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Serving Wikipedia Locally On The Z
Serving Wikipedia Locally On The Z
Oct 23 2006, 06:17 AM
Post #1
Group: Members
Posts: 900
Joined: 22-May 04
Member No.: 3,385
With the availability of Wikipedia dumps I'm searching for the best way to serve these and browse them in a web browser locally on the Z.
There has been some discussion - recent - of a user using wiki2static.pl to convert Wiki dumps and using a squashfs file image to view them on a Zaurus. However the dump format is new now, XML I think.
So I'd like to ask whether anyone is doing it and what are you using for this. I've seen this which seems like a good choice, since I'm already running LAMP on the Z. However you don't get images...
Any recommendations on what the best way to do it on the Z? Obviously it would have to be a squashfs image in order to fit the data on a card. But how to do it? Like the above post? Convert on a PC to a MySQL format? Anyone doing it this way or another?
Oct 29 2006, 02:43 PM
Post #2
Group: Members
Posts: 149
Joined: 17-April 04
Member No.: 2,879
I would be interested in this also, and believe Meanie said at one point that he was working on this. Perhaps one day soon he will surprise us with a post.
Rather than running mediawiki, apache, etc, there is an alternative approach that sounded appealling at first -- converting the data files to compressed html files that could be browsed directly. However, after a little investigation, it seems that there is so much variation in file format and loss of functionality involved that it did not work very well, and the conversion programs I saw didn't seem to be actively maintained.
Oct 29 2006, 03:31 PM
Post #3
Group: Members
Posts: 1,853
Joined: 31-December 05
From: Illinois USA
Member No.: 8,821
I don't know if this is off topic.
I use Zbedic and after looking at Meanie's page, I downloaded
It doesn't have any pictures, just text.
Google should find it for you. It is 412MB and slows down launching of zbedic.
I just put it on my C3100 hard drive in same directory as the dictionary file that I normally use with zbedic.
It only slows down zbedic if it's enabled in the dictionary selection screen.
I think, I'll try making another copy of zbedic and rename it to zbedic2.
With 2 different copies of zbedic, I could load one with the usual dictionary file for fast lookup, and load the second one with the wikipedia, since it launches so slowly
EDIT: I tried making a second copy of the binary zbedic as zbedic2 and I also put it in a different tab, but if I load the wikipedia into one of them, it's loaded into both of them.
This kind of makes the "Dictionary" function of zbedic usless for a quick word lookup app.
I'm sure this is the reason, I tried the wikipedia once in zbedic and removed it.
I thought having 2 binaries with different names would allow me to run two different instances of zbedic and have one loaded with just the dictionary, and the other loaded with both the wikipedia and dictionary.
I have used this same method of copying and renaming a binary once before, and it still works for qkonsole.
(I have 2 copies of qkonsole in 2 different tabs. One runs in magnified mode, the other runs in "normal" mode)
This post has been edited by Jon_J: Oct 29 2006, 04:07 PM
Oct 29 2006, 05:37 PM
Post #4
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From: Gulag, Siberia
Member No.: 8,322
QUOTE(Jon_J @ Oct 29 2006, 11:31 PM)
I thought having 2 binaries with different names would allow me to run two different instances of zbedic and have one loaded with just the dictionary, and the other loaded with both the wikipedia and dictionary.
Both copies of the binary are sharing the same configuration files. What you need is 2 sets of configuration files and some way of switching between them, rather than 2 binaries.
Oct 30 2006, 06:54 AM
Post #5
Group: Members
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Joined: 13-November 04
Member No.: 5,449
QUOTE(Jon_J @ Oct 30 2006, 12:31 AM)
It doesn't have any pictures, just text.
Google should find it for you. It is 412MB and slows down launching of zbedic.
The current solution is to to check the "fast load" box for zbedic, if you do not mind having less RAM. The right solution would be implementing "lazy" loading of dictionaries, but I have never had time to do it.
Images for wikipedia would probably take too much space. It is possible to have images in zbedic starting from 1.1, but nobody has so far tried it with Wikipedia.
To have two copies of zbedic, you would probably need to edit "control" files in .ipk. But I do not recommed this solution.
Oct 30 2006, 09:24 AM
Post #6
Group: Members
Posts: 1,853
Joined: 31-December 05
From: Illinois USA
Member No.: 8,821
I decided to disable wikipedia in the dictionary selector.
Launch Zbedic with just English dictionary - 3½ seconds.
Launch Zbedic with wikipedia & English dictionary - 8½ seconds.
I don't like using fast load.
I disable fast load on any app that I install, that has it enabled.
I'm keeping wikipedia on my HDD, so I can re-select it again if I need it.
Oct 30 2006, 08:37 PM
Post #7
Group: Members
Posts: 149
Joined: 17-April 04
Member No.: 2,879
The wiki2zaurus homepage hasn't been updated in a long time and the latest downloadable version there of the converted wikipedia is quite old. From what I read about changes in format in the wikipedia, it seemed that the old perl scripts would need a good bit of work to process the current wiki files but I could be wrong. Searching wiki2zaurus on this forum gives a couple of recent threads that suggest someone may be working on this or another approach.
Nov 9 2006, 09:25 PM
Post #8
Group: Members
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Joined: 17-August 05
Member No.: 7,886
Wikipedia needs to be on my Z. NEEDS.
Nov 30 2006, 04:34 AM
Post #9
Group: Admin
Posts: 3,512
Joined: 29-July 04
From: Cambridge, England
Member No.: 4,149
You don't necessarily need apache installed on the Z to run cgi scripts - check out my posting on security/networking for a shell-script web server which will run a CGI, and take a look in general discussion for my squashfs-oesf-forum-archive.
maybe you can get a minimal mediawiki cgi running with a minimal mysql db backend.
Nov 30 2006, 06:32 AM
Post #10
Group: Members
Posts: 29
Joined: 23-August 05
From: Germany
Member No.: 7,931
a solution for a small wikipedia-specific server would be wikijserver: http://wikijserver.achterliek.de/ (parts in german)
it runs pretty good on my Z with the german "Exzellente Artikel" dump from the site, only problem is there is no dump for the complete wikipedia around, and so far I found no info on how to generate one. But IMHO this is the best solution for a complete wikipedia on the Z given we get a recent dump...
PS.: for all who want to try it, the wikijserverl_arm_1_4_12_all.ipk doesn't work with jeode or PersonalProfile (on cacko) but the ewe version with the ewe-runtime works without problems.
Dec 3 2006, 12:13 PM
Post #11
Group: Members
Posts: 282
Joined: 9-August 06
Member No.: 10,709
Here is a list of toolkits for converting the data: http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Alternative_parsers
Notably tomeraider is listed which is intended for portable devices but I know nothing that can read them on the Z.
My idea is to translate the XML into portabase format ( http://portabase.sourceforge.net/portabase_xml.html ) although I've no idea how yet.
Does anyone use portabase to know if it would handle a large database?
Jun 10 2007, 06:25 AM
Post #12
Group: Members
Posts: 47
Joined: 28-February 06
Member No.: 9,244
Hi all,
just to get this topic back into discussion - I do think that the way wiki2static works (compress and reformat downloaded dump, then use apache with cgi to generate pages and do searches) is the way to go. Installing a complete wiki with mysql to access the database is probably too much for the Zaurus, not only concerning the available storage space.
As I'm not really satisfied with the *bedic variants (neither "q" nor "z"), wouldn't it be great if someone with knowledge of perl had a look at wiki2zaurus? Maybe that someone could get it working again...
|Lo-Fi Version
|Time is now: 24th May 2018 - 05:40 PM


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The Professor of the Year is selected through a vote of the Calvin graduating class. Jen, a business professor, is the 12th winner of the award.
For presumably the first time ever, Calvin's prestigious Professor of the Year award is going to a professor who is named after the college. Business professor Cal Jen, the son of Chinese immigrants, was born the year his father graduated from Calvin Theological Seminary.
"So that is how I got named Cal. I got named after this place," said Jen. "My three siblings all have biblical names, so I am the only one with a non-biblical name. But in Reformed circles, it is almost better."
12th honored
The Professor of the Year is selected through a vote of the Calvin graduating class. Jen is the 12th winner of the award. "I don't feel very deserving," he said. "There are so many better professors here who have been doing it for so much longer."
Jen teaches in the business department currently, but that was not always the case. After teaching architecture classes for eight years in the Calvin engineering department, he switched to business at invitation of his good friend Dave Cook, the chair of the business department. Cook asked Jen to teach an introduction to business class to help students better correlate theory with practice. He has taught in business at Calvin for almost four years.
Senior Camie Venhuizen, who wrote a nomination for Jen for Professor of the Year, was in the very first section of intro to business that he taught. Venhuizen confessed that she was initially disappointed that Jen was substituting for a professor she really wanted to take: "I was upset because I thought I would be missing out on an amazing opportunity to learn from such a gifted man; little did I know or realize what I would actually be gaining instead … ," she said. "I feel so blessed to have had Professor Jen; I truly believe that it was a providential act from God," wrote Venhuizen, who referred to Jen as the "greatest blessing of my entire college experience." Jen, she said, became a great friend to whom she could go to for "advice, editing, prayer, conversation, listening ears, and encouragement."
Impromptu party
On Thursday morning, May 7, Norm Zylstra, Calvin coordinator of student and young alumni programs, organized an impromptu party in Jen's class (and without Jen's prior knowledge): "Our concern was that they would have a test that day, and we didn't want to come busting in on a test," Zylstra said. Fortunately, he added, there was no test and the party went very well. Jen will be presented with a clock that has a plaque on it commemorating his victory at the Zero Day Brunch on Saturday, May 23.
"God has always given me a heart for college students," said Jen. "I am not entirely sure why, except that I recognize it." He likes to encourage a discussion-oriented atmosphere. He said that he tries to call on every single student in his classes every class period to encourage them to share what God has given them to share. "I think discussion format helps to engage the students," said Jen. "Rather than just talk to them, I'd rather draw things out of them, and help them learn from each other. Not just from me, but to learn from each other."
Before coming to Calvin, Jen grew up in Taiwan where his parents served as missionaries. He spent two years at Calvin College as a student before earning his bachelor's degree in science and his master's degree in architecture from the University of Michigan.
After finishing up his education, Jen held several positions in the business world. He worked for a long time as an architect for Domino's Pizza, during that company's time of explosive growth beginning in 1982. Jen stayed on at Domino's for nine years and rose to the rank of Senior Vice President of real estate and human resources. During his time at Domino's, Jen also taught part-time at the University of Michigan. He had about 100 employees directly under him at Domino's and an operating budget of approximately 20 million dollars—but was not content with where he was in his life.
"I thought this is great, but I didn't go to school to become a business person. I went to school to be an architect," said Jen. So he started his own architecture firm in Ann Arbor in 1992 and named it AMDG Architects. When he relocated the business to Grand Rapids in 1994, he began teaching again, this time at Calvin College.
Reaching students
Jen, who sold his interest in his firm in 2007, said that perhaps this Professor of the Year award is a small confirmation that he is where God wants him to be for now: "The award will encourage me to figure out how to reach students even more, deeper, to teach them adequately, to make it fun, to make it enjoyable," said Jen. "I am always thinking about how I can make every class period memorable. How can I draw each student closer to God?"
Although he went to school to be an architect and not a "business person," Jen is enjoying his time in the business department. "I just feel tremendously blessed to be here," said Jen. "Calvin is a wonderful, wonderful college with a wonderful mission."

