text:
Through all the animosity over the Ross Taylor issue, has anybody stepped back and actually thought that the right decision has been made?
Perhaps Taylor was not the leader the Black Caps needed. Results certainly point that way.
Yes, the way in which it was done is indefensible and, come on, does anyone expect fans to believe that Taylor was not earmarked to be gone from all forms of cricket? How could a meeting of such gravity be conducted without broaching the subject of Taylor staying on as test captain - if that was the desire from the outset? Especially with a test just four days away.
Even if that was right, how dare they use test cricket as a tool for appeasement? Two wrongs do not make a right.
Taylor has to take this on the chin if he is to be the bigger man. That said, he has every right to feel aggrieved at how it was done and I'll give him his one-tour grace to chill out. Then I pray that our best batsman is shown the respect he deserves when he returns because we sure as heck need him to return.
I hope NZ Cricket make a better job of that.
In time, Taylor may have developed into a good captain but unfortunately, the environment he was in was not conducive to development.
Stephen Fleming developed under a proven coach, a strong manager with a history of success and quality players to call upon. Taylor did not have that luxury and I believe this was only made more evident once John Wright left.
A rookie captain needs a strong coach. A rookie captain and a rookie coach are a hard ask.
Michael Hesson is still finding his feet as a coach and needs support from his captain. NZC just cannot afford to go through yet another coach search and so the relationship between the captain and coach needs to be synergistic. With Taylor there, it would not be.
So Brendon McCullum, in conjunction with Hesson, may be the best way forward. We just really did not need to lose Ross Taylor's runs to get that result.
With all this said, though, the team simply cannot use Taylor's leadership as an excuse for their own inadequacies. Too often the players have been allowed to look for scapegoats instead of looking within. Too often their voice has had too much influence. This had better not be another one of those times.
It's been messy but it's done and over the next few months, I will watch with interest at not only how the Hesson-McCullum axis operates but also how the administration motivate the previous leader to become just another worker.
Don't forget Taylor doesn't exactly have to work for us to make a decent living. Oh, and there's one other rather important group they may want to show some respect to as well - the fans. NZC needs to win them back over too.


