm not surprised that OS X is hiding extensions, it's what Windows does by default too and I turned that off loooong ago :-) But what got me is that I had no idea that TextEdit would add its own extension if you'd specified one in the save dialog. Perhaps the instructions above can be modified to warn for this? Well you live and learn. I hope this helps anyone else who runs into a brick wall on this! Nathan: Interesting point! I typically run in a mode where all the extensions are always shown, so I didn't notice the feature where TextEdit can silently append a .txt. I'll update the blog to mention this. Serenity Now! Just switched from 16 years of Windows to Mac and was going crazy. On top of just normal Mac usage, I use Citrix for work so I would have to use Ctrl-C in Citrix windows, then Command-C in my local Office apps....driving me crazy. I swapped the Ctrl and Command keys and used your key binding file...it's like being stranded in the desert and coming upon a cooler full of Sierra Nevada. Thanks! Now to figure out that Alt-Tab dilemma.... I couldn't even do it with as simple as "b" = ("insertText:", "a"); logged out, restarted, nada. I don't know all the possible problems, but you might check whether the whole thing is enclosed with curly brackets and whether the filename is in the exact correct location with the correct name: ~/Library/KeyBindings/DefaultKeyBinding.dict The ~ is the location of your home directory (e.g., /Users/myusername) I don't know off-hand whether you can remap unshifted keys like "b". You may need to at least add a @ or something. Maybe try: { "@b" = "insertText:"; } Thanks for this article.. very helpful. Just wanted to chime in about text editors that respect these bindings. I was disappointed to find that editors like TextWrangler, TextMate, and gedit (for Mac) do not respect these custom key bindings for keyboard text navigation. They mostly just use the Mac defaults, giving some limited options for changing a couple actions. The Mac built-in TextEdit does respect the bindings, which is nice, but I wanted something with syntax highlighting etc. Fortunately I found a free editor -- Fraise -- that does respect the key bindings and also has syntax highlighting and other features. Has anyone else found good text editors / IDEs that respect these key bindings for text navigation?

"I'm in what I think is an unusual situation. My first book was published by a small-but-respected publisher who subsequently ceased trading. [Gah.] My second book was - via an agent (which I didn't have for the first) - published in a foreign country, translated into their language. Said country are not into making a big fuss of "first time" authors (apparently my first book doesn't count), so it has been rather non-eventish for me. [Not sure if this is a line you've been spun - on the other hand, actually, most books are non-eventish and it's all somewhat in the eye of the writer]. No author publicity, no big marketing bucks, and sadly the book hasn't made much of an impact. No reviews apart from two critical Amazon reviews: a one-star and a three-star. Personally I think it was a bad translation (I happen to speak the language concerned) and was pitched at entirely the wrong market. But then I would say that. [You could be right, though. And bad luck with the Amazon reviewers, who may or may not have been drunk at 3am when they wrote those reviews.]This all raises several points, as well as a few tears, and I asked BS if I could use her story to highlight a few things. She agreed. "Unfortunately, at around the time the foreign book was published, I lost my agent. You'll just have to believe me when I say it wasn't my fault, [I do - though I'd give the anonymous agent the benefit of the doubt by saying that there are often one and a half sides to the story] as it wouldn't be professional to go into details. Whether they would ever have managed to sell the book into other territories is questionable, but we'll never know now. "So here I am, my baby is out there but unreadable in its native tongue, and no agent will touch it with a barge pole cos it has already been flogged to death by the original agent. I - egotistic author that I am - am in a massive sulk about the fact that nobody I care about can read the damn thing, and the holy grail of publication hasn't involved a single piece of ego-stroking or validation, and it feels as though it may as well not have happened. [Ugh, this is painful.] "Indeed, I'm so depressed that I've given up writing altogether. Abandoned the third novel in first draft stage and embarked on a new career. "Don't worry - I'm not expecting you to tell me I did the right thing by giving up. It clearly shows a lack of backbone and an excessive degree of childish sulk, the kind which would preclude a successful publishing career. [I disagree most strongly.] "Actually I don't know what my question is. I think it was going to be something along the lines of, "Do you think sometimes a writer just has to admit they are a bit crap, and give up?" [I will answer this.] which is only the aforementioned sulkiness in a very thin disguise... or maybe, "Don't you agree that I've had a particularly raw deal? [possibly but not certainly].You feel sorry for me, right?" - which would be more of the same... "Obviously what I need to do is either (a) keep going and make each book better than the last, or (b) stop worrying about publication - just write for the sake of it, or (c) acknowledge that I've been writing for the wrong reasons, and have a break until I can think of some better reasons to keep doing it. But stop with all the whingeing.[can you do b) ??? If you can, then you should, anyone should, but if you can't.... a) is what we should all do if we believe in ourselves. Hmmm re c) - HAVE you been writing for the wrong reasons? What ARE the wrong reasons? But I'm not interested in your reasons and nor are your readers - we only want to know if you're good enough.] "Hmmm. Thank you. That helped. [Er, really?!] "Oh! I thought of a question! Here it is: "Have you come across this phenomenon before? Writers who have a book which is only ever published in one other country, translated, and with no fanfare or success? [Frankly, I haven't come across this. But it may happen. I don't think it's the central issue. The central issue is that you came close - more than that, you were published, but it didn't deliver success. We think that success is being published - it's not.] Do they get sulky about it too, or am I just outrageously ungrateful? [Oh, trust me: we are all ungrateful because we are not megastars!] So far I'm the only writer I know who has experienced this thing." I asked BS a few more questions but I specifically did not want to know her real name or the name of her books. Because, just for now, I don't want to read her writing - despite the fact that it's whether her writing is any good that's the most important question. I asked what genre she wrote in, because whether it's lit fic or not makes a difference, or whether it's a genre that's easy to sell. "Genre: That's part of my problem. I've tried to write to a genre, but it just doesn't seem to be something I can do without losing my own identity in what I write. "Contemporary fiction" is the laziest description. [No, it's a good description if it's the right one.] My second was described as a comic thriller, which is vaguely accurate. My first had large dollops of suspense. The second was published in an imprint devoted to "urban fiction". Both can definitely be described as quirky. My third is definitely a comic thriller. They're all for adults."BS lives in the UK but her second novel was published by a large publisher in Germany. Also, if you'd like more details - and it's a moving story - she's written about it here. OK, here's what I think, apart from my italicised comments above. - BS is serious about her writing, as she should be. The fact that she crosses genres tells me so - she just loves to write and is doing it from the heart; plus the fact that she's angsting so much about whether she's good enough. She's not a whinger; she doesn't sound deluded. She got published. From then on she was unlucky, on many counts. Now, her book(s) also may not have been fabulous - we don't know. But she got published and what happened then does not sound like her fault. (Unless she's spinning a complex tale and is in fact deluded...) - Stuff happens: books are published badly; some agents and publishers are rubbish (hers may not have been but some are and you won't care when you sign the contract - you'll only care when "stuff happens". - The Amazon reviews hurt. They may be right or they may be wrong. Personally, I think most Amazon reviews, even the positive ones, are suspect and I generally wouldn't trust them. But, when you get publshed you have to take them; you also have to take the fact that they can destroy you. - listen to this: "the holy grail of publication hasn't involved a single piece of ego-stroking or validation, and it feels as though it may as well not have happened." Publication is often not the way to eternal happiness. You are all embarking on a journey which will contain many hours of heartache. Most of which no one else will ever see. Thank God. Beleaguered Squirrel has been movingly open about it. If you knew what screws me up at night you'd be surprised - I am often a mess of angst and failure. - BS is so depressed that she gave up writing altogether. OK, that's awful but I hope it's not true. And in fact we know it's not, don't we? We know that BS will pull herself together and get back on the horse. I twice gave up writing during my 21 years of failure - or I said I was giving up. I was giving up outwardly. But I never really gave up. You can't. Not if you're a real writer. I don't know if she's good enough to get further than she already has - but gosh, I hope she is. In fact, suddenly I really want to read it. Why have I posted this? Why have I revealed the terrible heartache of the long-distance writer? Because you need to know. You need to know how good you have to be, how much you have to want it, and how even when you get it it may not be enough. In fact, if you're any good and if you want it so much, it probably won't be enough. Wanting more, being hungry, being greedy for success, being grasping and dementedly desperate are the things that will screw you up and carry you through. They will bring you heartsong and success and they will hurt you in the process. That's the horrible paradox of writing. 34 comments: Okay, here's my story. Shorter than the unfortunately-tagged 'BS', but misery loves company. I'd published a bunch of nonfiction books, but wanted to write fiction. So I started writing novels, and nothing sold. Then nothing sold and nothing sold and I got an agent and nothing sold. Insert the passage of many years. Then I got an offer on a novel. A big offer. A six-figure offer. The novel was published in the US, Germany, France, the UK, and Holland. The publisher pushed the book. They spent money on marketing. They did everything you dream of a publisher doing. The novel tanked. I got this wonderful ego-stroking validation--for a while. But at the end of the day, I was given that one amazing shot that every writer dreams of ... and readers simply didn't like my book. BS: You've had two books published, but you haven't had the chance to break out. You seem inclined to conclude that you're crap, but if you're really crap, then the small-but-reputable house wouldn't have published you and the agent (if also reputable) wouldn't have repped you, and the Germans wouldn't have translated you. Writers control almost nothing in the publishing process except the words on the page. Everything else is bullshit. Foreign sales are bullshit and reviews are bullshit and self-promotion is bullshit and Bookscan is bullshit and advances are bullshit. Hell, even readers are bullshit. We're writers. We write. Sometimes we get a break. Sometimes we don't. Sometimes we get a big break and still go down in flames. Nothing we can do about that. Just keep writing. Proe Nicola, if I say how much I love you and your blog and your commenters and everyone's wisdom, will I appear as a gushing fool? Okay, I won't then, just in case. I read about Beleaguered Squirrel's tale awhile back on another blog and FELT something about what it all meant but then moved on. You have outlined so thoroughly what it all means. Also, Prue's story shows the truth of the matter-- that the writer unpublished sees publication and that first contract as the happiest event imaginable. And then reality sets it. Much like marriage. But we just have to move on don't we? And keep working at it. To coin a trite phrase--nothing worth having comes easy. Sometimes we have to eat dirt. Dear Beleagured Squirrel, "Writing is a life sentence" (Richard Hughes). You have to keep writing, keep writing, keep writing. It is not a nice occupation. It is lonely. It is difficult. You are stuck with it. I sometimes think it would be nice to just read books and never try to write one. It is unfair that it takes an author much longer to write one than it does for me to read one. I will not chase you up a tree Beleagured Squirrel (Ms Morgan would ban me from her blog if I did that - and who could blame her) but I will say that the only answer is to keep hoarding your nuts and then share them out with the right squirrels when the time comes. There will be squirrels who appreciate this! Many thanks for this story, Nicola. I have followed 'BS' in her various blogs for several years and have a copy of the foreign language book (which I can't read because of the language). I'll have to come back this evening and read the post properly, since I need to go to work. Proe - that's a tough story. Yet here you still are, still writing and proving the truth of your last paragraph. (I'd rather ignore the penultimate one - even though on the darker days it feels true. I did meet some very uncrap readers yesterday.) Karen - all gushing fools most welcome! Catdownunder - indeed! Pierre - thanks for calling by - have a good day at work! You have my sympathy, BS, and my strongest encouragement. Well, as strong as it can be over the internet. I hope you find the drive to write a fourth novel, informed by all that's happened to you (or at least to give your third a chance). I can't tell you how much BS's story chimes with me. I, like most bright-eyed and bushy-tailed 'new' writers, initially set myself the goal. Mine was that I would have a novel published and piled high in bookshops by the time I was 45--amended to 50, 55--it's now 60. I'm oh so near that moment--and yet so far away. And when it happens--if it happens--I now know that that the 'big splash' I'd once imagined will be as insignificant as a grain of sugar slipped into a coffee cup. Who'll notice? And even more importantly, who will care? Is my writing good enough to be published? Dunno. But I know it's better than some and a lot worse than others. That's writing. Sometimes it sucks. Sometimes it sings. We keep writing. Well said Sally Zigmond! I feel enormous sympathy for BS and know half a dozen true variations on her theme. But I also know people in IT and distribution - to my mind dull-as-ditchwater jobs that deserve recompense who are working unpaid and have for a couple of years to try and keep the companies that 'employ' them afloat. I think it can help to see writing in two apparently disparate but actually harmonious lights. 1) It's a job - keep doing it, like waitresses still serve at table on quiet nights or teachers still teach when they have mean munchkins in their class one year - i.e. just ride with the bad times they happen in all professions, and 2) simultaneously treat it as a hobby - something we do for love. Beats watching Come Dine With Me on a wintry night; cheaper than flyfishing or jujitsu classes. Do it for the love of it, keep on doing it after a certain project has tanked, but only if we want to. If that attitude can satisfy us, then we can keep going. If not, no shame in doing something else. Haven't written a book yet, but as Nicola says, stuff happens. And stuff that is out of one's hands. The only thing that writers can control is the writing. BS shouldn't think of this as failures, per se, it is just the journey. So two or three or however many other books don't "make" it. I can't recall the name, but a U.S. writer finally got his first book noticed, which had received a very modest & uneventful printing years after three other books became bestsellers. So, BS, take option A. Keep going. You're a writer. And writers write. Good luck! Hell, even readers are bullshit. Aiyeeee! I hope you don't mind if I take great exception to that. Without our wonderful readers, I'd probably be standing on a corner wearing a sandwich board that says, "Will edit your book for food." As for BS's story, it tears at the heart, doesn't it? At the end of the day, each of us has to decide what defines us. Do the stories burn in our souls and scream to get out? Some of us fight that urge by getting fit for a straight-jacket. The rest write. I have read the post on squirrel's blog along with this and what worries me is that I get the feeling that she has taken on a job which leaves her with no time at all to write on the rebound so to speak. I am concerned that she may regret not having time to write in the future. I'm sure that writing is in her bones if she has taken it as far as she has and I hope she finds some time to get back to it in the future. Best of luck for the future Squirrel. Sorry I've had to post anonymously as my google account is playing up. Gwen Thanks so much for posting this. My first book came out through a small but award-winning publisher too, and although the initial 'buzz' and reviews were great, it basically sank without a trace. I too lost my agent (she left the business) and tried to sell a stand-alone sequel elsewhere myself before deciding reluctantly to shelve it and write something new. I now have a new agent who is shopping the book. I write because I love it and I'm not really happy unless I'm doing it, and I refuse to stop because of anything that might happen out there in the publishing world, which is probably outside my control anyway. It's a leap of faith to some extent to put your work out there, let it go, and start again at the beginning, but that's what you must do. Perseverance is key. And a mulish stubbornness doesn't hurt either. Behlerblog: Well, you're a publisher, right? It's your job to think about readers. If you didn't, we'd all be screwed. That's why your cut of every book sold is larger than mine, even though I wrote the thing. As a writer I face different hurdles. I need to summon the courage to splash myself all over the page, even though I know some people are gonna hate every word (witness the one-star Amazon review), and others won't understand a single paragraph. I need to summon the courage to keep writing even after my book tanks, or is published only in German--after my agent is hit by a bus and my publisher goes bankrupt and my spouse starts leaving the Help Wanted pages open on the kitchen table. What's that AA prayer? 'Give me the strength to accept the things I can't change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.' Writers can't make readers like our stuff. We try, of course, but that's ultimately not something we control. All we control is the ability to get our ass in the chair and write. I love basketball players who work for children's charities and sign endless autographs, but those things are not the measure of the athlete: the measure of the athlete is stepping onto the field and leaving nothing behind. One of the things I say too often is that publishing is high-stakes gambling. It may not be very comforting, but the best thing I can offer, after 18 years in this business, is that you NEVER know when the next book will be the one that hits the jackpot. And from my own experience, I can tell you that no one, not even the editors who are famous for picking winners, or the publicists who are known to have the Midas touch, NO ONE can put out winning books every time, nor can anyone break out the deserving books every time. That's just one more of the things that make this business addictive. BS, and the other commenters, you need to hold fast to the truth that you're writing the best books you can, and that you're doing as much to help your publishers sell them as you can. Thank you all for being so sympathetic. In many ways I don't deserve it, because I've always known that this industry was hard. I've always known that most writers remain in obscurity, never make a living out of it. I've always known the drawbacks (bad reviews, no publicity, poorly pitched books, long wait times, lack of control and all the rest). And I've had more luck than many. It's true that I've made it difficult for myself to write for the next two or three years. But I'll be busy, so it'll pass quickly. And I'm only 40. My grandparents are in their 90s. There's plenty of time. I'll write again. And maybe one day I'll produce something really, unarguably, compellingly... good. Because that is the holy grail, and it's one which is hard to stop pursuing. My work so far has been immature, flawed, good in parts but not good overall. The flaws are fixable, in time and with experience. Give me another twenty years, another ten books, another x-thousand temper tantrums and handfuls of lost hair... and maybe I'll... Succeed? Finish? Arrive? Of course not. It's one of those damned journeys with no end. I'll just have to admire the view. P.S. I guess the "wrong" reasons would be money and fame. The biggest wrong reasons, I think, is money. The irony is that I was never one of those people who saw publication as route to wealth. I've never wanted to be rich anyway. But I did try and make a living out of it, and I think that killed it. For me, at any rate. Just remember, guys: God does not play dice. Sure, there is luck in publishing and timing, but eventually your determination and inner strength is what makes it happen. You just can't give up if it's something you love. It may not happen in our timing, but it will happen if we're stubborn enough and constantly strive to improve. On a side note, this post made me realize why a lot of the great writers were alcoholics ;). Best of luck to you, BS! Following various blogs & forums re writing, agents, publishing, query letters, etc., it struck me how many folks seem to make publication the be-all/end-all, expecting, if not wealth/fame, at least a living from their writing. I suspect that if you went to Borders or B&N (or the UK equivalent) and wrote down the names of 100 fiction authors found only on the shelves (as opposed to the hard-sell tables in front), then researched them, you would find a lot of them don't make a living at it (or live damn frugally). I write because I enjoy it, including a lot of poetry - and who was the last poet you knew making a living from his/her published poetry? I just want to make each book as good as I can make it. If I make a buck, fine. If not, that's okay, too. Great post and I really wish BS all the best. The whole story sounds like it would be crushing and I can fully understand why sometone would need to take some time out. Anyway sending general cyber good luck to you all Kate xxx steeleweed, the poet comparison is a good one. The silly thing is I never thought a living from writing was very likely, and if I hadn't been made redundant would never have been contemplating it as this stage in my writing career. But the redundancy payment provided a cushion, and there was nothing else I felt like doing with my life. I fell into it, really, but if nothing else I hope my tale shows that people should think very hard indeed before trying to make a living out of writing. If you attempt it when you're not ready, it can really batter your confidence. Breaks can be good, I think. Sometimes I just can't settle to writing, for no real reason - or so I think at the time. While I'm taking a break from it, doing other stuff, it often hits me suddenly that the scene I've been working on is all wrong, or there's some big problem with the plot. It's as if my subconscious has spotted the problem and found ways to stop me writing until my conscious catches up and sorts it out. Maybe you're experiencing a similar thing, Squirrel. Regardless of your struggles with publishers etc., it sounds as if YOU are not happy with your work to date (although I think many writers can say the same!) - maybe a break is just what you need to reassess the direction you want to take with your writing. You have my full sympathies, Squirrel, and my full hopes that you will write again when you feel ready for it. Sometimes a break is a good thing, and the time will come around again to a point where you have another story to tell. Lots of luck. The main reason I started writing was that I had a story I wanted to tell. Over the years this mutated into a story to save me, get me out of the mire and into the sort of life I always wanted - a place of my own, a garden, somewhere safe and nice. This was far too much pressure and my writing crumbled. I took a break, work took over. And then I started writing for the fun of it again. Magazines here, online there. And suddenly I had a story to tell once again - yet my situation hasn't changed - I still want a place of my own, a garden, somewhere safe and nice. But that is no longer the reason I write. Maybe it is the rite of passage - like teenager to adult - it takes a while to settle down and realise what is important. I like creating stories. That's all. That's why your cut of every book sold is larger than mine, even though I wrote the thing. Anon, you always have the choice of self publishing your book and keeping all the earnings for yourself. But what you'll find is that your personal fortune will rapidly disappear as you work to get your book into the libraries and on store shelves. You'll have to foot the bill for print runs, editing, distribution, sending ARCs to reviewers, media kits, page layout, interior and cover design, advertising, promotion, the list goes on and on. After all that, at the end of the day, your book will more than likely create little notice, and that's because you would be a very small voice in a very competitive industry that thrives on name recognition. Believe me, we don't sit on our posteriors eating chocolate and margaritas. It takes a lot of money to propel an author's book, and after all that expense, our take is also quite small. I think the real issue for many writers, and not just for the person who situation is dealt with in this post, is keeping on top of the businss side of the publishing process. If you have an agent, he or she is working for you. (Agent: one who acts for another in business.) If you are working with a publisher, you are entering into a business relationship with an organisation. Maybe this writer needs some (more) support with the business side of the process. For example, I always have my contracts checked by a third party. The Society of Authors does this very well. I also think about what could go wrong, and do I really want to work with these people, before I sign a contract. Getting published is part of what we all want, but making money, building a personal brand and the right sort of reputation are all important aspects of the process, too. It's hard, but sometimes it's better to turn down a publishing deal than to go into something that doesn't feel right. I know I've walked away from a few offers and haven't regretted it. For what it's worth, you know you're a writer if, whether having sworn to give it up or not, in the wee small hours of the morning a plot idea or a narrative description comes to you and prevents you from dropping off to sleep. If you get up to start noting these intrusive thoughts down, then you are still a writer 24-7. If you roll over and sink your head beneath the pillow, then maybe, just maybe, you will be able to give it up. I have been an insomniac for 20 years now on the above model. The only forces working against this are 1) Banging your head agaainst a brick wall (to wit, the publishing industry)does yield concussion and at some point you may reel away for a lie down 2) There is alway an existential crisis provoked everytime one gazes up from one's writing desk to see unrequited MS after unrequited MS gathering dust on the shelf above your head. These two counter-forces periodically interdict the writing drive, but never enough to hole it beneath the plimsoll line. I'm self-pubbing for the first time. If it leads to no rungs further up the publishing ladder, I will probably just publish my other 3 novels in full for free, on Smashwords and Bookbuzzr. And then get back to my WIP with the same intention for that when it's finished. In the end, I just want my words to be read. (The Bookbuzzr sample of self-pub'd one has had 650 hits, which is more than I've had from posting to various online writing communities). How many sales will emerge from that? Who knows. Getting paid a token for them is irrelevant. It's about getting my words to the reader, by any means necessary. Good lord, behlerblog, I never said that publishers didn't sit around eating bonbons. I didn't say publishers don't deserve the larger cut of the gross; they do. But they reason they do is because they 'foot the bill for print runs, editing, distribution, sending ARCs to reviewers, media kits, page layout, interior and cover design, advertising, promotion, the list goes on and on.' That's their job. That's why they get a bigger slice. They care about reviews and readers and everything else. That's great. Someone needs to. Good lord, behlerblog, I never said that publishers didn't sit around eating bonbons. I didn't say publishers don't deserve the larger cut of the gross; they do. Sorry, Anon. I must have misunderstood your original remark of "publishers get more, event though I wrote it." It sounded as though you found the publisher/author arrangement unfair, and I wanted to clarify. Sorry, Nicola, didn't mean to veer this important thread off course. I sympathise with Beleaguered Squirrel. But it's true, writing is tough. And who knows what success really is? Think of John Keats, dying at 25, not knowing if, as he hoped, he would be counted 'among the English poets' after his death, and who asked to have written on his grave merely: 'Here lies one whose name was writ in water.' Never fear, behlerblog, Nicola knows exactly who's responsible for thread-veering! (And sorry if I got a little prickly. I've repeatedly insisted on this blog that I'm by nature a bit of a jerk, but I -do- try not to prove it too often.) Proe V sorry, everyone - have been horribly tied up with stuff, none of which was proper writing. To Proe: awww, you know yourself so well, you curmudgeonly old so-and-so! And I should have warned Lynn of the bblog about your grumpy habits... Lynn - if proe can find something to stir us up about, he will. But I think he's mellowing - gosh there was a time when he rivalled me for crabbititude. Others - lots of wisdom there for the beleaguered squirrel. Thank you all so much. I love the Squirrel dearly and know that this stage too is part of her journey. We all have our tales to tell and she has articulated a personal story that resonates with many other writers (inc me!). Meanwhile, something very good has come for me personally from this post. I was feeling swamped with Real Life and getting bogged down and stressed. Reading this, the obvious solution hit me. So obvious but ... So now I'm off to give my WIP some well-deserved space. I always feel better when I'm immersed in fiction world, which is one of the better reasons for writing. Maybe the only one that counts ... Thanks for reminding me! Hello Beleaguered Squirrel, it's nice to see you here despite the sad tale. I hope you'll decide to continue writing and have more inner strength unlike the quitters such as myself. The fact that you're published indicates to me that you have the ability. I think you've just been very unlucky and I hope that changes. Nicola, thank you for posting this. I already know Squirrel and this story from another forum but it was useful, though saddening, to read it again. Readers and writers need to be aware that the art/craft/science/industry of writing can be unforgiving. Success stories such as JKR's are the exception rather than the norm. All too often we hear from the authors who have made it, albeit usually with a struggle. We hardly ever hear about the ones who gave up or who were forced to give up. Why would we? They're useful stories though, as the give us a balance and often a much-needed reality check. Good blog posting thanks for given this information. Priya | True Love Story

Earlier tailgating for Buffett show By Jessi Virtusio jvirtusio@southtownstar.com May 4, 2012 10:38PM Jimmy Buffett will perform June 30 at First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre in Tinley Park. It is the first time in five years since he's been to that venue. | AP file photo Related Stories Maps Updated: June 7, 2012 8:21AM To appease the Parrotheads, First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre has bumped up the tailgating start time for the June 30 Jimmy Buffett and the Coral Reefer Band concert. Originally slated to open at 3:30 p.m., the parking lot at the outdoor theater in Tinley Park now will open at 2 p.m. “We just know how much tailgating is part of the concert experience with the Jimmy Buffett audiences,” said Jon Reens, senior director of marketing/Midwest for Live Nation, which operates the theater. “In working with the village of Tinley Park, we were able to get an earlier lot time that allowed for tailgating.” But some Buffett fans are passing on the Southland concert because of the late start to tailgating. Previous Buffett concerts at Toyota Park in Bridgeview featured all-day tailgating prior to the show, with gates opening at 9 a.m. for last summer’s show. Oak Lawn resident Jim Baker, 47, has gone to about 32 Buffett concerts and said he’s passing on the Tinley Park show due to the later start time and setup at First Midwest. “For core Parrotheads, hanging out in the parking lot is a big deal,” said Baker, who attended the 2011 concert. “Last year, we had one of those inflatable pools. I think it was 5 feet across, 10 feet in diameter and 3 feet deep. We brought a water truck and filled it up. I also brought 2,000 pounds of sand and made a beach.” “Tinley was never a ton of fun,” Baker said. “The only space is the walk-around. I guess that’s great if you don’t put in all the work and bring props and displays and really don’t think about what your theme for the year is.” Reens said fans will have plenty of time to tailgate at this summer’s show. “We are opening when we can open to accommodate tailgating,” he said. “I don’t know what they do at other buildings, but I know what we do typically at that building and we wanted to provide tailgating and took the steps necessary to provide it. “The show starts at 8 p.m., and we’re opening the doors at 2 p.m. That’s six hours of tailgating. This tailgating experience is going to be like any you can have at any other building. We hope everyone will join us for the show.” More about this show including additional comments from Jon Reens and Jim Baker is at blogs.southtownstar.com/fmba.