subset: commoncrawl


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For various reasons, some direct and some indirect, certain activities, items and usages of items have been banned in Davis... and many more bans are being proposed.
Timeline of Bans
- 1982 — Musicians from The Blasters banned from performing in Davis
- 2002 — The Open Container Ordinance results in no drinking alcohol in public and in most parks
- 2011 — The Blasters Ban is lifted after Mayor Krovoza grants the band a full pardon.
- 2014 — Plastic Bags Ban
Proposed Bans
- Wood Burning Ban, aka the Fireplace Ban
- Leaf-blower Ban
There are also wiki bans, but those don't really affect Davis (nobody in Davis is banned from the Davis Wiki as of May 2011). Some people want to ban roll-on, but I'm not sure why that is.


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Taylor University Earns Bronze Rating for SustainabilityBy Kevin Crosby Published: Mar 14, 2012
Taylor University has earned a STARS Bronze Rating in recognition of sustainability achievements from the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE). STARS, an acronym for Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System, measures and encourages sustainability in all aspects of higher education.
According to Kevin Crosby, Taylor's coordinator of stewardship and sustainability, STARS is a sustainability-focused system that assesses environmental factors, social and economic factors. Participating colleges and universities engage in self-study and reporting to AASHE.
STARS considers environmental, social, and economic factors facing higher education institutions. Participants report achievements in three overall areas: 1) education and research, 2) operations, and 3) planning, administration and engagement. Taylor is one of 146 charter participants, out of a total of 307 participating institutions, to receive a STARS rating. To date, Taylor is one of only three institutions in the 116-member Council for Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU) to be rated.
"Taylor's STARS Bronze rating is a welcome acknowledgement of our campus' deep and growing commitment to fiscal stewardship, just treatment of our employees and neighbors, and environmental responsibility," said Crosby. "We look forward to watching our sustainability efforts grow and improve with what we have learned through the STARS program."
John Stanson, a Taylor master of environmental science student, was a participant in the self-study that led to the rating. "Working on this assessment was both educational and eye-opening," Stanson said. "Being an environmental science student, I realize the importance of sustainability and the impact that we as a university can have. I'm glad to have been a part of this process and I am excited that Taylor is taking such huge strides in this area."
An institution's STARS score is based on the average of the percentage of applicable points it earns in each of the three main categories of STARS credits (i.e. Education and Research, Operations, and Planning, Administration and Engagement). Any Innovation Credits earned are then added to this average determining the total STARS score.
"STARS was developed by the campus sustainability community to provide high standards for recognizing campus sustainability efforts," said AASHE Executive Director Paul Rowland. "Taylor University has demonstrated a substantial commitment to sustainability by achieving a STARS Bronze Rating and is to be congratulated for their efforts."
About AASHE:
AASHE is an association of colleges and universities that are working to create a sustainable future. AASHE's mission is to empower higher education to lead the sustainability transformation. It provides resources, professional development and a network of support to enable institutions of higher education to model and advance sustainability in everything they do, from governance and operations to education and research.


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As anticipated, the demo for Thief: Deadly Shadows is now available, offering the chance to sample ION Storm's newly released follow-up to Looking Glass Studios' classic series of stealthy Thief games. The 427 MB demo will be posted on the Thief: Deadly Shadows Website, and mirrors are already available on 3D Gamers, ActionTrip, Computer Games Online, Filerush (torrent), Fileshack (registration required), Gamer's Hell, GameSpot DLX, Pixelrage.ro, and Worthplaying.
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Wednesday, 16 November 2011
Janes Advanced Strike Fighters (SIMULATOR)
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Jane's Advance Strike Fighters is set in the fictional country of Azbaristan. The once great nation has been torn apart by a decade of civil war. The ten year war resulted in huge territorial gains for the Northern Peoples Republicand their controlling political party. This gave them control of almost the entire country, except the oil-rich province in the South.
The southern Azbaristan Democratic Front has only managed to hold off the North with the aid of the West, which supplies military and logistical aid to the tiny state in return for oil exports. Players will assume the role of squadron leader Razor and lead the fight to reunify Azbaristan and protect the West's vital interests.
J.A.S.F is an intense modern flight sim featuring 16 epic story based missions that will take air combat to the next level. Engage enemies using 30 authentic licensed fighters as you battle over expansive battlefields.


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Honesdale's varsity football team got off to a fast start against archrival Paupack Friday night. However, the Hornets ran out of gas in the second half and eventually absorbed a 29-14 LFC loss.
HAWLEY — For two quarters Friday night, Honesdale appeared as it had finally turned the corner in one of the area's biggest gridiron rivalries.
The Hornets suffered one of their worst losses of the season against Wallenpaupack Area last year in Week One, a 47-2 shocker at the hands of the Buckhorns.
This time around, though, Coach Jim Ludwig's lads looked like they were poised for an upset. The Red & Black raced out to an early lead, scoring once in each of the opening two periods. However, Paupack stormed back each time and took a 15-14 lead into the lockerroom at intermission.
"I was really happy with our effort in the first half," Coach Ludwig told TWI Sports. "The kids were flying all over the field making plays on both sides of the ball. I honestly don't know what happened in the second half. It's very disappointing..."
Simply put, Paupack dominated the final two quarters. After a scoreless third, the Buckhorns cranked up their running game behind John Jones. The senior tailback carried the ball an eye-popping 29 times for 216 yards and capped two long drives with touchdown runs.
The result was a disheartening 29-14 defeat for Honesdale.
"We'll go back and look at the game video and see what we can learn," Coach Ludwig said. "Then, we'll try and put it behind us. The kids are pretty down right now and so am I. This is a tough loss."
With the win, Paupack evens its 2012 record at 1-1. The Bucks hit the road for a non-league battle with Allentown Dieruff on Friday.
Honesdale is 0-2 on the season and will now prepare for its home opener. The Hornets put out the proverbial welcome mat for Valley View Friday night.
Opening kick-off for both of these contests is slated for 7:00 p.m.
Fast Start
Kevin Miller ignited the Hornet offense with his legs and arm.
Facing two unfavorable third down situations, the talented junior quarterback scrambled for a pair of first downs to keep Honsdale's initial drive alive. Miller then hit Jonathan Gillow on a crossing pattern to give the visitors a first down in Paupack territory.
Moments later, Kyle Carney silenced the big home crowd with a dazzling run. The junior scatback took a pitch right, cut back sharply and sliced right through the heart of Paupack's defense. Twenty-nine yards later, Carney was celebrating the evening's first touchdown.
TJ Knash converted the PAT and with 7:02 left in the opening stanza, Honesdale had itself a 7-0 lead.
The Buckhorns wasted little time retaliating. After the ensuing kick-off, Will Hendel drove the Bucks right downfield. Paupack's veteran signal caller capped a 70-yard drive with a 21-yard touchdown pass to David Pabst.
Dr. Mark Watson then dug deep into his bag of tricks on the conversion. Paupack's coach had Hendel fake the PAT try. Will took the snap, rolled to his right and hit Cameron Wolfson with a 2-point pass. With 2:49 remaining in the first quarter, Paupack suddenly held an 8-7 advantage.
Honesdale unveiled its aerial assault in its second possession. Miller once again kept the drive alive with a Jim Zorn-esque scramble, giving his Hornets a first down in Paupack territory.
On the very next play, Miller dropped back to pass and delivered a touchdown strike to Gillow. The play covered 43 yards and, with another Knash PAT, Honesdale surged back in front by a score of 14-8.
Fading Fast
Sadly for local fans who made the trek down Rte. Six Friday night, Miller's TD toss to Gillow would be Honesdale's last gasp offensively.
Paupack unleashed its own air attack late in the second quarter and re-captured the lead. Hendel and Pabst once again hooked up, this time on a 10-yarder. Mason Gallik split the uprights with the conversion attempt and the Bucks took a 15-14 lead into halftime.
After the break, Dr. Watson went back to what he knows best: the running game. Paupack's veteran skipper basically turned the offense over to his tailback, then sat back and enjoyed the show.
Jones, barely a blip on the radar as a 155-pound junior, played brilliantly in the first home game of his senior season. John ran roughshod over Honesdale's front seven, carving up the Hornets for two second half touchdowns.
The first came from five yards out and capped a long Paupack drive early in the third quarter. Jones then gave the Bucks some much-needed breathing room with time ticking down in regulation. He high-stepped in from six yards away, sealing the deal on a 29-14 win.
Miller finished up as Honesdale's top rusher, carrying the ball eight times for 82 yards. Kevin also comppleted five passes for 85 yards and one TD.
His favorite target was Gillow, who wound up with 61 yards on two receptions.
Carney was limited to just 23 yards on 10 attempts.
Score by Quarters...