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Which TiVo Is the Right One for You?
by Raffi Krikorian, author of
TiVo Hacks
You're ready to throw out those clunky VHS tapes; you're ready to hear that satisfying "be boop, be boop" sounds when you hit the fast-forward button on your TiVo; you're ready to have TV your way. And you're ready to spend the two hundred dollars burning a hole in your pocket, so the million dollar question is, "Which TiVo should you buy?"
Everybody's situation is a little different, and thankfully, there is more than one choice of TiVo box to buy to complement your television set. The first thing you have to decide is which of the two TiVo "series" you want: the original Series 1 TiVo, or the newer Series 2 TiVo. On the surface they look the same, with the same menus and the same PVR functionality, but underneath, they are very different. The Series 1 has an IBM PowerPC CPU under its hood, whereas its younger brother has a more powerful MIPS processor. And it doesn't stop there--most of the hardware in the Series 2, from its MPEG encoder/decoder to its memory, has been upgraded. The most obvious change from the end user's persepctive is that the Series 2 TiVos now have USB ports on the back, adding functionality as well as the possibility of upgrading (maybe one day you'll be able to plug in your iPod and take TV with you on the road).
Another choice you have when deciding which TiVo is right for you is whether to buy the stand-alone TiVo or the DirecTiVo. Well, actually, this choice is mostly made for you depending on how you receive your television. Stand-alone TiVos plug into an analog television cable and the TiVo itself tunes to the right channel if all the channels are on that line. TiVo can also control most popular set-top cable boxes (whether it be for cable or satellite television) via an IR transmitter or a serial cable. Here, the TiVo will just record from channel 3 or channel 4, relying on the cable box to tune the channel. The DirecTiVo, on the other hand, has the DirecTV tuning circuitry already built into it--all you have to do is wire your mini-satellite dish directly into your DirecTiVo and it will do everything for you. You don't even need the DirecTV cable box.
Related Reading
TiVo Hacks
These two axes lead us to the four different choices available for TiVos: the Series 1 Stand-alone (SA), the S1 DirecTiVo, the Series 2 SA, and the S2 DirecTiVo. Each has its own set of pros and cons, and each fits a different niche of TiVo user. Do you have DirecTV or standard cable? Do you want to record two things at the same time? Do you want to play MP3s on your TiVo? Do you have a phone line or just a data connection? And most importantly, do you want to hack your TiVo?
In the rest of this article, I will strive to answer these questions for each of the four TiVo choices available.
Series 1 Stand-Alone TiVo
The Series 1 Stand-Alone was the first TiVo sold in stores. If you were one of the first in line in the late 1990s to buy one, you probably got your hands on one of the original 14-hour boxes from Phillips. Later on these became the 40-hours boxes that were also sold by Sony. The claim to fame these boxes' hold is that the majority of the original TiVo hacking was done on them. This is the box to which hackers figured out how to add more hard drive space; this is the box on which the first Tcl code for TiVo was authored; and this is the box on which the hardware was first intimately examined to see what it could do.
As mentioned earlier in the article, the Series 1 SA gets its television signal from regular coax--it will do all its tuning for you. If you are using a cable box, this TiVo has a port for an infrared transmitter that you can position in front of your cable box allowing TiVo to send it remote control codes. If you're lucky enough to have a cable box with a serial port connection, then you can probably make use of the TiVo's serial port (unlike the DB9 type of connector that most PC users are familiar with, the TiVo's serial port has only three connectors--for transmit, receive, and ground--so they get away with compressing it down to what looks like a 1/8-inch headphone jack) to wire them directly together.
As a last piece of hardware trivia, the Series 1 SA has a phone jack on the back so that the TiVo can dial into TiVo, Inc., allowing it to find out what television show is on at a given time and on what channel (one common misconception is that those "video advertisements" that appear on your TiVo also come in over the data connection--but that's not true. TiVo, Inc. leases time late at night on certain television channels and then asks your TiVo to record those channels to get its extra video advertisements). The TiVo's modem, in its original state, is this series's only method of networking.
The Series 1 SA is the most hackable one out there. Running the TiVoWeb is not a problem on this platform and performing video extraction is a breeze. In fact, if you wanted to start poking around and programming the box, this would be the platform to start with, as a lot of people have documented the event subsystem and the IO controls for the hardware. The one downside is that if you want a fast connection to your PVR, you will probably need to purchase and install a TurboNET or an AirNET to get it on your home network; this requires you to pop open the case and physically install a daughterboard onto your TiVo's motherboard. (In fact, if you don't have a phone line in your house and you only have a cable modem or a DSL connection, then you're going to have to install a network card into this breed of TiVo so that it may "dial home".)
I recommend this platform if you want to dive into TiVo hacking for the first time.
Series 1 DirecTiVo
Now this is the one for the sophisticated user. The DirecTiVo plugs directly into the satellite dish you have mounted on your roof. Instead of receiving an analog signal, the DirecTiVo receives the digital signal straight from the satellite. When a television show is recorded on the stand-alone TiVo, the TiVo needs to perform the analog-to-digital conversion to compress the stream for recording onto the hard drive. The DirecTiVo, on the other hand, records the satellite stream directly to the hard drive and then only needs to do a digital-to-analog conversion when playing back the video on your TV.
A second big plus to the DirecTiVo is its ability to record two television shows simultaneously (something most stand-alone TiVo users would kill to get). What this means is that you can either record two shows at the same time when you are not home, or you could watch live television while recording something else. SA TiVo users don't have this option; when their TiVo is recording something, they can watch only what is being recorded, or watch another recorded program; they do not have the ability to watch another channel all together.
So, why not get the DirecTiVo? It all comes down to how you get television delivered to your house. If you are like me, a television addict, then you have more than three devices with television access (TiVos, televisions, MythTV boxes, etc.), so DirecTiVo can get pricey quite quickly as you have to get tuning boxes for each individual component. With analog cable you can simply buy some low-noise splitters and wire up your entire house with cable. However, from a hacking perspective, most hacks that work on the stand-alone will work just fine on this breed of TiVo, though you may just have to jump through some hoops to get TiVoWeb working with dual-tuning capabilities.
All in all, the only reason to not get a S1 DirecTiVo, if you already have DirecTV (and are contemplating buying a Series 1), is if you are planning to move somewhere that does not have a plan to have DirecTV access in the near future.
Series 2 Stand-Alone TiVo
The Series 2 is the recent improvement on the original TiVo. It has USB ports on its rear so that peripherals may be added to the box. The most common use of a USB port on the S2 is to enable users to bring a high-speed connection with a simple USB ethernet adapter instead of having to poke around their PVR's internals as they would have to on a Series 1. The S2 SA TiVo also seems to be getting most of TiVo, Inc.'s software attention. The latest operating system, TiVo OS 4.x, has the optional Home Media Option, which allows you to play back MP3s or view images stored on your home network, as well as the ability to move television shows between two Series 2 boxes on the same network.
Unfortunately (or fortunately depending how you look at it), the Series 2 is also where TiVo hacking gets interesting. In an effort to appease the television and movie industry, TiVo, Inc. has attempted to "lock down" this TiVo from most hacking, most notably from video extraction. What TiVo, Inc. has done is create an operating system verification scheme that, upon boot up, makes sure that your TiVo has not been tampered with (that includes you going into your TiVo and modifying its configuration files, or putting any third-party software on board). Also, the S2 TiVo now encrypts the video that it records before it hits the hard drive, which means that even if you did get to the hard drive itself, you wouldn't be able to do anything with the recorded television programs since they are scrambled.
However, state-of-the-art hacking has recently been focused on getting around these restrictions. At first, the Series 2 had been the domain of hardware hackers who endeavored to replace the chip that was enforcing the security. More recently, people have borrowed from an academic idea called the "Two Kernel Monte"--or the ability to "hot swap" your Linux kernel without having to reboot your machine--to exploit bugs in previous versions of the TiVo OS on the Series 2. Using these bugs, clever people are able to get the S2 SA TiVo to boot into the most recent operating system with the security checks disabled. As for the video encryption, other people have discovered a work around on the encryption by "poking" (akin to peek and poke from the Commodore 64) into the Linux kernel's memory to ask the Linux kernel not to encrypt the videos. They then modify the main TiVo software so that it does not attempt to decrypt videos. With these two modifications, it's a breeze to get mplayer to stream videos, or use mfs_ftp to just simply ftp the MPEG's off your TiVo.
There is still a lot of unexplored ground for hacking on the Series 2 TiVo. People have not yet figured out the best way to do everything they can already do on the Series 1. If you are an adventurous type and want to get involved with helping the TiVo hacking community, or just want to stay on the bleeding edge, then this is the TiVo for you.
Series 2 DirecTiVo
There is great potential for this box, however as of this writing, it doesn't seem that OS 4.x has made it to the Series 2 DirecTiVos. This means that the S2 DirecTiVos don't have the ability to use the Home Media Option. However, this also means that getting inside this TiVo shouldn't be that hard! The hardware protection will still be there (but you can get around that in the same way that you do on the Series 2 Stand-alone), but there shouldn't be any hardware protection and you should be able to extract videos in the clear.
The choice here is a bit of a toss up. Eventually, there might be a Home Media Option for the Series 2 allowing you to play back MP3s, watch videos, and move around television shows, but right now there isn't. If you don't care about all that jazz, and you have DirecTV, then snag this box. But if you want to play with the latest and greatest, then maybe grab yourself a Series 2 Stand-alone and wire your DirecTV receiver box into it. You'll lose the ability to record two shows at the same time, but you'll gain other functionality in the process.
All this is ignoring the fact that there are a bunch of other TiVo devices on the market these days, like Pioneer's new TiVo with DVD burner. These haven't been around long enough for people to start experimenting with them, but who knows what these will bring to the table as they become more popular.
What all this boils down to is this question: What do you plan to do with your TiVo? A few months ago, if somebody wanted a TiVo to hack, the immediate answer was to tell him or her to grab a Series 1 Stand-alone. However, the Series 2 Stand-alone is becoming more hackable as more and more people play with it and explore what it can do. I waver, therefore, between recommending a Series 1 Stand-alone versus a Series 2 Stand-alone; the Series 2 is faster, and it's clear that, given some time, more and more of the TiVo hacking community will figure out the Series 2. If you want instant gratification and want to be able to do all the hacks you can right now to the box, grab a Series 1 Stand-alone. If you want to be on the bleeding edge, work on some TiVo hacking, and contribute something back to the community, grab a Series 2 Stand-alone; you can help test out other people's hacks, and do some hacking of your own.
O'Reilly & Associates recently released (August 2003) TiVo Hacks.
Sample Hacks, are available free online.
You can also look at the Table of Contents, the Index, and the Full Description of the book.
For more information, or to order the book, click here.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
OKLAHOMA -- As the bell rings in the new school year AAA Oklahoma is asking drivers to use extra caution.
AAA says 55 million children across the U.S. are about to head back to school and 13 percent of those kids typically walk or bike. They say nearly one-third of child pedestrian fatalities happen between 3 and 7 p.m.
To avoid hitting a child here are AAA's six tips:
1. Slow down. Speed limits in school zones are reduced for a reason. A pedestrian struck by a vehicle traveling at 25 mph is nearly two-thirds less likely to be killed compared to a pedestrian struck by a vehicle traveling just 10 mph faster.
2. Eliminate distractions. Children often cross the road unexpectedly and may emerge suddenly between two parked cars. Research shows that taking your eyes off the road for just two seconds doubles your chances of crashing. Put down the phone.
3. Reverse responsibly. Every vehicle has blind spots. Check for children on the sidewalk, driveway and around your vehicle before slowly backing up. Teach your children to never play in, under or around vehicles—even those that are parked.
4. Talk to your teen. Car crashes are the leading cause of death for teens in the United States, and more than one in four fatal crashes involving teen drivers occur during the after-school hours of 3 to 7 p.m. Get evidence-based guidance and tips at TeenDriving.AAA.com.
5. Come to a complete stop. Research shows that more than one-third of drivers roll through stop signs in school zones or neighborhoods. Always come to a complete stop, checking carefully for children on sidewalks and in crosswalks before proceeding.
6. Watch for bicycles. Children on bikes are often inexperienced, unsteady and unpredictable. Slow down and allow at least three feet of passing distance between your vehicle and the bicycle. If your child rides a bicycle to school, require that they wear a properly-fitted bicycle helmet on every ride.


text:
The Faroe Islands may have lost their first three FIFA World Cup qualifiers, but national coach Lars Olsen is confident that a bright football future lies ahead.
Defeats by Germany (3-0), Sweden (2-1) and the Republic of Ireland (4-1) have left the Faroe Islands bottom of Group C but these results do not tell the whole story about the progress made under Olsen since he succeeded Brian Kerr at the helm almost exactly a year ago.
"There are many positives, but our overall objective is to improve from game to game," Olsen told UEFA.com. "The Faroe Islands are a small football nation, and we have always given it a good effort. Where I want to see some development is when we have the ball. We should not be afraid of having the ball when we get it. We should keep it a bit better, and not keep giving it to the opponent, which results in even greater pressure."
Captain of Denmark's EURO '92-winning side, Olsen now has to deal with the third smallest population of any UEFA member association. With only around 6,000 registered footballers to choose from, Olsen is realistic. "The players who represent the Faroe Islands are very proud," he said. "The Faroe Islands are in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, where it rains a lot and it's very windy. I just hope that there are a lot of young Faroese boys growing up now and having a better education within football, and are developing better as players."
View the video above for the full interview with Olsen.
©UEFA.com 1998-2017. All rights reserved.