Holiday Gift Guide: Natural Gifts for Kids - At December 4, 2012 - By Herbal Academy - In Duds For Buds 0 We are wrapping up our Holiday Gift Guide Marathon with natural gifts for kids, a whimsical selection of outdoor and play things for the little ones, infants to elementary. This year, forget the electronics and find a gift that challenges the imagination. From handcrafted masks and kitchen play sets to small herbal gardens and gardening tools, these natural gifts for kids will create an experience of adventure far beyond the “tube.” 1. Little Lark Teething Toy wooden toy teether; littlealouette: $14.00 || MODERN ORGANIC BABY PLAY. This Little Alouette Teething Toy is handmade with love in Ohio. Our! || 2. Design Your Own Bird’s House; Sprout Home: $34.00 || Included in this adorable kit is a wooden paint brush, 3 tubes of color. Try painting it up for a Spring or Summer project or even keep it indoors instead of a piggy bank. They look great sitting on a window sill or out in the garden giving homes to small birds of flight. || 3. Postcarden: A Mini Living Backyard Garden; B5+10: $12.95 || Designed to be a gift and greeting card, Postcarden is an easy to grow mini-garden for any desktop, windowsill or sideboard. Whether you mailed it or gift it, simply open and pop-up Postcarden’s 3D scene, add the enclosed cress seeds and water. In a matter of days PostCarden will start to grow, lasting for two to three weeks. Made in Wales from beautiful coated card stock, Postcarden comes in three handsome designs — escape to the sanctuary of your Backyard Garden; experience the grandeur of a Botanical garden; or brighten up a drab City landscape. Each Postcarden’s cover features commissioned illustration by a young artist which echos the design’s theme. Enjoyable for all ages. || 4. OWL MASK; oeuf nyc: $44.00 || This adorable owl mask is amazingly detailed and brushed for extra softness. Featured in Marie Claire Enfants, this piece is an asset to any childs dress-up collection. || 5. ARISTO KATT PILLOW; Ferm Living Shop: $49.95 || Along with the talented Norwegian design duo Darling Clementine, Ferm Living has created these adorable cushions. We call the collection of four designs, “The Marionette Collection.” Size: 12″ x 12″. Material: 100% organic cotton || 6. Recycle Organic Cotton Soft Soled Baby Shoes 6-12 mo; Kayas kloset: $24.00 || These shoes are made of unbleached organic cotton material with reclaimed corduroy soles. They are stitched with organic cotton thread and have new elastic around the ankle. They are hand painted with non-toxic, water-based, pigment ink from original artwork by Boston area artist Miranda Greenhalgh. || 7. Little sister mouse in matchbox; Little Bean Shop: $29.00 || From Danish toymaker Maileg. A Matchbox with a little precious cotton girl mouse, a knitted blanket, striped mattress and patterned fabric pillow. Matchbox measures about 4.5″ || 8. Tea-And-Crumpets Kid’s Apron; Anthropologie: $24.00 || Available in Turquoise and Orche. DETAILS: Front pocket, Cotton, Machine wash, 23″L, 22″W, 16″ ties. || 9. Glueckskaefer Wooden Stove-Sink Small; Hazelnut Kids: $166.00 || Glueckskaefer makes darling play kitchen products for little hands! This beautiful wooden stove and sink unit will keep little ones occupied while you’re in the kitchen. They can pretend to cook dinner just like you! It has interchangeable stainless steel sinks and wooden stove burners. It also has 5 wooden hooks to hang utensils on. It’s a great starter kitchen for toddlers. What culinary creation will your little one make today?! || 10. Children’s Garden Rake; Grow Organic: $6.99 || Want to encourage younger friends and family to get outside and into the garden? What better way than to provide them with all the tools they’ll need from our kid-sized selection. Constructed to last, all tools are made with wood handles and powder-coated metal. || Thanks for checking in on our Holiday Gift Guide: Natural Gifts for Kids. If you haven’t already, be sure to look over the gift guides for Him, Her, and Hostess as well! May you have a very merry holiday season from all of us at the Herbal Academy of New England!

Register now for free, or sign in with any of these services: Want to set your local edition? Select your location for more focused local news coverage when you visit NOLA.com. Don't worry. You can change this setting at any time to another local edition. ,, Bossier City — Dubach Coach Theodis Johnson expected a big game from his star player Friday. He sure did get one. Junior point guard Sueterrica Key scored a season-best 42 points in a 65-61 win over No. 3 Plainview. Her 19-of-27 afternoon on the free throw line showed just how physical the game was. She made 15-of-19 free throws in the fourth quarter alone. “That’s a great team,” said Key, who also added seven rebounds and five assists. “Now I got another game to play. I can’t even explain it. It feels so good.” For two at Dubach, the win was particularly sweet. Johnson said this season is his last at Dubach. It’s also the last season for Key, who is scheduled to graduate in the summer. “Sue Key was Sue Key,” Johnson said. “Whatever we needed her to do, she did it, but we can’t get too excited. We have another hurdle to cross.” Dubach lost to Saline in last year’s semifinals. Plainview lost to eventual winner Pelican in the other semifinal last year. First-year Plainview Coach Justin Miller brought a physical style to the court this season. The visiting Hornets trailed by two early in the fourth, but Key was fouled on a 3-point attempt with 6:51 left. She made all three free throws and finally opened more of a cushion. Three Plainview players fouled out of the game. “You can’t win with foul trouble,” said Miller, who used to coach the Plainview boys team. “We get knocked down, it’s a block. They get knocked down, it’s a charge. “We came out strong in the first half, and we let them back in," Miller said. "We had to adjust due to foul trouble.” Plainview slowed Key early, but the Hornets couldn’t maintain it. “They started out with two on her,” Johnson said. “It was hard to adjust. They were pushing her, grabbing her. It was like an NBA game out there.” Dubach started to slowly cut at its deficit late in the second quarter. Plainview led 26-18 with 4:24, but Key and company were just warming up. Seventh-grader Jade Anderson made a 3-pointer off a Key assist and a Terriauna McMurray layup tied it at 26. Dubach led 31-28 at halftime. Katy Doyle’s 3-pointer gave Plainview a 36-35 lead with 4:43 left in the third quarter, but the visiting Hornets never found the lead again. Dubach’s Carletta Thomas got in early foul trouble, but Anderson filled her shoes. Despite Plainview's foul trouble, the Hornets continued to fight late in the game. Morgan Mundy made a shot off a missed free throw with 6.5 seconds remaining and the Hornets added one more free throw before time expired. Breanne Webb scored 23 points in the loss. Webb, a versatile senior guard/forward, played with three fouls late in the first half. “My kids played their hearts out,” Miller said. “They have nothing to hang their heads about.” ************* Kelly Morris can be reached at kmorris@nola.com or 504.826.3405. Follow @Kelly_mo Tweet to @Kelly_mo

Chick-fil-A: Free Breakfast Entree – Select Areas Only (Make Your Reservation Now!) This Hip2Save.com Deal was hand-posted on Monday, January 14th, 2013 at 3:04 pm. Throughout the month of January (dates will vary based on location), participating Chick-fil-A restaurants in Washington D.C. & Central Virginia, Charlotte, NC, California, and Cincinnati, OH will be giving away a FREE breakfast entree to customers who make a reservation online. To make your reservation, head on over here today and choose your preferred Chick-fil-A restaurant, the date, time and breakfast entree! *Be sure to print and bring your personal invitation sent to your email along with your photo ID to claim your free entree. Limit one invitation per person and per email address, regardless of restaurant location. (Thanks, Alicia!) 23 Hip Readers Commented Lyn says: Does anyone know if you can claim your food through the drive thru? Stephanie says: I have the same question! Would love to know. amanda says: Yes, I have done this in the past! Gloria says: I was able to today in Cin, OHarea Sarah says: That was a bit uncalled for… Sarah says: Whoops there was a comment above mine. It’s gone now. Elizabeth says: But I’m sure we all know what it was in reference to…. Robbie says: I love Chick-fil-A and think they have the nicest employees! Amy says: I love Chick-fil-A! I wish they had one closer to us! Carolyn says: We took advantage of this at ours the first week in January. It was so nice! Mel Mac says: The days for DC area Chick-fil-a is wednesday, in case anyone wants to know. I saw a poster for the promo the other day in the restaurant. Mona says: I have done a similar deal going through the drive in. Morgan says: Wish central va included richmond! Enjoy if you live in one of the areas! What a yummy freebie! Amy says: Richmond isn’t included in the promo? I worked there the year before and we did it. Did you call your local Chick-fil-A? It may only include Fredericksburg….which is sad lindsay says: they gave me a flyer for this last week. I’m in Fredericksburg VA Tarri says: Not in my area this time but thanks for posting. Rebecca in TX says: Houston area residents can get free food soon too at 60 area Chick-fil-A restaurants (no reservation)! According to their site: Guests who dine-in or simply visit the drive-thru between 6:00 and 10:30 a.m. on Thursday, January 17 and 24, will receive one free 3-count Chick-fil-A Chick-n-Minis™. julie says: They should say northern VA not central va since Richmond isn’t included Lindsay says: I agree! Liz says: So nice to c fellow couponers from Richmond…we just moved to CT…i miss Richmond:) Miss World Market,Thai Diner and Chick-fil-A !!! Morgan says: Liz- Can you send us some snow here in richmond please?! =) Liz says: Oh Morgan…i wish i could…its snowing here 2day….i miss Richmond weather sooo much…sick of the cold weather !!! Laura says: They did this last year in Nashville, TN. I wonder why they aren’t doing it again this year?

zzzzzzzzZZZZzzzzzzzzzZZZZZZ…… The above “zzz” are me pretending to sleep, it was NOT a peaceful night at the Hoge Runs house last night. It’s been super quiet/peaceful/friendly/relaxing at our apartment complex for the last 6 months (can you believe it’s been 6 months since we moved in??) but last night, ugh. To start with, I get random bouts of insomnia which just plain stink to begin with. Last night C was quietly watching an unnamed cartoon with his headphones on and the light from the TV was driving me bonkers. If it wasn’t for the insomnia bout it would have been cool, so I waited an hour to ask him to turn it off start sighing and tossing/turning loudly. And then, around 11, the noise started. We apparently have new neighbors across the courtyard from us and they were SO freaking loud! They were playing random music – everything from techno to Jay Z to Colbie Calliat, had all their lights on, were sitting on the porch smoking/drinking/taking FB pictures (“oh my gosh, this pic is so hottttttt”) and finally at midnight we called the “Courtesy Patrol.” They’re essentially the mall cops of our apartment complex and sometime around 1 the neighbors either gave up on their mini-party (there were only 2 of them, so weird) or the rent-a-cops asked them to shut it down. And then, I was awake til almost 2. Blech!!! And wouldn’t ya know, I woke up again at 5:30?? Does anyone have any tricks for dealing with insomnia? I get a random patch of 3-4 days every month or so and absolutely hate it. A few fun eats from yesterday, as I’m barely hanging on mentally today and can’t carry on much witty banter BBQ cheeseburger meatloaf for lunch: This was leftover from Monday night and so.freaking.good. It was the crunchy corner piece and all the BBQ sauce had caramelized on the edges and was loaded with flavor. I hadn’t made this meatloaf forever, and hadn’t made it with hamburger for even longer than that, but grass fed hamburger was on sale at Whole Foods this weekend and I couldn’t resist. The meatloaf contains 3 kinds of BBQ sauce (since we were running low and needed to finish the bottles), Paula Deen’s Butt Massage seasoning (hehehehehehehe), cubed sharp cheddar, bread crumbs, an egg, and bacon. The bacon truly takes it to another level…mmmm! Expect to see more leftovers later this week! Along with my meatloaf I had a spinach, bleu cheese, tomato, carrot, celery, craisin, and candied walnut salad. For those of you who bring salads for lunch – do you have a way to make the spinach not get slimy by lunch time? I pack my salad the night before and it’s perfectly dry and crisp (I bring dressing in a separate container) and by the time lunch rolls around my spinach is wilted and kind of creepy. Suggestions?? And my afternoon snack was a pretty cup of lemon yogurt topped with fresh raspberries, perfection! I don’t know why I haven’t tried this combo before. Dinner last night was chicken enchiladas – you’ve seen ‘em before, you’ll see ‘em again, so I’ll spare you a picture Post-dinner I worked on a throw for the couch (pics to come soon as it gets a little bigger, right now it’s kind of like a sad scarf), and we caught up on this week’s episode of The Glades and The Colony. September is such a crazy TV month – True Blood finale, Dexter premiere, Glee premiere, Grey’s Anatomy premiere, Lone Star premiere, and on and on. What fall TV show are you most excited to see back? And with that…have a wonderful day bloggies! I’m now going to go see about getting a coffee IV set up hope you can find time to rest today! and then get some good sleep tonight! and fall TV. gosh i haven’t even thought about it! ncis is a big one though. guns and hot men?! i’m soooo there hahahah Hahahaha – I hear you! There’s a show on the Discovery Channel called Surviving the Cut, following various military forces in their extreme training – i.e. really, really ripped men who know how to fight off attackers, swim the length of the ocean (;)) and give you medical care. hawttttt!!! Well, you know I can empathize on the noisy neighbor situ. Glad they finally chilled before the witching hour. That salad looks yummylicious!

When your Thanksgiving guests arrive, you will want your house to be elegantly decorated for the occasion. There are so many possibilities when it comes to Thanksgiving table decorations. Following are some centerpieces, placemats, napkins & napkin holders, candle arrangements, place settings, chair covers, and Thanksgiving garland to choose from. There are a lot of different things associated with Thanksgiving table decor. Pick and choose your favorites… These are some of mine: - 8 Elegant Thanksgiving Centerpieces Under $10 - Fast And Easy Thanksgiving Centerpieces - 17 Thanksgiving Fruit Centerpieces - Creative Thanksgiving Centerpiece Ideas - Turkey Day Tips For A Stylish Celebration - Pretty Thanksgiving Centerpieces - 23 Easy Thanksgiving Centerpieces - Make A Thanksgiving Centerpiece Using Gourds & Dried Leaves - Easy & Elegant Thanksgiving Centerpieces - Quick & Easy Thanksgiving Centerpieces - Lots Of Fun Placemats For Thanksgiving - Video: How To Make Thanksgiving Placemats - Make Fun Corn Print Placemats For Thanksgiving - Design Your Own Thanksgiving Placemats - Make Floral Placemats For Your Thanksgiving Table - Sew Your Own Placemats - Make Your Own Holiday Cloth Napkins - DIY Leaf Napkin Rings - How To Fold A Turkey Napkin - Napkin Folds And Napkin Rings - Corn Husk Flowers Make Great Thanksgiving Napkin Rings - How To Fold Thanksgiving Napkins - Craft Your Own Thanksgiving Napkin Rings - 21 Effortless Napkins For Thanksgiving - Rachel Ray’s Last-Minute Thanksgiving Napkins & More - How To Create Thanksgiving Candles - Candles With Bows For Thanksgiving - How To Make Thanksgiving Pumpkin Candles - Make A Turkey Candle Holder - How To Make A Candle Circle For Fall - Squash And Gourd Luminaries Thanksgiving Table Settings - A Slideshow Of Thanksgiving Table Settings - 16 Easy Thanksgiving Tabletop Crafts - How To Decorate A Thanksgiving Table - Fall Pumpkin Roses Centerpiece - Proper Flatware For Thanksgiving Place Settings - 17 Festive Fall Table Settings: Decorating With Nature - How To Decorate The Children’s Table For Thanksgiving - 5 Tabletop Decorating Ideas - 9 White China Table Settings For Thanksgiving - Kid-Friendly Turkey Chair Covers - Burlap Table Runner And Chair Covers - How To Make Turkey Chair Cover For Thanksgiving - Video: How To Make Thanksgiving Garland - Make Thanksgiving Garland Of Gratitude From Leaves - Gourd Garland: Make Garland Using Gourds - How To Make A Leaf Garland - How To Make A Harvest Garland For Thanksgiving - Make Fall Thanksgiving Garland - Fun Thanksgiving Garland - Make Your Own Garland Using Leaves - Fall Leaf Place Card Holders - Printable Place Cards - Martha Stewart’s Fall Leaf Place Cards - Make Edible Place Cards For Thanksgiving - Picture Frame Place Cards - Kids Handmade Place Cards - Magnolia Leaf Place Cards - 17 Easy Thanksgiving Cards & Table Settings - How To Make Leaf-Covered Place Cards Connect with us

New to this blog? Sunday, October 14, 2012 Still Fried Life on the lamp dock The door is still locked, the phone off the hook, and the drapes still pulled -- and I'm not coming out until I feel like it. Right now, I don't feel like it. With no pearls of below-the-line wisdom to share this week, here's a photo I snapped while on a mission to the studio lamp dock last year. If you're in the biz, you'll probably understand -- if not, you'll doubtless be baffled by the terminology. Much as I was thirty-five years ago. I'll be back when I've got something worth posting, but given that the baseball playoffs are currently underway, that might be a while. We all have our priorities, and for a baseball fan, this is the best time of the year. When not at work, I'll have my eyes on the Toob or my ears glued to a radio broadcast for the next couple of weeks, until the World Series has been decided. If time and inspiration permit, I'll put something up. Otherwise, see you in November... 10 comments: Go Giants! Local 16 -- Oh yeah... First and third are two bits of slangthat I don't think I've heard before. More West Coast lingo? JD -- A "grumpy" is a flat metal plate with a double-headed baby-spud fitting allowing a lamp to be mounted (over or under-hung) on a set wall. I've seen many iterations of this particular device, but they all accomplish the same thing. A "happy elephant" is similar to a grumpy, with only one baby-spud fitting. That means you have to think about it before screwing it into the set wall -- and make sure the gaffer knows whether he wants it over-or under-slung. Both devices do the same job, but a grumpy is more versatile. With an under-slung lamp, the grips can use the top spud to mount a gobo head and short arm with a flag to top the light. You can't do that with a happy elephant. One of these days I'll get some pics and post them -- in this case, a picture really is worth a thousand words... JD - While the slang is new to me as well - and I'm west coast - they seem to be variations of the standard "baby plate" or "nail-on plate" (I think I've heard them called "pigeons" or "pigeon plates" as well) The happy elephant is simply a right angled version of these. Pretty common. The grumpy, I have never seen before, but seems to be a combonation of the baby plate and double header side arm made for stands...2 90 degree heads. I wonder if these are made in-house because I can't find them anywhere. I gotta say, the only thing I understood from that picture was "butt plug"... ...Now if you'll excuse me, I may have to go re-think my career choice. :) Jessie M -- Your descriptions are better than mine. I haven't heard the term "pigeon" for about twenty years, but when I did, it was in reference to a junior plate for studio 2Ks and any 5K or 10K smaller than a Big Eye Tener. Essentially, a pigeon is like a baby-plate, but bigger and with a female receptacle rather than the male baby spud. How this got to be called a pigeon is the deepest of mysteries. Grumpys seem to backing up your notion that they're home-made. My frame of reference comes from various books, Uva's Grip book, Set Technician's, etc. and on set slang usage. Neither Grumpy nor Happy Elephant appear in either book nor in the catalog of any grip manufacturer I've seen. One would thing that Mole-Richardson, being as old a company would have both in their equipment lineup. I hear and use the term pigeon or baby plate. Junior plate or Junior nail-on is the same, only 1-1/8" in diameter and female. Butt Plug is in the same "category" as Ubangi. Why does pizza box persist as slag for a 2x2' beadboard reflector when "real" cardboard pizza boxes haven't been 2x2' for ages? ...one would think.... AJ -- Given the current state of the industry, I wouldn't argue with anyone in our biz who's motivated to re-evaluate their career choice... but for most of us, here's where we are and here's where we'll stay. For better or worse... JD -- The term "butt plug" seems to be universal (and in the same politically incorrect jail cell as "ubangi"), but I never ran into a grumpy, happy elephant, or becky (yet another device for hanging a baby or smaller lamp off a wall) for the first 20 years of my so-called career, during which I mostly did location jobs with a occasional forays on stage. It was only when I started working extensively at the major studios that I ran into all these oddly named items. It doesn't really matter. There's always another way to skin a cat, and you can have a long, successful career in grip/electric without ever seeing or using a grumpy or a happy elephant. As for "pizza box," I have no idea. Some key grip probably came up with that as on-set shorthand with his crew, and the term spread. None of the grip crews I currently work with use that term.

- - - - - - - - - - - - ARL Boston Rescue Tweets - RT @ARLBoston: HALL & OATES are a bonded pair of one year-old cockatiels who came in today & are already available for adoption.... http://… 11 hours ago - This sad lookin' little beast has been stuck in a wall in Dorchester for 5 days. She warmed up to us after a snack. 12 hours ago - @MissionOrange got it thanks. We will be checking on it. 14 hours ago Meta Category Archives: Boston Looking for Quality Healthcare for Your Pet in Boston? BOSTON VETERINARY CARE is currently accepting new clients! If you’re looking for a quality vet clinic with friendly staff you should visit Boston Veterinary Care at the Animal Rescue League of Boston. The BVC team of highly-skilled and dedicated veterinarians … Posted in Blog, Boston, News Tagged Animals, Boston, Boston Veterinary Care, Pet Care, Pets, vet, veterinarian Leave a comment Canine Massage Comes to Shelter Dogs at the League Time for some rest and relaxation for our shelter dogs… People all over the world frequent spas and salons searching for ways to relax. One of the most popular methods for finding calm is by having a massage. Letting your … Posted in Blog, Boston, News Tagged Animals, Dogs, Pets, Shelter Dogs 8 Comments Governor Appoints Dr. Smith-Blackmore Governor Patrick recently appointed the League’s Vice President of Animal Welfare, Dr. Martha Smith-Blackmore, as a member of the advisory committee for the Mass Homeless Animal Prevention and Care Fund. The committee will advise the State on distribution of funds … Posted in Blog, Boston, Events, News Tagged animal care, Animal Rescue League, Animal welfare, Animals, Boston, Cats, Dogs, Mass Homeless Animal Fund, Massachusetts, Pets, Politics Leave a comment Happy Mother’s Day We would like to wish our foster moms, our adopter moms and all moms a beautiful and joyous Mother’s Day. Thank you for all that you do! Posted in Blog, Boston, Events, News Tagged Adopt, Animal Rescue League, Animal Rescue League of Boston, Animals, Boston, Cats, Kittens, Mom, Mothers, mothers day, Pets Leave a comment Chestnut Hill School Children Make Gifts For Shelter Animals Last week the children at the Chestnut Hill School donated cat beds and dog toys that they had made for our shelter animals in honor of the “Heart of the Hill Community Service Day.” The two girls in the picture … “Along Came Polly” A Little Love Bug If you’re looking for a sweet little cuddle bug to follow you around and sit on your lap, Polly is the gal for you. She’s a 7 year-old female, white and brown chihuahua who came to our shelter because her owner … Posted in Adoption, Blog, Boston Tagged Adopt, Animal Rescue League of Boston, Animals, Boston, Chihuahua, Dogs, Pets, Rescue, Shelter Dog Leave a comment Ready For Love It can be intimidating trying to find the perfect pet before having the chance to get to know them in your home, so luckily the staff at the Animal Rescue League of Boston is happy to do that for you! … Social Madness: Please Vote For Us, May 1-10! Cambridge Savings Bank is participating in Social Madness, a competition sponsored by The Business Journals. Winning companies will have a $10,000 donation made on their behalf to the nonprofit of their choosing. CSB has selected us to be one of … Posted in Blog, Boston, Events, News Tagged Animal Rescue League, Animal Rescue League of Boston, Animals, Boston, Cambridge, Cambridge Savings Bank, Cute, Donate, Pets, Photo, Puppies, Vote 4 Comments Ol … Posted in Blog, Boston, Events, News Tagged Animal Lovers, Animal Rescue League, Animal Rescue League of Boston, Animals, Boston, Dogs, FedEx, News, Pets, Puppy 7 Comments

I. Pretty much no air barrier and insulation dropping all over the place. There are multiple furnaces(I think 4 or 5) all installed on top of trusses with grilles incorporated into the dropped ceiling. Ideally we would like to go with an unvented roof assembly with foam on the underside of the deck. My concern is all the non-sealed combustion appliances and corresponding combustion air requirements. We feel that not only is there no space to move the furnaces, it most likely would not be cost effective. We considered various insulation strategies on the existing attic floor, but seems to patchwork to me. Two options left were foam the underside of roof and either A) buy all condensing furnaces, or B) create a box around each furnace with combustion air running to the outside. I would like comments on Option B, as I do not think new condensing units are going to fit in the budget. Craig Flagstaff, AZ Views: 47 <![if !IE]>▶<![endif]> Reply to This You mean the furnaces are installed under the trusses,not above them right? My first thought is those are commercial vent-less units & thank goodness you are in Flagstaff. I am not sure I would be worried about combustion air running to the units, but rather changing air out for the occupants with an HRV which would provide needed combustion air. Now if they are vented units, you have other issues <![if !IE]>▶<![endif]> Reply The furnaces are installed above the bottom chord of the trusses - so in the attic space. These are normal 80% non-condensing, forced air, vented furnaces. I didn't think about using conditioned volume for combustion air requirements. We will have to run the calcs and see if there is enough volume. If needed we can have pass thru vents from the living space to conditioned attic and introducing fresh air with an HRV. We're you thinking of code issues for vented furnaces? That is what I was concerned about with having non-sealed combustion ap.0pliances all in conditioned space once the thermal barrier is moved to the roof deck and venting removed. It seems to me, barring any specific code issues, you can pull combustion air from conditioned space if the volume is sufficient. It just makes me nervous, but barring replacing all the hvac, it may be the only solution. Any other ideas or comments? <![if !IE]>▶<![endif]> Reply I think option B makes great sense. The air injector fans shouldn't run more than a few hundred dollars each. Much cheaper upfront cost than replacing furnaces. However, you should definitely map out a payback on the furnace upgrade option. With $9k in heating costs (will be less, of course, after the insulation retrofit), the payback may seem appealing to the building owner. It may also be possible to completely drop one of the systems, and replace it with a zone, avoiding one of the system upgrades all together. In general, I think option B is certainly a reasonable approach. <![if !IE]>▶<![endif]> Reply <![if !IE]>▶<![endif]> Reply Field Controls has a "fan in a can" product that can be wired to the furnace. A pressure switch must be proved before the furnace will fire. Could be used in lieu of hi/low if only one envelope penetration was desired. This also works well for furnaces in crawlspaces that require "sealing" but don't have the budget for a furnace upgrade. There's a statement in the code that allows combustion air grilles from the conditioned space of a building (larger sqin/btu ratio than to outside, if I recall correctly). It may be worth investigating whether or not you could deliver this combustion air from the conditioned space. Obviously not ideal to exhaust conditioned air. But, would be more affordable upfront, as you wouldn't need to box-in around each unit. This may be an issue related to thermal barrier coatings on foam. But, you'll be facing that anyhow if there is only a dropped-tile ceiling separating the attic from the office space. <![if !IE]>▶<![endif]> Reply <![if !IE]>▶<![endif]> Reply <![if !IE]>▶<![endif]> Reply <![if !IE]>▶<![endif]> Reply What's the budget? If you drop the bill to $2000, will they let you have the $7000? I'd guess that'll cover cost of spray foam the space and allow for 2 hybrid heat systems. Can't image you couldn't manage that space with two 100mbtu/5 ton hybrids. I did this with a similar space. Building owner is now unhappy because he spends more on energy for his 2200 sf house. I wouldn't start doing analysis without some participation from the client. They need to give you some $ for design and analysis work. Also, you have the PAIN - $9000 a year. You need MONEY, what they are willing to allocate to this project. Then you need DECISION, commitment to move forward with the work if it solves pain for less than or equal to money. <![if !IE]>▶<![endif]> Reply © 2013 Created by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Badges | Report an Issue | Terms of Service