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Wow. I am starting off this intro with one word and one word only, because there is really no other way to describe this day. Well… I guess I could say that it's chock-full of sparkles with contemporary meets classic details as far as the eyes can see. Or that the bride is crazy gorgeous and her gown from Galleria Couture Perth is beyond dreamy. OR that the setting is a stunning (+ breathtaking) private estate masterpiece. And, of course, I must mention that Natasja Kremer captured every last moment perfectly… because the gallery? It's a serious must-see. Join me there for all of the pretty.
From Natasja Kremer… An elegant Perth, Western Australian wedding. New Year's Eve and a super hot day. The ceremony was at St. Patricks in Fremantle and the reception at Pri's uncle's estate in the hills suburb of Byford. Stunning property and perfectly decorated where the guests dined on lobster and Moet and danced the cooler night away.
Elena and Pri wanted to really spoil their guests and treat them to a mini get away. Buses picked up and delivered guests. Very lovely sweet couple out to have the day of their dreams. As their photographer it was amazing to have been a part of it all.
Wedding Photography: Natasja Kremer / Ceremony Venue: The Basilica of St. Patrick's in Fremantle, Australia / Reception Venue: Private Estate in Byford, Australia / Floral Design: Wayne Stubbs / Cinematography: Urban Light Films / Catering: Heyder & Shears / Lighting & Event Management: ProDesign / Graphic Design: Garry Mann Graphics / Wedding Cake: Cupid's Delight / Bands: Ravioli Brothers + Howie Morgan + Dr. Bogus / Wedding Dress + Mother of the Bride Dress + Bridesmaids' Attire: Galleria Couture Perth / Bride's Shoes: Jimmy Choo / Makeup: Gillian Campbell / Hair: Nicole Crellin + Melissa Chillino
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Hi I just bought some wheat bran thinking I would add more fiber to my diet. Ok now what? I want to add while baking and need to know how much and any other need to know facts. Thanks for any help. Patrick from Modesto
Hi I just bought some wheat bran thinking I would add more fiber to my diet. Ok now what? I want to add while baking and need to know how much and any other need to know facts. Thanks for any help. Patrick from Modesto
How much wheat bran you can add to a formula and how it will affect the outcome will depend on what you're trying to make. If you want to add wheat bran to a lean wheat bread, just be prepared for the loaf to turn out denser, since the bran flakes will interfere with the gluten structure of the bread. Wheat bran can be easily added to quickbread recipes, such as banana bread or carrot bread. Just make sure to add some extra liquid to compensate for the extra dry mass.
Oatmeal is another great medium for wheat bran. Personally, I like oatmeal better with the added bran texture.
Try oat bran too. It tastes better. May offer extra benefits. Probably more expensive though.
I went through a period of adding bran(both types) to some of my recipes. Basically, soaked the brans in water. Then just added reasonable amounts(3 or four tablespoons) to things like muffins. If already presoaked, you don't have to worry much about adjusting the recipes ingredients.
Ground flax meal is another good additive. As the others, soak it too.
I add wheat bran to my loaves when the whim strikes me. Most of my loaves have 400 g of flour and the bran, when added, is about 80 g. One thing I would suggest is to pre-soak the bran with an equal weight of water for at least four hours. Wheat bran can also be used on your couche or with the flour in your banneton. It adds a nice texture to the crust. Be sure to monitor your dough when mixing, bran can absorb a lot of water.
I'd rather eat more salad than adding bran to my bread. Bran seriously limits the volume that bread can get.
Toadies (Toady Tom's, Tasty ,Toasted Tidbits) with it - when mixed with equal parts of oat bran, wheat germ and sifted middlings and then dry pan toasted until nicely browned. I add about 2% of dough weight. One of the healthiest and best flavor enhancers bread ever fortunate to meet meet up with. They also add some beautiful brown specks in the bread visually. It's a win, win, win for healthy, tasty and visually.
When making whole wheat bread in a loaf pan, I spread a coating of butter in the pan and then toss the wheat bran around the pan to coat it - then put the loaf in the pan. I've also added wheat bran at the end of kneading the loaf so it won't interfere as much with gluten development. Just a few thoughts.