text:
Honorable Mention: Tennis-The Dream Cup Barbados (Friday & Saturday 6pm from Bridgetown, Barbados live on ESPN3.com); Running: Baltimore City Turkey Trot 5K (Thursday 8:30am Druid Hill Park)
10. The Bridge (Wednesday 9pm Rams Head Live); Cara Kelly and the Tell Tale (Wednesday 8pm 8×10 Club); Charm City Devils/The Brian Jack Memorial Concert (Wednesday 8pm Baltimore Soundstage); Herman's Hermits (Saturday 6pm & 9pm Rams Head on Stage); Alice Smith (Friday 7:30pm Howard Theatre), Kelly Rowland (Sunday 8pm Howard Theatre); Rob Zombie (Wednesday 7pm 9:30 Club); Preservation Hall Jazz Band (Friday -Sunday 8pm Meyerhoff Symphony Hall); MGMT (Tuesday 8pm D.A.R. Constitution Hall); Brian Setzer Orchestra (Friday 8pm Warner Theatre); Michael McDonald (Saturday 8pm Strathmore); Foxes (Saturday 7pm U Street Music Hall); Billie Joe & Norah "Foreverly" and M.I.A. "Matangi" available in stores/on iTunes (Tuesday)
Baltimore is better when The Bridge is together.
I saw CCD do a tribute to Brian Jack at the Recher Theatre a year or so ago. Baltimore rock and roll isn't as great without him.
I'm going to try to get to the Sunday Preservation Hall show. I could listen to them play Christmas tunes all month.
You know what? Same thing with Michael McDonald. Judge away.
9. Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade (Thursday 9am from New York live on NBC); Bobcat Goldthwait (Friday & Saturday Magooby's Joke House); Donnell Rawlings (Friday-Sunday DC Improv); "Despicable Me 2", "Red 2" and "Jobs" available on Blu-Ray/DVD (Tuesday); "Frozen" and "Homefront" out in theaters (Friday)
I'd be more excited about flicks coming out, but none of them are 'The Wolf of Wall Street". There isn't a movie I want to see more than "The Wolf of Wall Street".
Other than maybe this.
Also because Kate Bosworth is in "Homefront", this photo of Kate Bosworth's legs is relevant.
(Continued on Page 2…)


text:
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JUMP Magazine: Issue one
JUMP is Econsultancy's multichannel magazine in support of the multichannel event, JUMP.
JUMP itself represents multichannel thinking: it is a print magazine, launched by an online publisher to support an offline event. See what we did there?
Joined-up marketing and PR really matters. It can enhance the customer experience, while increasing engagement, satisfaction, sales and profits. JUMP will shine a bright light on best practice multichannel stategies.
In this first issue of JUMP Magazine we focus on a number of areas that will help you to join up your business, including why brands should launch print catalogues and magazines, how to track inbound telephone calls with web analytics, emerging multichannel job roles, and why retailers need multichannel returns policies.
For more information about the JUMP event and to book your place, please visit http://cometojump.com.
12. Why brands should launch print catalogues and magazines
14. Social media to sales
16. How to track inbound telephone calls with web analytics
18. Now hiring! Emerging multichannel roles
20. Multichannel customer service
24. Why retailers need multichannel returns policies
28. Q&A with firstdirect Head of Brand Natalie Cowen
32. E-commerce to store, and vice versa
36. Mobile: threat or opportunity?
40. Cross-platform content development strategies
Case studies
47. National Trust
48. Fairtrade Fortnight
- JUMP Magazine Issue one (5.94 MB PDF)
Related Reports
Related Training


text:
Submission + - Keeping track of assets in a datacenter 1
toruonu writes: How do you keep track of what's in your datacenter, where it is, what it's connected to and what is it doing right now? I mean I have built a datacenter from scratch over the years and I have machines from Sun, IBM, HP, Supermicro. I have machines that are simple workernodes and machines that are heavy grade storage consolidation machines. Then there are tens of switches, some for interconnect, some for management and don't get me started on the UPS-s etc. So how does one keep any kind of decent track of such a system as the current form of twiki pages with various tables just doesn't cut it anymore and I'm looking for a freeware solution that could actually show me a visual representation of the various nodes in the racks, their connections and dependencies. Just to give a simple example, if I'm going to disconnect UPS #3 right now and swap switch #5, which machines should I even consider taking offline?