New CDs from Former Champions & Songs of Water, plus festival info, reviews, video and more! Dancing Tree Newsletter In this issue: . New Additions . Coming Soon . Upcoming Festivals . Video of the Week Latest News & Reviews:Culturefest Offers Creative Oasis for Southern WVFeatured Artist: Dark Water Rising Yonder Mountain String Band's 6th Annual Harvest Music Festival Serving great music since 1995! Ready to get some more good CDs/DVDs/Ts/Stickers? Click here or call us 800 653 3929. New Releases: Former Champions CD Former Champions' self-titled debut studio album spans a multitude of genres including Rock, Funk, World-Beat, Live Electronics, and NuJazz. Amongst these tracks you will find a story of an American man's experience in the modern world, and his past and present dealings with life's fascinations. Tales of his adventures and of his realizations of the mystery of love are expressed through a variety of combinations of groove, harmony, melody, and poetry. Songs of Water - The Sea Has Spoken CD. Coming Soon: 10ft Ganja Plant - Shake Up the Place CD - 10 Ft. Ganja Plant comes back with a vengeance. Two years after releasing their critically acclaimed album "Bush Rock" and a year removed from dropping "10 Deadly Shots", the 'Plant is back stronger and with their deep in the pocket roots sound in full effect. The 'Plant were thrilled to collaborate with reggae legends Prince Jazzbo & Sylford Walker, each dropping two vocal gems, while Meditations great Winston Watson kindly provided additional harmonies throughout. Pulling out all the stops, "Shake Up The Place" was flown first class to the UK and mastered by Blood & Fire veteran mastering engineer Kevin Metcalfe. The sound is 70's exquisite. Beatlejam - Live at the Webster Theatre (2CD) - The third volume in the series is a two CD set, packaged in a fold out Digipak. BeatleJam are Matt Abts from Govt Mule, Vince Welnick from The Grateful Dead, Slick Aguilar from Jefferson Starship, Johnny Neel and Berry Oakley from The Allman Brothers This show was recorded in 2002. Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey - Race Riot Suite CD -. Last Week: Moksha - Here to Go CD - Las Vegas rock outfit Moksha, who finds a common musical stance with bands like Phish, Pink Floyd and The Grateful Dead, among others, release their second album. "Here to Go" was produced independently by Moksha Music Limited and four-time Grammy Award winner James 'Bon. "Starswarm", "Here to Go" and "Bubbles" Take a rocket blast, straight into a deep space, psychedelic funk, rock utopia, back down to earth with melodic pop, and back again into hyperspace with a rip-roaring instrumental. "Real Show", "Into Thin Air", and "Fruit of Tulum", stay closer to earth with Reggae, World Music, and Spanish Instrumentals, that keeps the energy moving and the horns and vocals shining. "Leg up" is a sweet melodic country inspired ballad. The cornerstone of the album "The Measure of all things" is a beautiful and mercurial song that delves into the depths of the mythic realm and the heights of keyboard solo heaven. The remaining songs switch between explosive funk with soaring vocals and classic horns, to good solid rock that pushes until it eventually comes apart at the seams With their music circling the world, then to space and back, Moksha is "Here to Go" Dave Littrell - Now I See CD - Dave Littrell's songs pair his storytelling skills with methodical acoustic guitar playing, bouncing rock rhythms and hook-filled melodies. The endless array of instruments Littrell has in his repertoire contributes a further level of sophistication to his effortlessly smooth vocal delivery. A solo project was a natural way for Littrell to express the lighter, more melodic side of him than the guitar solo-filled intricate rock and electronica of The Station. This progression culminated with Littrell's 2011 solo debut album, Now I See. In addition to his captivating vocals, Littrell plays acoustic guitar, bass, saxophone, piano, organ, percussion, and flute, on the album. Now I See was produced by Littrell's longtime collaborator and co-founding member of The Station, Dave Carter. Upcoming Events: Aug 26-28 Summerdance - Garretsville OH Aug 26-28 NedFest - Nederland CO Aug 27-29 Music on the Mountaintop - Boone NC *Sept 1-4 The GETDOWN - Mebane NC Sept 2-4 Headjamz - Adams TN Sept 8-11 CultureFest - Pipestem, WV Sept 23-25 H Blast! - Reidsville NC *Sept 22-24 Blackwater - Live Oak, FL *Look for the Home Grown Music Booth at this event! Video of the Week: Former Champions covering "Make Some Noise" by the Beastie Boys Thanks for reading! Treat yourself to some good music this week. Lee Crumpton Copyright (c)2011, Leeway's Home Grown Music Network Visit us on Facebook Tweet If you enjoyed this post, please take a moment to share it with your friends on one or more of the popular social networkings sites on your left, thanks!

Search billions of records on Ancestry.com Spouse: Marion F. Ring. Marion F. Ring and Charles Roberts were married on 25 December 1896. Spouse: Bernice E. Ring. Bernice E. Ring and Charles A. Roberts were married on 10 June 1896. Spouse: Elizabeth Cann. Children were: Nancy Roberts, Sydney James Roberts. Spouse: Rachel Ann Vance. Rachel Ann Vance and Christian Roberts were married on 9 May 1852 in Highland County, Ohio. Children were: Cornelieus Roberts, Isaac Roberts, Samuel N. Roberts, Andrew W. Roberts, Mary Jane Roberts. Spouse: Elizabeth Wynne. Elizabeth Wynne and David Roberts were married in 1777. Children were: Mary Roberts, Ann Roberts. Spouse: Heman Gardner. Deidamia Roberts and Heman Gardner were married . Children were: Herman Gardner, Mary Gardner, Capt. Reuben Gardner. Spouse: Living. Children were: Living, Living. Spouse: Nancy Gertrude Whitley. Nancy Gertrude Whitley and Earl Hatcher Roberts were married on 4 June 1924. Children were: Living. Spouse: Charles William Markley. Elinor Roberts and Charles William Markley were married on 16 June 1916 in Wind River, Fremont County, Wyoming. Spouse: Lewis Michael Matheny. Eliza Roberts and Lewis Michael Matheny were married on 1 September 1872 in Breckinridge County, Kentucky. Children were: Minnie Hester Matheny. Spouse: William George Cann. Elsie Jackson Roberts and William George Cann were married on 2 December 1867 in Sydney Mines, Cape Breton County, Nova Scotia, Canada. In addition to husband and wife, they were also second cousins. Children were: Alexander Howard Cann, Henry Vibert Cann. Children were: Mary A. Roberts. Spouse: Joseph Francis Schottler. Frances Matilda Roberts and Joseph Francis Schottler were married on 21 May 1871 in San Francisco, San Francisco County, California. Children were: Francis Harrison Schottler. Spouse: Herschel Bernhard Lemon. Grace Adelia Roberts and Herschel Bernhard Lemon were married on 7 April 1928 in Washington, District of Columbia. Spouse: Phoebe Hurlburt. Phoebe Hurlburt and Handley Roberts were married . Children were: Handley Roberts, Solomon Roberts. Children were: Abigail Roberts. Children were: Charles Roberts. Spouse: Lt. Abraham Streeper. Hannah Roberts and Lt. Abraham Streeper were married in 1768. Children were: Mary Streeper. Spouse: Lavinia Leavenworth. Lavinia Leavenworth and Harrison Roberts were married in 1849 in Reading, New York. Children were: Frances Matilda Roberts, Eureka Roberts, Joseph Roberts, Frederick Roberts, Oliver Roberts, Emma Roberts. Spouse: Carl P. Doane. Hazel Elizabeth Roberts and Carl P. Doane were married on 15 June 1924 in Beverly, Essex County, Massachusetts. Children were: Living. Spouse: Gordon Alister Cann. Children were: Living, Living, Living, Living, Living, Living. Children were: Peter Roberts. Spouse: Mary Wilkin. Mary Wilkin and Isaac Roberts were married on 24 February 1884. Children were: Roberts. Children were: Mary Anne Roberts. Children were: Sophronia Roberts. Spouse: Sarah Jackson. Children were: Samuel Roberts, Elsie Jackson Roberts. Spouse: Aaron Crosby Porter. Josephine Roberts and Aaron Crosby Porter were married on 6 June 1896. Children were: Bessie Violet Porter. Spouse: Clarence Chandler Cann. Lettia Viola Roberts and Clarence Chandler Cann were married in 1911 in Thornton, Delaware County, Pennsylvania. Children were: Margaret Roberts Cann, Dorothy Elizabeth Roberts Cann. Spouse: Benjamin Brown Vance. Lovicy Ann Roberts and Benjamin Brown Vance were married on 3 November 1861 in Van Buren, Jackson County, Iowa. Spouse: Albert Reason Bradford. Margaret Roberts and Albert Reason Bradford were married . Children were: Virginia Bradford, Ray Bradford, Roy Bradford, Rex Bradford. Spouse: Living. Children were: Living. Spouse: Ezra Churchill. Mary Roberts and Ezra Churchill were married on 6 May 1779. Children were: Mary Churchill, Lemuel Churchill, Ezra Churchill, Nehemiah Churchill, Benjamin Churchill, Lemuel Churchill, Abigail Churchill, Elizabeth Churchill, John Churchill, Lydia Churchill, Nancy Churchill. Spouse: John E. Ring. Mary A. Roberts and John E. Ring were married on 14 March 1875. Children were: Bernice E. Ring, Harriet B. Ring, Jessie R. Ring, Grace P. Ring. Spouse: Robert Bent. Mary Anne Roberts and Robert Bent were married . Spouse: Frederick Reno. Mary Jane Roberts and Frederick Reno were married on 31 March 1878. Spouse: George Brown.

: Today, 1 - 3 p.m. Where: Kapiolani Park, near the Diamond Head tennis courts. Also, 7-9 a.m. at the Chinese Cultural Plaza, 100 N. Beretania St. Details: Wear loose clothes and bring water. Call 808.681.4320 with any questions on the Kapiolani Park event. Reminisce Ciao, Ciao Mein What: It's last call for the award-winning Italian/Chinese fusion restaurant. For its final night, Ciao Mein's giving away a bittersweet extra with its dishes - one of the eateries long-secret recipes to try at home. When: Breakfast is 6 - 11:30 a.m. Doors close for good after dinner, 6 - 10 p.m. Where: The Hyatt Regency Waikiki Beach Resort & Spa, 2424 Kalakaua Ave. Details: Call 808.923.1234 ext. 59 for one of the few reservations left. Book The Royal Tea-ment What: Treat your mom like a queen with Neiman Marcus' Mother's Day high tea. Indulge in meyer lemon madeleines, hazelnut macaroons, and macadamia nut scones with lilikoi butter. That is if you have room after the beef tenderloin with carmelized onions and gorgonzola cheese or a cremini mushroom stuffed with ratatouille. When: Sunday, May 8, 12:30 p.m. Where: Neiman Marcus, Ala Moana Center. Details: $50 a person includes a special favor. There is only space for about 40 at this just-announced event. Call 808.951.3428 for reservations. Bid Auction for Japan What: Snatch up all the deals you can in just an hour at The Wedding Cafe's silent auction. Goodies from TWC's favorite vendors include $2,500 off flowers, $1,000 off a DJ company, and manicure, facial and massage gift certificates (great for even non-brides-to-be). All proceeds go to the Red Cross. When: Wednesday, May 4. 6:30 - 7:30 p.m. Where: The Wedding Cafe, Ward Warehouse. Details: Find the full list of auction items on The Wedding Cafe's website. Download Dialed In What: UH sports on the go? There's an app for that. The new ESPN 1420 app means you won't be stuck listening to your car radio when the Bows go to bat against Fresno State tonight. Details: Click here to check it. Who: Olive Boutique, 43 Kihapai St., Kailua Deal: Grab a mimosa and take 10 percent off everything at the Weekend Before Mother's Day sale. Picture yourself giving mom a snapshot for her big day with $10 photo booth prints. When: Today, 11 a.m. - 3 p.m. Also: Check out other goodies on Olive Boutique's new website. Who: Bliss Boutique Event, the Parish of St. Clement's parish hall, 1515 Wilder Ave. Deal: Take an additional 40 percent off Bliss fashions. You can also browse jewelry by Lia Sophia, Pampered Chef housewares, indulge in a $1 a minute massage, or try a mini makeover, all while snacking on free Panya cupcakes. When: Today, 1:30 - 4 p.m. Also: Bring a new or gently used book for kindergarten-2nd grade students, and receive a Bliss coupon for $5 off a $50 purchase. Who: Owens & Co., 1152 Nuuanu Ave. Deal: Owens & Co. has one item you can buy guilt free. Check out the cute recycled-canvas bag designed by Isla Schmidt of So'mace. All proceeds from the $30 tote will go to Direct Relief International's Japan Earthquake and Tsunami Response. When: As long as supplies last. The bags are also sold at So'mace Lifestyle, 1115 Young St. Who: San Lorenzo Kailua, 130 Kailua Rd. Ste. 113 Deal: Score up to 80 percent off clearance items. Some bikini tops and bottoms are priced for just $10. You'll also get a free gift at check out, and a free bikini piece if you spend more than $100. When: Today and tomorrow, 10:00 a.m. - 6:30 p.m. Also: 15 percent off everything on San Lorenzo's online store with code SLPRO11. Who: Catherine Weitzman jewelry, catherineweitzman.com Deal: Buy $100 or more of Weitzman's nature-inspired pendants, earrings or bracelets (believe us, it's easy to do), and you'll score a free pair of mini-stud earrings. When: Now until Wednesday, May 4. Enter MOM11 at check out. Who: noelanidesigns.com Deal: Take 20 percent off all of Noelani's natural stone, gold-filled and sterling silver pieces. When: Now until May 8. Enter IlovemyMom at check out. Who: Local designer Christy Chung, ccdoodle.etsy.com Deal: 20 percent off all her colorful hand-sewn vintage fabric ccdoodle clutches. Each is one of a kind, so scoop up your favorite now. When: Now until May 7. Wings Hawaii unveils its summer line and the second issue of its Inspire magazine Sunday. 4-8 p.m., 375 W. Kuiaha Rd #22a, Haiku, Maui. Mark your calendar - Bath & Body Works first Hawaii store opens Monday, 9:30 a.m. at Ala Moana Center. Posted on Friday, April 29, 2011 in Permalink

December 8, 2010 (Forward to the Next Post in the Series) While reading the “Oracle Tuning the Definitive Reference Second Edition” book I found a handful of interesting suggestions regarding Oracle wait events. For instance, page 406 of the book states that: “Excessive db file sequential read waits on an OLTP database might indicate a suboptimal disk subsystem or configuration issues with the disk array. High I/O waits on the db file scatter read waits associated with large-table full-table scans may not always indicate a problem, but they are most commonly found on these kinds of databases: - Data warehouse and Decision Support applications - 32-bit Oracle systems with SGAs of less than 1.5 gigabytes - Databases that do not have enough buffer cache space to cache their working set of frequently referenced objects” Keeping in mind that the book is printed after the release of Oracle Database 11.2.0.1 (and possibly 11.2.0.2 for some operating system platforms), what, if anything, is wrong with the above quote? See example 1 on this blog article for a “Top 5 Timed Events” report section that is similar to what is found on page 406 of: - Page 713 of the previous edition of the book - remote-dba.net/oracle_10g_tuning/t_oracle_bottleneck_tuning.htm HI Charles My problem with the above text is non version specific. It just isn’t clear what Don means by Excessive and High in the extract above. In the case of the db file sequential read then there are about 2k single block reads recorded in the timespan of the report – we don’t know what that timespan is Don doesn’t say (and so we can’t draw his conclusion that it is I/O bound even) – but 2k disk reads in a timeframe that you can do 25k multiblock reads doesn’t seem excessive. In that case perhaps he means excessively long. Now this makes more sense since his single block reads took on average nearly 3 seconds if the output is to be believed (Frankly I don’t believe it to be reliable but anyway). However the High multiblock reads take on average a reasonable time (and the examples given strongly suggest that High doesn’t mean slow, but caused by workload or server configuration issues). This section of the book would have been so much better if 1) We had a time frame to understand how Don drew his conclusions – in fact each report should have the timeframe and cpu count listed as the original report does 2) We had a clearer definition of Excessive and High (maybe single block reads that take longer than 20ms for Excessive wait times, or more than 100 IOPS/Underlying Disk for high wait counts. It would be perfectly reasonable for the casual reader to conclude that any system where these 2 disk events are the top 2 is Disk I/O bound – in the sense that Disk I/O is constraining performance. I’ve seen enough examples of statspack reports on otn and elsewhere where help with the disk subsystem is sought for databases that appear to be on average idle to know that folk do just look at the names of the top events and think that this tells them something about the database application they have. Niall, Very well stated response. I agree completely with the listed shortcomings of that sections of the book and how to improve the book. Regarding your OTN comment, I think that it is hard for people to initially understand that a “Top 5″ report will always have something in the “Top 5″, and that something is usually an I/O type of wait event in a well performing database instance.

'Iron Man 3' leads weekend with $72.5M, 'Gatsby' finishes a strong No. 2 with $50.1M LOS ANGELES (AP) -- "Iron Man 3" maintained its box office mettle with $72.5 million in its second weekend, while "The Great Gatsby" proved a strong runner-up with a $50.1 million debut. The, $72,525,615, 4,253 locations, $17,053 average, $284,946,699, two weeks. 2. "The Great Gatsby," Warner Bros., $50,085,184, 3,535 locations, $14,168 average, $50,085,184, one week. 3. "Pain & Gain," Paramount, $5,001,029, 3,303 locations, $1,514 average, $41,609,229, three weeks. 4. "Peeples," Lionsgate, $4,611,534, 2,041 locations, $2,259 average, $4,611,534, one week. 5. "42," Warner Bros., $4,588,209, 2,930 locations, $1,566 average, $84,670,088, five weeks. 6. "Oblivion," Universal, $4,114,665, 2,770 locations, $1,485 average, $81,906,280, four weeks. 7. "The Croods," Fox, $3,609,028, 2,650 locations, $1,362 average, $173,224,505, eight weeks. 8. "Mud," Roadside Attractions, $2,535,642, 854 locations, $2,969 average, $8,555,621, three weeks. 9. "The Big Wedding," Lionsgate, $2,490,362, 2,298 locations, $1,084 average, $18,278,053, three weeks. 10. "Oz the Great and Powerful," Disney, $1,078,233, 774 locations, $1,393 average, $230,260,553, 10 weeks. 11. "Olympus Has Fallen," FilmDistrict, $741,518, 836 locations, $887 average, $96,619,142, eight weeks. 12. "The Place Beyond the Pines," Focus, $705,333, 669 locations, $1,054 average, $20,008,869, seven weeks. 13. "Scary Movie 5," Weinstein Co., $675,942, 1,007 locations, $671 average, $30,613,972, five weeks. 14. "Jurassic Park" in 3-D, Universal, $633,935, 653 locations, $971 average, $44,752,845, six weeks. 15. "G.I. Joe: Retaliation," Paramount, $607,403, 750 locations, $810 average, $119,764,294, seven weeks. 16. "The Company You Keep," Sony Pictures Classics, $400,501, 394 locations, $1,017 average, $4,130,751, six weeks. 17. "Evil Dead," Sony, $291,266, 443 locations, $657 average, $53,756,774, six weeks. 18. "Jack the Giant Slayer," Warner Bros., $247,325, 281 locations, $880 average, $64,482,913, 11 weeks. 19. "Identity Thief," Universal, $192,585, 279 locations, $690 average, $133,714,590, 14 weeks. 20. "Tyler Perry's Temptation," Lionsgate, $186,995, 278 locations, $673 average, $51,699,494,: © 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Learn more about our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

And Bishop. . HornetSting on May 9, 2013 at 1:21 PM I would expect no less from Chicago on the Potomac. Careful not to be permanently silenced. hawkeye54 on May 9, 2013 at 1:22 PM Nixonian with a streak of LBJ. This guy is a nightmare for our country. portlandon on May 9, 2013 at 1:24 PM I wonder what Gerald Walpin thinks…….? ted c on May 9, 2013 at 1:25 PM Thugs cmsinaz on May 9, 2013 at 1:26 PM Again, sensing a pattern here, but I’m just not quite there yet, so close, so close … Maybe if there was some investigative main stream media that has daily evening broadcasts nationally that did a little digging with all their highly prized, intelligent, diligent personalities … Ok, that was an overreach. Back to working on that pattern. parke on May 9, 2013 at 1:26 PM ted c on May 9, 2013 at 1:27 PM For some, he’s a dream come true. hawkeye54 on May 9, 2013 at 1:28 PM If Bush or any Republican was in the White House, the media would hail this guy a hero, but since Obama is President, he’s a traitor. bw222 on May 9, 2013 at 1:28 PM Ruh roh… another crack in the dam? petefrt on May 9, 2013 at 1:29 PM Defense IG: Obama administration “bureaucrats” trying to silence me about corruption in Afghanistan Sorry, but here’s the REAL NEWS…. PappyD61 on May 9, 2013 at 1:30 PM Yeah the current administration is closer to the corrupt Ulysses S. Grant administration anyway. Happy Nomad on May 9, 2013 at 1:30 PM That’s what came first to my mind too. This malfeasance has a long history. petefrt on May 9, 2013 at 1:32 PM Yeah, the media is running out of fingers and toes in the dam. The flood is coming soon. Zero’s grip is crumbling… dogsoldier on May 9, 2013 at 1:32 PM Nixon lied about, or covered up, or something, a third rate Watergate burglary. Iran-Contra was about financial shenanigans, moving Iran money to Contra funding. But this coverup … this is about basic representations about very important foreign policy issues. Why wasn’t there enough security at Benghazi. If a video caused the attack and deaths, then, the video is to blame, and we couldn’t have anticipated that. If the primary Libyan Islamic terror group caused the attack and deaths, then Hillary is to blame, for not identifying the threat and providing the proper level of security for our diplomats. Which certainly looks like the case. Hillary let it slide. Four brave diplomats died. Paul-Cincy on May 9, 2013 at 1:33 PM Yeah, GWB couldn’t even legally fire 18 incompetent US Attorneys without it being labeled a scandal. The rat-eared coward could kill a puppy during the SOTU speech and the media would take the position that the puppy had it coming. Happy Nomad on May 9, 2013 at 1:34 PM Chicago thug-in-chief acting like a thug again? Who would have guessed? The Rogue Tomato on May 9, 2013 at 1:35 PM I haven’t been reading the foreign press much lately, but other commenters here point out that Benghazi is getting decent coverage from them now. That’s an encouraging sign that pressure may eventually force LSM to end its blackout. petefrt on May 9, 2013 at 1:36 PM If the dam bursts, and you are under water, but the MSM doesn’t report it, does anyone really know if they are? I wish I had your outlook on this, but I think they will just go “what story?” to the bulk of these scandals/cover-ups and hope it all goes away. Meanwhile, the low info. voter will be more interested in whos winning dancing with the stars… -_- Gatsu on May 9, 2013 at 1:36 PM Errr….what exactly is our country’s mission in Afghanistan right now ? burrata on May 9, 2013 at 1:37 PM You’ll thank me….. Wait till the very end. cleanse the palate. PappyD61 on May 9, 2013 at 1:37 PM Obama must feel like he’s all-powerful. He sees that he can get away with virtually anything. The Rogue Tomato on May 9, 2013 at 1:37 PM If it WERE Bush conducting an administration in the fashion of Barry….the Left’s impeachment proceedings would long be over, Bush would have been driven from office, along with Cheney and most of the cabinet, all frog marched in orange jump suits, to a special high security facility and sharing cells. hawkeye54 on May 9, 2013 at 1:38 PM We can hope and pray. No one is more deserving of the fall. hawkeye54 on May 9, 2013 at 1:39 PM Obama could kidnap 3 girls and hold them as sex slaves for a decade and the left wouldn’t care. jawkneemusic on May 9, 2013 at 1:41 PM Nixon covered up a third rate burglary. Dear Liar covered up an ambassador’s murder, corruption both domestic (green energy) and abroad (Afghanistan) and who knows what else. Second look at Warren G. Harding? rbj on May 9, 2013 at 1:41 PM It’s amazing how much damage the media is allowing to occur in order to protect Obama(and by extension the Democrat Party). Dead Americans in Libya, a stagnant economy mired in the worst recovery in 70 years, infanticide at abortion clinics, a health care system on the verge of implosion, the Middle East in chaos, the southern border wide open, and ironically even their own industry suffering massive losses in jobs and revenue. And to think, we’re just past the halfway point of this guy’s time in office. Imagine how much more we’ll have to suffer in order for him to maintain his precious 45-50% approval rating from the ignorant masses. And then we’ll have to fight tooth and nail to avoid another 8 years of this under Hillary(that’s assuming of course that America survives that long). Doughboy on May 9, 2013 at 1:42 PM The biggest thug in the WH is Valerie Jarrett. I hope she comes to a bad end. BTW: Is pre-clearing something that’s done before you actually clear it with these people? Gotta love bureaucratese. BuckeyeSam on May 9, 2013 at 1:42 PM BTW, did they find some money to allow kids to visit their WH ? burrata on May 9, 2013 at 1:43 PM “Who cares? Obama is awesome” – Liberal Media sentinelrules on May 9, 2013 at 1:43 PM Nobody died when Nixon lied! Republican Yogi on May 9, 2013 at 1:45 PM SOP….for a Dictatorship. ToddPA on May 9, 2013 at 1:45 PM No. But the Obamas have allowed the common people access to the garden area since the weather got nice. Next up on the sequestration schedule to make life as inconvenient as possible for as many people as possible is shutting down the National Zoo a couple of days a week just as tourist season gets ramped up. Happy Nomad on May 9, 2013 at 1:48 PM Yes he is, as a few here would wholeheartedly agree. hawkeye54 on May 9, 2013 at 1:48 PM Sounds like we have a bunch of “muzzle ‘ems” in this administration. BarefootinTN on May 9, 2013 at 1:52 PM Ow, that was one of the WORST puns ever. And I wish I had thought of it first. The Rogue Tomato on May 9, 2013 at 1:54 PM We were guaranteed toxic meat and contaminated arugula because of those evil Republicans , what happened to that ? burrata on May 9, 2013 at 1:54 PM I’d describe this White House as positively Nixonian, but that would be unfair. To Nixon. Good point, and a question. Is there a contemporaneous record of the President’s actions? Are there audio tapes? Is there any way of documenting what this failure as a CIC (and human being) did before blithely going nite-nite while his Ambassador (note: the President appoints the Ambassador, not Hillary Clinton) is under attack and missing? One thing is certain. If then were now, you would never have heard of Rosemary Woods. There would have been no missing minutes from the Oval Office tapes. There would have been no tape in the first place. IndieDogg on May 9, 2013 at 1:55 PM But would Nixon have made it so we have not had a single instance of domestic terroism in the past five years? We should all be on our knees thanking God for endowing us with such a wonderful super-smart leader. Happy Nomad on May 9, 2013 at 1:56 PM The rat-eared coward has to save a few tricks for next year when the budgeted rate of spending is less than what he demands. Happy Nomad on May 9, 2013 at 1:58 PM Al Capone went to prison on tax evasion. Tip of the iceberg with this corrupt Chicagoland administration. John the Libertarian on May 9, 2013 at 2:01 PM The things I would like to do about this administration would get me banned so I’ll just keep mum. Feel free to read between the lines. neyney on May 9, 2013 at 2:07 PM One thing Nixon was, he was patriotic. He told JFK he wouldn’t put the country through a crisis by challenging the election results and there was plenty to challenge in Chicago and Texas. And when REPUBLICAN leaders told him to release the recordings for the good of the county, he did and it led to his resignation. Goldwater and the other two Republicans that pushed Nixon TO DO WHAT WAS RIGHT FOR THE COUNTY are in marked contrast to what we saw with the Democrats with Clinton and now Obama. For the Democrats it is what is best for me, the party and then maybe the country. Disgusting. amr on May 9, 2013 at 2:12 PM Three years, nine months and counting… in_awe on May 9, 2013 at 2:13 PM Well ya start revealing “corruption” in Afghanistan, next thing ya know, some “reporter” will follow the money all the way back to Washington……don’t want that happening. Next thing ya know, the “reporter” will find that there’s plenty of “corruption” right here at home, thanks to ‘the most corrupt administration, evah!’ GarandFan on May 9, 2013 at 2:13 PM Now we know why it’s the “Good War.”Lots of money to be made. docflash on May 9, 2013 at 2:26 PM A herpes really, he wouldn’t go away… jimver on May 9, 2013 at 2:33 PM Didn’t someone once write a book called “Culture of Corruption”? Seems on point. MTF on May 9, 2013 at 2:45 PM The brown boots of stamping out truth are a marching. Stand up fredom fighters to the corruption of Obama Hussein. karlinsync on May 9, 2013 at 2:53 PM Anybody heard from Tony Rezko? Fallon on May 9, 2013 at 3:14 PM man when I was in (late 80′s) things were different. the IG was treated with respect and we knew to NEVER lie to them. even if it reflected badly on us our commanders wanted us to tell the truth. they were not just mouthing it, there were a few things they themselves owned up to. and you know what? the IG respected us for being honest and worked with us. what a difference. dmacleo on May 9, 2013 at 3:29 PM Nixon was an amateur …. There Goes the Neighborhood on May 9, 2013 at 3:59 PM Compared to the Kennedy Crime Family, absolutely. slickwillie2001 on May 9, 2013 at 4:35 PM And barely that, comparatively. hawkeye54 on May 9, 2013 at 4:36 PM That family was a good role model in developing the DNC – Democratic National Criminals syndicate. hawkeye54 on May 9, 2013 at 4:38 PM Thanks to our press… … we now live in a ‘Banana Republic’. Thanks! Seven Percent Solution on May 9, 2013 at 5:08 PM So what. Impotent Republicans can do nothing. Incompetent conservatives are not heard in America. We do what we want and you are powerless to stop us. No Chop Charlie on May 9, 2013 at 6:30 PM BOOM…. well said sir..well said sadsushi on May 9, 2013 at 8:12 PM I just had a HA timewarp refresh on this thread to a two-day old comment thread on Benghazi. Reload again and it’s gone. Strange. slickwillie2001 on May 9, 2013 at 9:32 PM Half of the Obama gang is spewing Big Lies- about Benghazi, Fast and Furious, etc., etc.- and the other half is working feverishly to cover them Up. Government is now a toxin re-labeling itself an elixir. profitsbeard on May 10, 2013 at 2:58 AM