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The yen weakened to a five-year low versus the dollar amid speculation the Bank of Japan will continue unprecedented stimulus while the Federal Reserve pares quantitative easing as the U.S. economy recovers.
Japan's currency dropped for a fourth day before the U.S. announces jobless claims today and as Bank of Japan minutes showed one board member said a slowdown in growth could represent a downward shift in trend. Turkey's lira fell to a record as Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan replaced 10 ministers amid a corruption probe that led three ministers to resign yesterday. Australia's dollar declined against all its major peers as Chinese stocks slid to the least since August.
"The fact that BOJ members are concerned that improvement in growth, jobs, and consumer prices may not be as robust as before signals they will take some kind of measures going forward," said Takahiro Sekido, who worked at the BOJ before joining Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd. as a Japan strategist. "Dollar-yen could test 105 as economic data in the U.S. continue to improve."
The yen fell 0.4 percent to 104.76 per dollar at 6:33 a.m. New York time, after reaching 104.84, the weakest level since October 2008. Japan's currency dropped 0.5 percent to 143.47 per euro, after sliding to a five-year low of 143.54. The 17-nation shared currency was little changed at $1.3695.
The Topix index of Japanese shares closed at the highest level since 2008 as the currency weakened. Financial markets including those in Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Germany and the U.K. are closed today.
Biggest Losers
The yen lost 17 percent against the dollar this year, the biggest decline among its 16 major peers after the South African rand's 18 percent drop, amid speculation the BOJ will continue unprecedented stimulus that debases the currency, while the Fed pares quantitative easing as the U.S. economy recovers.
BOJ board members agreed to examine risks and adjust policy as needed, according to minutes of their Nov. 20-21 meeting released today. One member said anticipation of more easing could lead to economic instability.
Japan's central bank is buying more than 7 trillion yen of government bonds each month in an attempt to end 15 years of deflation. Twenty seven of 35 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News this month forecast Japan's central bank will add stimulus after March.
Jobless Claims
The dollar jumped 2 percent against the yen since Dec. 17, the day before the Fed said it plans to cut monthly asset purchases in January to $75 billion from $85 billion. Policy makers will probably reduce bond purchases in $10 billion increments over the next seven meetings before ending the program in December 2014, economists said in a Bloomberg survey published Dec. 19.
Applications for U.S. unemployment benefits probably fell to 345,000 in the week ended Dec. 21, from 379,000 the previous week, according to the median estimate of economists in a Bloomberg News survey. Monthly employment figures are due on Jan. 10, with the jobless rate forecast by analysts to remain at a five-year low of 7 percent.
The Standard & Poor's 500 Index closed at a record high on Dec. 24 after data on U.S. durable goods and new homes sales exceeded analyst estimates.
"We may see the U.S. jobless claims data move the market as traders in New York start to come back from holiday," said Kengo Suzuki, the chief currency strategist at Mizuho Securities Co. in Tokyo. "Currency traders will keep an eye on stock moves today."
Turkish Resignations
The Turkish lira touched a record-low 2.1038 per dollar and the Borsa Istanbul 100 Index headed for its lowest close since August 2012. Environment and Urban Works Minister Erdogan Bayraktar, an associate of Prime Minister Erdogan for two decades, resigned and called for the premier to step down too. Erdogan responded by reshuffling his cabinet.
The lira is this month's worst-performer in emerging Europe and Africa, having fallen 3.8 percent, even after Turkey's central bank said Dec. 24 it would sell at least $6 billion through the end of January and make it more costly for lenders to park foreign currencies in its coffers.
Australia's dollar slumped 0.4 percent to 88.88 U.S. cents, and fell 0.2 percent to NZ$1.0888, as China's stocks declined amid investor disappointment the government didn't take further measures to ease a cash crunch. The Shanghai Composite Index lost 1.6 percent to 2,073.10 at the close, the lowest level since Aug. 23.
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Shame you got modded troll. This is pretty insightful, though it should say "Outsource your work to a country which has lax tax laws."
One of the most unintentionally hilarious points in TFA is Steve Ballmer's comment;
Users such as the Government of the Isle of Man are already saving up to £120 per year using the beta version of Windows 7
The Isle of Man is largely an offshore tax haven with around 1,350 desktop computers for the entire government. If all of the promised "£100 per desktop per year" savings materialise, the IoM government will have saved a grand total of £135,000 by using beta software. So why would Ballmer be so interested in such a small deployment?
Accounts for Microsoft Ireland Research, an Irish subsidiary of the global software giant, show that the company paid just €460,000 in tax, on profits of more than €1.2 billion last year.
http://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/category/microsoft/ [taxresearch.org.uk]
That's 0.04% tax.
Still wondering why Microsoft is heavily involved in an offshore tax haven?
Even funnier, the IoM Government was an early supporter of Windows Vista, and claimed savings switching to that OS. Though only completing their rollout in October 2009, they were just in time to save even more money changing to Windows 7. If they keep making savings upgrading like that, pretty soon Microsoft'll be paying them for installing Windows.
I'm posting AC because I do IT work for IOM gov. Your post is full of misinformation.
First of all it's disingenuous to represent the Isle of Man as a "tax haven". It's one of the few offshore jurisdictions that aren't on the US blacklist of tax havens and has tax information sharing agreements with anyone that matters. We don't have "lax tax laws". We're one of the only 3 jurisdictions whitelisted by the UK to conduct online gambling precisely because we have good regulation and anti-money laundering protection. And the overall level of tax burned on the IOM is about the same as the US.
Second. There are about 5000 desktop and laptop computers. Now you might not think such small numbers don't matter, but it's not the numbers, it's where they are. The IOM has everything you'd find in your average government, from the executive offices right down to sewage treatment, water utilities, power generation, hospitals, schools, roads, etc, etc. Only it's much smaller. So why does MS care? Because they can deploy their products across an entire and extremely varied organisation, and capture that in only 5000 machines.
As for the Vista/Windows 7 thing. The software is licenced through microsoft's rental scheme, so whether they stay on Windows XP or Windows 7 doesn't matter, they pay the same. The claimed savings were down to lower maintenance costs etc. Also after the deployment of Vista, the upgrade to Windows 7 (like all their application deployments) is through a system called SMS. It's deployed over the network, overnight and is completed with one reboot. No user settings are lost as they're all on network profiles.
I don't like MS as much as the next slashdotter, but you're talking about things you don't know. Stop.
From Wiki;
The Isle of Man does not charge corporation tax, capital gains tax, inheritance tax or wealth tax. Personal income tax is levied at 10–18% on the worldwide income of Isle of Man residents, up to a maximum tax liability of £100,000. Banking income tax is levied on the profits of Isle of Man based banks at 10% and income from the rent of Isle of Man property is levied at the same rate.
I don't use ANY proprietary software at my company. I own a software development company in Argentina. If I get an auditor (Auditions here are done by ARBA, the state-wide equivalent of the IRS in Buenos Aires) I just won't even open the door. Sue me if you want. I use NO privative software, and no one has any right to log in into my servers or workstations (We have ~40 machines at our offices).
Fuck them in the ass.
I don't use ANY proprietary software at my company.
This is great for anyone who can get free software to do their bidding. For everyone else, this really pushes free software into the limelight in a good way (e.g. - we'll use it until we see the value and THEN we'll pay for the "enterprise" support).
Adobe products apparently "phone home". My former employer was just approached by Adobe about some unlicensed copies on the network (the users have full admin rights, per most Windows environments). They settled out of court for $2 million (USD) but immediately dropped Adobe from the suite in favor of free software.
Kudos to Adobe for screwing themselves so bad.
They settled out of court for $2 million (USD) but immediately dropped Adobe from the suite in favor of free software.
Kudos to Adobe for screwing themselves so bad.
I'd hardly call getting a $2,000,000 check "screwing themselves". Especially since, if they hadn't -- as you say -- "screwed themselves" like that, they would have gotten nothing.
And now they'll get nothing else, when the company could have been a good customer, along with bad publicity. I won't every buy anything from Adobe now.
Getting free software to do ones bidding is really just learning how to use it and doesn't take any more time than non-free software in most cases. The thing is that there are some differences and that in schools proprietary is what is taught.
Yes it is harder for some applications but for the vast majority of office work FOSS is just as good. If you really need that little boost and can't afford to pay the time then pay the money and say hello to the auditor with a smile on your face as you agreed to the
Getting free software to do ones bidding is really just learning how to use it and doesn't take any more time than non-free software in most cases.
I have to disagree with that as far as desktop applications go. Although I normally hold up Firefox as a shining example of what other FOSS projects could achieve, the 'eco-system' doesn't really work for end users even with this nice browser.
For instance, I recently setup some Ubuntu systems for a shop doing heavy online sales through eBay. One day soon after, someone there decides to get a better camera but can no longer select the resulting JPEG files for uploading because the new camera does filenames i
Here's a nice old story [cnet.com] about a Microsoft software user that got audited, sued, fined and dragged through the press. Apparently they sell guitars. Of course a loss for somebody is naturally a win [sun.com] for somebody else.
""I don't anticipate a big round of simplification," Ballmer said. "Whenever you simplify you get rid of something.""
Even Ballmer admits that getting rid of Windows simplifies things
I agree with that. Actually, there are many screwed up views on the US about many subjects. Argentina is far from being a paradise. We are a mess in many areas, but we are much more free. I have many friends from the states (Being a coder, you just make friends in all parts of the word), and I hear many talk about the land of the free. Freedom in the US is a scarce value. We are a lot more free down here. You can use drugs without the cops bothering you, People are not suing each other all the time, and you can actually live without a credit card, a bank account, and financial records. You can live in cash, without being chased, and just say 'fuck the government, I want my own little Anarchy". If you leave everyone alone, and don't expect anything from the government, they have no way of bothering you. That's the way I choose. I stay out of their way, and they stay out of mine. Sure, if you are into the game, they will fuck you up. But if you decide to play alone, you stand a chance.
About your questions, the weather is very nice, the place is beautiful (sort of European-looking, but with virtually unlimited natural resources, less people, lots of cheap land, and the best food in the world). About internet access, I'm paying 33 Dollars for unlimited 3G access anywhere in the country [coverage is pretty good, i have signal everywhere, even outside the cities], and 42 Dollars for a 4MB Cablemodem, that works pretty well.
The civil justice system has NEVER been an "innocent until proven guilty" system. Unlike criminal justice, civil justice is about "preponderance of evidence." Roughly, this means that whoever's case is more impressive, wins. You don't have to prove anything, you just have to be more convincing than the other guy. And if you don't try to defend yourself? You lose by default. This isn't new. It's always been this way.
>They don't just show up and kick down your door.
Yes, they do.
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&safe=off&client=opera&rls=en&q=bsa+raid&btnG=Search [google.com]
Would have been better to use blood sucking lawyers.
Don't run Windows. "Software auditors" are just about unknown to users of any other platform.
Exactly. On a somewhat related note, I think it would be interesting to see how the recession has affected the use of FOSS due to the necessity of cutting extraneous costs like software licenses.
Opinion only: Little to no effect yet. Most companies are trying to ride out the recession. (Read, management is still enjoying a nice paycheck, and most of their usual perks) When, and only when, management is looking at cuts to their own pay and/or benefits will they look at FOSS as an alternative. Then, there will be problems. All those donations to schools has ensured that most people only know the MS way of life, and it will cost to migrate to anything else.
But, if the recession isn't solved with
I don't know about where you work, but where I am they dropped all new software purchases & maintenance for software they owned 12 months ago.
But they aren't planning on moving to open source. They purchased the software, they aren't hiring anyone, and so they don't need to do anything.
Long live Office 2000!
Microsoft hates that mentality. Therefore, they are moving to a subscription model with Office 2010. But they've got a tough road converting the huge base of Office 2000, XP, 2003, 2007 people who have a license into infinity.
Let's see:
-10 days notice
-at most once a year unless you get caught
-if you make a minor mistake, you pay up and you're done
-if you make a major mistake, you pay up 120% and you're done
Sounds better than anything Microsoft or Adobe have to offer.
Yep, nobody would threaten to sue you for using Linux.
Excuse me, jcr, you've got a phone call from a SCO on line 3. I think you might want tot take it.
Depends on the flavor. Try debian.
Don't run Windows. "Software auditors" are just about unknown to users of any other platform.
I think you meant "to users of any other platform where the hardware costs less than a car." Oracle, for example, has a long history of auditing its customers and only the most brain damaged among them would run it on Windows.
Exactly. Microsoft long ago passed the point of having to care about what people think of them.
> Microsoft long ago passed the point of having to care about what people think of them.
IBM used to believe that. So did Dell.
And as an advocate for FOSS and other alternatives to MS I salute them for going after that buck at the expense of their users and cheer them on to drive harder.
They may be within their rights,
What right would that be, exactly? If they're not law enforcement, and they don't have a court order, they have zero "rights." Yes, even if they show up wearing fancy raid jackets to try and look like law enforcement.
I've posted this several times before. If the BSA or any of these other vultures come knocking, they have ABSOLUTELY NO RIGHT TO DO ANYTHING, SEE ANYTHING, TALK TO ANYONE, etc WITHOUT A COURT ORDER. If they have one, that means you're already in the process of being sued, and the first person you should call is your lawyer, and you should ONLY do EXACTLY what the court order requires you to.
Here's the Superbanana Super Guide To BSA Bullshit Shutdown.
If they don't have a court order, don't let them see anything, touch anything, install anything, connect anything. Don't answer any questions. The only information you should give them is your attorney's phone number.
Here's where the nonsense starts...
You consent to the audits if you have any volume licensing at all. You also gave up your right to sue and have consented to going to arbitration. In that, BSA claiming they have a report you licensed X and you are using Y copies (from the upset employee you fired a month ago) and unless you present a defense, you lose. So, you've got to let the auditors do their count of computers... You can slow them down and get into compliance in the meantime, but you can't keep them
Giving up your right to sue doesn't mean you can't sue. I've seen it done. Party A and Party B enter an arbitration agreement. Party A believes Party B has failed to fulfil some contractual obligation. Party B disagrees, finds fault with Party A, and sues Party A. In court, party A enters the original contract into evidence. Party B disputes it. A hearing is scheduled. A question of validity of the contract is raised. Party A then sues Party B for breach of contract. The whole thing is tied up in the courts for 17 months. The issue is resolved when everybody gets so fucking tired of it that they just walk away.
You say I gave up my right to sue? How are you going to prove it? I guess you'll have to... TAKE ME TO COURT.
They have no evidence that you clicked on it though. Just because the software is installed means only that "someone" clicked the agreement. Or maybe not -- all software has bugs in it, maybe the installer didn't show an agreement (due to a faulty video card driver, for instance).
If they even so much as poke your check with a finger
I presume you intended to type cheek?
IANAL, but the law, as I was instructed in it, in British Columbia, Canada suggests that if you think someone is trespassing you should inform them they're trespassing. You can then place a hand on them to escort them off the property, if the resist, even to the point of simply slipping away from the hand you've place on them they can then be seen as having assaulted you.
Corporations and most lawyers use intimidation as a matter of course, as do government agencies. I'm
I don't have solid data to back it up; but I think they're giving out more tickets in California now.
The other day I actually saw somebody get nailed for "failure to yield to a pedestrian". This is indeed a big problem--to the point where I have to wait for several cars to pass through a crosswalk sometimes. Still, it doesn't seem like they cared that much about it a couple years ago.
Maybe someone got hit. Where I used to live there were a couple of pedestrians hit in crosswalks, including one who was carrying a baby. They put the fine at $500 and the cops started enforcing it. It wasn't really a big problem before, but there was no problem at all afterward.
For all intensive purposes
I've always thought that that was "For all intents and purposes."
If "traffic cop" implied "greedy", then there wouldn't be any need for the adjective.
In the town next to the one I sit... there's a old police officer who has a "quota" of traffic fines he needs to collect in the budget. Miss his income number, and he's unemployed. The budget number is public record as and in as a separate line item in the official budget. He's authorized to put up a "Speed Limit 30" sign at any intersection because that's the state law at all intersections marked or not.
Now, on the way out of this town, there's a highway interchange. That's an intersection, but the state highway people don't want you going as slow as 30 miles per hour there... you won't be up to 55 on the short ramp to the highway if you do. So they've rigged this intersections with enough signs that the traffic officer is locked out... if he puts his sign up, it's not properly displayed because it's either blocked from view or too far from the intersection. He still writes tickets there, and if you take him to traffic court you can get it kicked. He's hoping you confess or just send in the check. There's even a state website where you can pay your fine with a credit card.
If enough people do get his tickets kicked, he'll be done.
For those who forgot:
http://news.cnet.com/2008-1082_3-5065859.htm [cnet.com]
In 2000, the Business Software Alliance conducted a raid and subsequent audit at the San Luis Obispo, Calif.-based company that turned up a few dozen unlicensed copies of programs. Ball settled for $65,000, plus $35,000 in legal fees. But by then, the BSA, a trade group that helps enforce copyrights and licensing provisions for major business software makers, had put the company on the evening news and featured it in regional ads warning other businesses to monitor their software licenses. Humiliated by the experience, Ball told his IT department he wanted Microsoft products out of his business within six months. "I said, 'I don't care if we have to buy 10,000 abacuses,'" recalled Ball, who recently addressed the LinuxWorld trade show. "We won't do business with someone who treats us poorly."
and some are simply exploiting loopholes and technicalities to meet their targets
Arn't "loopholes and technicalities" some of the things auditors are supposed to look for?
Julian Heathcote Hobbins, General Counsel for the Federation Against Software Theft (FAST), spoke in defence of the software industry protecting its property rights
Could the guy have a more pretentious name? Really? Julian Heathcote Hobbins? Could that guy have any other job beside going around and telling people they are using the product they bought incorrectly?
Come on, he can't help his name. Now, using all of them, THAT's pretentious.
IMO this is one place where strong management can make a big difference by taking an explicit position on "Times are tough, we need to collect what revenue we can" vs "We need to preserve a relationship with our customers *and* help them stay in business *and* get ready to capitalise on that good relationship when the economy picks up and we want to sell more stuff". Targets should not be allowed to distract from the bigger picture, which is *serving your customers*. Sure you might have contract terms that give you "the right" to hit your customers with surprise charges in order to help keep your own business afloat but you're not really serving them, you're using them. By the same token, when I go to my local shop they have "the right" to be rude to me - I'm paying for goods, not manners. But then I'd switch purchasing to the other local shop. Everything has a cost.
But what do I know, I'm not a manager! Times are tough, people have to get by somehow.
Who can screw their customers and expect them to come back for more.
Heh, that's certainly true too! I've been thinking a lot recently about whether predatory / monopolistic behaviour is *ever* a good idea. It seems to me it's only ever a good plan in the relatively short term. In the end, trying to squash the market under your weight rather than swim in it is always going to result in disloyal customers, faster moving competitors and loss of market position.
I'm not sure there's a way of avoiding the eventual progression of successful company -> bureaucratic monster -
personally i can't see how the manager of any company worth his salt couldn't stone wall this. first you would play dumb - really dumb -. then once they had spelt out a few times what they wanted you'd put up a few objections that don't make any sense. follow this up with a few feature questions to taking them off down another track and they will probably be ready
Is that it's a term of the volume/"professional" licenses large organizations have to enter into.
You are forced to have the auditors by agreeing to the licenses to use certain software products.
Suppose I'm a healthcare company. Software auditors show up at my door, waving contracts in my face. I let them in. They insist that they must inspect ALL machines running, say, MS Office. Some of these machines contain sensitive health information for ten thousand patients. I have now committed 10,000 willful HIPAA violations, and could go to jail, in theory, for up to 10,000 years (maximum jail time for willful but non-malicious breach is 1 year per instance).
Or what about SarbOx? Any possibilities for violation there?
I think a strong case could be made that if you are a HIPAA covered entity who uses software which is subjects to such agreements, and you abide by the agreements, then you are committing a felony. Thus, using Microsoft software is a felony. QED
I'm pretty sure you would explain the situation to the auditor, and they would find a way to check that you are in compliance without actually having access to the data you are legally obligated to protect. There are TONS of places that can't just go pushing their data around willy-nilly- some have customer data that personally identifies them. Others are running a classified network. Whatever your cause is, I'm sure they can find some way to verify that you are using their stuff with licenses without,
Duh. That would be the point, wouldn't it?
Seriously, anyone?
Part of my job description is making sure the company is up to scratch with their licensing. So I have to read the licenses - and I do.
I have concluded that software licenses are written expressly to trip up customers. Even when they're relatively straightforward, they often contain clauses which would be considered absurd in almost any other commercial contract.
For instance, the only license that allows you to roll out Windows using an imaging system (eg. Ghost) is one of the volume licenses - and for the most part they include a clause which states "You will buy a license for every PC-compatible computer in your organisation". Now you know why so few companies are taking Linux seriously on the desktop. I have no idea how enforceable such a clause would be, but I can't see many companies wanting to challenge Microsoft in court.
"Ballmer also suggested that education should be given government stimulus funding to enable young people to gain experience on the computing systems they would meet in the real world."
Seriously Mr B, go fuck yourself. You don't need the money and young people, on the whole, are pretty good at working things out for themselves as they have a "click and see what happens" approach mixed with the ability to ask another kid who knows. Doesn't matter if it's OpenOffice, Office 2007, whatever, if they really want it to do something, they'll find a way. The weak point is quite often the teachers.
Seriously, in the UK you cannot be a teacher without a University degree. A University degree should teach you to analyse a problem, research the problem and apply a solution. In software, this boils down to "I can't do X in program Y", go to Google and type "how do I do X in program Y", click links until you find answer and follow instructions on page. Most of the time they seem incapable of following this simple idea. They'll even come in and as me then watch me hit Google and search for a solution (often the first result returned) but it never dawns on them to do the same themselves next time (and no, support isn't my job). I showed a year 7 how to find something out using the "F1" key and he was amazed, he just didn't know.
The best thing for education, would be for kids to be trained to work stuff out for themselves by teachers who are trained to work stuff out for themselves. This "teaching people to use the software they'll use in the real world" argument is crippling and the seeming inability for people with far higher qualifications than mine to work out even minor problems has seriously dented my faith in the higher education system.
Matter cannot be created or destroyed, nor can it be returned without a receipt.