text:
|2009-03-07, 06:44
|Link #441
On a sabbatical
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Wellington, NZ
Age: 37
Still. I think it's a good idea to take a day trip out of Tokyo sometimes.
|2009-03-07, 07:07
|Link #442
Honyaku no Hime
Join Date: May 2008
Location: In the eastern capital of the islands of the rising suns...
Tokyo won't offer green at every corner but if you make a little detour from your everyday lives and explore, it can be a pretty neat treasure grove in itself
Naturally, Yokohama (one of my top fav places) is next door below if you wanna step out of central metro Tokyo.
Visit Yamashita Park, Chinatown and all the port area in the spring and it's delightful. <3
*makes a mental note to do so herself in the coming spring weeks*
|2009-03-07, 07:09
|Link #443
On a sabbatical
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Wellington, NZ
Age: 37
|2009-03-07, 12:33
|Link #445
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Dying to get back to Japan (but currently near Chicago)
Age: 30
What? There are actually parks in Tokyo? Where the hell have I been looking all this time?
I'm talking about the lack of grass, trees, and greenery in many parts of Tokyo (the city, city parts). Sure you can go and find a park in many different places, but that doesn't change the fact that you've been walking for the past 20 minutes without seeing a single bit of green. (slightly exaggerated)
|2009-03-07, 19:51
|Link #446
Honyaku no Hime
Join Date: May 2008
Location: In the eastern capital of the islands of the rising suns...
The reason I went off on one earlier is cause that's like people going 'there are no green in Egypt by the pyramids!!'
It. Is. A. City.
London and Tokyo aside, they're capital cities. They are central business HQ for Europe and Asia and I can even risk adding Singapore to that group too, but it's more well balanced as a little island landscape wise.
And if we're gonna narrow it down to central tourist trap areas,
It is a metropolitan area meant for businesses and consumerism and tourism.
Mass people? Yes.
Mass traffic? Yes.
Lots of hustle and bustle? Yes.
Parks? Yes.
Harbour? Sea? Yes. (Odaiba is one example for those who're wondering)
Like New York, like London, like the main business/shopping district of Singapore (Ochard Street iirc from visiting) there will be masses of concrete.
Hell New York dominates with skyscrapers too, when I went there, central Manhattan is pretty 'concrete'. The only main park that place has (that I know and went to) is Central Park, otherwise I saw no 'green' but wasn't actively looking for it anyways.
It's a c-i-t-y.
But yes, those are areas specifically built for industrial life. If you want green, you'd have to make a conscious effort to visit a park, and they have their fair share just as beautiful, peaceful in all its aesthetic Japanese glory.
Search it out, but do not randomly go 'uggh, don't visit Tokyo! It's concrete and nothing else, waste of time.'
It's not just you guys, I've seen it time and time again in this thread, but this time it was enough to pass my 'endurance' (ganman) point.
That kinda ignorance irks me to no end.
Kyoto is great at all, but is just as crowded with tourists, hell, you'll catch more foreigners doing the same damn thing as you, trying to experience the same than you'll see natives. It also has it's fair share of traffic and noise, just that it has a diff atmosphere to the place but I personally don't see it as 'better' than Tokyo.
Osaka is no diff either, hit central tourist trap areas and we're looking at a mini Tokyo.
Shinjuku has Shinjuku park and Yoyogi next door and are lovely wide places. Shibuya, hop on the Yamanote Line for 1 stop to Harajuku and you're by the Imperial Park or 10mins ish walk from Yoyogi again.
So like I said, make an effort to research what you want in a city/town (for any holiday or foreign place you visit) and you may be surprised or heaven forbid, even satisfied and pleased.
Last edited by Mystique; 2009-03-07 at 20:03.
|2009-03-07, 20:14
|Link #447
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Dying to get back to Japan (but currently near Chicago)
Age: 30
Haha, the way you think I know nothing about Tokyo is just as irritating. I may be getting close to my (ganman) point as well.
But again, no one is hating on Tokyo like you seem to think. Tokyo is my hometown (city) so no matter how many issues I have with its city aspects, I'll always have a very deep connection to it. So maybe you can come off your Tokyo high horse.
|2009-03-08, 00:33
|Link #448
Honyaku no Hime
Join Date: May 2008
Location: In the eastern capital of the islands of the rising suns...
I walk around and see the trees here and there. A lot of main roads have tree lined streets. In the spring a busy section of central Tokyo (let's take Meiji Dori) can be transformed in pink, in autumn as it was some months back it can be transformed into a red/gold/green kaleidoscope.
You can walk down many small streets of residential areas and find the odd hidden tree lined river here or there, or a shrine surrounded with trees and plants. Depending on the shrine, if it's fairly big, a small garden can be found to sit and relax in relative silence and greenery just maybe 2-3 mins from a main noisy traffic jam packed high street, but you'd never guess from the change in atmosphere.
If it's not parks you're thinking of but some green here and there and the trees big and small planted and scattered around central isn't enough, then I wonder what aspect of 'greenery' you're thinking of as a native resident of the city.
The only aspect I can relate to in terms of that 'unnaturalness' is that it's literally squeezing 12million odd or so people in a very small circumference of space, so it's incredibly overwhelming. I don't think other major cities are any less unnatural than Tokyo, save in the fact that they have slightly more space to spread the hustle and bustle over, whereas central tokyo is crammed, packed and concentrated. (Well a good majority of cities within the country typically are)
I mentioned above, it's not just you guys, it's something I've heard a fair bit time and time again so when i read the post earlier it was like
Just as you have your deep connection to the city, I've my own as a city slicker from another culture who often makes the comparison and contrast between the two, which probably why I went off on one.
At least if people reading here want a general impression, to think they're not really gonna get to see a blade of grass about isn't doing it justice. It's not as bad on the negative front as typical tourist guides show via pictures (neon lights at night, typically) or give by hearsay.
At the end of the day, always best to do your homework in regards to what a person wants from a holiday, but if we're all giving opinions in here as advice to others at least peeps should at least try to balance the bad with the good.
Last edited by Mystique; 2009-03-08 at 00:53.
|2009-03-08, 00:55
|Link #449
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Dying to get back to Japan (but currently near Chicago)
Age: 30
As your tone has changed, I'll go ahead and offer up an apology for my attitude in my previous posts.
What the problem probably is, is space. Japan is limited on space and Tokyo even more so. (Although it'll probably increase its size in time as it grows and swallows up its surroundings) The proportionality between areas with and without is probably what gets to me. This is; however, sort of unavoidable as Tokyo has to try and cram a ton of people and buildings into a limited area (like you mentioned).
But I should also make it clear like Mystique has been trying to do, that there is plenty of green to be found in Tokyo if you look for it. I wasn't trying to deny that, I was just voicing a complaint that you'll hear from many people, tourists and natives alike.
|2009-03-08, 01:07
|Link #450
Honyaku no Hime
Join Date: May 2008
Location: In the eastern capital of the islands of the rising suns...
*offers an olive branch from up above her high horse*
Tone changed, cause I went outside and came back and my emotions have calmed down xD
So I don't blame ya for retaliating in kind off of them.
But I still stand by my words and feelings earlier, as you said it's a complaint many people utter, I have already heard it over and over and over and it's like 'kyaaaaaa', so I'll be riding up on here for a little while longer I suppose.
|2009-03-08, 01:24
|Link #451
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Dying to get back to Japan (but currently near Chicago)
Age: 30
*offers the same in exchange but is stifled by the cross Pacific distance*
I understand your frustrations on the topic. I guess I shouldn't have jumped in when I did and this discussion could've proceeded more civilly. Oh well, it's over with and all is good. I'm sure somebody still got something out of it anyway. ( maybe?)
|2009-03-08, 19:22
|Link #452
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Under the Moonlight
Then what happen to those cherry blossom moments happen in Tokyo?
Do we have to go to the outskirts of Tokyo or Osaka/Kyoto to view the rich pretty BLOSSOMS ><
Then again Tokyo where top students and otaku rule in, can't help it if there isn't much green there.
I just like a quick question where would be the best place for first visit to Japan not exclusive to Tokyo any where like Hokkaido or all the way down to Osaka ANY Where. Would like any festivals or events around that time.
Times: Spring And Winter.
|2009-03-09, 00:30
|Link #453
Honyaku no Hime
Join Date: May 2008
Location: In the eastern capital of the islands of the rising suns...
Where ever there is a sakura tree, and where ever there is some free time (like weekend) and good weather, be sure you'll see someone with a sake bottle underneath it, creating hiaku masterpieces
(In other words, the Japanese rarely let a chance to paty slip by)
Yes it is in tokyo, it's in Tokyo central too (which I'll visit this year) Heading over to Uneo park will be filled (good weather permitting) with families and work people having hanami.
You can also filter by week, which will give you more details on smaller festivals, or just look at a generic events calander for april.
Official tourist websites offer way more info and tips than us guys here, so make sure to browse around that website and bookmark it if you're planning to visit as well as check out a generic 'Japan guide' website too.
|2009-03-10, 04:03
|Link #454
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Under the Moonlight
Anyone else have more suggestion?
|2009-03-10, 07:37
|Link #455
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Osaka
Age: 33
In Osaka, Osaka Castle Park in full bloom is quite the sight. But since I live along the Kintetsu Minami-Osaka Line, I'll probably be headed down to Yoshino to check out the multi-stage inflorescence there. (Mt Yoshino is covered in trees in deliberately-chosen shades that bloom at different points, so they create a unique effect.)
|2009-03-10, 13:55
|Link #456
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Dying to get back to Japan (but currently near Chicago)
Age: 30
Man, I'm so jealous. I absolutely love Sakura. The amount of times one is allowed to see it in a life time is really limited and yet I have to spend time outside of Japan and miss it. If you think about it, you'd be lucky to see it 80-90 times in your life. In your whole life, just that amount of times. But how fleeting Sakura is lends a lot to its beauty some argue. Personally I'd rather have it bloom year-round.
|2009-03-10, 15:19
|Link #457
Junior Member
Join Date: Jan 2009
|2009-03-10, 16:58
|Link #458
Honyaku no Hime
Join Date: May 2008
Location: In the eastern capital of the islands of the rising suns...
There's quite a few all over central Oxford too, my old uni and the schools surrounding it used to spout them (on trees typically bigger than japanese ones) in pink and white.
They do create quite a mess when the petals fall though, I think after spending 1 week in Kyoto during sakura season back in '04 (I arrived and it was 90% ready. I left and it was about 70% gone) - I'm not too crazy about them. There's something about literally breathing the stuff, spitting out petals and coming out plucking bits from your hair from the confettii shower that makes you think
'You know... 1 week a year is good enough for me...'
|2009-03-10, 17:11
|Link #459
Join Date: Dec 2005
|2009-03-10, 20:21
|Link #460
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Dying to get back to Japan (but currently near Chicago)
Age: 30
@ Mystique - Yeah I know there in other places (I actually saw a couple while I was still in England), and I'm pretty sure there may be some around here. But it's not the same unless you're in Japan. Most other people don't see it the same way.
|japan, travel
|Thread Tools


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This should be the best of times for Pat Sutherland. November's issue of National Geographic magazine and a documentary airing Thursday night on CBC's The Nature of Things both highlight research the Ottawa archeologist has been doing in the Canadian Arctic .
If Sutherland is right, Norse seafarers — popularly known as Vikings — built an outpost on Baffin Island, now called Nanook, centuries before Columbus blundered on to North America. Moreover, there's evidence they traded with the Dorset, the Arctic's ancient, now-vanished inhabitants, for as many as 400 years.
But Sutherland's pleasure at the recognition her discoveries are receiving has been sharply tempered by a harsh reality. Last April, even as the documentary about her work was being filmed, the 63-year-old, then curator of Arctic archeology at the Canadian Museum of Civilization, was abruptly dismissed from her job.