Create Valentine dishes with edible paint For a party or special dinner, try decorating plain dishes with icing. Designs will be perfectly edible, and if you make a mistake while painting, just lick it off and start over. (Don't tell anyone your tongue made contact with their plate.) To make this "paint," I mixed 3 tablespoons of powdered sugar, 1 teaspoon of water, and 2 drops of liquid food coloring. Apply with a paintbrush. If needed, run your fingernail around any wiggly edges to smooth them out before they dry. 52 comments: Love this Jessica! I totally want to do this! I bet kids would like it. Or big kids like us. :) That is awesome... I love this... and not only for Valentine... Great Idea... Thanks for sharing Greetings from Germany Catrin great idea! Thank you for sharing! :P laughing about the licking. Very cool. This is such a great idea !!! This could be so cute for a surprise ! I'm really thinking of doing a special dinner using this idea ! Thanks so much ! Great idea! Now white dishes are in right now too. The only thing is if you had to put salty food on top, I would think it would get a little sweet. Too bad you can't make the icing more savory. this is a great idea....A+J, already personalized for me and my husband! :D Wow, simple and beautiful!!! cute idea. great job -- works for any occasion. so, so simple, lovely + clever! thank you for sharing your great ideas! :) that is the cutest thing. Aww... so SWEET! (How many time did you lick Alex's? I won't tell him!) Mum this is such a sweet idea! This is so clever! I can't justify buying lots of plates for different different holidays, but I could do this! Speechless. This will solve everything, forever. What a great (and simple) idea! I think I might do this for my girls' Valentine's Day breakfast plates! I read your blog all the time, but I just had to comment on these plates. They are SO CUTE!!! I love this idea. Thank you for sharing it! Brilliant! I just love simple but WOWEE ideas like this. Can't wait to plan my V-Day party with some of these accents. You have such amazing ideas! Thanks for sharing them :-) Oh how fun! I think this would be sweet at any point in the year. Maybe draw up some colorful balloons to accompany a piece of birthday cake? You could, maybe, substitute the powdered sugar with corn starch. It will go with the savory dishes as well. Thanks for the cute idea. A wonderful idea. My daughter would love this while drinking her milk! "Don't tell anyone your tongue made contact with their plate." - Hilarious!!! Thanks for the early morning laugh! Brilliant! It's made even cleverer by being so simple :) Thanks! so great and easy! yay! thanx =) Brilliant Jessica. So great to meet you as well! Love this idea! In the past, I have used kids washable markers to write names or draw doodles along the outside border of dishes as place markers (not where food would touch), to rave reviews. This is a fun, safe and unexpected way to add some pizzazz to any meal :) What a cool idea! Looks so cute! Absolutely delicious! The greatest idea for Valentine's Day. A kiss from Portugal and Congratulations for the fantastic blog! I was just thinking the other day I wanted to paint dishes but have them edible. Does this wash off once you clean them? Completely. nice picture What a fun and fantastic idea! Thanks for sharing. What a great idea! Love the hearts on the cups. Super cute idea! You'll love this one! An orange pen! Oh how fun!! Might have to try this! The greatest idea for Valentine's Day What a fabulous and fun idea! did you use a stencil for the letters? I love it! We're going to try it for sure this year. That's just great ... thanks for sharing the idea! This is wonderful! Mainly because you've found a way to paint with SUGAR. Bless you. I love sugar. :) Anonymous, nope, I freehanded. What a fun idea. This would be great to personalize dishes for a party. Love this! SO adorable! So brilliant! Just shared on my blog, many thanks! :) I love the idea, but the suggestion of LICKING someone else's plate is unbelievable. I hope none of you actually do this. That was a joke. I love this!!! I did it this morning with the kids and it was so much fun. I can't wait to show off my decorated plate tomorrow at a valentines party!! I love the idea! shame I found it today! will be perfect for the Valentine's Day 2013 ;)

Line 82 of HTMLPurifier.php is * @param $config Optional HTMLPurifier_Config object for all instances of And should be: * @param $config HTMLPurifier_Config object for all instances ofby laurin1 - Internals Line 136 of Config.php is * @return Default HTMLPurifier_Config object. And should be: * @return HTMLPurifier_Config object.by laurin1 - Internals Well, it appears that if I specify my own list of elements and include the font tag, it works (doesn't strip it out.) However, it still strips the line breaks. I just wrote code that looks for PRE and replaces the line breaks in PRE with br.by laurin1 - Support Ok, this appears to be the same issue as. However, the point is that this HTML is not generated by myself, as is common for us. We copy and paste content from a variety of sources and we don't care if their HTML is correct, we just want it to look the same.by laurin1 - Support #1 When PRE is used, the content is stripped. This: <pre> <code><span class="sql1-reservedword"><strong><font color="#0000ff">SELECT </font></strong></span></code></pre> Becomes this: <pre> <code><span class="sql1-reservedword"><strong></strong></span></code></pre> But if I deleby laurin1 - Support Oh, I see it's using "blank", not "_blank". Why is that? How do I make it use "_blank"?by laurin1 - Support How do I turn this off? Even more, how is this even happening? I can't find anything in the HTML that HTMPurifier generates that would cause this.by laurin1 - Support Yeah, we don't know how to deal with backslash Windows links. Actually, it won't work with ANY file: links. This doesn't work either (same result): <a href=" Management/Maintenance Tasks.xls" target="_blank">//SERVER05/Pride/IT/IT Management/Maintenance Tasks.xls </a>by laurin1 - Support We use this on a local intranet and it's striping the href property from this: <a href="\\SERVER05\Pride\IT\IT Management\Maintenance Tasks.xls">\\SERVER05\Pride\IT\IT Management\Maintenance Tasks.xls </a></div> and producing this: <a>\\SERVER05\Pride\IT\IT Management\Maintenance Tasks.xls </a></div>by laurin1 - Support Oh, nevermind I figured it out.by laurin1 - Support Most of the tme we run the purifer for the first time on a machine or change the config, we get this error message. It especially happens when PHPUnit is running the script. unlink(C:\PHP\PEAR/HTMLPurifier/DefinitionCache/Serializer/HTML/CVS): Permission denied UPDATE: Just deployed the code and it happened once in Production, but seems to be fine now. So, like it said, once each time somethingby laurin1 - Support Yea,by laurin1 - Support I've read numerous posts on different sites about this problem, but I am at a loss on what to do about it. I found one method to fix it, that is run all of my code through html_decode first. That works, but as you can guess, breaks other things.by laurin1 - Support For now, I've fixed it like this: /** * @static * @param string $sHTML * @return string */ public static function getHTMLWithFixForUnmatchedDivTags($sHTML){ $iOpeningDivCount = preg_match_all('/<div/', $sHTML, $aMatches); $iClosingDivCount = preg_match_all('/<\/div>/', $sHTML, $aMatches); $sExtraOpeningDivs = null; if($iClosingDivCount > $iOpeningDivCount) foby laurin1 - Support Tried to post a reply, but can't: laurin1 - Support Just got this: "A word you have used in your post has been banned from use. Please use a different word or contact the forum administrators." What word? It doesn't say.by laurin1 - Support Is there a bug reporting tool or a place to vote for bugs or give feedback?by laurin1 - Support Why does it truncate everything after</div>? Test1</div> <table> <tr> <td> Test2 </td> </tr> </table> Any other tag unbalanced does not do this, just div. Why is that? How can I make it not do this?by laurin1 - Support

Hannah Werth (44) plays for the little girl who fell in love with the game. Journal-Star on Werth’s Unparalleled Athleticism By Randy York This is a story about a 9-year-old boy and his mother who took him to the Nebraska-Iowa volleyball match in the Huskers’ last week in its historic Coliseum. It’s about Karla Wingard and Colin Wingard, her 9-year-old son whose sister got to see Nebraska upset UCLA and Penn State, two No. 1-ranked teams in season No. 36 – the final one at the Coliseum. The experience was so awesome that Karla thought Colin deserved the chance to see Nebraska volleyball with its ultra-talented players and an atmosphere that was bound to intrigue even a star-struck little boy. And it did … immediately. “When we walked into the Coliseum, he saw Kenny Bell,” said Karla, a Human Resources manager for a Lincoln banking business. Karla shook her head and couldn’t help thinking to herself: When isn’t that dude (Bell) at a home volleyball match. ‘I See Him … I Gotta Get His Autograph!’ Still, as things got quiet during the National Anthem, Karla Wingard was somewhat embarrassed when Colin spotted Nebraska’s sophomore wide receiver again. “I see him … I see him!” Colin yelled enthusiastically. “Mom, I gotta get his autograph!” Wingard, who commutes to her Lincoln job from Rising City, Neb., told Nebraska assistant coach Dani Busboom that she was “pretty sure that everyone in our section” heard her son blurt out his intentions. But a funny thing happened for a 9-year-old boy hooked on football. The minute he sat down to watch set one of a Big Ten Conference match, his enthusiasm switched from his favorite sport to something entirely new that appeared to his wandering eyes. “He was amazed that a girl could do what was being done on the floor,” Karla said, quoting things he kept asking: “Mom, did you see Gina (Mancuso) hit that ball? Mom, did you see Morgan (Broekhuis) hit that?” Then, during the second set, Nebraska played right in front of a first-time grade-school fan. Son ‘Crazy’ after Werth’s Somersault Play When Hannah Werth made a defensive play that forced her to sprint to a ball and somehow manage to set it up so the Huskers could score, “My son went crazy!” Wingard said. “He was like: ‘Mom, did you see that? Hannah ran after that ball and then flipped after she hit it! That was awesome!’” Awesome indeed … so awesome, in fact, that from that point on, “It was Hannah this and Hannah that!” Wingard said. “In my son’s eyes, she couldn’t do anything wrong.” This is fact, not fiction. In that transformational time of meaningful maturity, an impressionable 9-year-old no longer was talking about getting Kenny Bell’s signature. He was talking about getting Hannah Werth’s autograph! Yes, Werth’s scribbled name was the new holy grail that Colin Wingard wanted to chase, and a proud mother couldn’t resist writing a thank-you to Busboom, who shared it with Nebraska head coach John Cook, who, in turn, shared the amazing little story with his team. Actually, this modest narrative is so potent and so powerful that it should be shared with all Nebraskans, as they prepare to watch the Huskers take on Washington. If they win Friday night, the Huskers will advance to the regional finals against either Oregon or BYU for the right to proceed to the NCAA National Semifinals in Louisville. Volleyball: Fast, Fun, Fashionable in Nebraska I don’t want to over-hype here. But the most wonderful time of year really is high drama, high stakes, high octane and high interest for a state which has incredibly faithful football fans that are almost uniformly devoted to volleyball, especially when everything’s on the line and everyone seems to be planning watch parties, just like Husker football loyalists. In terms of dedication, these two superlative sports are not mutually exclusive. Over decades, I’ve learned that even though volleyball can never match the numbers or Nebraska football fans’ unparalleled level of interest, even the staunchest gridiron fans make sure they track the volleyball results. even when a football-crazy state is preparing for a New Year’s Day bowl game. First and foremost, Karla Wingard wanted the Huskers to know how much luck she wished upon them in a rugged regional at Omaha’s Century Link Center. “Thank you Hannah (and the rest of the Huskers) for opening my son’s eyes to what girls can do,” Wingard said. “Hannah will definitely have a 9-year-old boy rooting for her this weekend. I hope they play their best and leave it all on the floor for a win not only Friday night but Saturday.” Then Wingard said what all good Huskers add to the conversation: “Go Big Red!” Is Werth Nebraska’s Version of Mia Hamm? Hannah Werth is your classic premier athlete who grew up in a family that has five World Series rings among them, not to mention a mother and a sister who were both national-caliber athletes. In my opinion, Werth is Nebraska’s version of Mia Hamm, the Olympic soccer star who transcended her own remarkable talents. Hamm once said that “Somewhere behind the athlete you’ve become and the hours of practices and the coaches (and in Werth’s case, parents, siblings, grandparents and uncles) who have pushed you … is a little girl who fell in love with the game and never looked back … play for her!” And that’s what Hannah does. She plays for the little girl she was and, at the same time, the young woman she’s become. She’s competitive, emotional, inspirational, fearless and motivating – for 9-year-old boys and senior citizen bloggers who can’t wait to watch Hannah and her teammates compete this weekend on a regional stage for the right to contend nationally a week later. Here’s hoping fans from across the state open their wallets and get ready to close the year watching a group of young women that will give their level best to carve out a place in Nebraska and NCAA history. Kenny Bell Hates to Miss Any Volleyball Match May the force be with Hannah and all of her “sisters” and all of her “supporters” and that includes Kenny Bell, who loves watching Husker volleyball every bit as much as a 9-year-old boy examining the sport for the first time. I can’t help but wonder how many more Colin Wingards are out there in Lincoln and across the state. In my mind, when Nebraska moves to an expanded Devaney Center next fall, the Huskers should sell out before the season even starts. Husker volleyball is that good, that exciting, that exhilarating. It’s worth every penny, even when Werth does what all Husker legends do … exits stage left, waiting for the next batch of superior athletes to leave their mark on a program that almost always manages to meet pressure with … what else? … Performance. Send a comment to ryork@huskers.com (Please include current residence) Follow Randy on Twitter at Randy’s N-Sider Blog Archive Randy’s N-Sider Column Archive Voices from Husker Nation We recently were in Tampa for a national convention. A Division II team was staying in our hotel while they were in a tournament there. When we said we were from Nebraska, the coach said: “Oh, you’re in volleyball heaven!” p.s. Colin Wingard is our neighbor. Ramona Ellison, Rising City, Nebraska 3quarterstoday likes this huskernsider posted this

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Apex save them later on. I found a whole bunch of information on the oracle forum but I couldn’t find the right information I needed, so therefore this post My specific problem can be described as: we would like to let users add order lines to an order, update and delete them without saving anything in our database until the user confirms that the order is correct and wants to create it. 1.1 Delete Collection Our first step when working with collections is to make sure that no collection with the same name exists. So create a process ‘on Load – Before Header’ that deletes a collection with the collection name you are using, in this case that would be ‘ORDERS’. We can use ‘wwv_flow_collection.delete_collection’ to delete a collection. Now we are ready to create our collection, use ‘wwv_flow_collection.create_collection’ to create your collection. You might notice that there is already another thing I do, I already put one record in my collection. You are not obliged to do so but I do it here because now the user can already start filling the collection without pressing on a add row button. I use ‘wwv_flow_collection.add_member’ to put a record in my collection. You must specify your collection name and then you must use p_c001 – p_c050 to specify your columns. In my first column I put a unique key that I will use when deleting a member from my collection. The third column specifies the amount and will be default 1. 1.3 Display Collection Now we are ready to display our collection and update/add/delete members from it. Create a new page with a report where you will display the collection. Make sure you can navigate to it from the page where you create the collection (you can do it on the same page if needed). Add 2 buttons to your report, one to add a member and one to delete a member of your collection. Some things explained: - Our first column is a checkbox that will allow users to delete selected lines from the collection. The function ‘pck$genlib.f_get_next_row_id’ will return your row_id (0001,0002, …) so we can refer to the specific row in a correct way. - The second column is the seq_id, automatically assigned to your collection members, we need this value in order to update the right member from the collection. - The other columns must be displayed as text fields so we can put data into them. Part 2 will include adding, deleting and updating members from your collections and will be posted very soon. March 7, 2007 at 9:48 pm | Working with collections sounds great but how do you prevent lost updates? March 8, 2007 at 3:29 pm | Hey jornica,I don’t really understand what you’re refering to, could you please elaborate? March 18, 2007 at 3:16 pm | Oliver,This an example of an lost update:Suppose you have two users, Scott and Adams editing the same order with one order line at the same time. Scott changes the description. Adams changes the price. If Adams saves his change before Scott does, Scott’s change has disappeared.In your problem definition you mention inserting an order. If order updates are allowed, the lost update can occur. I see in part 2 order lines are only inserted, there is no update and lost updates will not occur.

Few days ago, I happened to walk past a beautiful scene: a bright-orange pot, holding a tiny, Little-Prince-like tree, caught up right in the never-ending battle between light & shadow. Obviously, I had to stop for a look and a quick shot: Half an hour later, still thinking about the photo, I felt like putting more emphasis on the subject, closing the frame in and warming the whole scene even more — while I was quite skeptical about Instagram at the beginning, dismissing it as yet another ‘hipster-app’, I came to love it quite fast after giving it a try: it’s fast, it’s simple and it lets me focus on the subject and on the title — a great exercise for any creative person (true, some use it to share their breakfast menu to the world, but I guess that can’t be helped in the current no-privacy world). So here came the second, more focused treatment, titled ‘It’s mostly about being there at the right time, eyes opened.’ As my Instagram account publishes instantly to my Twitter account, one of my followers retweeted it. While it’s always nice when people ‘like’ your stuff, seeing the retweet made me look at the photo again. Oddly enough, there was something new, something I didn’t see the first time. Or, better said, I realised that, in spite of the title, my eyes haven’t been open enough. As a big fan of Pentagram, I have pretty much all the books they’ve ever made, starting with the above beauty, “Graphic Design: Visual Comparisons” (1964), written by Alan Fletcher, Colin Forbes and Bob Gill before the official birth of Pentagram (the Fletcher Forbes Gill studio eventually became Pentagram in 1972). The simple drawing on the cover, depicting the book’s title, would’ve probably went just as well on the cover of Alan Fletcher’s later book, The Art of Looking Sideways (2001). So with these two constantly roaming through the back of my mind, I saw an entirely different scene, where the orange pot was no longer the main subject, but where several other much more interesting ‘characters’ were ‘looking’ around in many different ways. The title this time, ‘… and there’s always more than just one way of looking.’ After this, I started playing around some more, trying black & white versions of the photo, other crops and so on. None made me happier than the above one, but it really was a great to be reminded that one can look at things from so many different perspectives. Of course, the scene had quite a lot of things to play around with and focus on, but the same exercise can be done with almost anything, even just one single object. For example, I remember one of the assignments my high school design teacher told me about: you are given a single push pin — you have to come up with a complex pencil drawing composition on a large A1 paper, based only on that tack. Now, there’s a challenge, if you needed one. And since I mentioned push pins, there’s no better way of concluding it than with this Milton Glaser poster: — Further links and credits: — thanks to Roxana for helping me see things differently; — you’d probably enjoy my Instagrid photo collection (now over 100); — you can buy Milton’s poster on his website. Recent Comments

Chennai: Protests opposing the visit of Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa to India threw traffic in the city out of gear for over three hours on Friday. The protests come at a time when the city was recovering from the traffic snarls caused by protests against the alleged anti-Islam movie ‘Innocence of the Muslims’, made by an American. Sources said more than 200 members of the Viduthalai Chiruthaikal Katchi (VCK) led by Thol Thirumavalavan attempted to enter Sterling Road where the Sri Lankan Deputy High Commission (SLDHC) was located. Their attempts were foiled as the road was closed on both sides not just with barricades but with barbed wire fences as well. Though traffic was regulated at Sterling Road, temporary diversions were made across the city and vehicles piled up on Haddows Road, Valluvarkottam High Road, Tank Bund Road, Greams Road, Nelson Manickam Road, Kodambakkam High Road, GN Chetty Road, Venkatanarayana Road, South Usman Road, North Usman Road and Sir Thiyagaraya Road. The cascading effect was felt in Aminjikarai and on Anna Salai as well. Meanwhile, Thirumavalavan, who attempted to ‘besiege’ the SLDHC after an agitation, was arrested along with 225 VCK cadre at 10.30 am. Some of the cadre lay down on the road obstructing traffic and were removed by force. Simultaneously, a group of Periyar Dravidar Kazhagam members attempted to besiege the BJP office on Vaidyaraman Street affecting traffic further in T Nagar area. The protestors were removed from the spot as the situation turned tense when enraged BJP members hurled stones at protestors who raised slogans against the BJP for entertaining Rajapaksa. Protests opposing the visit of Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa threw traffic in the city out of gear. Motorcyclist thrashed A motorcyclist on Sterling Road was roughed up by protesting members of the VCK after he reportedly spoke about the travails of motorists due to an agitation by the political party, to a television channel. As he was attacked, he lost footing and fell on the ground with his motorcycle bringing down a few other motorcyclists as well. Police intervened and advised him not to invite the wrath of the protestors. The VCK members were attempting to lay a siege on the Lankan Consulate on Sterling Road. Police identified the victim as Kumar from Villivakkam. He was among the motorists stranded for nearly three hours due to the protest by the VCK cadre. He was even branded as a supporter of Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa by the protestors. (For updates you can share with your friends, follow IBNLive on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and Pinterest)

Kochi: The Kerala High Court on Monday directed the government to produce the order, if any, to lease out Halcyon Castle, popularly known as the Kovalam Palace, to Ravi Pillai (RP) Group of Companies. A Division Bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Manjula Chellur and Justice A M Shaffique issued the directive on a petition filed by K Dasan, secretary, Jana Samparka Samiti, Ernakulam, seeking to quash the order to hand over the palace to a private group. According to the petitioner, the palace should be protected as an ancient monument and handed over to the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), under the Ministry of Culture, which is the premier organisation for archaeological researches and protection of the cultural heritage of the nation. The petitioner submitted that the Cabinet took the decision on the basis of a request from RP Group for permission to use the castle and the adjoining land. “The political leaders and the bureaucrats are not concerned about the interests of the public and are showing eagerness to handover the palace to the RP Group. The Cabinet decision and all other proceedings before and after, which led to the order, is the result of corrupt practice,” the petitioner said. He submitted that the move of the government to lease out the land was vitiated by mala-fide and favouritism. The government has taken steps to hand over the palace and 10.2 hectares of adjoining land on lease, the petition pointed out. The court directed the government to produce the order, if any, to lease out the palace to the Ravi Pillai Group. “The RP Group has made stealthy and sham arrangements with M-Far Hotels which has controlled the palace earlier, for managing and running the property, including the Kovalam Hotel and Resort. Ravi Pillai, a business tycoon having high influence over the Central and state ministers has exerted high influence for handing over the possession of the palace,” the petition said. The LDF government had taken control of the palace from M-Far Hotels Pvt Ltd, which had acquired possession of the palace when it bought the adjoining ITDC Kovalam Ashoka Beach Resort as part of the Central government’s disinvestment policy. The government had issued the Kovalam Palace (Taking over by Resumption) Ordinance in 2005 for the takeover. The ordinance was quashed by the Kerala High Court in 2011. While doing so, the High Court had ordered maintenance of status-quo and supervision of the castle by the Archaeology Department, the petition said. (For updates you can share with your friends, follow IBNLive on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and Pinterest)