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Quote from: Magnet on March 22, 2013, 06:06:51 PMIt's stealing. An open bottle is not saleable. Just out of curiosity, how would anyone even know it had been opened? There is no seal on most nail polish bottles I've ever seen.
It's stealing. An open bottle is not saleable.
I don't think there is anything disgusting about it but opening bottles meant to be sold is effectively stealing and therefore wrong. If there is no tester you should not open one. You could ask a member of staff for help instead.
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2005 Baseball
Weekly Recap 5-2
Bluffton wins one of three against Transylvania on the week
By Chad Hochstetler, sports information assistant
May 2, 2005
The Bluffton University baseball team (8-26, 5-13 HCAC) posted one win against conference
opponent Transylvania on the week. Bluffton hosted all three games against the Pioneers
for their 2005 Heartland Conference series. The Beavers lost the first game 5-3 in
10 innings. Bluffton then held off the Pioneers in game two for the
3-1 victory. In the series finale, the Beavers lost to Transylvania 2-1.
Bluffton will be back in action on May 6, as they host Manchester College for their last HCAC series of 2005. The nine inning contest is scheduled to start at 4 p.m. The Beavers will then travel to Manchester for a doubleheader on May 7 (start time 1 p.m.), to finish out the series.
Jason Moore (Elida/Elida) posts a .343 batting average to lead the squad. Moore has 18 runs, 34 hits, 13 RBI's and 36 total bases on the 2005 campaign. Junior Lowell Wyse (Camden, Mich./Hesston College) posts a .306 batting average for the Beavers along with 18 runs, 30 hits and 12 RBI's. Senior Ryan Fiely (Greenville/Greenville) leads the squad in hits (37), doubles (8), RBI's (25) and total bases (54).
Freshman Tim Kay (Alpharetta, Ga./Blessed Trinity) leads the pitching staff with a 3.69 ERA in 46.1 innings pitched. Kay owns a 2-4 record for the year as has given up 49 hits and struck out 27 batters. Jason Moore follows with a 4.06 ERA in 57.2 innings pitched. Moore posts a 4-4 record as a pitcher with 69 hits and leads the team with 29 strikeouts.