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Amanda Olsen and Steven Schany were joined in marriage on July 28. The wedding was held at Holy Family Parish in Emmetsburg.
Amanda is the daughter of Ray and Deb Olsen of Ankeny. Steven is the son of Patty Schany, and the late Bill Schany Jr., of Emmetsburg.
The couple resides in Ruthven.


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The Burbank YMCA is offering two separate yoga workshops this month. The first workshop will be held from 1 to 2 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 19, and is designed for those new to yoga. The second workshop is being offered from 5 to 6:30 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 20, and is designed to teach participants how to improve their yoga by developing a strong grounding practice with the proper breathing technique. The workshops are free for Burbank Y members and $10 each for nonmembers. For more information, e-mail Olga Arnold at the Burbank Y at firstname.lastname@example.com. The Burbank Y is at 36 Arthur B. Lord Drive in Reading and serves people in Reading, Stoneham, North Reading, Wilmington, and Wakefield.
North Reading


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If some team wants to offer us a 1st for him, we should take it. Unfortunately, they won't. They know that he will be a FA this time next year. Why give up a first or second to rent Revis for only one year?
Revis is a GREAT player. And he is not stupid. He will play out this year, play well, and hit the open market in 2014. He will not agree to an extension on the cheap this year. Won't happen.
So the Jets will have Revis for 2013. He is relatively cheap against the cap this year. Next year he will go to the highest bidder. I honestly hope it is not the Jets. We need to focus resources elsewhere.
you guys are forgetting a big issue here.. What does Revis want? Does he want to go to a top team and avoid this mess? Does he just want top dollar? Which is what I think he cares most about. If thats the case he will probably want to go to FA for bidding war. We cant risk losing him for nothing.
You also have to ask, will Revis want to agree to sign at time of trade with the trading team. Team is not going to give a high pick to rent revis for less than a year.. If we are stuck with sanchez next year we are not making the playoffs, maybe we can trade revis for a 3rd, then try to sign him as a FA ha. not likely to happen but that would be great.
If we cant sign him before season, can always trade him in season before the deadline. Give him a chance to show hes back in form, and maybe some playoff bound team sees they have a huge weakness at corner, giants/denver,ect. and gets desperate. If the giants had Revis they would easily made the playoffs, after watching them lose games with corner play.. Its not like a qb in season, Revis can come on a team and instantly make a huge difference..


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|View Poll Results: Hanasaku Iroha - Episode 6 Rating
|Perfect 10
|9 out of 10 : Excellent
|8 out of 10 : Very Good
|7 out of 10 : Good
|6 out of 10 : Average
|5 out of 10 : Below Average
|4 out of 10 : Poor
|3 out of 10 : Bad
|2 out of 10 : Very Bad
|1 out of 10 : Painful
|Voters: 70. You may not vote on this poll
|Thread Tools
|2011-05-08, 16:08
|Link #41
Sensei, aishite imasu
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Hong Kong Shatterdome
(Ko makes it a quadrangle).
On another note, WTH is with all the butch guys in military attire? I highly doubt they're Japanese SWAT but....perhaps Tohru/Tomoe/Renji engage in airsoft outside of work hours.
|2011-05-08, 16:20
|Link #42
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2009
This was my reaction to this episode.
Ohana is developing some fairly dangerous, and pervy quirks.
Unrelated to dangerous quirks, I wonder if Ohana is paid hourly, on salary, or just whatever her Grandmother wants to pay her at the time. As it is, she is raking in a whopping ~$3000 a year.
Lets assume Ohana isn't on the clock in the morning because of school, and lets assume she gets out of school at around 15:00. We're also gonna assume Grandma is a slave driver.
Weekdays 16:00~21:00= 5 hours
Sunday 7:00~21:00= 14 hours
So even while going to school, Ohana is putting in 40+ hours a week.
If she is getting paid hourly, that's a staggering 100 yen/hour.
The lowest minimum wage in Japan (according to the all-knowing google) is 642 yen/hour.
Ohana needs to become an in-between animator, she'll be making 4x as much.
Last edited by 00Coyote; 2011-05-08 at 17:51.
|2011-05-08, 17:29
|Link #44
Sensei, aishite imasu
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Hong Kong Shatterdome
|2011-05-08, 17:46
|Link #45
Crossdressing Menmatic
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: Where you live... the question is, do you see me?
Age: 24
Hanasaku Iroha: Fulfilling fantasies, one outfit at a time.
Ahem. Tohru blushed. And smiled.
Tohru aside, I find the role of outer appearances very meaningful. Episode 6 goes back to the original allure of Hanairo: Heartwarming stories of growing up, touching moments of past memories. Two scenes stand to out me. The first is when Ohana flicks Enishi's forehead; the young master becomes reminded of Ohana's mother, who would often do the same thing whenever he felt depressed. The second is when Okami-san is in the attic, looking at the dresses she used to wear as a humble waitress at Kissuiso. Just like her granddaughter, Okami-san wanted to try something new. Maybe she still does; she gives a slight smile before leaving the attic.
Episode 6 Rating: 8.5/10
|2011-05-08, 18:01
|Link #46
Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2009
Impressive how the fanservise in this show strikes when you are totally not expecting it to happen and not those kinds either, very classy i imo.
As for the ep, i think that this triangle that is forming is rather unnecessary since we all know how it will end >_> i prefer if it stayed the way it was before with only Ohana X Ko (in reality i wish it was an Ohana X Nako X Minchi yuri triangle, but that just a distant dream u.u)
|2011-05-08, 18:10
|Link #47
fushigi ojisan
Join Date: Jan 2011
So management consultants are the same everywhere. I wonder if Takako has any business experience, or if she is full of "book learning". Anyone that has been working for a while has run into these people: credentialed out the wazoo but no actual experience running a business.
|2011-05-08, 19:24
|Link #48
Senior Member
I think that Hana-Saku Iroha has pretty much found its groove here, and has developed a generally good identity for itself.
After 6 episodes, I think that I now have a pretty good idea of what your average Hana-Saku Iroha episode will be like, and I'm mostly happy with it.
What I particularly liked about Episode 6 was the practical problems and issues that were explored here, issues that you could see arise in any small business, and the fact that Ohana took a leading role in trying to rectify them.
I also loved the heart-to-heart between Ohana and her Uncle. That was a very pleasant scene, and I think it really helped to showcase what makes Ohana such an eminently likable character.
However, I do find Ohana's basic reasoning skills a bit questionable and worrisome, and my views are similar to tezu's there. For example, to think that the problem was her new waitress outfit wasn't risque enough, given exactly how that outfit backfired on her and the inn, suggests a certain lack of good deductive reasoning on Ohana's part.
Nonetheless, the episode did end by finding a happy medium between the somewhat dull all-orange outfits typically wore by the female staff of this Inn, and the outfits offered up by the Management Consultant.
The artwork and animation was very smooth and crisp and pleasing to the eye.
Ohana's grandmother received nice character development here, as did Ohana's Uncle. That was good to see.
Minchi's "Die! Balut!" routine finally hit the right "running joke" note for me, and it's not an issue when used only a little bit like it was in this episode. It doesn't make me like Minchi anymore than I do right now, but if it's kept to just a short bit per episode, I can just dismiss it or laugh it off, depending on how funny its execution it.
The love triangle doesn't bother me as much as it does some, but then it helps that...
1) I have little to no emotional investment in Minchi, so if she loses Tohru, I probably won't feel particularly badly for her.
2) I have little to no emotional investment in Tohru, so if he doesn't win over Ohana, I probably won't feel particularly badly for him either.
So, right now, I don't really see a way for this to play out that would bother me a lot (like I was by how True Tears' love triangle was resolved), so by extension, I don't have a problem with the love triangle. So for me, it just adds a little bit of added spice and intrigue to everything.
Overall, 8/10 for Hana-Saku Iroha Episode 6. I am definitely looking forward to the next episode.
|2011-05-08, 19:28
|Link #49
Ms. Procrastinator
Join Date: Mar 2010
During that one moment with Tohru blushing, I thought "This is a dream, right?!" Then I saw Ohana there and I'm all like "YES!!!" *throws fist in air*
But it's also quite possible that Tohru was actaully looking at Nako... Because everytime it seemed like he was looking at Ohana, Nako was there too...
Also, if it turns out Tohru is in fact in love with Ohana, she most likely will reject him since
1) Minko loves him and Ohana really wants to be her friend...
2) Ko-chan seems to be the one Ohana will end up with...
I hope I'm wrong...
|2011-05-08, 19:45
|Link #50
Yuuki Aoi
Join Date: Jul 2004
|2011-05-08, 19:50
|Link #51
To the beat//
Join Date: Feb 2011
Age: 26
I doubt that its Nako whom Tooru was looking at during those scenes. I´m pretty sure there haven't been any scenes of those two interacting.
Also, when he drops the lid while looking at Nako and Ohana's new outfits, if you look at his eyes, you can tell they´re focused on Ohana's direction.
|2011-05-08, 19:57
|Link #53
Ms. Procrastinator
Join Date: Mar 2010
Sorry, but until I see more proof of this ship coming together, I can't celebrate just yet... (But I'll keep replaying this week's episode just to see those TohruxOhana moments again :3)
|2011-05-08, 20:31
|Link #55
lost in wonder forever...
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: edge of my dream in the land of twilight...ZzzZzZ
Wow, this episode was *ahem* very entertaining in various ways. Nako and Ohana looked so cute and sexy in the Qipao dresses. I laughed a bit when Ohana actually thought of making the thigh silt higher. She turning into a bad kid.
*sigh* I want to see Minko in an embearassing outfit. Her expression would be priceless.
|2011-05-08, 20:32
|Link #56
Ms. Procrastinator
Join Date: Mar 2010
|2011-05-08, 20:33
|Link #57
Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Boston
Age: 28
On the whole, though, I like the love triangle because it's better than the alternative. I'm not in the least bit excited about the potential long-distance-realization-of-love-for-Ko-chan plotline or the potential Ko-chan-comes-to-steal-back-Ohana plotline.
If the strain between Ohana's old life and her new life was going to be a major theme (which is what an Ohana x Ko plotline would go towards), the show hasn't been exploring that enough so far, and we'd have to change directions to make anything like that happen. For starters, we have pretty much no characterization for Ko-chan. Instead, the show's been focusing 95% on Ohana's new relationships, and the love triangle would be a continuation in that direction, even if all love ends up unrequited.
If they change directions and pull it off well, I'd be completely fine with that, but it seems like it would be harder to actually pull off well. Then again, they have something like 20 more episodes to work with, so....
|2011-05-08, 20:38
|Link #58
To the beat//
Join Date: Feb 2011
Age: 26
Now I can't wait until next week. Ugh, and I wonder when will Ko make his re-apperance. If Tooru does indeed like Ohana, it would be interesting to see him being jealous of Ko. xD
|2011-05-08, 20:46
|Link #59
Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2010
I think Ohana's experience at Kissuiso is helping her reevaluate her life in general, from the way she thinks about Ko to her personal view on her mother.
|2011-05-08, 20:49
|Link #60
Ms. Procrastinator
Join Date: Mar 2010
|Thread Tools