On Tuesday 23 May 2006 03:21, Ryan C. Gordon wrote: > So I'm trying to get localization rolling on loki_setup, but I can't > find any magic way to get it to use, say, French. > > Here's what my Ubuntu box is reporting for installed locales: > > $ locale -a |grep fr > fr_BE.utf8 > fr_CA.utf8 > fr_CH.utf8 > fr_FR.utf8 > fr_LU.utf8 > > No matter what I set LANG to, I get English text. I get complaints if I > set LANG to just "fr": > > (setup.gtk2:9860): Gtk-WARNING **: Locale not supported by C library. > Using the fallback 'C' locale. > > (setup.gtk2:9860): Gdk-WARNING **: locale not supported by C library > > These go away if I do the full "fr_FR.UTF-8" format, but still English. > > Is there something I'm doing that's blatantly wrong, or did this break > in newer Linux distros or glibc versions? Hmm, now that you mention it the xqf and ioquake3 installers are indeed not German here. I actually never noticed :-) The German translation is a bit strange anyways. Try this (untested): Index: install.c =================================================================== RCS file: /cvs/cvsroot/loki_setup/install.c,v retrieving revision 1.176 diff -u -r1.176 install.c --- install.c 18 May 2006 19:49:46 -0000 1.176 +++ install.c 23 May 2006 08:11:45 -0000 @@ -2388,7 +2388,7 @@ } snprintf(buf, sizeof(buf), "setup.data/bin/%s/%s/uninstall", detect_os(), detect_arch()); - loki_upgrade_uninstall(product, buf, "setup.data/" LOCALEDIR); + loki_upgrade_uninstall(product, buf, LOCALEDIR); /* We must call the following in all cases - component installs even, as we have to save the changes */ loki_closeproduct(product); /* product might have pointed to info->product. Reopen it so Index: main.c =================================================================== RCS file: /cvs/cvsroot/loki_setup/main.c,v retrieving revision 1.87 diff -u -r1.87 main.c --- main.c 18 May 2006 12:25:06 -0000 1.87 +++ main.c 23 May 2006 08:11:45 -0000 @@ -164,7 +164,7 @@ static void init_locale() { - char locale[PATH_MAX] = "setup.data/" LOCALEDIR; + char locale[PATH_MAX] = LOCALEDIR; setlocale (LC_ALL, ""); Index: uninstall.c =================================================================== RCS file: /cvs/cvsroot/loki_setup/uninstall.c,v retrieving revision 1.61 diff -u -r1.61 uninstall.c --- uninstall.c 8 Feb 2005 20:41:56 -0000 1.61 +++ uninstall.c 23 May 2006 08:11:45 -0000 @@ -306,7 +306,7 @@ if ( prod ) { product_info_t *info = loki_getinfo_product(prod); - snprintf(locale, sizeof(locale), "%s/" LOCALEDIR, info->root); + snprintf(locale, sizeof(locale), "%s/locale", info->root); if ( access(locale, R_OK) < 0 ) { /* If not existing, revert to copy in the home directory */ locale[0] = '\0'; } @@ -314,7 +314,7 @@ } if(!locale[0]) { - snprintf(locale, sizeof(locale), "%s/" LOKI_DIRNAME "/installed/" LOCALEDIR, detect_home()); + snprintf(locale, sizeof(locale), "%s/" LOKI_DIRNAME "/installed/locale", detect_home()); } bindtextdomain (PACKAGE, locale); cu Ludwig -- (o_ Ludwig Nussel //\ SUSE LINUX Products GmbH, Development V_/_

Exact Local Whittle Estimation Of Fractional Integration With Unknown Mean And Time Trend AbstractRecently, Shimotsu and Phillips (2005, Annals of Statistics 33, 1890 1933) developed a new semiparametric estimator, the exact local Whittle (ELW) estimator, of the memory parameter (d) in fractionally integrated processes. The ELW estimator has been shown to be consistent, and it has the same asymptotic distribution for all values of d, if the optimization covers an interval of width less than 9/2 and the mean of the process is known. With the intent to provide a semiparametric estimator suitable for economic data, we extend the ELW estimator so that it accommodates an unknown mean and a polynomial time trend. We show that the two-step ELW estimator, which is based on a modified ELW objective function using a tapered local Whittle estimator in the first stage, has an asymptotic distribution for (or when the data have a polynomial trend). Our simulation study illustrates that the two-step ELW estimator inherits the desirable properties of the ELW: 501-540 Contact details of provider: Web page: Related researchKeywords: Other versions of this item: - Katsumi Shimotsu, 2002. "Exact Local Whittle Estimation of Fractional Integration with Unknown Mean and Time Trend," Economics Discussion Papers 543, University of Essex, Department of Economics. - Katsumi Shimotsu, 2006. "Exact Local Whittle Estimation of Fractional Integration with Unknown Mean and Time Trend," Working Papers 1061, Queen's University, Department of Economics. -. - Crato, Nuno & Rothman, Philip, 1994. "Fractional integration analysis of long-run behavior for US macroeconomic time series," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 45(3), pages 287-291. -,. - Joseph G. Haubrich, 1990. "Consumption and fractional differencing: old and new anomalies," Working Paper 9010, Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland. -, . "Consumption and Fractional Differencing: Old and New Anomalies," Rodney L. White Center for Financial Research Working Papers 26-89, Wharton School Rodney L. White Center for Financial Research. -. - Robinson, P.M., 2005. "The distance between rival nonstationary fractional processes," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 128(2), pages 283-300, October. - Peter M Robinson, 2004. "The Distance between Rival Nonstationary Fractional Processes," STICERD - Econometrics Paper Series /2004/468, Suntory and Toyota International Centres for Economics and Related Disciplines, L. - Hassler, Uwe & Wolters, Jurgen, 1995. "Long Memory in Inflation Rates: International Evidence," Journal of Business & Economic Statistics, American Statistical Association, vol. 13(1), pages 37-45, January. -. - Nelson, Charles R. & Plosser, Charles I., 1982. "Trends and random walks in macroeconmic time series : Some evidence and implications," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 10(2), pages 139-162. - Chang Sik Kim & Peter C.B. Phillips, 2006. "Log Periodogram Regression: The Nonstationary Case," Cowles Foundation Discussion Papers 1587, Cowles Foundation for Research in Economics, Yale University. - Shimotsu, Katsumi & Phillips, Peter C.B., 2006. "Local Whittle estimation of fractional integration and some of its variants," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 130(2), pages 209-233, February. - Dijk, H.K. & Schotman, P., 1991. "On Bayesian routes to unit roots," Open Access publications from Maastricht University urn:nbn:nl:ui:27-5928, Maastricht University. -. - Alex Maynard & Peter C. B. Phillips, 2001. "Rethinking an old empirical puzzle: econometric evidence on the forward discount anomaly," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 16(6), pages 671-7:501-540_10.

A structural model for US aggregate job flows AbstractRecent10. Length: 28 pagesLength: 28 pages Date of creation: 1999 Date of revision: Handle: RePEc:cpm:cepmap:9910 Contact details of provider: Phone: (331) 40 77 84 00 Web page: More information through EDIRC Related researchKeywords: Other versions of this item: - Fabrice Collard & Patrick Fève & Fran�ois Langot & Corinne Perraudin, 2002. "A structural model of US aggregate job flows," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 17(3), pages 197-223. - C51 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric Modeling - - - Model Construction and Estimation - E24 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomics: Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Employment; Unemployment; Wages; Intergenerational Income. - Michaelides, Alexander & Ng, Serena, 2000. "Estimating the rational expectations model of speculative storage : a Monte Carlo comparison of three simulation estimators," Open Access publications from London School of Economics and Political Science, London School of Economics and Political Science. - Alexander Michaelides & Serena Ng, 1997. "Estimating the Rational Expectations Model of Speculative Storage: A Monte Carlo Comparison of Three Simulation Estimators," Boston College Working Papers in Economics 373, Boston College Department of Economics. -. - Davis, S.J. & Haltiwanger, J., 1989. "Gross Job Creation, Gross Job Destruction And Employment Reallocation," Working Papers e-89-33, Hoover Institution, Stanford. - Hansen, Lars Peter, 1982. "Large Sample Properties of Generalized Method of Moments Estimators," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 50(4), pages 1029-54, July. -, 1998. "Aggregate employment fluctuations with microeconomic asymmetries," Working Paper Series, Macroeconomic Issues WP-96-17, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. - Smith, A A, Jr, 1993. "Estimating Nonlinear Time-Series Models Using Simulated Vector Autoregressions," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 8(S), pages S63-84, Suppl. De. -. - Lee, Bong-Soo & Ingram, Beth Fisher, 1991. "Simulation estimation of time-series models," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 47(2-3), pages 197-205,. - Ruhm, Christopher J, 1991. "Are Workers Permanently Scarred by Job Displacements?," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 81(1), pages 319-24, March. - Duffie, Darrell & Singleton, Kenneth J, 1993. "Simulated Moments Estimation of Markov Models of Asset Prices," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 61(4), pages 929-52, July. -. -. -. - repec:cup:etheor:v:12:y:1996:i:4:p:657-81 is not listed on IDEAS - Steven J. Davis & John C. Haltiwanger & Scott Schuh, 1998. "Job Creation and Destruction," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 1, volume 1, number 0262540932. -. - Gennotte, Gerard & Marsh, Terry A., 1993. "Variations in economic uncertainty and risk premiums on capital assets," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 37(5), pages 1021-1041, June. -, 1993. "Nonlinear Dynamic Structures," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 61(4), pages 871-907, July. - Gallant, A. Ronald & Tauchen, George, 1996. "Which Moments to Match?," Econometric Theory, Cambridge University Press, vol. 12(04), pages 657-681, October. - Davis, Steven J. & Haltiwanger, John, 1999. "Gross job flows," Handbook of Labor Economics, in: O. Ashenfelter & D. Card (ed.), Handbook of Labor Economics, edition 1, volume 3, chapter 41, pages 2711-2805 Elsevier. -: - Philipp Schmidt-Dengler, 2003. "A structural model of aggregate US job flows: another look," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 18(1), pages 113-118. -ité Paris1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (Post-Print and Working Papers) halshs-00270295, HAL. - Thomas B. King, 2005. "Labor productivity and job-market flows: trends, cycles, and correlations," Supervisory Policy Analysis Working Papers 2005-04, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. - Karamé, Frédéric & Patureau, Lise & Sopraseuth, Thepthida, 2008. "Limited participation and exchange rate dynamics: Does theory meet the data?," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 32(4), pages 1041-1087, April. - Frédéric Karamé & Lise Patureau & Thepthida Sopraseuth, 2003. "Limited participation and exchange rate dynamics : does theory meet the data ?," Cahiers de la Maison des Sciences Economiques v04013, Université Panthéon-Sorbonne (Paris 1). - Franke, Reiner & Jang, Tae-Seok & Sacht, Stephen, 2011. "Moment matching versus Bayesian estimation: Backward-looking behaviour in the new-Keynesian three-equations model," Economics Working Papers 2011,10, Christian-Albrechts-University of Kiel, Department of Economics. -:cpm:cepmap:9910.

Ansib Nabi, Round 1 Gladiator PowerPuff Girl Final Submission Submitted on: 08 Apr 11 Category: Art battle 01 Website Rating: Author's Description: FINAL SUBMISSION Well this is it. Finally over. Made some finishing touches here and there. Also see if you can spot Bubbles Favourite toy ‘octi’ This was a blast today and i had tons of fun doing something like this. Hope you all did! Gah i hate not knowing what the timezone is for this forum! It’s Friday 8th 2am (yes in the morning lol) and if i put that in my post doesn’t show. Had to guesstimate the time to get it on lol WIP4 (Click to view maximum size!) Okay here’s my 4th WIP. Made a lot of changes to this one. Changed the leg armor a bit. Also changed the shoes. Improved sword. Also (most obvious one) i’ve redone the face. Unfortunately i’m struggling on the hands A LOT! just cant seem to get it right. Next update might involve a more completed character and work on the background (which i didn’t do in this wip) Thanks again for watching! Okay i’ve somewhat got the body complete. I just hate the face so i might do that part all over again. And there are some parts on the lower legs that i’m not happy with so i will be making changes there too. Threw in a quick background and realised how i will have to change the lighting on the armor lol. Would like some critique on this and any improvements i can make. Thanks Still working on the armor and i’m really struggling with the face. I’ve re-did the eyes and i’ve just realised that the one of the right looks completely wrong, so i would really appreciate some feedback so i can make myself a lot better as an artist. Judging from other peoples entries i got no chance of winning haha but it’s so fun just participating in this! EDIT: Okay i’ve decided to do a full body pose, relaxed of course. I don’t usually do this so could anyone point out any issues with the anatomy, pose errors that they can find? would be much helpful! thanks guys EDIT EDIT: Okay from the feedback, i’ve shifted the facial features more slightly to the right. Better? im not the best with anatomy, im still learning just as you are but i think the problem with your eye is that its not on an angle her face is at 3/4 view but both eyes are front on. ahh yeah i did try that, but it just felt that her eyes looked too far apart. I’ll keep on trying to redo it, thanks for your input =) Faces are the one of the hardest things to get right. It took me months before I started getting the hang of it. I recommend to keep practicing the face structure. There are some good books out there, it’s just a matter of finding them. The book I started on was by Jack Hamm “Drawing the Head and Figure” and I also use Chris Hart’s “Drawing Cutting Edge Anatomy” book. Both are very very good books. I would try to find copies of those to use as reference. I still do and will have to for a long time. Thanks Havok, i’ll definitely look into those books you’ve suggested with where you are now if you were to remake her what would change? umm probably everything hahah. However for this comp i will be changing the face and also adjusting the armor, will also be working more on the background i guess. I know how you feel. I left my piece last night in a bad mood as I could not get the face right and I kept screwing it up no matter what i did! Keep it up you are getting there

Beware the Python generators Generators and list comprehension in Python are very closely related. After all, each gives you an iterable. However, I really wish that generators came with a “DANGER: Handle with care!” label. The problem is that while the syntax for creating a generator vs a list differs in exactly two characters, generators have side effects that are both subtle and easy to overlook. Let’s take a look at some code: items = get_items() for x in items: print x for x in items: print x Does that code look reasonable to you? It does, until I tell you that get_items() returns a generator. You see, generators have an internal pointer to the index and cannot be reset. Thus the sequence of items will only be printed once. This can be solved by convention. Some libraries will prefix the function’s name with an “i” converting get_items to iget_items(). The built-in Python function xrange(), a generator version of range(), is another example of trying to solve this problem with convention. Let’s look at another piece of code: try: numbers = (int(x) for x in line.split(',')) except ValueError: numbers = [] # Handle the case where the input is invalid for num in numbers: print num That looks reasonably good, no? Well, generators are lazy, they have to be. Thus number = … line defines the generator, but not a single call to int() is made at that point. The calls to int() are made during the iteration, while the for loop is executing, which is outside of the try/except block. There are several solutions that exist here, ranging from using a list comprehension instead to placing the for loop inside the try/except block. Another difference between lists/tuples/sets/other sequence types and generators is that generators have no length. Calling len(get_items()) would result in an error. This is by design: generators may be infinite, and thus it does not make sense to ask what their length is. I love generators as much as the next guy. However, I think care must be taken when using them. My rules of thumb are: First, if you are using a generator to optimize for speed: don’t. In casual observation they are indeed faster than lists, but lists are so flipping fast already that unless you are processing millions of items, it will make no difference. Exception to this rule is when you are in fact processing millions of items or you routinely need to create a lot of iterables in your hot loop and your profiler tells you that this is the bottleneck. Second, if you are optimizing for memory usage, use generators only if you have a significant number of records. A list of 100 ints will make little difference. A list of ten million log entries is going to cost you some RAM. Third, never return a generator from a library method, or any type of opaque object. Generators should mostly be used for intermediate iterables until a final result is obtained. Avoid the confusion of get_items() returning a generator. Lastly, use generators if you must. They are the only way to create infinite iterables, and they do have small speed and large memory advantages over other iterables. If you use them, put in several safeguards: make sure to document the fact that a generator object is used in multiple places, create a convention for what these objects (and the corresponding functions) will be called and test, test, test. As I mentioned at the beginning of this post: generators should come with a warning to not surprise unsuspecting maintainers of your code.

Just when you think you don’t have a blog post brewing, a big one suddenly appears out of nowhere! I hadn’t decided if I was going to do a post for today’s Sepia Saturday when I had to nip out for milk late this afternoon and I just went to the nearest shop, the Co-Op in Ormiston. As I drove up the Main Street, the sun was shining on the familiar old market cross standing slap-bang in the middle of the street and I thought it looked better than usual in the low sunshine. I snapped it with my phone and thought no more of it – I just enjoy taking random photos that I like and phones make that a breeze. I lived in Beech Cottage (the little white house you can just see on the left) for a couple of years in the late 90′s, and I’ve had a strong connection with the village of Ormiston throughout my life. Our local parish Church was the one in Ormiston when I was a child (not that we went very often) – and the village had our nearest swing park which was 2 1/2 miles away from the farm, so the four of us kids had Special Outings with my Porter Grandparents to give Mum peace for an hour – a rare treat for all of us! These grandparents are on Mum’s side – not the relatively carefree tree-climbing granny you already know from Dad’s side. Back home (with milk) I thought about Sepia Saturday and went to one of my favourite websites for looking at miscellaneous old Scottish stuff – RCAHMS to see what they had on Ormiston Cross. A lot of their data can only be accessed in person, however, they do have some interesting things online (have a look if you have any Scottish connections) and I found this photo Item SC 1164189 Caption General view from W. Notes Scanned from a glass plate. Category SCANNED IMAGES Object type Digital image This is a copy of EL 1779 Person B C Clayton Role Photographer The original cobblestones have been uncovered since this photo was taken (shame it’s not dated), and if you look very closely down the at the far end of the Main Street, you can see another monument. This is dedicated to Robert Moffat (1795 – 1883), the Scottish missionary and explorer (his daughter, Mary, married “Dr Livingston, I Presume”). My Granny Porter claimed that we were the “great great great great great grandchildren” of Robert Moffat, and we paid homage at the monument on some visits to the swing park. The monument bears an image of the great man and his even greater beard. My Granny’s paternal grandmother was a Moffat, and somehow a (dare I say “tenuous”) connection had been made between Robert and her granny, and by the time it reached us it was Law. Needless to say, in all my years as a genealogist, I have been unable to prove any connection and suspect it is highly unlikely that there is one, beyond sharing the Moffat surname. However, we did get to have a go on the see-saw and the swings There’s now a plaque on the East side of the railings giving more info on the Cross I’m very pleased that I wasn’t subjected to public exposure of malefactors It’s Sepia Saturday – check out the other contributors’ interesting old photos, and why not have a go at posting one of your own – it doesn’t have to be sepia The swings were definitely worth it – even if there is no connection! There is so often a thread of truth to family lore that you may yet find the link – perhaps a very, very distant one. Fascinating! I’m glad the cross still exists, it could have been easily vandalized or destroyed during all these centuries. This is interesting information about the cross, malefactor or not.. Shame you are unable to prove the Moffat link. Very interesting…and all because you ran out of milk! It’s nice to see the cobblestones revealed too. I couldn’t get one of the links to work Jo; it may have been just me, but the great man and his beard one took me off somehere else.Thought I’d mention it anyway. Thanks for letting me know, Little Nell – I’ve uploaded one of my own pics of “the beard” instead Jo As I was viewing your “cross”, the radio in the background came up with the program, “Back to the Bible”, a message there perhaps????? Spooky! Robert Moffat translated the Bible (it took him 30 years) into the language of the Kuruman people. Quite an achievement for a humble Scottish gardener I like the Ormiston Cross too, but it’s the Robert Moffat memorial that caught my eye. I had a childhood friend – also named Moffat – who told me that he was a descendant of Robert. However, this I believed, and still do, since we were living in the right part of the world at the time (Rhodesia), and it was probably his great-grandfather who became Prime Minister of the country. I have a CDV of Robert Moffat which I wrote about on Photo-Sleuth a few years ago. Hi Brett – that’s a cracking picture of Robert and his beard! I think your friend is more likely to be related than I am, given that none of Robert’s sons seemed to have returned to Scotland. I really should investigate his grandsons now Jo There’s a tradition that needs to be brought back: the public exposure of malefactors. Although I’m not sure the graffiti painters etc, would care. They might like it. Yes, there’s “kudos” attached for some malefactors these days, rather than Shame. More’s the pity…

It’s been a while since we’ve visited the Library of Congress’s Prints and Photographs Online Special Collections, but today I’ve a special treat: a few selections from the Library’s 420 digitized images of the Tissandier Collection, which it purchased in 1930. Brothers Gaston and Albert Tissandier, 19th century French balloonists, collected balloon and other flying machine documents ranging from technical illustrations to cartoons. The Library describes the holdings:. And on the images’ public domain status: Publication and other forms of distribution: Permitted. There are no known restrictions on the use of images in this collection. Credit Line:Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, [reproduction number, e.g., LC-DIG-ppmsca-02438] Here’s an early design from 1783 for a balloon equipped with sails [Credit--Library of Congress, P&P Division, ppmsca 02314]: Next, a 1790 design by Stoupy Bijou for an airship navigational system project… consisting of five balloons fastened to a sixty foot mast, a rudder, two 12 foot long oars, and two polygonal vanes to control the rise and fall of the airship. (Source: A.G. Renstrom, LC staff, 1981-82.) [Credit--Library of Congress, P&P Division LC-DIG-ppmsca-02516]: Considerable progress had been achieved by the time of the 1878 ascent from Tuilleries, France, of Henry Giffard’s balloon [Credit--Library of Congress, P&P Division LC-DIG-cph 3a14342]: During that same era, Albert Tissandier prepared these five technical illustrations [that] show network of ropes and apparatus for securing multi-passenger platforms on captive balloons; arrangement of ropes for netting; and an elaborate hydrogen manufacturing and pumping station for inflating balloons [Credit--Library of Congress, P&P Division ppmsca-02510]: Albert may have also drawn this skyscape of a lunar halo and luminescent cross he observed with his brother during their balloon Zénith’s long distance flight from Paris to Arcachon in March, 1875. The illustration appeared in his brother Gaston’s book, Histoire de mes Ascensions(1878) [Credit--Library of Congress, P&P Division ppmsca-07435]: Balloon aëronauts Albert Tissandier (left) and Gaston Tissandier (right) [Credit--Library of Congress, P&P Division ppmsca-02274]:

Tue, 08/07/2007 - 03:28 — Yuri You are destined to boost your traffic, links and profit by writing great articles and posts. However, one of the most important factors that influence the success of your content, becides content quality and promotion, is the post title (headline). That's why you need to write great headlines to motivate your readers to read, talk and link about you. Use this 'how to write titles' list to build your readership: - How to Write a Killer "How To" Article That Gets Attention - A great post on how to write a "How to" title and post, from the copywriting guru, Brian Clark of CopyBlogger.com. - The Cheater's Guide to Writing Great Headlines - Heed to advice from Brian, who suggests keeping a swipe file of the headlines that worked (like you can do from the examples below). - 5 Simple Ways to Open Your Blog Post With a Bang - Learn five essential ways to improve your headlines. Yup, from CopyBlogger.com. - Why Some People Almost Always Write Great Post Titles - Learn to write successful titles like a pro. CopyBlogger.com strikes again. - 7 Reasons Why List Posts Will Always Work - List titles (from CopyBlogger.com) always work, because they: - show expertise - communicate well - show a solution - help identify readers with you - are so powerful, when mixed with other types, that it is almost unfair - are ideal to promote free content - have large numbers of solutions that hypnotize - Traffic Driving Blog Titles - A concise guide on how to create titles, including tips, such as: - fear factor - list - call to action - myth - secret - gossip - bonus: linkbait titles/ideas for real estate - Microcontent: How to Write Headlines, Page Titles, and Subject Lines - Write titles with small nuances of reading online to get visitors to read your titles and stories. Advice from Jacob Nielsen. - Web Publishing Tip: Write Clear Titles - Read a concise, more palatable, than Jacob's, description on how to write clear headlines: - clean: use words your visitors use and plain language - short: shorter, than 10 words - the shorter, the better - meaningful: keep your title to the point - How to Write eBay Auction Titles That Sell - Understand what questions your customers have and provide a solution to their problem with the title. - "If You Write Book Titles Like This, You'll Have a Bestseller" - Use a couple of tips to write great book (and not only book) titles: - grab their attention with strong words - tap into their interest by communicating it in the title - create anticipation by listing the number of steps, promising results - overcome objections by making your book/post seem as a solution to all problems - Titles that Tell a Whole Story - Write titles that tell a story to instantly captivate the readers! - The Cheater’s Guide to Writing Great Headlines - Read why the swipe file is the best thing after sliced bread for headlines from Brian Clark. - How to Write Eye-Popping Headlines While Exhausted - Tired from writing your content and can't improve the headline? Use these tips to give your title a second chance: - from Top 10 to Top 5 (note: though Top 7 work better) - be braver - spend more time - use available tools - stick to the classics - The Best Headlines Are Not Just Written for Search Engines or Digg - Write titles for the people and you'll create titles for anything, including the social media and the search engines. - Writing Effective Blog Post Titles - Some write witty titles, but it makes more sense to write descriptive titles, which suit both humans and the search engines, because they have informative words there. - Linkbaiting a payday loan site - Read a detailed how to guide on creating a link-worthy title. Provided by Lyndon Antcliff (Lyndoman) of CornwallSEO.com. - Let a woman teach you the secrets of Linkbait - Understand what drives people to click on the headlines from the womens' magazines: - solve a problem with your title - use a number in the headline - target the right audience precisely - write short and to the point titles - read womens' magazines for more headlines (just don't get caught) And while you are there, thank Lyndon for this great advice! - Titles, Descriptions and Digg - Title is the most important thing for your piece of content to share. Learn how to write them for Digg, thanks to Neil Patel of PronetAdvertising. - How to Write the Right Title for Digg - Learn the 25 most popular words on Digg and use them in your titles from Muhammad Saleem (of PronetAdvertising). - Digg-a-meter (zip file) - Measure the chances of your story appearing on the front page by feeding the title and the summary to this smart program. While not ideal (humans are better, so far), it will give you some data to start from. Thanks to PronetAdvertising for the tip. - Writing Headlines for Regular Readers, Search Engines, and Social Media - Use the six techniques from Muhammad Saleem to make your titles more attractive to the social media: - Additional Information - Simple word rearrangement - Simple word omission - Presentation as Fact - Digg bait word addition - Sensationalism - 10 Sure-Fire Headline Formulas That Work - Excellent formulas, again, from Brian Clark. - 7 More Sure-Fire Headline Templates That Work - Seven more eye-catching title patterns from Brian Clark. - 5 More Sure-Fire Headline Templates You Can Use at Your Own Risk - Five more eye-catching title patterns from Brian Clark: - Warning: [blank] - How [blank] Made Me [blank] - Are You [blank]? - [Blank] Ways to [blank] - If You’re [blank], You Can [blank] - 5 Sure-Fire Social Media Headline Formulas That Work - Five headline formulas for social sites, such as Digg, from Neil Patel, of PronetAdvertising.com - 10 headline formulas that work like magic - 10 formulas on how to create mind-blowing headlines from Miguel Alvarez of CopyWriting.com - Eight Examples of Profitable Headlines Every Web Professional Must Memorize Today! - Great eight formulas for successful headlines from Andrew Nietlich - Secret Formulas for Writing Headlines That Sell - Great tips on writing succesful titles from Shelley Lowery, including: - what you need to remember when writing titles - five human needs that need to be answered (physological, safety/security, affiliation, esteem and self-actualization) - kinds of titles to use (how to, question, command, news, testimonials) - a list of mind-grabbing words (including Breakthrough, Incredible, Love, Ultimate, etc) - a list of the most powerful words in the English language I'd personally use these two lists with all the most powerful headling formulas. Write titles like a wizard! A must read for anyone in writing, definitely. - 8 Basic Headline Types - Learn about eight headling formulas you can use. Quite useful to keep in mind some general patterns, on which all the headline formulas are built: - the direct headline - indirect headline - news - how to - question - command - "reasons why" - and testimonial headline - 25 More Headline Formulas That Work - Skellie has plenty of proven formulas to fast on, including: - The appeal to our fear of failure - The love it or hate it number + text combo - The number + assertion of superiority - Get 200 Killer Headlines - 200 Killer headlines from the media to learn from. Lyndon scores again. - 65 Headlines to Jump Start your Linkbait - 65 headline examples from the newspapers: learn from the pros. Again, from Lyndon Antcliff of CornwallSEO.com. - Examples of a headline - Examples of catchy headlines from Lyndon Antcliff, of CornwallSEO.com - Example Headlines for Linkbait Campaign - Check out the terrific examples of linkbait titles about chocolate from Lyndon. - How Marty Weintraub got me to click - A showcase of a catchy headline ("Drive 28,402 Extra Visitors by Blogging for 48 Minutes"), explained in simple terms. Numerous tips to use when writing headlines. - Andy Hagans’ Ultimate Guide to Linkbaiting and SMM - Reread the Ultimate Linkbaiting Guide to Social Marketing and see how Andy runs through the CopyBlogger headline formulas. - How to Quickly and Easily Use the World's Easiest & Most Effective Headline Formula - An example of "How To" titles that work great, such as: - How to Develop.. - How to Improve Your.. - How to Conquer.. - How to Keep Your.. - How to Enjoy.. - Headlines that work - 2 classics you can use - Excellent headline examples (and two formulas) that may help you, when all the other variants don't help you. From Troy White. - Writing Headlines for Regular Readers, Search Engines, and Social Media - Use the advice from Muhammad Saleem (again) to write better titles for traffic: - write good titles - write good titles and subtitles - write short titles - use keywords in titles - use keywords at the beginning of the title - Do Keywords in Post Titles Really Matter? - Learn how titles for SEO and humans work hand in hand to get you traffic from Brian Clark of CopyBlogger.com - Best Practices for Title Tags - Read the 9 title best practices from SEOmoz.org to get more traffic: - brand your traffic - limit length to 65 characters (including spaces) or less - incorporate keyword phrases - target longer phrases if they're relevant - use a divider - focus on clickthrough & conversion rates - target searcher intent - be consistent - repeat in the headline - SEO For Journalists: Headlines & Body Copy (Part 2 of 5) - Read 10 more tips from SEOmoz to improve your titles. Especially useful for journalists and bloggers, it seems. Helps for really useful (non-linkbait) content. - 7 Tips For Writing Optimized Title Tags - Though basic title tips, Steve has included the tip that even Rand doesn't use: using page titles before company names in the title tag. - Sure-Fire Headlines for SEO - While there are plenty of posts on how to write titles for social marketing, writing titles for SEO is different. - Titles and Search Engine Marketing - Read about various cases of titles that help with search marketing from Shari Thurow. How to Write Mind-Blowing Titles like CopyBlogger How to Write Titles for Social Marketing like Lyndoman Write Successful Titles with Headline Formulas like Brian Clark and many more. Learn From Headline Examples to Write Titles like Andy Hagans How to Write Titles for Traffic like Muhammad Saleem Undefined Topics: Great List Yuri this is a really great collection of links. I don't think I've ever come across a link list specifically about writing titles before. I know I've read a few of these already and they were all good so I'm looking forward to reading the rest. Very impressive list! Spunn, Very impressive list! Spunn, Stumbled & Dugg ;) Nice work! This is a fantastic list. I've given the URL to my friend who's great a pumping out good content for our new website (not launched yet) but is still trying to learn about this kind of stuff. Thanks :) Thanks. Considering the title is one of the most important elements of a page (both for humans and bots), I thought it'd make a good resource to compile a list of posts to work on them. Now if more people voted for it on their social sites :) Holy Comprehensive! Wow. Very comprehansive list - thank you. Spunn. Apparently, great content Apparently, great content and title doesn't warrant instant success. Need some community to link to it, vote on social sites and so on ;) It's all here! Thanks for taking the time to put together this fantastic list of resources! Thanks Thanks for posting this great selection of links. I see I have some reading ahead of me. Let's Not Forget - Quality Content Is King Let's not get lost in where only 20% of our focus should be, and only after we have created content worthy of such things...that's how we really improve the web... To get what I'm saying, read - Michael Erik, MBA Quality Blog Critic "The Best Things In Life Are Free" Eric, I have said the same Eric, I have said the same thing in the first sentence of this post. However, the title is what is read about the post and that's why it needs to be attractive. This becomes absolutely obvious, once you play with social marketing some, where title [and description] is sometimes the only thing the social site members read before voting on the story. Also, the title tag is the most important element on the page for the search engines, so at least having keywords in there will be helpful. I Fully Agree Yuri I agree with you as well. I just wish I didn't have to spend so much time on things that take me away from content creation. Since I do, your article and links are definitely highly useful. Thanks for the all-in-one info on headlines and titles! - Michael Erik, MBA Quality Blog Critic "The Best Things In Life Are Free" Great Compilation! Thanks for the mention and this terrific compilation of headline resources. I am a huge fan of Brian Clark and found many of the other references very helpful as well. You definitely introduced me to more must read copywriting blogs. Thanks. Glad I could help, Mary. Glad I could help, Mary. Add new comment

%. Canonicalization Issues - "What?" - "Ca-no-ni-ca-lization/canon-ica-lization/canonic-a-liz-ation issues." It is when your website can be accessed with www and without www in front of it (such as improvetheweb.com and) and you, the visitors and the search engines are not redirected to only one version. To the visitors, this doesn't matter a lot, unless they prefer to identify website addresses with 'www' or without (there are pros and cons of either approach). The issue is that for the search engines, both versions are two different versions of the website, because the search engines index URLs, not websites as a whole. Why is it a problem? As the search engines see two websites, the number of pages with the same content doubles. As your visitors link to either of the versions randomly, both of them will have average amount of links. Of course, the search engines will show one of the versions, but they will only count links that point to one of the versions, to which a specific page belongs to. For example, if the page is, the search engines will count links that point to this page - most likely from the domain and sites that linked to that URL. For the search engines to take into account all the links that point to your website (such as and), you need to redirect visitors and the search engines from one version to another. Thus, the search engines won't be taking into account all your naturally acquired links and won't be showing your pages high in the SERPs as they rightfully deserve. Why redirect? By redirect the search engines to only one version of the site, we confirm their suspicion that we only have only one version of the website (not two different sites with similar content). This way, they treat links to both www and non-www versions as links to one website and thus, which ever version you redirect to, gets a boost of incoming link value from the redirected version. That's why you'll get more visitors from the search engines, which will lead to more customers, links and profit within a week or two (Google, others may be slower) by 10-15% (the speed relates to how fast the search engines react to the redirect and whether the version you redirect to is fully indexed). If the version you are redirecting to is not indexed for one reason or another (except outright ban), you'll need to wait while Google and other SEs index the site and start taking all links into account. This may take a week more or longer, depending on how large your site is. In this case, and if the version you are redirecting from is stronger (has more links), you may notice a slight drop of traffic, which will later return to normal and start increasing. Even though the search engines tell us only to do what is right for the visitors and want us to ask ourselves "would I do it if the search engines didn't exist?", this particular improvement is designed to specifically help the search engines understand how our website works, also bringing more search engine visitors to the website. So what to do? Naturally, you need to only have one version by redirecting one of the site versions to another. If you want a shorter domain and your customers will be able to memorize and identify your address with the web, then you can go without www. However, if you want to make it clear that the address belongs to the Web, use the www version. Opinions split on which one to use, really. To redirect from one version to another, you either need to edit your httpd.conf file, if you use a dedicated server, or update your .htaccess file in the root of the domain. Edit httpd.conf of Apache configuration Ron Carnell suggests using two blocks in the httpd.conf file: ‹VirtualHost 192.xxx.xxx.xxx> ServerName domain.com DocumentRoot /home/domain/www ‹/VirtualHost> ‹VirtualHost 192.xxx.xxx.xxx> ServerName Redirect 301 / ‹/VirtualHost> Basically, you only need to insert the correctly tweaked code in the corresponding part of your httpd.conf file (make sure you back it up first). Please note that if you go this route, you'll need to tweak both parts, if one of the details changes. If you are not familiar with the terminology and the whole process of fiddling with the Apache server, you'd rather designate this to your web admin. If you read what Ron Carnell has said about this issue (you really should), you'll gain more insight why and how this is done. Edit .htaccess in the domain root But if you don't control the server, you can use the three lines of code: How to redirect to www from non-www version: RewriteEngine On RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^yourdomain\.com [nc] RewriteRule (.*) [R=301,L] (replace yourdomain.com with your domain) How to redirect from www version to non-www version: RewriteEngine On RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} !^yourdomain\.com [nc] RewriteRule (.*) [R=301,L] (replace yourdomain.com with your domain) Note: using .htaccess adds overhead to the server, since it'll be processed on every request to the server. However, large websites are bound to use dedicated servers, so it is pretty smooth here. The .htaccess file is a file named .htaccess in the root of your domain. It has various directives used to tweak server performance. You can edit it, insert the corresponding three lines of code at the top of it (change yourdomain.com to your domain) and upload it back to the server. To test this, you'll need to refresh the page in the browser. If everything loads fine and you can go from one version to another by entering the redirected URL, it works. If you get a 503 error, you need to make sure you have inserted the code correctly. If you can't do this after repeated attempts, remove your edition to let the server work again and contact a professional. You can also read a mod_rewrite manual from Apache about redirecting with .htaccess. Conclusion Frankly, it amazes how many sites I see often that don't redirect to only one of the versions, thus leaving plenty of money on the table. The thing is, the amount of money doesn't matter, because it takes a couple of minutes of work to implement the changes by the web developer. And the funniest thing is that depending on the site total traffic, the profit increase can be very noticeable, comparable to general marketing activities, such as increase of conversions, promotions, etc. You know I'm surprised at You. Same here. It is so easy to Same here. It is so easy to check for it (type in both versions and see if either redirects to another) and so easy to implement, it is simply amazing. Confusing Sentance use I! Gabby, thanks fo the heads Gabby, thanks fo the heads up. I guess I need to spend more time and effort checking the posts. Though, these 'to' and 'from' thing can get confusing at times ;) I have fixed the wordings. Thanks again. thanx a lot, i've implied thanx a lot, i've implied this SEO on softwaredl.info , my client is happy though You are welcome, though it You are welcome, though it doesn't look like it works on the site you specified. Going to www .domain.info should go to .domain.info or visa versa. .htaccess If. Thanks for the awesome Thanks for the awesome addition, Ian. I guess diving further can't hurt, eh :) You can also read about SEO and Google at Sebastian's Pamphlets. Add new comment

T20 WC: Team India departs for Sri Lanka Wed 12 Sep, 2012 ANI 1:39 | 420 views Members of the India and New Zealand cricket teams departed from Chennai to Sri Lanka for the ICC Twenty20 World cup. Off-spinner, Ravichandran Ashwin, said that the team is happy with the comeback of Yuvraj. India T20 squad for ICC Twenty20 World cup include Mahendra Singh. IOC drops wrestling from 2020 Olympics, wrestlers in shock Wed 13 Feb, 2013 ANI 1:38 | 0 views Indian wrestling fraternity has expressed shock and surprise at the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) decision to drop the sport from the 2020 Olympic Games. Yogeshwar Dutt, who won the bronze medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics in the Men's 60kg freestyle wrestling, called the decision wrong and said he was saddened by it. Meanwhile, Sushil Kumar, who won silver in London Olympics in 66 kg freestyle event, was unable to come to terms with the development. Former wrestler Kartar Singh, who won gold med IOC drops wrestling from 2020 Olympic Games Tue 12 Feb, 2013 ANI 1:53 | 0 views In a surprise move, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has dropped Wrestling from the programme of the 2020 Games. According to reports, the IOC executive board decided to retain modern pentathlon and remove wrestling instead. "The EB recommended that wrestling not be included on the list of core sports," the IOC said in a statement. IPL 6 Auction: Mumbai Indians pay whopping Rs. 5.3 crore for Glenn Maxwell Sun 3 Feb, 2013 ANI 1:08 | 668 views Sachin Tendulkar-led Mumbai Indians paid a whopping Rs.5.3 crore for emerging Australian all-rounder Glenn Maxwell for the sixth edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) that will be held later this year. Maxwell was snapped up by the Mumbai-based franchise even as he scored a duck against the West Indies in a one-day international in Perth today. The Mumbai Indians also bought former Australian skipper Ricky Ponting for his base price of Rs 2.1 crore, while the Bangalore-based Royal Challengers paid th Women's Cricket World Cup: Pak team arrives in India Mon 28 Jan, 2013 ANI 1:22 | 0 views Pakistan's women cricket team has arrived in Cuttack to take part in the upcoming Women's Cricket World Cup amid tight security, against a backdrop of protests for their participation in the tournament after the recent incident of ceasefire violation by Pakistan. Around 600 security personnel were deployed around the airport and a team of young girls were present at the airport to welcome the team. The team's manager Aayasa Ashaar expressed his gratitude to the people of India for according a warm welcome Cricket fans hope for India's win in the match against England Sat 19 Jan, 2013 ANI 1:38 | 178 views Scores of Cricket fans in Ranchi hope for India's victory in the third ODI match today against England. Many Cricket fans turned up at the stadium as this would be Team India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni's first match in his hometown Ranchi. Apart from fans, a group of priests also performed special prayer at a local temple dedicated to the Hindu god Hanuman. Special hymns were chanted by the priests as they prayed for the victory of team India. England beat India by nine runs in closely fought contest in Four in a row: Messi named world's best soccer player Tue 8 Jan, 2013 ANI 2:01 | 233 views Argentina's Lionel Messi, has been named the world's best soccer player for an unprecedented fourth year running. The award, officially known as the FIFA Ballon d'Or, came after the Barcelona player scored a remarkable 91 goals in 2012, a record for a calendar year. Real Madrid and Portugal forward Cristiano Ronaldo was second, and Barcelona and Spain midfielder Andres Iniesta was third. Meanwhile, people on the streets of Buenos Aires were excited about Messi's latest accomplishment. Messi was voted FIFA Javed Miandad cancels trip to India Fri 4 Jan, 2013 ANI 1:49 | 264 views Former Pakistan cricketer, Javed Miandad has called off his visit to Delhi in the wake of a raging controversy in India over giving him visa for the trip. Miandad was earlier scheduled to watch the third and final ODI between India and Pakistan in Delhi, on January 6. Ever since news came out that Miandad, whose son Junaid is married to underworld don Dawood Ibrahim's daughter, a controversy broke out in India over government giving him visa for the visit. Pakistan Cricket Board however did not want the fo

We spent the last 7 days in Tennessee on a whirlwind wedding trip that turned into a full-length vacation, thanks to car trouble. No, not our own car trouble. We were going to hurry home so as not to miss a Texas visit by my Tennessee sis and her family, but their own car trouble kept them home, so we stayed longer than planned. This gave the girls time to hit a few thrift stores and expand their collection. While were there, I discovered that the old lady’s still got it: I jogged 3 miles nonstop. I guess I should confess that Perry and 2 of the girls were walking beside me while I jogged, so you can adjust your admiration and/or envy levels accordingly. Nonetheless, I was thrilled. This was the very sort of jogging that made me kiss the pavement in woozy despair last year, and I was sure I had lost the ability altogether after a full year of being a quitter. Now I’m jazzed – almost – about taking up jogging again. In other news, I have proof that I am One Hot Mama. I may have slightly set fire to my bra. While wearing it. I blame the jogging, indirectly, because that caused me to be wearing a highly flammable cotton jogging bra and no nursing pads. I was using a hair blower to dry a milk spot, and got it a little too close. When I smelled smoke and saw the scorched spots, I decided it was dry enough. You never knew I was a bra burner, did you? Take that, patriarchy hating feminists! Incidentally, Zulily has cotton nursing bras and camisoles on sale today 2/$11.99. Just in case you happen to have burned any lately and need replacements. Recent searches that lured flies into our web on the web: Ok, you know what? I see nothing funny. Maybe that’s because I just drove straight through the night and am now going on 2 hours of snoozing between 6-8 AM. Maybe our blog had a really boring week. This week it’s your turn. Did your blog receive any hits from interesting searches? Good blog articles I’ve read over the past week: [recreading] LOL! I’d been wondering about the details since you mentioned the scorched bra on FB. The link for the wood pellets didn’t work for me. Was it user error or the link? I think this is the correct link: Far and away, the most searched phrase that brings people to my blog is some version of, “what the enemy meant/intended for evil god meant for good.” That brings them to this page: which, incidentally, is information I found out from YOUR blog over five years ago. The other one this week is: “more than I can handle”: Actually yes… yesterday I learned that my blog is the very first hit on Google for the search term: “christians-are you weary?i sure am-constant spiritual attacks oct 21-22 2011″ LOL I am sure that will pull lots of traffic to my blog I love the circle of Converse! Great colors…my girls have many as well…. Glad you didn’t burst into flames! sounds like you had an….adventure? no funny search terms on my blog this week other than “birthday tablescalps” EWWW! i guess halloween IS coming? Careful! I burned my bra cooking last year, and ended up in hospital. But it made people laugh, anyway… Awesome about the unexpectedly extended vacation. I had to laugh about the bra burning – that’s a new one! I always suspected a liberal feminist was hiding in you somewhere! LOL! Just kidding. Thanks for the reminder on the 100 days of Christmas posts! I bookmarked it a while back then forgot it. This post made me LOL. Thanks so much for that And the most interesting search term on my blog is “pig by a pond” haha. This is so funny! Sounds like something I would have done if I had those circumstances. Wow. Thanks so much for the link! I love to be liked!

Because the issue is so important, and because Judge Magnus-Stinson took precisely the opposite position in her presentation on Blakely at the Judicial Conference at the end of September, I 'm going to pull out the argument regarding Blakely and consecutive sentences: Blakely also affects other aspects of Indiana's felony sentencing system. Not only does the Code unconstitutionally permit trial courts to increase the sentence for one felony based on aggravating facts found by the judge alone, section 35-50-1-2 also permits trial courts to impose consecutive sentences for multiple felonies based upon that same determination. I.C. 35-50-1-2 ("The court may consider the aggravating and mitigating circumstances in IC 35-38-1-7.1(b) and IC 35-38-1-7.1(c) in making a determination under this subsection."). In Ortiz v. State, this Court reiterated that "[i]n order to impose consecutive sentences, a trial court must find at least one aggravating circumstance." 766 N.E.2d 370, 377 (Ind. 2002) (citing Jones v. State, 705 N.E.2d 452, 455 (Ind. 1999)). Thus, the imposition of consecutive sentences in Indiana, just like an increase of a sentence for one felony, is permitted under the Code only after the trial court -- not a jury -- makes a determination of fact. Because the end result of this practice is an increase in the maximum sentence a judge "may impose without any additional findings," Blakely, 124 S. Ct. at 2537 (alteration in original), the imposition of consecutive sentences based on judicially found aggravators is equally unconstitutional. Footnote 3 also takes an interesting position about what to do after Blakely aggravators have been set aside: Nevertheless, defendants retain the statutory right to present and argue mitigating circumstances at sentencing. See Ind. Code § 35-38-1-7.1(c). Trial courts are required to credit any proffered mitigating circumstances that are significant and clearly supported by the record. Dowdell v. State, 720 N.E.2d 1146, 1154 (Ind. 1999). If mitigating circumstances are found and no aggravating circumstances exist, a sentence below the presumptive must be imposed. See Laughner v. State, 769 N.E.2d 1149, 1167 (Ind. Ct. App. 2002), trans. denied.The State's response is due November 4th, and I hope to be able to put it up shortly thereafter.

NASA's 'Mohawk Guy' and 18 Other Famous Hairstyle Appropriators The Curiosity, NASA's latest Mars rover, touched down on the Red Planet on August 6, and what was a pretty gee-whiz moment for science fans soon flared into a game of Who's That Guy? "That Guy" was a NASA control-room knob-twiddler wearing a mohawk haircut, and since nobody knew who he was, he became "Mohawk Guy." Now, Mohawk Guy, real name Bobak Ferdowsi, is the nerd heartthrob who threatens to become a bigger story than the Curiosity. So mainstream America has decided the mohawk is cool again. But does this hairstyle, other than its name, have anything to do with Mohawk Indians anymore? We asked Ray Cook, Mohawk, ICTMN's opinions editor, who told us the traditional warrior's hairstyle is better described as a "scalp lock." "The Mohawk is known as scalp lock because it makes it very hard for an enemy to lift one's hair for a trophy," he says. "But, on a practical note—we are a woodland people, bugs and ticks like to hide in lots of hair, a scalp-lock frustrates them too." Cook points to the paintings of Mohawk artist John Thomas as illustrations of the pre-Colonial Mohawk scalp lock. It's significant that the subject of the painting is a lacrosse player wearing a scalp lock—Cook says the haircut is "for those who do battle. Which today means athletes." Wes Studi also wears a fairly authentic scalp lock as Magua in The Last of the Mohicans (and incidentally, in the UK, a mohawk haircut is known as a mohican): The mohawk first gained popularity among non-Indians in modern times toward the end of World War II, when it was adopted by the "Filthy Thirteen," a unit of the 101st Airborne Division—and yes, the inspiration for the highly fictionalized 1967 film The Dirty Dozen. Sergeant Jake McNiece of Ponca City, Oklahoma, who is said to be of Native heritage, started the trend—according to a news article from 1994, he joked that it was a Native tradition, but really wore the haircut for sanitary reasons. Some of the members of the Filthy Thirteen followed suit, and a photograph of two mohawk-ed paratroopers applying face paint before a mission was published in Stars & Stripes. But the practice was not widespread. Jazz musician Sonny Rollins went through a mohawk phase. In 2009, Rollins told NPR that "[t." Military haircuts, though, are not far off from mohawks to begin with—particularly the high-and-tight and the extreme version of it known as a recon. Again we turn to Ray Cook, who served as a U.S. Marine in the mid-70s, who says it's another connection between the scalp lock and warrior culture. "The Marine Recon fought the scariest war of all," he says. "Behind enemy lines, undetected as much as possible. To the enemy they were a scourge, a ghost. And the enemy taking trophies of snipers and recon dead was well known, to prove the recon were merely enemy to be treated like dogs, to be proved mortal. So the Recons would do all they could to protect themselves...and to bring back their wounded, and their dead intact. Having a scalp lock might make you, or part of you, less likely to end up your enemy's trophy." So it makes sense that an ex-Marine gearing up for a personal war might take a hairstyling cue from the recon boys—which is how the story unfolds in Taxi Driver. For Robert de Niro's Travis Bickle, the mohawk haircut is a signifier of his deluded transformation into a vigilante. The next to take up the mohawk were punk rock musicians and their fans—Joe Strummer of The Clash grew a mohawk in the band's Combat Rock phase: If you watched MTV during that same period you may remember two female singers who were also famous for their mohawks. One was Wendy O. Williams of the Plasmatics... ...and the other was Annabella Lwin, the teenaged singer of Bow Wow Wow, whose big hit was a remake of the song "I Want Candy": The mohawk came back in the '90s; rockers recently wearing it include members of Rancid... Adrian Young of No Doubt... ...and Travis Barker of Blink-182. In 2010, Jamaican dancehall star and Grammy winner Sean Paul shocked his fans by doing away with his trademark cornrows in favor of a mohawk, which (for reasons unknown to us) he called a "speehawk": The actor and wrestler Mr. T sported a mohawk that, along with copious gold jewelry, became his signature look, although he maintained that his hairstyle was inspired not by American Indians but by a photo of African Mandinka warriors in National Geographic. The mohawk has also become popular among athletes—it's one of many hairdos David Beckham has experimented with: Clint Mathis came out wearing a motivational mohawk for a game against South Korea in the 2002 World Cup. And perhaps it worked: He scored a goal in a 1-1 tie that proved adequate to get the American team out of the group stage. In 2008, members of the Tampa Bay Rays wore mohawks—dubbed "Rayhawks"—as did many of their fans. And now we have "Mohawk Guy" Bobak Ferdowsi (in case you are wondering about the name, it's Persian). Why a mohawk? Ferdowsi has explained that he gets a different, creative haircut for each mission, and this time around it happened to be a mohawk. If it's all a bit distressing to see mohawks on so many non-Indian heads, perhaps a name change is in order. In 2003, a mummified Iron Age man, dead for some 2,300 years, was discovered in a bog near Clonycavan, Ireland. He was dubbed "Clonycavan Man," and his distinctive ridge of hair, held in place by plant oil and pine resin imported from the European mainland, has been referred to as "the world's first mohawk." So perhaps these punks and jocks should all ditch their mohawks and instead grow clonycavans. As for a question asked earlier on this page—do Mohawks wear mohawks? Our Mohawk certainly does. "The scalp-lock is as popular today as ever," Ray Cook says. "I got mine on for the summer, and my five-year-old grandson gets his too, when I get mine."