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The Jewish Museum is honoured to be awarded the Sandford Award for Education 2012. This award recognises the quality and excellence in the educational services and facilities of the Jewish Museum.
"A visit to The Jewish Museum is all at once rewarding, inspirational, entertaining, thought provoking and humbling. The opportunities for a genuinely engaging and inter-active learning experience are huge and the dynamic staff team will ensure that you have an unforgettable day. Anyone who cares about the human condition, and the diversity of our human family –whether they have a religious belief or none at all - will come away both reflective and enlightened." Sandford Award Judge
Formal and informal learning has reached a record high at the Jewish Museum with over 14,000 children participating in a museum workshop in the last year. The schools programme is engaging, inspiring and closely links to the national curriculum. A wide range of workshops are offered in subject areas including Discovering Judaism, History and Citizenship and Holocaust Education.
There is also a successful outreach programme at the museum, including the Connecting Lives project. The Sandford Award notes the important work carried out in this workshop designed to tackle antisemitism. The project was established in response to the demand from secondary schools that the Jewish Museum help address antisemitism in their schools. Nearly 900 students have participated last term in the first stage of the project funded by the Department for Communities and Local Government.
"I am delighted with this award – it is wonderful recognition of the high quality learning experience at the museum and the tremendous commitment of the learning team. We will be busy throughout the summer with an imaginative packed family programme full of exciting things to do." Caroline Marcus, Head of Learning
For more information read our press release.
Find out more about our family events and our schools programme here.
Keep in touch by signing up to our e-newsletter for schools and our general Museum e-newsletter here.
Find out more about the Sandford Awards here


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Mount Etna erupted Wednesday creating a spectacular light show that was visible from hundreds of miles around, La Repubblica reported. The eruption of the snow-covered volcano on the island of Sicily continued Thursday although its intensity seemed to be diminishing, according to the Italian newspaper.
The airport in the nearby city of Catania was temporarily closed, stranding the Roma soccer team in the city overnight. The club had returned to Sicily to complete a Serie A match against Catania that was halted by a storm last month. "Every time we come to Catania something happens," coach Luis Enrique told reporters. Click here to read the full report from La Repubblica in Italian.
All photos by Antonio Parrinello / Reuters
Mount Etna spews lava on the southern Italian island of Sicily on Feb. 9, 2012. Mount Etna is Europe's tallest and most active volcano.
Etna erupted 18 times in 2011 and Wednesday's was the second such event this year. See PhotoBlog images and video of the previous eruption in early January.


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PRESTONSBURG, Ky. (WYMT/WKYT) - It is still considered the worst school bus accident in US history, and Friday night it was seen through a new lens at a documentary screening in Prestonsburg.
The wreck killed a total of 26 students as well as the bus driver.
A crowd at the Strand Theater was able to watch recently discovered footage from the crash 55 years ago.
"We're going to give Prestonsburg a glimpse back in time. They get to go back several minutes and see the town come alive again," said Director of the film Michael Crisp.
The revised version of "The Very Worst Thing" includes recently discovered footage of the search and rescue efforts following the crash.
"Not only the bus being pulled ashore and that type of footage, but also the time of innocence of traffic and pedestrians walking across the West Prestonsburg Bridge," said Crisp
As a full theater watched the accident unfold, some couldn't help but relive the memories.
"I stood there and that's when I seen the bus plunge into the big sandy river," said John Crum, who witnessed the crash.
Something Crum says he will never forget.
"I hope and pray to god nobody ever lives through nothing else like this again," said Crum.
But he will continue to watch and remember the scenes that unfolded so many years ago.


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Artists: Vince Villalvazo
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Mystic Owl Tattoo
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FRESHLY INKED: What year did you start tattooing?
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How did you get into tattooing?
It all started when I looked at a tattoo magazine at a young age. At the time I didn't know how much of an impact that had on me. I got my first tattoo when I was 15 years old by a friend that was really into tattoos; he was covered in them and I thought that it was the coolest thing. He had this home- made tattoo machine, it was something incredible to me. I decided to make one and I tattooed myself and a couple of friends that allowed me to. Obviously that did not work out that well and it was short-lived, although my love for tattoos remained. I stopped trying to tattoo as I could not comprehend how all these beautiful tattoos from magazines were done, and also at the time I needed to grow up and mature a bit more. Years later I reconnected with one of my old friends that I tattooed almost 19 years ago. He still had that shitty tattoo I did on him. He said there were good memories behind it—we did have great times back then. In 2004 he was getting this awesome back piece in Detroit and introduced me to his artist. We began talking about art, and the fact that I tattooed my buddy many years back came up. The artist said, "That is not too bad." I showed him some of my drawings and he said I had potential; that definitely sparked something. I asked him all about apprenticeships and started to get fired up. My good friend was very supportive. He said, "I have always known you can do something with art." I was determined to find an apprenticeship. Shortly after that, my friend was moving out of the country—he did one of the nicest things that someone has ever done for me. He said, "These are the keys to my old truck, you can have it." I told him that I didn't need another vehicle, and he said, "I know. I want you to promise me that you will sell this car and you will buy tattoo equipment with the money you gather from it." He always had faith in me, even more than I had in myself. That was an inspiration in many ways—I'm glad I listened to him. To this day I still have my first tattoo machines that I bought with the money that I got for selling his truck. They will always have a special place in my drawer.
Where did you apprentice?
I apprenticed at Fat Brothers Tattoos—owned by Mark Madigan, a great guy I'll always be grateful to—in Highland, MI, a small shop in a relatively small town north of Detroit. I studied under John Madigan at the time. We became great friends and we always keep in touch. I do guest spots at his shop, Gypsy Kings in Commerce, MI, every time I go back to do the Motor City Tattoo Expo.
What conventions have you worked at? Have you won any awards?
I have worked the Atlanta, Detroit, Philadelphia, Washington, DC, Scranton, Orlando, Miami, Asheville, Nashville, and Chattanooga conventions, to name a few. We keep adding to our list and stick with the ones we like the most. This year we have added Paradise Tattoo Gathering and the Visionary show, and they look awesome!
How do you describe your style?
I would say it is a fusion of neo-traditional and illustrative, with a touch of realism.
What inspires you as an artist?
I find that nature is very inspiring to me. There are so many beautiful things that often get overlooked that can be used for inspiration. Just taking a trip somewhere can be really good to clear my head and recharge. Also working alongside awesome artists and people that have the drive, the fire, and the desire to do something with their time here. I think drive is one of most inspiring things for me. No matter what you do, if you love it you will pursue it and succeed.
What sets you apart from other artists?
That is kind of a hard question to answer. Let's see: When my clients request tattoos and try to show me photos of other tattoos because they really want them, I really don't look at them so I'm not influenced by the particular piece. I'm not saying that I never look at anyone's work—I do it all the time because I love seeing all different styles of tattooing—but when I'm trying to draw some- thing specific for someone, I'll use photographic reference of real objects. For a while I had this wave of people wanting the same phoenix that I drew for one of my clients. They brought me the same reference of my own tattoo. I told them that I couldn't do it because it was drawn for some- one else. My approach to things is simple, since I had a client that wanted a phoenix every week for five weeks straight. I took one at the time, and the day of the appointment I gathered photos of eagles and random birds in different poses, and I drew the phoenix with Sharpie markers and went at it. I don't over stress about drawing everything ahead of time because I like to keep a fresh mind for each piece. I go about it day by day. I don't know if this would set me apart from others but by doing this I avoid worrying if my tattoo will be as good or have the same look of other artists' work. I concentrate on doing the best tattoo I can do with my own ideas, and people seem to respond well to that. I guess my clients would be able to answer the question better than I could.
What other mediums do you work in?
I love oils, pastels, and charcoal, and I have done some airbrushing. I have yet to venture into doing watercolors.
How have you branched out from tattooing?
It has been a wonderful trip. Switching jobs from painting homes to getting my apprenticeship and getting hired as a tattoo artist back in Michigan to venturing away from home trying to get better. I have worked really hard to establish a clientele, and having the dream of opening a studio was strong in my head, but I took it day by day just as I do with tattooing. Now Mystic Owl Tattoo has been opened for six months and we love it. It is tons of work, even more than before, and I haven't been able to take many days off, but that's part of it. If we do the things we need to do when we need to do them, then one day we will do things we want to do when we want to do them.
What tattoo artists do you admire most?
Man, it is such a long list, but I can tell you right off the bat that what I admire most about these people is not only their wonderful skills and talent but also their determination, their hard work, their principles, their drive, their selflessness and talent. Jace Masula, John Madigan, Chris Bird- song, Ron Russo, Matthew Clarke, Jeremy Miller, Thomas Page, Dave Lukeson, Billy Beans, Timmy B, Russ Abbott, Steve Webster, Sean Herman, Tim Orth, Matt Dunlap, our wonderful apprentice Taylor (watch out for her—she will be good), just to name a very few.
What kind of tattoos do you look forward to doing?
The ones that allow lots of artistic freedom. I look forward to doing nature-inspired tattoos with an illustrative organic and eerie feel; something that has continuity. Maybe things including fire, wind, water, earth, and maybe leaves, mineral stones, animals, insects—you name it. Overall I like to have fun when I tattoo, and having freedom to create makes me happy and I have fun doing it.
Is there a tattoo that you haven't done yet that you are dying to do?
Actually, yes, there is something that I would like to do, but it is not something specific as to subject matter. It is more of a project I'd love to do—tattoo collaborations with all my friends, making it a collective effort. Of course, this is not something new, as collaborative tattooing has been around for awhile, but when you do it with people you admire and love it creates a whole new level. I have done collaborative work with a bunch of people and I would like to continue doing it. My great friend Jace Masula and I did a conspiracy sleeve on a good client and friend. That was such a cool experience and I look forward to doing more.