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April 17, 2004
The men's golf team led with a score of 309 after the first 18 holes of play at the Ivy League Championships, held at the Metedeconk National Golf Course. But a second round of 328 hurt the defending champion Bulldogs, who now stand in fifth overall going into the final round tomorrow.
Steve Gray leads the Bulldogs in 8th place overall with a 2-round score of 155, made up of a first-round 75 and a second-round 80. Brian Kim shot a 75 and 84 to stand in 10th place.
Dan Levy recorded rounds of 81 and 80 to place 15th, while Andrew Vitt rounded out the Yale roster with scores of 78 and 88, good for 28th overall.
The Elis hope to regain their first-round success tomorrow in the final round. Last season, Yale won the Ivy League title.


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Georgene Fayette "Brandy" Rochow passed away peacefully in Anaheim Hills, Calif. February 6, 2014 surrounded by her daughters. She was 89. Brandy was born August 24, 1924, in Fresno, Calif. to George and Edith Phillips and was a great-granddaughter of Eli K. Anderson, famed Oregon pioneer. She was a graduate of Ashland High School and joined the U.S. Navy as a W.A.V.E. in 1944 during WWII. After the war ended, Brandy headed to Southern California to seek fame and fortune but ended up married with three daughters instead!
Brandy's true passion in life was entertaining, most notably on stage, starring in many theatrical productions in Los Angeles and Ventura counties in her earlier years, before moving back to her Oregon roots in 1990 with her loving husband, Frank, where she graced the stage in numerous productions at Studio X, Ashland, Actors Theatre in Talent, and ACT Theatre in Ashland.
Brandy was best known for her charismatic and vibrant personality, quick humorous wit, and sense of style. She was an active contributor in the Rogue Valley community, volunteering her time and support to numerous organizations, including Rogue Opera Guild, Rogue Valley Symphony Guild, Southem Oregon Historical Society's Gold Diggers, SMART readers, taught a class on plays for Solir (So. Oregon University), and was a Pink Lady at Rogue Valley Hospital. Her keen fashion sense made her a natural for coordinating, modeling, and producing numerous fundraiser fashion shows for the Symphony Orchestra.
Brandy returned to California in 2007 to be closer to family. She is survived by her three daughters, Leslie Garcia of Nashville, Tenn., Susie Fowler of Eden Prairie, Minn., and Barbi Grom of Fullerton, Calif.; six grandchildren, Tracy and Cody Garcia, Katy Benjamin, J.T. Muhrer, and Ian and Tessa Grom.; and great-granddaughter, McKenzie Brown. Her beloved husband, Frank Rochow, and two cherished dogs, Lucky and Susie, preceded her in death.
She lived a great life, full of laughter, dear friends, and love to the very end. Friends and family will be planning a private celebration of her life in Oregon in August 2014.


text:
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After years of waiting, ground was officially broken Saturday for a multimillion dollar sewer project that will serve the community around the Eagle Creek Resort.
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Pear Coffee Cake Recipe
5 1 1
I first tasted a moist, delicious pear coffee cake at a bake sale. At Christmas, I bake it instead of fruitcake, adding chopped nuts and chopped red and green candied cherries—about 1/4 cup of each.
Recommended: Our Best Coffee Cake Recipes Ever
VERIFIED BY Taste of Home Test Kitchen
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- 2 cups sugar
- 1-1/2 cups vegetable oil
- 3 large eggs
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 cups sweetened shredded coconut
- 1 cup chopped dates
- 3 cups chopped peeled pears
- 1 cup pecans, chopped
- In a bowl, cream together sugar and oil. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Sift together flour, cinnamon, salt and baking soda; add to creamed mixture. Add vanilla. Bay hand, stir in coconut, dates, pears and pecans (batter will be thick). Spoon into a greased and floured fluted tube pan. Bake at 325° for 1-1/2 to 2 hours or until cake tests done. Cool on rack until cake comes away from sides of pan; remove from pan to a wire rack to cool completely. Yield: 16 servings.
Originally published as Pear Coffee Cake in Grandma's Great Desserts Cookbook 1992, p35
Reviews forPear Coffee Cake
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Average Rating
Reviewed Nov. 5, 2009
"This is really high in fat and calories but it might just be worth it. It was delicious."