Current Articles | RSS Feed We are all familiar with the Golden Rule: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. But in the case of bucket-filling, a positive reinforcement program that works well in classrooms, the Golden Rule should be revised to “Do unto others as they would have you do unto them,” in other words, treat people the way that they want to be treated, or treat them in ways that are valuable to them. You’re probably thinking, How in the world can I treat 23 students individually and personally at any given time? Hold on! Essentially, all we are asking you to do is know your students. The more you know about what makes your students tick, the better able you will be to “fill their buckets. “ Dr. Donald O. Clifton’s book How Full is Your Bucket asserts that often it is what we recognize in others that actually helps them shape their identities and future accomplishments. Constantly referring to a child as funny, or shy, or outgoing can reinforce what that child thinks of him or herself. Teachers have the access and unique power—every day— to tell a child that he is a good writer, or a capable scientist, or an excellent athlete. These often unintentional individual recognitions, for better or worse, plant the seeds that can affect decision-making down the line. So make sure the seeds you plant are always for the better. (No pressure!) The book outlines some key questions we’ve adapted for students to find out the best ways to fill their buckets: 1.By what name do you like to be called? Nickname? 2.What are your hot buttons—hobbies or interests you like to talk about a lot? 3.What makes you feel great when you’ve achieved something special? ●Receiving a certificate with your name on it? ●A prize? ●Note from teacher? ●Note from Mom, Dad or Grandparent? ●Announcement to the whole school over the PA system from the principal? ●Pizza for the whole class? These insights can help teachers decide the best ways to fill their students’ buckets, to make recognition individual and meaningful whenever possible. Before long, you will see positive results in your classroom and you will have fostered a much more cooperative classroom climate. Clifton reminds us that we all face a choice every single moment of every single day. We can fill one another’s buckets, or we can dip from them. The choices we make can profoundly influence our relationships, our health and our ability to be productive in the classroom or on the job. He cites a Gallup poll that estimates there are “…more than 22 million workers in the United States alone who are extremely negative or "actively disengaged." This rampant negativity is not only disheartening, it's expensive: It costs the U.S. economy between $250 and $300 billion every year in lost productivity alone.” Let’s do our part by starting early and modeling for our students what positive behavior looks like and even sounds like. Before long, they will understand what it feels like to be a positive, productive person, and it can make all the difference in the world to your classroom community. Begin the New Year on a positive note! Download our Guide to Successful Bucket-Filler Techniques and let your imagination be your guide on how to best introduce this concept to your students. Allowed tags: <a> link, <b> bold, <i> italics © 2013 Marygrove College

Technology is the modern frontier. It can be applied in every field of research and work. The advancements that have been made in the field of agricultural research have been extremely helpful and insightful. There are many lab uses for technology in agriculture, but the most common application so far is using information technology to help support the farmers. Agriculture would not exist without the farmers of America, so the use of GPS moisture probes has significantly changed the face of farming. Fontanelle, an agriculture technology company, created the Aquaview GPS moisture probe and this was a large step in modern farming. Manually read and processed moisture probes have been around since the 1980’s. However, the Aquaview does not have to be manually checked every day; it is positioned in a flat central location in the field where the probes can be plunged into the ground, where they remain. The solar panel that powers the unit has to be positioned towards the southern sky, so it can soak up the maximum amount of sunlight. This unit stands alone in the field, but is connected to another piece of technology through satellite. The Aquaview GPS moisture probe sends the information that it collects through digital waves to a computer, iPad, of any other piece of technology that the farmer would use to read the information. This update came around in 2006, which just added to the world of hands free data collection. Input hardware is involved in the functions of this moisture probe. The in-ground probes collect the data and send it up to the transmitter in the Aquaview unit. The information collected is sent up 3 conductor wires digitally. The input hardware in this course is the probe itself, it is considered to be a source data entry device which takes readable information (which is the moisture in centimeters or millimeters) and translates it into information that the computer can receive and understand. A computer processes information digitally but using 0’s and 1’s to portray the information that it needs to. Output hardware would be the actual monitor of a computer that displays the information in words for humans to comprehend. The transmitter sends the data collected digitally to a computer that is set up to receive the information. The GPS is the server, where all of the information is sorted and redistributed according to location, the personal computer of the farmer is the client in this network. No matter where the farmer is, his data is delivered and updated every half hour. The nice thing about this set up is the farmer can be 400 miles away from his field and know whether his crops have enough water to sustain them in the heat or whatever the current circumstances are. At this point, the output hardware has been used to translate the 0’s and 1’s into humanized information. My family began to use two of the Aquaview moisture probe units our land this past summer. The results were extremely impressive. The units are extremely accurate, and the freedom that it brought was very nice. We were able to pay more attention to the other fields that we had that did not have the Aquaview in them. It notifies your device of choice, in our case a laptop, and it alerts it when the field needs more water. It even can tell you how much water would be the best amount to apply. It was very nice to be able to track the moisture levels without having to walk out to the field yourself every day. When you have hundreds of acres the little break is appreciated where ever you can get it. All of the field that were monitored had a great yield and the Aquaview proved itself to be a great product for other farmers to put to use. It is amazing how technology can be applied in every occupational field in the world. The furthering of science with technology is a great move in American agriculture. This not only helps to support the crops, but also the farmers. With the Aquaview, the monitoring of the water that the crops get will be much easier and less time consuming without the worry of having to check it frequently by actually walking out to the field. It also will hopefully teach good watering habits to young farmers that are learning about agriculture and the techniques to raising a good yield. In the future, there is potential for the Aquaview unit to be able to control when the irrigation comes on without the farmer having to do that himself. This could give more freedom to farmers, and maybe even the ability to farm more land. From the research aspect, it would be great to track the amounts of moisture the field needs for new hybrid plants to perform well. This is the actual unit and how it would be positioned in a field of growing crops. Works Cited Aqua view by Fontanelle-performance results. (2011). Retrieved from Aqua view by Fontanelle-systems approach. (2011). Retrieved from Gps ecustomized digital enabled soil moisture meter. (2012). Retrieved from Personal Research/References Ammons, S. (2012, October 26). Interview by Megan James [Personal Interview]. Gps moisture probe: Its uses and functions. Skip is a specialist with agriculture technology and worked with these probes for the past summer. He has a lot of experience with the probes and was able to explain the uses from first hand experience.

SYRACUSE, N.Y. - The second-seeded and 12th-ranked Loyola University Maryland women’s lacrosse team rallied to knock off third-seeded and sixth-ranked Notre Dame, 11-9, Thursday evening in the semifinals of the 2012 BIG EAST Championships at the Carrier Dome. The Greyhounds (12-5, 7-1 BIG EAST) scored six of the game’s nine second-half goals to erase a one-goal halftime deficit en route to the victory. "I’m extremely impressed by the fight that we had today after going into halftime down one," head coach Jen Adams said. "Notre Dame is a phenomenal team and you have to give them a whole lot of credit. They made our job very tough today. I’m very proud of our girls to be able to gut it out and stick it out against a very tough and athletic Notre Dame side. We were able to find the right opportunities in the second half and limit them and their high-powered offense. I think we showed some true character and I’m very proud of the effort we put in today." Sophomore Marlee Paton led the way with a game-high six points on four goals and two assists, while junior Joanna Dalton tied a career-high four goals. Junior Kathleen Barranco, in addition to freshmen Kara Burke and Hannah Schmitt, also tacked on goal each for Loyola. For Notre Dame (13-4, 6-2), Jenny Granger had two goals and two assists, while Maggie Tamasitis added two goals and one assist. Five other Irish had one goal each. The Greyhounds traded goals with the Fighting Irish throughout the first half, with Notre Dame getting on the board first at the 29-minute mark. Paton quickly knotted the score though, firing a shot into the back of the net just 19 seconds later. Notre Dame regained the lead with a goal at 25:35, but Dalton had an answer for the Greyhounds, scoring on an assist from Paton at 24:10. It wouldn’t be enough to quiet the Irish though, as they tallied back-to-back goals to take a 4-2 lead with 12:33 on the clock. Dalton ripped a shot from about 10 yards out to bring Loyola within one at 8:48 and the Greyhounds had an opportunity to it at four when senior Kellye Gallagher forced a turnover and sent it ahead to a wide-open Annie Thomas, but a turnover sent the ball back to Notre Dame’s end, where Granger scored her second of the day to give the Irish a 5-3 lead. Schmitt scored the game’s next goal, dodging her way through the defense and sticking a shot into the top right corner at 4:14, but Notre Dame notched its sixth goal with 3:08 to play. The Fighting Irish looked to extend its lead to three right before the half, but senior goalkeeper Kerry Stoothoff saved their shot and Annie Thomas found Barranco open in front of the goal with five ticks left to bring the Greyhounds within one, 6-5, at the break. Burke scored her sixth goal of the season at 26:43 to tie the game at six, before Paton gave Loyola its first lead of the day at 22:14, scoring a man-up goal, assisted by Sydney Thomas. Notre Dame marked its first goal of the second half at 21:36 to tie the game for a fourth time, before Paton and Sydney Thomas connected for Loyola’s second-straight goal at 19:32. The Irish found its equalizer 30 seconds later, before the Greyhounds scattered three goals within the next 11 minutes to earn an 11-8 advantage at the 7:45 mark. Dalton started the streak with a free position goal, before ripping a shot on a feed from Schmitt at 14:15. Paton then took a pass from Schmitt and spun around a defender before finding the back of the net at 7:45. Notre Dame halted the streak at 4:42 when the Irish caused a turnover in transition and scored on an unsettled possession. The Fighting Irish looked to add a second goal, but Stoothoff turned back two shots to keep Notre Dame off the board. Stoothoff then came up with another huge save in the final minute of the game to finish with eight saves and preserve the 11-9 victory for the Greyhounds. Defensively, senior Ana Heneberry, Gallagher and Paton all had three caused turnovers, while Stoothoff had a game-high six ground balls and Heneberry scooped up three. Dalton and Sydney Thomas each won three draw controls for the Greyhounds. Loyola will return to action on Saturday when it faces the winner of the No. 1 seed Syracuse vs. No. 4 seed Georgetown game in the title game of the BIG EAST Championships. Opening draw is scheduled for 1 p.m. at the Carrier Dome. Post new comment

~~By InsightAnalytical-GRL R.I.P. my camera, which died just after I finished taking yesterday’s pictures. I’ve got to get a new one ASAP!! I discovered today that a couple of my lantana plants are starting to send up shoots–which means, spring is really springing!! *** While driving around a couple of days ago I heard a public service announcement for either the Boys’ and Girls’ Clubs or The Big Brother program, I forget which one. Anyway, guess who was delivering the PSA? Laura Bush! Which got me thinking…I’m wondering when we start hearing from Michelle Obama? I wonder what causes she will lend her services to?? Or is she too busy visiting all the governmental agencies so she can deliver hubby’s message of hope and change? *** Truth is Gold had a really excellent post up on Friday called Lest We Pay the Price Too Dear…Learn From History! An excerpt, with permission: I cross post today an urgent message, gleaned from three very well informed journalists who know their history well. Urgency dictates that I introduce them and furnish you with the links from which to read their messages in entirety. The first, by Eric Margolis, reminds us of Afghanistan’s solid history of making mincemeat out of its invaders, from Alexander the Great in 327–325 BC, to the Soviets in 1989, disasters all. In the second, Kevin Barrett reveals in OpEdNews’s “Obama: Political Messiah, or Just Another Third World Dictator?” the facts behind the most recent resident of our White House and cites Webster Tarpley’s work in detail, Tarpley being among the foremost political and historical researchers of our time. Further research has substantiated the fact that indeed, Tarpley’s work is almost faultless in terms of his list of players and the historical context in which they exist. The third of this terrifying trilogy is Christopher Bollyn’s work on Obama’s new budget director Peter R. Orszag. SNIP. MORE Read the whole post. Read about his links to Robert E. Rubin, Clinton’s Secretary of the Treasury and recently resigned head of Citigroup. It isn’t looking good… By the way, the Central Bank of Iceland just hired an interim governor, an economist from Norway. One of the former governors of the CBI who was asked to resign has been offered a job at….the Norwegian Central Bank. And, a possible snag? “Law professor Sigurdur Líndal told Fréttabladid that he doubts a foreign citizen can be hired to the position, explaining that the constitution states that no one can become a public official in Iceland without holding the Icelandic citizenship.” Central Bank of Iceland There’s that “citizenship thing” again… *** Here’s some more news that will cheer you up…not. Let’s catch up with some of China’s latest moves. How will this play out? First, China is on the prowl, looking to buy foreign oil companies. From The Telegraph: CHINA PREPARES TO BUY UP FOREIGN OIL COMPANIES China is preparing to open a new phase in its race for the world’s resources by using its huge currency reserves to buy foreign oil and gas companies. SNIPA conference of officials from the National Energy Administration has agreed to consider establishing a special fund for China’s state-owned companies to buy oil and gas firms overseas. The beneficiaries would be the Beijing’s three giant energy companies – Petrochina, Sinopec and CNOOC. SNIP. MORE More background on China’s increasingly bold investments abroad. *** And what’s this? SPIKING DEATHS IN AFGHANISTAN?? *** While visiting RBO, I happened to see this ANNOUNCEMENT about America’s new name, Barackistan. New! Congratulations to Cinie of Cinie’s World who has found the perfect title for the leader of Barackistan — “Just Barely President, Baracus Hubris Maximus (hail Ceasar!)”. Psst! Baracus Ceasar Obamacus is good, too. Thanks to Insight Analytical‘s Grail Guardian, America will be referred to as Barackistan and all you little former free-thinking, openly-voting Americans as Barackistanis. RBO couldn’t think of any more fitting name for the White House/West Wing/Congress than Barackistan HQ. Any questions? *** THE PAST WEEK *By Kenosha Marge Saturday Sanity: The Antidote to the Madness–the Garden Waking Up! (Pic Heavy) Obama Energy Plan Includes Nano-Generators That Bite Canadian Banks On the Move Buying U.S. Banks While Bailout Recipient AIG Sells Canadian Life Insurance Business to Bank of Montreal (”Picking over the Carcasses”) A Giant White Rabbit in Britain Reminds Us How “Logic and proportion have fallen sloppy dead”…. [???]) *Maudlin Mawkishness in the Age of the Gush The Past Week: February 15-21, 2009 (”Efficiency” Experts Michelle and “3-Card Monte” Barack Obama…Michelle’s Legacy at U of Chicago Hospital Under Fire by ER Physicians; Hubby Plans to Halve the Deficit via “Efficiency” (Among Other Things…); Spring Garden Prep! Filed under: Current Politics | Tagged: Barackistan, Barackistan HQ, Barackistanis, Baracus Hubris Maximus, Central Bank of Iceland, China, China buying gas companies, China buying oil companies, China's currency reserves, China's National Energy Administration, Christopher Bollyn, Cinie's World, Citigroup, CNNOOC, Erico Morgolis, Grail Guardian, InsightAnalytical, Kevin Barrett, Laura Bush, Lew Rockwell, MIchelle Obama, Peter R. Orszag, Petrochina, Public service announcements, RBO, Real Barack Obama, Robert E. Rubin, Sinopec, SNIPA, Truth is Gold, Unlocal, Webster Tarpley | 12 Comments »

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Another great post from the Brainy Gamer about No More Heroes, comparing Suda 51 to the auteurs of the French New Wave. Without having seen, well, any of the films mentioned, I think I'm still on board with that thesis. To gank a thought from my review, it seems to me that the amount of money and effort it takes to make a big-time console game these days practically requires design by committee. Too many people are involved in every level of the process -- from the artists, to the sound guys, to the suits sweating every nickel and dime -- for one person's vision to make the leap from conception to reality. Lots of good and even great games come out every year, but most of them lack that stamp of individuality, even if the graphics are polished and the online play is stutter-free. BioShock seemed to have that singular inspiration driving it, but apparently most of the storyline only came together near the end. With No More Heroes, you really get the impression that you're playing a game that has sprung, intact, from the deepest recesses of Suda 51's mind. While it's not as polished as a lot of games, that's a point in its favor. (See Leigh's comments on this post.) Frankly, I can't believe this game got made. Right now, Roger Ebert's review of The 400 Blows is featured on his web site. At the top is this quote from Truffaut: "I demand that a film express either the joy of making cinema or the agony of making cinema. I am not at all interested in anything in between." No More Heroes, it could be said, expresses the joy of making games. Or maybe the agony of making games. Certainly, it revels in the joy of playing games. 3 comments: Hi Mitch. I'm glad you enjoyed my post. I'm taken by your observation that too many cooks may be spoiling the game design soup these days, and I'm wondering if the same can be said of film these days (or at least some films). Totally rough calculation here, but I think if you took all the Oscar nominated films this year and examined the lists of people who worked on those films - and then did the same for the films nominated 5 or 10 years ago - you would discover that some of the best films today are being made by "auteurist" directors like Tamara Jenkins, Julian Schnabel, Julie Taymor, and the Coen Bros with fewer producers and studio types involved in the process. This may be a half-baked theory, but I think there's something to it that reinforces your notion that singular inspiration is a powerful thing. I certainly think there's something to the notion, although I'm hesitant to go too far out on the limb and start drawing broad conclusions. We tend to associate filmmakers more closely with movies than we do game developers with their games. But making movies is still a collaborative process, even for the directors you mentioned. Even somebody like Robert Rodriguez, who writes, directs, shoots, edits, and scores his own movies, still has to work with dozens of cast and crew. And yet I can tell a Robert Rodriguez movie when I see one. I can tell a Paul Thomas Anderson movie, a Wes Anderson movie, even a Michael Bay movie. Their stamps tend to be indelible. How many game designers can you say that about? Hideo Kojima, Shigeru Miyamoto, maybe now Suda 51. The list is short, anyway. Along those lines, I was struck by a comment Gus Mastrapa made on a post Chris Dahlen wrote about Burnout Paradise: "I’ve always taken issue with the Burnout series’ reticence to commit to a style, position or even attitude. The worlds are always kinda bland, generic even. The radio hosts are usually suicide inducing. The crashes and racing are awesome, but the setting is so non-committal that it irks me for some reason. Who gets the opportunity to make a world and fashions something so utterly devoid of character?" I read that and thought immediately of No More Heroes. By any measure, Burnout is the more polished and "professional" of the two games. Its open world is seamless. But the game lacks any kind of a voice or point of view. It doesn't possess an ounce of the character that Santa Destroy has. My instinct is to attribute that difference to the vision of Suda 51. If I were to try to draw one lesson from this thought exercise, it's that sharing the creative process among a large group will tend to dilute what we'd call the artistic vision. It takes a strong, singular voice to succeed spectacularly -- and, probably, to fail spectacularly, which is why the money men are afraid to foster those voices. No doubt there are countless counterexamples, though, which is why I'm not convinced we've stumbled on to something too big here. Hmm, this seems like it should probably become its own post, though. Well, I did say "at least some films," [grin] I'm not claiming any kind of seismic shift in the film industry, but I do think indie films--which have exerted far more influence on filmmaking than indie games have had on games--have created a broader acceptance in the film industry for maverick creators at this particular moment. I see some interesting parallels between American cinema in the 70s and some of what we're seeing now. I have to disagree with you about games lacking the kind of signature style that you associate with certain filmmakers. To me, it's very easy to discern an Atlus game, a Sega game, a Capcom game, and a Grasshopper game. They each have very distinctive features and stylistic signatures. Yes, they can't necessarily be traced to a specific designer, but I think their distinctiveness is no less pronounced. Apologies for another film analogy, but to me video games are like the cinema during the studio era in this regard. MGM films looked very different from Warner Bros. films, which looked very different from Paramount or RKO. I highly recommend a book called "The Genius of the System" which is a terrific account of how the collaborative, factory-like system of filmmaking in the 30s managed to generate such singular, artistically distinctive films. It doesn't, in my view, always require a single genius at the helm to create a work of surpassing excellence...but if often helps! Thanks for such a thought provoking conversation, Mitch. It's fun to think hard about this stuff.

What for each of us. Your family may have the ability to take care of you. You might have the financial resources to pay for in-home care or the cost of a stay in a care facility. Or perhaps you know that Medicaid will need to fund any care you receive. If your financial situation is between very wealthy and limited resources, consider long term care insurance. A long term care insurance policy pays for care if you need assistance with two "activities of daily living," which are defined as dressing, eating, toileting, bathing, transferring (moving from one place of rest to another) and continence. or are diagnosed with cognitive impairment and have a doctor certification that you will require care for at least 90 days. Many people say they'd rather take their chances that they won't need long term assistance and that they'll be able to afford it if they do. But what does that mean in dollars and cents? According to Genworth Financial, a private room in a nursing home in Colorado Springs can cost in excess of $85,000 a year. If you are married, your care could decimate the nest egg that you and your spouse have if your nursing home stay lasts for a year or more. Long term insurance policies are relatively new in the insurance industry and continue to evolve. Rather than a "one size fits all" solution, you can make some choices regarding features to lower the cost of the policy. For instance, most policies allow you to have care in your home, have the amount paid for care keep up with cost of living increases, share the benefit with a spouse, and have the benefit paid in cash rather than to those providing assistance. If you don't pick all of these features, the cost is less to you and reflects your preferences. In many cases, the annual premium for a policy like this can be the same as the cost of one or two months of nursing home care. I generally recommend that folks get coverage in their 50s. But if you're over that age, it's still worth exploring. If you decide to get a policy, talk to an insurance professional who works with several companies. That agent will be able to recommend a company that will have the best value for your medical history. Discuss with the agent the quality rating of the insurance company. You don't want to pay years of premiums, then have your benefits be unavailable because your company went out of business. And don't buy a policy during your first meeting. It's a big enough financial commitment that you should be able to think it over before writing a check. - Linda Leitz is a Certified Financial Planner and co-owner of Pinnacle Financial Concepts, Inc. She can be reached and welcomes questions at gazette@itsnotjustmoney.com.

I. January 22, 2013 at 8:40 pm Casey M Addy Great post here. I’d like to extend the commentary to ask what the author would think about interaction design for telling stories (e.g. Storytelling in video games). One of the central goals for making a fun and engrossing game, in my opinion, is creating a compelling story. The story can only be accomplished through the use of technology and the player’s progression through the many levels the design team has made for the player. But what if the interaction design of the game is so poor that the user cannot become one with the story? What if the controls completely frustrate the user to the point that even the best story becomes intolerable? I can point to many examples of this situation, but I am curious as to hear what your thoughts are. #win epic epicness – Casey January 22, 2013 at 9:17 pm Katie O'Donnell Hi, Casey!!! I totally agree with your comment and the questions you pose. Someone from telecom who took the class the same semester I did just recently posted on facebook that started her own game studio (monsterandglitch.com). Her first blog post was pretty cool. Here’s the link and text: From what I’ve seen on her site, it seems like she trying to address some of those questions that you’ve brought up. Pretty cool to think about how this class has and is influencing the design of games, etc! January 22, 2013 at 9:06 pm Rayne Zhou This makes me think about something Wong has said about this film. It’s something like this: “In my earlier films, people feel so lonely and they don’t know how to get along with this loneliness. However, in this film, people get a way to get along with this loneliness, and even make fun of it.” So this makes me think about ubiquitous design. Currently I’m living in an apartment with only one roommate, and usually we don’t talk with each other. Although I love being alone, sometimes I need to figure out how to get along well with my solitude and my nostalgia. So every time I feel homesick or lonely, I will just cook food. How can designers design something in kitchen that will make me feel better of this? That would be very very interesting, indeed. January 28, 2013 at 5:16 pm Study of Film and HCI | Interaction Culture [...] Periodically I post something on my course blog, Interaction Culture Class, that might be of broader interest than just the class. In such situations, I repost them on my personal blog. This is one such example, and its original post can be found here. [...]

We got some very good news recently about the twenty million adults in this country who were born here and are the children of immigrants. A comprehensive report from the Pew Research Center finds that this second generation is doing significantly better than today’s first-generation immigrants in terms of education, home ownership rate, percentage living below the poverty line, and median income. Surprisingly, the second generation even matches the economic success of Americans overall, while graduating from college at higher rates than the U.S. average. (This reflects the high college-graduation rate of Asian Americans, who make up a larger proportion of second-generation immigrants than the general population). Additionally, the Pew survey found that, compared to immigrants, second generation Americans have much higher percentages that are proficient in English (including nine-tenths of both Hispanic and Asian Americans), are more likely to have friends and marry outside the boundaries of their ancestral group, to believe that relations between their group and other Americans are good, and to consider themselves a “typical American.” (To clarify, this survey is not comparing second-generation immigrants and their own parents, but today’s entire adult population of immigrants within two generations of arriving in America.) In another interesting finding, three-quarters of first and second generation Hispanic and Asian Americans believe that hard work is enough to ensure success in most cases, compared to 58 percent of Americans overall. Both generations of both ethnic groups are also more politically liberal and less Republican-leaning than the general population, countering the myth that conservatives have a monopoly on the belief in hard work. One of the great fallacies expressed by some in the immigration debate today is that contemporary immigrants just aren’t assimilating or Americanizing in the way the “good old” immigrants did in the Ellis Island generations of the early twentieth century. Some of that, of course, reflects nostalgia for those immigrants, who are in many cases the grandparents or great-grandparents of the people expressing such a belief. The reality, as this Pew report and other similar studies make clear, is that the post-1965 immigrants are doing their part. By the second generation, they are learning English, and not just those from Asia but those from Spanish-speaking countries as well (typically, the criticism that immigrants and their children aren’t learning English and aren’t integrating is aimed at Hispanic Americans). They are identifying in large numbers not only as Americans but as “typical Americans,” and they are marrying and having friends outside their ethnic group in numbers even larger than the overall population. There have long been, and will continue to be, anti-immigration activists who stoke fears about separatist immigrants and the Balkanization of our society, especially as our population continues to grow less and less white.. In my next post I’ll be writing some more about the issues of integration and “Americanization” and how this country approached them in the early twentieth century. But this report from Pew about second-generation immigrants truly is welcome. It confirms that even as our immigrant population has shifted from being overwhelmingly European to predominantly Asian and Hispanic in origin, we are continuing to succeed in integrating newcomers in our culture as well as our economy. One of the most valuable things America can do is show the world that a society made up of people from every corner of the globe — where in a generation or two no race will be a majority — can be a place where people can choose to preserve their ancestral cultures even as they truly become one people as Americans. We can serve as an alternative model to societies that reject pluralism, that look to suppress dissent and diversity because their majority believes its culture or beliefs are the only acceptable ones. One report doesn’t mean the task has been accomplished. But it does mean that, on an issue of paramount importance for us and for the world, we are on our way. Ian Reifowitz is In The Fray‘s staff blogger and the author of Obama’s America: A Transformative Vision of Our National Identity. Twitter: @IanReifowitz

Governor Rell’s Proposals for Retirement Costs Are a Classroom Exercise in Political Campaigningby Matt O'Connor on September 7th Leaders of the State Employees Bargaining Agent Coalition (SEBAC) today described Governor M. Jodi Rell’s announced proposals for reducing unfunded pension and healthcare liabilities as political grandstanding at its most cynical. Said Council 4 AFSCME Executive Director Sal Luciano, who sits on the State Post-Employment Benefits Commission, “From the beginning, I had concerns that Governor Rell would mislead the public, and she’s done exactly that. By failing to differentiate between State employee pension tiers, and failing to address the OPEB liability that Executive Order 38 was supposed to address, she turned what could have been a constructive policy recommendation into a cynical political document.” Added Luciano, “Governor Rell is not interested in helping the middle class face the real retirement crisis affecting most Connecticut workers. She has just offered up empty rhetoric before her commission has even taken a vote on final recommendations.” Governor Rell is already on track to leave behind her a legacy of economic devastation, home foreclosures and terrible human suffering. To distract from the fact that neither she nor her hoped for successor have any realistic plan or program to solve the real problems of the middle class, she has now put forward a series of proposals which both break her binding promise to 45,000 working families, and would not create a single job or help a single community. If adopted, they would only further delay our economic recovery. Said CSEA/SEIU Local 2001 Executive Director Robert Rinker, “Governor Rell has shown that she’d rather play politics than put forward real solutions for Connecticut middle class families. But she has also shown that she’s not interested in dealing with the state pension and retiree healthcare plans’ unfunded liabilities. If she were, the governor would have recommended using some of last year’s budget surplus to reverse recent pension fund deferrals to the unfunded liability. Instead, she called for cancelling bonding in the current year’s budget, which produces far less bang for the taxpayers’ buck.” Added Rinker, “The governor’s representatives who negotiated a nearly $1 billion cost savings agreement last year didn’t put forward changes like she has presented here; they couldn’t with a straight face. Instead, she waited until an election year in order to offer up talking points for Tom Foley’s campaign for governor.” The coalition’s leaders look forward to working with a new administration in an honest and concerted effort to help solve the real problems that confront the people of the state. Working together, elected leaders, business leaders of good faith, and Connecticut’s middle class both in the public and the private sectors, can help build a future where every family has a chance for a decent job, with decent benefits, and a safe and dignified retirement. Council 4 and CSEA are two of the thirteen unions in the State Employee Bargaining Agent Coalition (SEBAC), which serves to unite approximately 45,000 Connecticut State Employees to address issues of common concern. To learn more about the coalition’s campaign for a fair budget and a livable state with great public services visit. # # # Join us on Facebook. Fight the Lies.