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Let's get small
To combat climate change and get the middle east oil monkey off our backs, the U.S. is going to have to take a hard look at developing alternative fuel and energy sources. So where is the alternative energy going to come from in the future? Vast windfarms? Solar-paneled prairies? How about thousands of U.S. rooftops?
Americans may be culturally inclined to think big. We like our power plants super-sized: natural gas, coal or oil burning behemoths or nuclear-powered marvels. Looking at the world through E.F. Schumacher-colored glasses, however, you begin to see that small is beautiful and it can even be powerful.
In Illinois Commonwealth Edison has begun an experimental program that plans the installation of micro-solar power plants on the homes of 100 local energy consumers in Chicago's northwest suburbs. "We want to see whether consumers have the ability, with this technology, to become little utilities. They will be able to buy and sell electricity at a real-time hourly price, which is very close to the wholesale price, from their homes," Val Jensen, ComEd's vice president for marketing and environmental programs, told the Chicago Sun-Times.The utility will outfit 50 of those homes with smart electric meters, hourly electric pricing, battery solar-power storage and the ability to gain credits for emitting excess solar power back to the electric grid for others' use. The other 50 will get those same additions, except they won't be able to store their energy.
This model of microgeneration is already being developing in Europe, but the U.S. can catch up quickly with a little more imagination and political will. This specific program is being funded with an $5 million in stimulus money from the U.S. Department of Energy, plus $3 million in a matching funds from ComEd and its vendors. More public and private investment will necessary to make this model of co-generated power a practical alternative for lighting up our world.


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Aircraft maintenance is shared among many companies, including airlines and tiers of manufacturers, maintenance shops and parts suppliers. This piecemeal maintenance process cannot be efficiently conducted with completely different methods for each airline. Some degree of maintenance program or data format standardization is necessary. Standardizing maintenance programs would permit MROs to handle many airlines without using different inspection intervals, different task cards and differently trained workers. The growth of start-ups, reductions in engineering staff at major carriers and increasing use of leased aircraft is promoting this kind of standardization.
While no one MRO program will fit all carriers, there are efficiencies to be gained by tailoring maintenance programs to unique operations and aircraft configurations. So, there will always be a tradeoff between seeking the gains of standardized methods and the advantages of customized procedures.
Standardizing the format of maintenance and performance data holds much more promise universally. This would ease the flow of information among the many companies involved in maintenance, enabling fleet-wide analyses that could improve reliability and cut costs. There are no long-term tradeoffs here. The hurdles to standardizing data are investment, effort and time.
Apart from these two big areas, standardization also can be sought in smaller but useful ways; for example, in more uniform programs for one carrier's fleet, in more standardized job cards for the same tasks and more similar sign-off requirements.
Legacy carriers once devoted dozens of engineers to developing their own customized MRO programs. "Those resources are no longer available, so there should be a shift to more standard programs," predicts Jim Ballough, vice president of the Cavok unit at Oliver Wyman.
"Airlines have been reluctant to adopt MPD [maintenance planning document methods from aircraft manufacturers], but that is changing," Ballough argues.
Ballough expects this standardization to make MRO outsourcing more efficient. "Now the MRO may have five customers with one aircraft type but five different programs. That leads to inefficiencies. Techs have to learn five different programs and that leads to human factors problems. And you must have five different sets of task cards."
Standardization of MRO work also should help cut costs and delays at lease return, which is becoming more important as short-term leases increase. "Different programs complicate that," notes Chris Jessup, AAR's senior VP for sales and marketing.
MRO record-keeping already has moved away from the paper documents that did not permit much analysis. But Jessup stresses that there are three types of analysis that records should facilitate: analyzing one fleet type in one airline, multiple types in one airline, and shared data on fleets among many airlines, OEMs and shops.
The digital PDFs now common can be used for analysis within an airline. "But they cannot be shared across organizational boundaries, because systems do not talk to each other," Jessup says. Even best-of-breed modern MRO systems do not store data in the same format. Carriers must standardize the data formats according to ATA Spec 2000 or ASD S1000D rules to make sharing and multi-organization analysis possible.
One pressure toward standardizing maintenance comes from leases. "If you own an aircraft you can decide how to optimize maintenance on it," explains Joerg Coelius, manager of maintenance programs in Lufthansa Technik's (LHT's) engineering unit. "But if you lease an aircraft, the leasing company may require you to stick with the OEM's program, the MPD." For example, LHT offers escalated Boeing 747-400 C check intervals because it has found over time that the MPD 15-month check can be safely extended. LHT uses the 24-month checks on its own aircraft, but not on aircraft taken on short operating leases. "This is mostly for long-term leases," Coelius explains. "If it is a short-term lease, they would never even think about changing the interval."
If an airline were to make any change in the program in these circumstances, it would have to pay for a transition check to get the aircraft back on the MPD program, a very expensive proposition.
LHT provides third-party customers a program that is about 90% MPD. The 10% non-MPD part mostly affects cabins because the OEM maintenance planning programs do not tend to require a great deal of work on interiors. "But if you want a nice cabin that people want to fly in, you have to put more man-hours into the cabin," Coelius says. This may appeal to full-service carriers but, "if you are an LCC, not so much."
LHT has not seen any increase in maintenance program standardization requests yet, and continues to perform maintenance mostly according to customized airline programs. Customers can bring their own task cards, or LHT can generate the cards based on the optimized programs its engineering unit creates to either cut costs or enhance revenue. Customers can accept or reject the recommendations. Most suggestions for cabins and interiors are accepted, but most for check escalation are not, because of lease requirements.
Coelius would definitely like to see more standardization of data. "Now we get it in Excel or PDF, and Boeing and Airbus have different formats." Different formats mean LHT must use different loaders to get data into its database. Smaller MROs may not even have various loaders, making the problem much worse.
"We want it in the industry standard, S1000D," Coelius says. "We are working closely with operators, MROs and OEMs to get data in the same format." He expects Boeing 787 documents to be mostly, but not entirely, in S1000D, and both Bombardier's CSeries and Airbus's A350 to be 100% compliant. "We have worked on it for three years. I think it will take three more years."
AAR has not seen much MRO program standardization across its 25 heavy maintenance customers yet, says Jessup. "They all have customized programs, they standardize as much as they can, but even if you have A320 checks at the same interval, no one is identical with the other."
One reason is FAA inspectors, who may require different sign-off procedures or MRO processes. Carriers undergoing consolidation—like Delta and Northwest, and United and Continental—that are trying to standardize within their fleets face additional hurdles from these varying regulatory compliance requirements.
"Of course standardization would help us to reduce cost and time because we could stick to the MPD," Jessup says. "Customized programs drive costs up." For example, one carrier may require 80 hr. of training for a task, while another requires only 40 hr. "So we can't shift labor easily between bays, and we have to set up a system to make sure each mechanic is approved for each job by each carrier."
AAR has set up a program to standardize maintenance for each customer across its five locations. "We want all our facilities to have the same feel and touch to a customer," Jessup says.
This effort took four years and an investment approaching $2 million to implement over AAR's five facilities. It has improved efficiency for both AAR and airlines, and reactions from customers have been positive. Before standardization, only one or two airlines felt secure enough to use multiple AAR facilities. Now more than 10 use several facilities. This allows AAR to fill its hangars, and airlines to get work done much more flexibly.
Data standardization also matters increasingly at AAR. "We are seeing more and more customer interest in electronic record-keeping, sharing and data mining," Jessup says. "They want to move from managing and publishing records manually to electronically. Cloud services are kicking it off."
Chris Reed, managing director of Trax, says carriers that stick entirely with OEM maintenance programs generally have such small fleets that it does not pay to make changes. "It's not worth it for three aircraft, but if it costs $10,000 to make a change that saves 10 minutes each for 120 aircraft, it's worth it."
Customizing maintenance programs for individual carriers can be done in several ways. Some OEMs offer to customize the program for the airline. "You tell them the changes and they will incorporate these into the standard program and charge you," Reed explains.
The advantage of customization by the OEM is that revisions will be made to maintenance documents given to airlines. "We can link to that, load it into our system and update MRO requirements," Reed says. "We can generate job cards from the MRO program and the aircraft maintenance manual, get requirements to carry out tasks, look up subtasks and build that into job cards. It saves a lot of time and resources."
This compares with airlines that customize their programs, which can be a slow process, but they avoid OEM charges by doing it themselves.
Trax sees data-standardization challenges very directly. It downloads OEM maintenance documents online and the airline merely accepts or rejects them. Integration differs by OEM, however. "You can get Airbus documents in SGML or XML, that is straightforward," Reed says. "Boeing is messing around. They want to keep control of data." To exploit online OEM documents, airlines need only document-management systems, sometimes added to and sometimes built into their MRO application.
None of Mxi Technologies' customers are returning to OEM standard MRO programs, says James Elliott, product marketing manager. "Bigger operators see opportunities to improve with customization. Smaller operators see fewer benefits or have no engineering departments, so they may outsource this to third-party providers or OEM fleet management." Elliott sees outsourcing program design as a step toward letting an MRO or OEM manage all the maintenance on a fleet.
Elliot has heard about increasing standardization of task cards, which reduces the burden of updating these cards. "Maybe the OEMs are getting better at task cards, moving away from updating thousands of task cards."
On data standardization, Elliott foresees a "step change," as airlines outsource maintenance systems to Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) providers, which may be MROs, OEMs or simply platforms for many carriers. "This will drive standardization of data," Elliott predicts. "It will compare apples to apples and increase reliability. Spec 2000 is one option, but S1000D is where we are headed."
These semi-private clouds will store MRO applications and data, and they may give carriers analyses of data based on fleets much larger than just their own, thus reducing costs and downtime. A carrier needs at least 20 aircraft to analyze reliability, and results improve as hundreds of aircraft are studied. Data analysis might be conducted by OEMs, MROs or community providers. Elliott believes the economic gains will range from "noticeable to very significant."
But the SaaS model may need more than just MRO solutions to be economic. Elliot says it needs to integrate MRO with other applications such as flight operations and technical documents, as well as integrate with in-house enterprise resources planning (ERP) systems.
Air Canada has taken data standardization seriously and expects to reap major gains in improved MRO processes. In 2007, Air Canada Maintenance had 84 different IT systems, the majority of which did not talk to each other, explains Alan Butterfield, vice president for maintenance. "Other major carriers had invested in improving their old MRO system, we had not. So there was a huge opportunity to improve."
Air Canada reviewed leading MRO systems and chose Trax, partly due to its configuration-control functions. The airline had a lot of cross-connectivity parts: line replaceable units, engine parts and other components that were applicable to several models. So it had to work with Trax on mixed modeling routines for the software.
Significantly, the airline decided to put all its MRO data into the ATA Spec 2000 format. "No one had done that for all their systems and data," Butterfield notes. "Their systems were not as broken as ours had been. We did it for every system, because we wanted all our systems to talk to each other in the same industry standard language. Then we can innovate for the next 20 years."
The project, begun about 18 months ago, is nearly complete. Data on Embraers, Boeing 777s, Airbus narrowbodies and maintenance tooling has been converted. Remaining are supply chain and Boeing 767 data, which Butterfield expects to have done by February 2013.
The carrier already has been reaping rewards. "Now we have hyperlinked data on parts, the applicability of parts, the MRO program, manuals and work plans," Butterfield emphasizes. "We have all the information you need feeding into the main Trax system."
One result of data standardization is that Air Canada is now the world's leading user of Aeroxchange, even though it is hardly the world's biggest airline and it has not begun yet to buy exclusively on the electronic exchange, as it plans to do.
"I get work orders and all the data on repairs," Butterfield says. "If the No Fault Found rate is high, I can look at the fault isolation manual [FIM], talk to mechanics, go back to the shops or change the FIM. There are lots of opportunities to lower MRO costs and do things right the first time." The carrier can change its basic MRO processes and write the changes into Trax.
Industry-standardized MRO data means Air Canada also can innovate in cooperation with its suppliers, which must be able to communicate in Spec 2000 format. Instead of waiting for his engineering department to drive innovation, Butterfield can now let suppliers, who have all the data, do the hard work of developing improvements. Air Canada engineers merely approve and learn from these changes.
These gains did not come easy. "It was a huge effort," Butterfield admits. Three-quarters of the cost was commitment of people to the project, cleaning and converting old data. It will require two years for 200 aircraft, even after writing 43 scripts to automate as much conversion as possible.
The business case for adopting Trax and data standardization was partly based on the need for much better configuration control and avoiding the expense of maintaining 84 old IT systems. "We had to resurrect people to program for them," Butterfield remembers. Payback was estimated at 48 months; "not fast," but good enough to go ahead. And the best parts are still in the future. "We will be able to innovate much faster," he predicts.