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Since we reported on the story of Genevieve Murray stepping in to help her neighbour, Redfern resident, Roslyn, renovate her Sydney housing commission home, the architect has been inundated by support, offers of more help and even second-hand shoes to pass to her stolen generations friend. Here, Murray, 33, describes what drove her to rally a team to give their time, expertise and skills to makeover the inner-city terrace - and change Roslyn's life for the better.
I am lucky.
I was raised and educated on the northern side of Sydney's Inner Harbour. It was quiet and we had access to waterfront and bush. I went to school with kids from solid families. My family have an interest in the world and community and social causes. I have a large and supportive extended family and network of friends. All educated and of reasonably good mental health – suffice to say we are Irish Catholics with a penchant for drink, singing and the softer ebb and flow of feeling and thought.
I am still lucky. I now live in a terraced house close to the city owned by family that is close to public transport and a short walk or ride gets me most places I need to go. My neighbourhood of Redfern is a world away from where I grew up. It has a polarity of backgrounds, life experience, opportunity and wealth. The disparity between those who can afford to live here as private owners or as paying tenants, and those who live in Public or Community Housing, is palpable.
The place has an edge, but it is an active and vibrant place. People don't have driveways and cars here – there's no room and there's no need. They walk out their front door, sit on their step, stroll to the shop, stop for a chat, call the council if they find needles in the alleyway and sweep their front yards when the council doesn't. It's a good neighbourhood.
The intimacy of the community and the nature of its residents – open, friendly, caring, generous – has kept me happy here.
The other week, while walking back from the shop opposite the park, I found myself walking in pace with an old neighbour, Roslyn. We got talking about an empty cottage that sits at the end of my street ahead of us.
Through the open door, we could see two Chinese cleaners, wiping the walls. We slowed. Roslyn told me the story of the previous tenant of 34 years. She was a quiet lady with a tough wiry family who passed away recently after three years battling cancer.
Roslyn had been offered the cottage by the Department of Housing but they hadn't let her have a look. She is the matriarch of a big family and a one-bedder was making life hard. Roslyn had turned down their first offer. Her neighbours would have been ice addicts. I get the feeling she was a bit over that kind of thing.
This was their last offer. She was wary. She'd heard the stories of rising damp and filthy walls from more than three decades of smoking.
I said we should go and have a look. Roslyn was a little hesitant. The cleaner put his hand up to say no. I kept approaching, confident, persuasive. "Ok, ok", he said with a smile.
The stench hit us first. Damp, smoke residue, rot. The walls were stained brown. The carpet was stained and smelly. There were rotting skirting boards and someone had lazily spray-painted the wall.
Where I saw opportunity, with the support, resources, contacts, skills and knowledge I have, Roslyn only saw problems.
The place was otherwise good. The kitchen was in reasonable shape and the bathroom was too. The bedrooms were small but sufficient. The old fireplaces were still in place and although they were blocked up they made the place feel homely.
The bones of a good house were there.
But, where I saw opportunity, with the support, resources, contacts, skills and knowledge I have, Roslyn only saw problems. She didn't have resources or skills to get the place fixed up. She lives on a pension. She may have family who could find the money and time but I doubt she'd be comfortable asking them. Heck, I wouldn't unless my family offered. I'm a proud person, too.
I could see that with a repaired floor, new carpet and a lick of paint this could be a great little place.
So… on the spot, I offered to get the place fixed up for her. She looked me in the eyes and asked if I was sure. I gave her my word. With a tear in her eye she said this was the first time in her life someone had done something kind for her.
I stayed up late to pen an email to family and friends. With the right information, people would be happy to help… and they were. Everyone responded with offers. An old family friend, Sandy Lynch, offered to cover the cost of paint.
My Dad offered advice and experience.
"Genevieve", he said, "Roslyn is going to be in this place till she dies and this is the last lick of paint it's going to get. Do it properly, kiddo".
And we did. We took up the floor where it was sagging to investigate the problem. We found rotting bearers and joists. We got new ones, put them in and replaced the chip board flooring ready for new carpet.
We paid attention to the detail, we taped all the edges and glass window panes. My friends bought tile glue (out of their own pocket), to re-fix tiles that were falling away.
I literally had a tear in my eye on the first day. Every room had at least two of my family and friends in it, cleaning and chatting, getting to know each other, having a laugh. There was the sound of the swoosh of the rags against the walls in all the rooms.
I don't have money to throw at a problem, but I have expertise and know-how and contacts and this, I've learnt, counts for far more than money.
I would love to keep helping more people in a similar situation but life is busy. Hopefully, people get the idea and realise it's not too hard, wherever they may live. Just be sensitive to people's needs... and don't be scared to offer help.
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Main Site - :: Why Won't God Heal Amputees? ::
Look carefully at what happened here. Instead of engaging with premise (1), CuriousGirl picks a verse out of the bible that she doesn't like, shows how a cursory surface look disagrees with current cultural values in the US, and then tell us that the point is won. Clearly, it's not. It's not even engaged. It's not even discussed. Just a bit of Bible-bashing, a conclusion with a link to an evolutionary just-so story about how morality might have evolved, and then she moves on.


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Keith Brooking: A Leader EmergesOctober 25, 2009
A leaderless locker room is a rudderless ship.
The Dallas Cowboys are a team needing compensation. The absence of sideline leadership under Wade Phillips has led to frequent chaos. The Patrick Clayton flap is just the most recent evidence that there is poor communication between the coaching staff and the men in the trenches. Crayton said he did not even know he had been demoted. No one told him.
I believe him.
A weak head coach heightens the need for players to step forward and become the vocal and spiritual leaders of the team. What exists in the Cowboys' organization today is not unlike the Barry Switzer era. That team managed to overcome the absence of a strong head coach, primarily because there were established leaders on both sides of the ball.
Michael Irvin, Troy Aikman, and Darren Woodson did what Switzer could not—would not—do: They inspired their teammates to rise to every challenge, to meet adversity with single-minded determination, to excel, to exceed expectations.
It didn't hurt that they happened to be stacked with talented players at practically every position. But history has proved that the most talented team is not always the last team standing. Winning a Super Bowl takes more than talent.
It takes a team.
And a team needs leadership. It needs people confident and strong enough to stand up and say, "Follow me. I know the way."
It is a mistake to assume that a great soldier will automatically make a great General. The current crop of Cowboys have some great performers. DeMarcus Ware, Jason Witten, Jay Ratliff and others have proved they have the talent to do their jobs at the highest level. They have yet to prove they can inspire their teammates to do the same.
Enter Keith Brooking.
Brooking is proving himself to be the best offseason move the Cowboys have made in some time...and it isn't just the quality of his play on the field. Watch him in the defensive huddle. Keep an eye on him when he is on the sideline. Listen to him in interviews. The man has assumed a leadership role on a team in desperate need of a natural born leader.
Brooking hasn't bullied his way into his newfound role. Nor has he been officially appointed to be the leader of the Dallas defense. He has just been himself. Leaders lead. It is inherent in their nature. Born leaders are the most effective kind.
The idea that a professional football team doesn't require on-field leaders is just wrong. It is more important at that level than any other. In college, high school, or Pop Warner, the leadership is almost always provided by the coaching staff. But these are grown men, playing their game at the highest level in the world.
The rah-rah coach may inspire them, sure. The intellectual football genius coach may instruct them. But it takes a peer with skins on the wall, with a proven track record of his own, and with the innate ability to lead men to truly galvanize them on the field.
Otherwise, you have fifty-four individuals performing. One team will always trump fifty-four individuals.
The Cowboys are just another Brooking or two away from finding themselves in spite of their milk toast head coach.