by Jeff Reeves | March 23, 2012 6:00 am I recently wrote a column on the froth in the technology sector, highlighting 3 tech stocks to sell and 2 tech stocks to buy[1]. The winners? Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL[2]) and medical software stock Cerner (NASDAQ:CERN[3]). The losers? Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN[4]), Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT[5]) and Seagate (NASDAQ:STX[6]). As usual, a number of readers dropped me a line to disagree — but one tech expert made such a strong case in favor of Seagate that I thought it was worth revisiting and giving the other side of the story. Mark Miller[7] is a senior research analyst at Noble Financial Capital Markets and has more than a decade of experience covering the disk drive business, including companies like Seagate, Western Digital (NYSE:WDC[8]) and Veeco (NASDAQ:VECO[9]), among others. And he says popular perceptions about the move away from solid state drives to flash technology are overblown — and that disk drive stocks have been unfairly punished for flooding last year that affected operations. I caught up with Mark to get more details on some of the reasons he is bullish on the disk drive sector generally, and the reasons that Noble Financial has a buy on STX and $35 target price: Q: You contend that disk drives are far from a fading technology, and that there’s still a growing market. What are the most telling stats you think investors should know about these companies or this sector? A: The demand for storage is growing at annual rate of 40%, and market research firm IDC[10] just projected a compounded annual growth rate of 9% for drive sales from 2011-16. Flash memory only comprises about 5% of total mass storage requirements this year. While the amount of flash-based storage will grow, with 40% growth in required storage, the flash manufacturers can’t add fab capacity fast enough to take significant share from hard drives. Q: In the short term, a lot of folks seam bearish about drive stocks simply due to seasonality. You don’t buy that argument. Why? A: Seasonality simply doesn’t apply. Typically, the June quarter is seasonally weak and investors lose interest in the stocks. Because shipments are scaling back up from recent floods in Thailand[11], the drive industry is expected to post sequentially stronger results for the June quarter. We don’t see a return to normal conditions until the September quarter. Due to the flood, we estimate by the end of this year there will be cumulative unmet demand of 135-150 million units. With drive demand averaging 170-175 million units a quarter versus an estimated industry capacity of 190-195 million units by the end of this year, it will be well into 2013 before things are finally balanced. Q: In the longer term, many are convinced that flash memory and cloud storage will steadily supplant hard drives. Without getting too technical, what are the practical drawbacks preventing this from happening anytime soon? A: Flash will have a place, but until costs come down it will still be niche technology. The current storage capacity in a laptop drive is 500 GB. The Intel 600 GB solid-state drive (SSD) is selling for over $1,000, which is about three times the cost of a low-end laptop PC. Market studies show that tablets, which typically contain just 64 GB or less of NAND flash storage, are only cannibalizing about 20% of potential drive sales. So for 80 million tablet shipments, that comes to 16 million lost drive sales — or about 2% of total projected drive shipments for this year. To reduce storage costs for SSDs, you need to go to multilayer-cell (MLC) NAND flash, but MLC NAND flash has far worse data reliability issues than the more expensive single-layer-cell (SLC) flash. So you either use expensive SLC NAND flash or run the risk of using MLC flash. Q: If there’s no immediate risk of obsolescence, do you think solid state drives will eventually become obsolete in the next few decades — or will they be around until 2099? A: Both solid-state and hard drives will coexist for the foreseeable future, with hard drives still comprising a dominant share of high-capacity storage applications. I think for mass-storage applications, the industry will move to hybrid drives, which employ flash in conjunction with a hard drive. In order to meet the $600 price point consumers expect for computers, I expect hybrid drives will be the primary storage device in ultrabooks. Due to their significantly higher input/output capabilities, which mitigates the cost disadvantage, I see the biggest opportunity for SSDs being certain enterprise storage applications. Q: You call drive stocks the “Rodney Dangerfields” of the tech space. What are a few unsung stocks you think investors should take a closer look at for their portfolios, and why? A: Investors are being too paranoid about the effects of the flood. They are missing the power of the recent consolidation moves in the industry, and growing worldwide demand for storage. We modeled both Seagate and Western Digital after their respective mergers — with pre-flood drive ASPs and margins — and came up with a post-recovery earnings range of $5.75 to $6.60, sans flood effects. Historically, these stocks trade in a forward P/E range of 7 to 11. Not only are they cheap, but we have them generating impressive free cash flows over the next two years — $5 to $6 billion — which can be used to buy back shares or pay a higher dividend. We also believe drive suspension supplier Hutchinson Technology (NASDAQ:HTCH[12]) is on the verge of a major turnaround. Editor’s Note: HTCH is a microcap stock that trades on very thin volume, and a very aggressive stock. Do not consider a trade for any equity of this nature without using a limit order to protect your entry price. Q: Even if your logic is sound on the strength of the drive industry and these individual stocks, do you have fears that, generally speaking, we are seeing a lot of overbought tech stocks? Should investors wait for a pullback, or do you think now is the time to get in despite dramatic run-ups in the last few weeks? A: Certainly with STX trading at a P/E of 3.1 on FY13 consensus numbers and WDC at a P/E of 4.8, we don’t see either as overextended. Even with the post-flood recovery, estimates sans flood effects, the stocks are still cheap. Yes, STX is up from high single digits in October, but that low valuation was far more irrational than today’s price. We are projecting upside in the March reports for both Seagate and Western Digital. We also see several upside factors for STX longer-term, including the ramp of eight, new lower-cost products, reduced warranty costs which cut into this quarter, the internal supply of heads and media to Samsung drives which improves gross profits by $4 per drive, the hybrid drive opportunity and the improving macroeconomic picture. Q: Any final thoughts to share that we haven’t covered? A: Investors need to look beyond the flood and understand the long-term benefits of the recent industry consolidation moves in conjunction with the world’s ever-growing appetite for storage., Jeff did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned stocks. Source URL: Short URL: Copyright ©2013 InvestorPlace Media, LLC. All rights reserved. 700 Indian Springs Drive, Lancaster, PA 17601.

by Louis Navellier | September 4, 2012 5:44 pm Tuesday the “Big Three” U.S. automakers released their August sales figures—and the results may surprise you. Despite the fact that consumers are still skittish about the larger economy, each of these three companies posted robust sales growth for the month of August. It has been some time since I have revisited the U.S. auto industry, so let’s dig into the details and see whether there are any profit opportunities to be had from this newfound sales growth. First up, Ford (NYSE:F[1]) reported a 13% jump in August sales compared with a year ago; this topped analyst expectations of a 9.8% rise. In July, Ford had posted a 3.8% drop in U.S. sales. Last month’s growth was driven by a 28% surge in sport utility vehicle sales, particularly its Ford Escape and Ford Explorer models. At the same time, Ford reported growing demand for its more fuel-efficient models in response to rising gasoline prices. As you can see on its Portfolio Grader stock report page, F is currently a D-rated sell[2], but I will keep tabs on analyst activity in the next few weeks to see if the analyst community upwardly revises its estimates for Ford’s quarterly sales and earnings. The Street view currently calls for just 0.4% sales growth and a 14.7% drop in earnings. So I don’t recommend that you jump on the Ford bandwagon just yet—buying pressure for this stock is still quite low, making this stock more trouble than it is worth at the moment. Ford’s largest competitor General Motors (NYSE:GM[3]) announced that its U.S. auto sales advanced 10% over August 2011, making last month the company’s best month in terms of retail. General Motors’ Chevrolet brand did particularly well, with the Equinox, Sonic and Volt fueling a 25% jump in sales. But like Ford, General Motors is also a D-rated sell[4] due to lackluster buying pressure. And analysts are even more downbeat about General Motors’ top — and bottom — line this quarter—forecasts call for a 2.5% drop in sales and a whopping 41.7% drop in earnings! Finally, Chrysler also announced a 14% year-over-year jump in August sales thanks to robust demand for the Fiat brand. This is the 29th consecutive month that the company has posted year-over-year sales growth. On top of this, the company revealed that August sales of the 2013 Dodge Dart surged 300% compared with July. Chrysler is the one Big Three company that is not listed in my Portfolio Grader tool, and that’s because it is owned in part by Italian manufacturer Fiat. There’s no doubt that August was a good month for U.S. automakers: Overall, new car sales in the U.S. are forecast to advance 20% compared with August 2011 and 12% compared with the prior month. But I recommend that you give these companies a bit more time before making any new buys. If you’re really itching to get into the automobile industry, there is strength to be had among the recreational vehicle segment. In particular, my Portfolio Grader tool has isolated three recreational vehicle companies that are going strong in terms of buying pressure and fundamentals. Source URL: Short URL: Copyright ©2013 InvestorPlace Media, LLC. All rights reserved. 700 Indian Springs Drive, Lancaster, PA 17601.

Several Pensacola bands are getting their chance to shine at DeLuna again this year. Let’s support them, loud and proud. Paloma 1:30-2 p.m., Saturday, WindCreek Stage Paloma has played DeLuna Fest for a few years now, usually at some official after-party or on a small stage when most of the festival is coming to an end and the locals are still raging. This year, they’re on the second biggest stage, right in the middle of the day, ready to please the large crowds that might not know they’re awesome, like the Pensacolaians already do. Pioneers! O Pioneers! 3-3:45 p.m., Friday, WindCreek Stage Pioneers! O Pioneers! is a relatively new band, new to playing big festivals on big stages. However, they are not new to playing their hearts out and sweating their faces off. A good time will be had by all at this show. In case anyone is looking for a pre-show glimpse of their sound—who hasn’t had the pleasure of hearing it within the walls of the Handlebar—pop into Revolver Records and pick up their newest CD. Assortment of Pensacola D.J.’s D.J.’s like Girl Talk, Skrillex, and Deadmau5 have made mash-ups, dubstep and house music crazy popular lately, and DeLuna fest is jumping on the bandwagon. Twelve different local D.J.’s will be featured throughout the weekend on the Red Bull MTX Stage, to keep festivalgoers happy and dancing in between bands. There are even some late night shows in case people are still up for a party. Friday Davis Pratt 4:45-5:30 p.m. DJ Mr. Lao (performing three sets) 6:30-7:30 p.m. 8:30-9:30 p.m. 11:45 p.m.-12:45 a.m. Saturday Bad Penny (performing three sets) 1:30-2 p.m. 2:45-3:30 p.m. 4:15-5:15 p.m. D-Funk (performing three sets) 6:15-7:15 p.m. 8:15-9:15 p.m. 11:30 p.m.-12:45 a.m. Sunday Ram-Z (performing three sets) 12:45-1:15 p.m. 2-2:30 p.m. 3:15-4 p.m. Tony C (performing two sets) 5-6 p.m. 7-8 p.m. Back to the DeLuna Fest Main Page

S The fall TV season is just around the corner, bringing us aliens, visions of the future and slutty witches. Here's a complete rundown of new and returning shows, with launchdates and clips, so you won't miss any of the shininess. Mondays: Heroes The conflicted heroes and struggling villains move on with their lives this season. Clarie goes to college, Parkman gets another chance at love, Sylar gets into politics — sort of — and maybe, just maybe we give it one more chance to be a good show again. It's Back: Sept. 21 on NBC at 8 PM. Heroes Promo: Tuesdays: V Aliens have landed on Earth, but it's okay: They're gorgeous and welcoming, and they only want to help us. This will only lead to tears. The reimagined V series starts all over, with a new crop of visitors, lead by the gorgeous Morena Baccarin. How will the world deal with their new guests, and are the alien visitors friendly? (Are they ever?) Premiere Date: Nov. 3rd on ABC at 8 PM. V Promo: Wednesdays: MythBusters Your favorite fact-finders are back... and getting a little wet? I'm hoping this clip from the new season shows them testing out the "who would win in a fight, human or dolphin?" myth. It's Back: Oct. 7th on Discovery at 9 PM Destination Truth Josh Gates takes us across the globe again looking to explain the world's mysteries, like living dinos and merpeople. But really the best part of this program really is watching Josh work with the indigenous population of whatever country he finds himself in, who almost always get the better of our guide, I mean wouldn't you mess with the guy on a hunt for a living dinosaur? It's Back: Sept. 9 on Syfy at 10 PM. Clip: Eastwick The ladies of the tiny town of Eastwick are sex-starved and mousey — so they need to harness their inner sexiness, so they can use their sexitude to sex up their lives, with Satan. Sex sells, people! Based loosely on the John Updike novel, this new series shows what happens when a charming devil shows up in town, to unleash the witchcraft in three lucky ladies. Lindsay Price, Jaime Ray Newman and Rebecca Romijn play the witches, and Paul Gross will play Darryl, the devil with the magical penis. Premiere Date: Sept. 23 on ABC at 10 PM Eastwick Promo: Eastwick Promo: Eastwick Promo: "We're Horny Ladies" Thursdays: FlashForward Possibly the most highly anticipated new series of the fall, FlashForward picks up after everyone in the world blacks out for two minutes and 17 seconds. During the black-out everyone catches a glimpse into their future, about six months ahead. Now the rest of the world has to deal with what they saw, be it the fact that they are married to another person, in the middle of an addiction relapse... or just ominous nothingness. Premiere Date: Sept. 24 on ABC at 8 PM. FlashForward Promo: FlashForward Mad World: FlashForward Behind The Scenes: Vampire Diaries Vampires in High School? Why, that's crazy talk. Who would watch a show about 28-year-old actors playing vampires who enroll back into High School to win the attention of a young girl? Me, that's who — bring on the brooding and bite marks. Vampire Diaries looks like it was made out of hair product and nacho cheese, it's so dramatically over-the-top. Based on the novel series of the same name, CW's latest supernatural teen drama is really reaching for that Twi-market, let's hope it doesn't disappoint. Roll on another layer of that lip gloss boys — mama needs a new vamp fetish. Premiere Date: on CW @ 8 PM Begins Sept. 10 Vampire Diaries Promo Vampire Smack Talk Vampire Gliding Bite Marks Actual Vampires Writing IN THEIR VAMPIE DIARIES Supernatural Finally, the spring's most agonizing cliffhanger is resolved — the Winchester boys are back, and they've unleashed Lucifer, played by none other than Mark Pellegrino — that's Jacob from Lost. But the brothers have a huge handicap in fighting Hell on Earth, since they're still pretty pissed at each other. This could very well be the final season of Supernatural, which means this could be the season where the big Dean-versus-Sam apocalyptic throw down takes place. It's Back: Sept. 10 on the CW at 9 PM. Supernatural Promo: Supernatural Promo: Supernatural Comic Con Promo: Fringe Alternate worlds collided last season. Olivia finally met THE William Bell, played by none other than Geek God Leonard Nimoy (who should be back in at least a couple of episodes). Walter led us to a suspicious head-stone which made us all scratch our heads and say "wait a minute how can that be Peter Bishop, if he's Peter Bishop? Ohhhh." From the looks of the preview, Olivia thinks she has to save the world, but knowing her usual "shoot first, ask questions later" tactics, she's going to need a lot more bullets. But let's hope this season first answers some questions, like what's different in the alternate world, besides the fact that the World Trade Center is still standing and Agent Charlie Francis' sexy face scar — and Charlie, of course, is about to be replaced anyways by another sexy woman FBI Agent. It's Back: Sept. 17 on FOX at 9 PM Fringe Promo: Fringe Teaser: Friday: Star Wars: The Clone Wars – The evilest of evil bounty hunters, gets a giant, epic premiere on the new season of Clone Wars, where we see him killing and torturing at will. Bring on the CG alien bloodshed! It's Back: October 2 on the Cartoon Network at 8 PM. Ghost Whisperer- Jennifer Love Hewitt continues whispering to the spirit people, solving crimes and making "love me" eyes into the camera. It's Back: Sept. 25 on CBS at 8 PM Smallville - Zod is front and center this season, and will hopefully bring more of a battle than that lackluster Doomsday finale. Plus the Kryptonite-hearted villain Metallo shows up (played by Brian Austin Green). Will Chloe be able to heal her wounded heart in time to meddle in everyones lives again, thus almost destroying the world over and over? My guess is yes. It's Back: Sept. 25 on CW at 8 PM Smallville Promo: Dollhouse Now that Paul's inside the house, how will be spend his days? Also did Alpha's final imprint onto Echo leave her forever scarred? And what's this we're hearing about the Dollhouse bringing about the end of the world? One thing we can promise you is loads of sexy role-playing ideas will be coming your way, via Eliza Dushku and her doll friends. It's Back: Sept. 25 on FOX @ 9 PM Begins Stargate Universe The darkest of the Gates tries out new characters, a new ship and a shaky-cam technique. The new Gate crew gets marooned aboard an ancient ship, doomed to spend their days traveling the universe, and never able to return back to Earth in their "real" bodies. Premiere Date: on Syfy @ 9 PM Begins Oct. 2, with two-hour premiere SGU Promo: Sanctuary Gather ye monster hunters, the supernatural detectives headed by Amanda Tapping are back, and ready to solve your odd greenscreen crimes. It's Back: on Syfy @ 10 PM Begins Oct. 9 Sunday: Storm Chasers - Before Helen Hunt made it oh-so-romantic, storm chasing used to dangerous, and the folks over at Storm Chasers want to show you just how dangerous the inside of a storm can be. It's Back: Oct. 11th on Discovery at 10 PM Venture Brothers Brock is gone, and Hank and Dean are actually going to mature and grow up? Say it isn't so! But at least the latest promo for the new season for Venture looks like classic Venture insanity-humor. It's Back: November on Adult Swim Venture Brothers Promo: Sadly you'll have to wait until the new year for Day One, Past Life, Caprica, Human Target and the new seasons of Chuck, Lost and Better off Ted. Additional reporting by Caitlin Petrakovitz.

» News Sticky Stuff – 11/17 UPDATE: PRO TIP - On any post, click HOME under the post title. This will load the entire month’s posts for browsing. Some readers may have noticed that we’ve limited the post count on our front page. So we are adapting a bit of a new format. In addition to our regular content we’re going to have a sticky post which will have nothing but our pithy titles that link to important, interesting, shexy or disgusting stories. This post will grow during the day (so check back.) A new list will appear every day. -You may now duck and cover with the bride – Wedding Guests Watch As Israel’s Missile Defense System Blasts Rockets Out of the Sky - Nick DiPaolo, conservative comedian with a NSFAnyplace tongue. Politically Incorrect at its worst/best- - Separated in the Wood Shop – creepy - Street Justice Over a Stolen Bike – Via iHateTheMedia -Song About Benghazi - LISTEN HERE - Ten of Obama’s Worst Lies - This Photo-Op Makes Sense: Obama’s Presidency About as Great as McKayla Maroney’s Blown Olympics Vault - Where 16 of the goofiest business names come from Col. Angus November 17th, 2012 I’ve always been curious, do the radio clowns have a professional guffawer, or do they have a guffaw track? Mountain Dog November 17th, 2012 I thought I got to the bottom of the page awful fast. Due to lay offs? BigFurHat November 17th, 2012 Yes, the Obama economy has forced us to cut 10 stories off the front page. Brian November 17th, 2012 “we’ve limited the post count on our front page” Are there other pages? If so, how do we access them? It’s always best to navigate this site by going to the sidebar and clicking archives and choosing the current month. Or, click home on any post any it will load all the posts of the month. – bfh Callmelennie November 17th, 2012 I suppose now Arabs will complain about how Israel’s missile shield lowers their self esteem .. seeing as how their greatest achievement is indiscriminately firing missiles that they don’t know how to make in the general direction of Israeli cities Or maybe they’ll parade some child who they say was wounded by the falling debris from one of these explosions and claim Israel is guilty of “disproportionate self defense” Geoff C. The Saltine November 17th, 2012 Brian go to the archives on the side bar. its all there. Brian in BC November 17th, 2012 The street justice story reminds me of a great story from the local bike couriers from a few years back. One of the couriers had his bike stolen and managed to catch the guy. He performed a citizen’s arrest and used a U-lock to secure the individual to a parking meter while waiting for the police…he also radio’d all of the other city couriers his location. Apparently the rule was that no one was to physically touch the perp, but hey, sometimes the need to relieve yourself comes suddenly…and the police made sure they took their good sweet time attending. Sometimes a good old fashioned shaming goes a long ways. Eat your damn darts! November 17th, 2012 Is this new format because of the election? Where are we supposed to post comments on these stories? And if we can’t, what is the point? Stirrin the B.S. November 17th, 2012 Fur, I don’t know the inside story about what is driving this format change, but the compliment to your parody, satire, ridicule, enlightenment, and entertainment content is the reader comments. They create a community and a draw for more viewers and participants. This new sticky post format that just links to stories, makes you another aggregator and changes the characteristic of this site that makes it so appealing. If I’m uninformed and way off base, I apologize – this is just my initial reaction. My thought is that I would rather see one comment allowed post in the space where you’re posting multiple links. Tom Mannis November 17th, 2012 Will you please make these instructions available as a downloadable PDF? I hope you’ll also do a video tutorial about this. Thanks! Kathy Shaidle November 17th, 2012 Thanks for the link. Normally I despise dagos, but Nick is god. Right after 9/11 he was quoted in the NYT as saying “Every mosque in American should be on fire right now.” FreeMan & Sarah Intend to Defend November 17th, 2012 Can it take us back a year so we can feel good again? Back to a time when there was still hope that things would change.

Over 136 m/- have been spent by the Tanzania Olympics Committee (TOC) in preparation expenses of the Olympic-bound athletes ahead of boarding the London Heathrow flight on July 8. TOC secretary general Filbert Bayi said the colossal amount has been used for accommodation, allowances and logistics for the athletes and their coaches since opening the camp in March. The Olympic hopefuls that include runners and boxers have been camping at the Filbert Bayi Secondary Schools in Kibaha, an institution owned by Bayi himself. According to him, judo attended TOC organised camp in Zanzibar to prepare for the Olympic qualification series staged in Morocco He said TOC started the athletes camp early ahead of the Olympic Games qualifying series, and the camp was still open after some athletes attained the qualifying time. He also faulted some sections of people who are accusing TOC for not preparing the London-bound athletes well. He said it is not the mandate of his committee to prepare athletes; instead it’s the duty of sports disciplines. Bayi said TOC is the overseer of all 22 sports associations in the country and its main objective is to put strategic plans. Organizing training courses for sports coaches, administrators and providing marketing expertise to leaders of sports associations are among other things the TOC is responsible for. He said since coming into TOC leadership, more than 500 coaches who works with their respectable associations are beneficiaries of coaching programmes. However, he said the TOC trained coaches can not function if the Government is not showing serious interest to develop sports in the country. “It’s the duty of sports disciplines to prepare their teams for qualification of the Games and TOC just come in charge of the selected athletes,” said Bayi. Deplored comments made by some people who calls for pulling out of the Games based on inadequate preparations, he said the spirit is unsportsmanship as not all Olympians win medals. He said those who are advocating for the withdraw should know that athletes who attained qualifying games had to sweat to win the berth. According to Bayi, withdrawing from the Games will hinder sports growth of the athletes as some of them are very young and are travelling to London not only to compete for medals but also to learn. “Sometimes we must put aside our emotions and look at the brighter side of everything. It’s unsportsmanship to pull out the Olympic team from the Games. The athletes will gain some experience which can be used in the future,” he said. He also revealed that TOC technical committee agreed to camp the London- bound team at Kibaha as the weather is reminiscent to that of London during the Games, albeit the area is good for runners due to low population density. However, Bayi said some Athletics Tanzania (AT) officials were reluctant to have a camp at Kibaha and had suggested Mbulu. He said TOC technical committee did not object to this idea but AT officials have not followed to re-camp the team at their preferred area. Due to the delay TOC agreed the athletes’ camp should remain at Kibaha. “Kibaha is ideal place to prepare the team as I practiced there on different occasions from 1976 to 1979 on my way to break the 1,500 metres world record in Jamaica. The place has good weather similar to that of London and other American countries,” he concluded.

The Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team’s (HOT) response to Haiti remains one of the most remarkable examples of what’s possible when volunteers, open source software and open data intersect. When the 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck on January 12th, 2010, the Google Map of downtown Port-au-Prince was simply too incomplete to be used for humanitarian response. Within days, however, several hundred volunteers from the OpenStreetMap (OSM) commu-nity used satellite imagery to trace roads, shelters and other important features to create the most detailed map of Haiti ever made. OpenStreetMap – Project Haiti from ItoWorld on Vimeo. The video animation above shows just how spectacular this initiative was. More than 1.4 million edits were made to the map during the first month following the earthquake. These individual edits are highlighted as bright flashes of light in the video. This detailed map went a long way to supporting the humanitarian community’s response in Haiti. In addition, the map enabled my colleagues and I at The Fletcher School to geo-locate reports from crowdsourced text messages from Mission 4636 on the Ushahidi Haiti Map. HOT’s response was truly remarkable. They created wiki’s to facilitate mass collaboration such as this page on “What needs to be mapped?” They also used this “OSM Matrix” to depict which areas required more mapping: The purpose of OSM’s new micro-tasking platform is to streamline mass and rapid collaboration on future satellite image tracing projects. I recently reached out to HOT’s Kate Chapman and Nicolas Chavent to get an overview of their new platform. After logging in using my OSM username and password, I can click through a list of various on-going projects. The one below relates to a very neat HOT project in Indonesia. As you can tell, the region that needs to be mapped on the right-hand side of the screen is divided into a grid. After I click on “Take a task randomly”, the screen below appears, pointing me to one specific cell in the grid above. I then have the option of opening and editing this cell within JOSM, the standard interface for editing OpenStreetMap. I would then trace all roads and buildings in my square and submit the edit. (I was excited to also see a link to WalkingPapers which allows you to print out and annotate that cell using pen & paper and then digitize the result for import back into OSM). There’s no doubt that this new Tasking Server will go a long way to coordinate and streamline future live tracing efforts such as for Somalia. For now, the team is mapping Somalia’s road network using their wiki approach. In the future, I hope that the platform will also enable basic feature tagging and back-end triangulation for quality assurance purposes—much like Tomnod. In the meantime, however, it’s important to note that OSM is far more than just a global open source map. OSM’s open data advocacy is imperative for disaster preparedness and response: open data saves lives.