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On Wednesday evening, I was at the Victoria Palace Theatre in London to watch Billy Elliot: The Musical. A magical evening was made more magical thanks to the appearance of Sir Elton John, whose music and lyrics have contributed to the show's 7-year longevity and critical acclaim - including an Olivier and a Tony Award - to celebrate what was to be its 3,000th show.
For those not in the know, Billy Elliot is the story of an eleven year old motherless boy in County Durham who trades in his boxing gloves for ballet shoes, set against the backdrop of the 1984-85 coal miner's strike in the UK. It was estimated that the strike cost the economy some £1.5 billion.
With the UK currently in double-dip recession, the struggles of Billy's widower father and his coal-mining colleagues were a little too close for comfort; the sentiments on stage, representative of 1984, didn't seem too different from the sentiments I read or hear about in 2012.
I already despair that we don't seem to have learnt any lessons from the banking and subsequent economic crisis from 2008 - credit rating agencies are still able to influence market movements (just ask France and Greece in recent months) and bank bonuses are set to rise by between 5 and 15 per cent in 2012.
But in digging a little deeper as to what the UK was like in the year of my birth, the UK I know today doesn't seem to be all that different to Billy's.
In 1984, The European Court of Human Rights ruled in favour of Surrey businessman, James Malone, who accused the police of illegally tapping his phone. Leveson take note.
The Labour Party started the year 3pc points ahead of the Conservatives in the polls, riding the wave of discontent over Thatcher's economic policies. By the end of the year, Labour were 9pc points behind. Miliband Jr. take note.
Perhaps most enlightening is that UK unemployment today has reached the levels we would have seen in 1984. UK unemployment stood at a record 3.3 million, whilst youth unemployment reached a record 1.2 million. Today, unemployment stands at around 2.6 million, whilst 1.03 million young people are unemployed. Grayling take note.
In fact, some of the key events of that year - the expulsion of 30 Libyan diplomats following the death of PC Yvonne Fletcher, protests outside the Houses of Parliament, the wave of goodwill for the Royal family following the birth of Prince Harry and Everton winning the FA cup - would not look out of place in today's papers. Except, perhaps, the Everton story.
But the point is this - we've been here before. The general malaise surrounding the UK (save for this week where Diamond Jubilee celebrations give us, and the papers, a chance to get away from Leveson it all) is something we're accustomed to. But the key difference is that half way through this year, the UK doesn't seem to be learning from some of the positive lessons of 1984. This last week has been more about sharp u-turns, rather than attempting to climb through the traffic on the mountain en route to that thing they call "economic growth".
1984 saw the start of the FTSE 100 index; whatever you might feel about financial markets, you have to admit it showed bold ambition. It was perhaps this kind of ambition that attracted Nissan to open a car factory in the UK for the first time. The Queen was cutting ribbons at a new airport terminal in Birmingham and the very British Vauxhall car company doubled its market share with its European Car of the Year, the MK2 Astra. Britain was very much open for business.
I appreciate that I've glossed over the privatisations of British Telecom, the Trustee Savings Bank (Lloyds today) and the share sale of British Gas, but the point about generating economic growth by making the UK open for business is important.
The last few years should have taught us that big business can mean big failures and you can go too far. But given that "economic growth" seems to be the rallying call - even from non-tax paying heads of the IMF - Britain's entrepreneurial spirit must be rekindled quickly. That might mean creating favourable conditions for businesses to thrive; revamping education to encourage innovation, creativity and enterprise (1984 was the year the GCSE was announced as the replacement for O-levels); and creating industrial hubs that create the scope for apprenticeships and new employment opportunities. Economic cycles are repetitive but present opportunities to take some positive lessons too.
The beginning of the second act in Billy Elliot starts with a not-so-complimentary performance of "Merry Christmas, Maggie Thatcher" and chants of "Maggie! Maggie! Maggie! Out! Out! Out!". Two years into his term, Cameron still has the opportunity to prevent a rewrite of that song.


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So many vegetable conjure up negative emotions – whether it's Swiss Chard, kohlrabi or beets… people just won't try this things no matter how hard you try to convince them they'll like them when prepared properly and well.
For me it's fava beans. I actually like the taste, but they are (in my opinion) too labor intensive to be worth the effort. Unlike other shell beans, favas require a double-shell…. That is, the beans need to be removed from the pods. Then the beans are boiled to remove the husk off them. Feh.
But when I went to the farmers market last week, I became intrigued. One of the employees of Drumlin Farms was walking around with a long fava bean pod that had black pock marks. She told me, the pock are a sign of properly grown and delicious beans. So I bought a pound.
The extra step of removing the husk added about 10 minutes and an additional pot to the process. Not a big deal when serving 2 people for dinner, but I wouldn't do this for a large dinner party. And when I go out for dinner I will savor fresh fava beans even more.
Mock Risotto with Fresh Favas and Basil
I had some leftover brown rice in the fridge which, when I started to reheat, released its starches and became creamy. I decided to mix in the fresh favas with some bacon and basil and pretend it was risotto.
3 slices bacon, chopped
1 cup shelled fava beans
2 cups cooked brown rice
1 tablespoon butter
¼ cup basil leaves cut into long strips
Salt, pepper and lemon juice to taste
1. In a large skillet, cook the cook bacon until it releases its fat and crisp. Remove from pan.
2. To the bacon pan, add the favas and ½ cup of water. Cook for 3 minutes. Add the brown rice and continue cooking until heated through.
3. When rice is heated, mix in butter, bacon and basil. Season to taste with salt, pepper and lemon juice.


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Commentary & Opinion
Opinions Differ on Proposed HIV/AIDS Levies in Uganda
December 17, 2012
Writing in DevelopmentEducation.ie, Jamie Hitchen of the Human Rights Centre Uganda explores a proposal in Uganda to create "a fund specifically designated to assist projects for HIV and AIDS prevention and protection" that would "generate cash through levies on bank transactions and interest, air tickets, beer, soft drinks and cigarettes, as well as taxes on goods and services traded within Uganda." He notes, "The revenue generated is expected to be spent on condom distribution, reducing cases of sexually transmitted infections and in the prevention of mother-to-child transmission." However, "reactions from ordinary Ugandans have not been particularly favorable," he writes, adding, "It's not been so much about the idea of a HIV and AIDS tax being proposed that is drawing dissent, but it is more revealing of the absence of faith held in the government not to pocket the funds."
He reviews a case of corruption within the government, looks at other countries' programs involving HIV/AIDS levies, and writes, "The idea of levying a small tax on everyday goods such as petrol and phone tariffs is an innovative, bold solution and one that, at least in theory, has merits for ensuring sustainable funding that isn't dependent on international support." Hitchen continues, "Ugandan skepticism-at-large about the transparency of parliament and the air of resignation about official corruption held by the public and by government officials are at the core of why meaningful debates about a HIV and AIDS health tax are being held back," and he concludes, "HIV and AIDS affects a huge percentage of the population, directly and indirectly, and their views cannot, and should not be ignored" (12/12).
Back to other news for December 2012
This article was provided by Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. It is a part of the publication Kaiser Daily Global Health Policy Report. Visit the Kaiser Family Foundation's website to find out more about their activities, publications and services.
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