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Sevilla forward Alvaro Negredo admits he could be on the move in the summer, saying that his future is in the the hands of the Andalusian club's president Jose Maria del Nido.
Negredo has been linked with a move away from Sevilla to help ease the club's debts, which stand at around €50 million.
Tottenham and Everton were believed to be eyeing a move for the 27-year-old, who has 20 goals to his name this season, while previous reports suggested Del Nido was in London trying to sell one of his most-prized assets to either Chelsea or Arsenal.
The club president has moved to refute claims Negredo could be sold and the Spanish international says he is happy to stay put, however he acknowledges he may have to be sold in order to balance the books.
"I'm happy here. If the president says that he will not sell, there are other players that can go," he told a press conference.
"He will seek what is best for the club and if I have to leave then it is because he sees fit. But I am calm and at ease here.
"This city and this team have given me a lot. In the end, we are all in the shop window. I want to finish the season here and then the president will decide. For better or for worse, we will all benefit."
Both Arsenal and Tottenham will likely be in the market for a striker in the summer, and Negredo could form part of both club's plans.
The Gunners have yet to land a genuine replacement for Robin van Persie, a role the Spanish World Cup winner could fill at the Emirates Stadium.
Tottenham meanwhile have reportedly failed with previous attempts to land Negredo, and are believed to be eyeing him once more.
Spurs focused all their efforts on landing Brazilian Leandro Damiao in the January transfer window but failed to get their man - and with boss Andre Villas-Boas insisting that move won't be resurrected in the summer, the north London club may choose to up their interest in Negredo once more.
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Velma Pauline Jones Daugherty
Velma Pauline Jones Daugherty died on Saturday, Nov. 24 at Saline Memorial Hospital in Benton after suffering a stroke Friday.
She was 95 years old.
Pauline was born Jan. 23, 1917, in Sayre, in Ouachita County, the daughter of the late Jewell Hudson Jones and Jewel Ann Pearce Jones.
The family moved to Bauxite when Pauline was about 4 years old.
Pauline met her future husband, Warren Kelley "Doc" Daugherty at a church revival in Bauxite. They were married on July 30, 1933. Doc was the love of her life, and when he died on Dec. 2, 1995, they had been married for 62 years.
Pauline was also preceded in death by two brothers, John Winfred Jones and James Pearce Jones; two sisters, Cornelia Jones Curt and Aurelia Jones Caple; a grandson, Warren Kelley "Butch" Daugherty; and daughter-in-law Martha Willis Daugherty. She is survived by three sons, Warren Kelley "Doc" Daugherty of Pine Bluff; Phillip Wayne Daugherty and wife Sharon of Benton; Richard Ron Daugherty and wife Jan of Benton; seven grandchildren, Tamara Daugherty Gates of Pine Bluff, Charles Daugherty and wife Donna of Jasper, Angela Daugherty Gay and husband Russ of Monticello, Jennifer Daugherty Emery and husband Rob of Batesville, Julie Daugherty Miller and husband John of Benton, Heather Daugherty Harper and husband Phillip of Manchester, Tenn., Richard Daugherty and wife Mindy of Germany; 13 great-grandchildren; six great-great-grandchildren; three nephews; and six nieces.
Pauline always put her husband and children first in her life. She was a person that enjoyed people and was loved by all ages. She liked traveling, playing cards, reading and talking on the phone.
She attended the First United Methodist Church in Benton and was a member of the Dorcas sunday school class.
Visitation will be held at Roller-Ballard Funeral Hoe in Benton from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 26. A graveside service will be held at Pinecrest Cemetery in Collegeville at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 27, with Rev. Clyde Chenault officiating.
The family requests that memorials be made at the Bauxite Historical Association and Museum, P.O. Box 245, Bauxite, AR 72011.
Online guestbook: www.rollerfuneralhomes.com


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Many craft beer-focused bars and restaurants offer beer tasting flights -- a lineup of smaller glasses of different beers -- and whether you're a beer aficionado or new to the craft beer world, they are a great way to experience a variety of different beers and discover new favorites. And they can be a cost-effect way to train your palate to recognize the differences between similar brews.
While it can be daunting to pick a cohesive lineup of beers from a list of a dozen or more taps, there are a few methods you can employ to get the most of your order. While more common to wine tasting, horizontal and vertical flights (a collection of varieties from a single producer or area or several vintages of the same type of wine, respectively) are also available in the craft beer world. Vertical flights are a great way to experience the way a beer can change when properly cellared, but they are more rare and usually reserved for special events. Finding several beers from a single brewery on tap is more common, and it's a great way to get a feel for a brewery's character.
Selecting a few beers of the same style from different breweries -- all porters, or a selection of L.A.'s Best IPAs for example -- is a low-risk way to get to know a style you might not be familiar with. Of course, just picking a lineup of beers that sound good at the moment is always a good idea, and ordering a couple brews you know you'll enjoy and a couple of beers you haven't tried is a safe way to experiment.


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T O P I C R E V I E WPMKCCListed for a 3-day auction: John Young WSS Portrait Lithograph ISPCharles Conrad LM hatch ladder descent SPDave Scott LM Lift-Off! SPGene Cernan LM Lift-Off! SP eBay seller: Farstar61schnappsicleI just bought the Conrad. I was just thinking this morning how much I'd like to have that photo signed by Conrad. I had no idea he actually signed any of them.Thanks again for a great photo.
Thanks again for a great photo.
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Asus claims quad-core gaming laptop 'world first'
17in monster
Asus has introduced what it claims is the world's first gaming notebook with a quad-core processor, beating the likes of Alienware and VoodooPC to the punch.
The G71 will incorporate Intel's four-core Core 2 Extreme QX9300, the same chip used in Dell's new Precision M6000 notebook, though that's aimed at serious usage rather than gaming.
Asus' G71 quad-core gaming laptop: first of its kind?
The Intel CPU is paired with an Nvidia GPU: the GeForce 9700M, which has 512MB of GDDR 3 video memory. The system's main memory is DDR 3 too, 4GB of it clocked to 1066MHz.
Asus said the G71 will be available with up to two hard drives for up to 1TB of storage capacity. The screen's a glossy 17-incher with a two-megapixel webcam in the bezel. The visuals are accompanied by sound pumped through two stereo drivers and a sub-woofer, all from speaker specialist Altec Lansing.
The G71 will come with 802.11n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 2.1+EDR. It's got all the usual ports, plus HDMI and eSATA. Optical disc options include a Blu-ray/DVD#177;R/RW combo drive.
Secondary IM-centric display panel included
Asus also touted the G71's secondary display panel, a readout intended to flash up IM messages received while your busy gaming.
What it didn't say, however, was when the quad-core G71 will go on sale over here, or how much it'll cost when it does. Perhaps there's room for Alienware to get in first, after all...
Asus G71 Photo Gallery
Sponsored: Minds Mastering Machines - Call for papers now open


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In God of War 3, Kratos climbed upon Titans and fought the gods of Olympus to a bloody end. It's the very definition of epic. But Ascension is a prequel--what is the appeal of playing as a mere mortal? Game director Todd Papy says that Ascension's prequel nature allows the team to create a more "likable" Kratos--someone you could "somewhat relate to."
Papy explains that in the first God of War, "he was still somewhat ruthless, but there was a side to him that you could somewhat relate to. And that was something I wanted to get across." The goal? For him to be less of an "a**hole" like he was in God of War 3.
Speaking to Game Informer, Papy explains that the story of Ascension is more personal and more psychological. "The whole idea behind the story is more, 'How do you undo selling your soul to the devil?' In essence, that is the question that we are answering in this story."
It's hard to believe Kratos will be any more likable, given that we've seen him shove a knife into an elephant-man's brains. But, at least he won't hit any women?
"Where does Kratos pick up roughly six months to a year after he killed his wife and kid? What's his mental state? It's not a very pleasant one," Papy further explains, making us wonder how exactly we'll be able to relate to Kratos in this prequel story.


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We already had an inkling that the indie hit Minecraft has been financially successful. Just how successful, you may ask? The answer is somewhere around $33 million in revenue from 1.8 million users, reports Gamasutra.
Creator Markus "Notch" Persson responded to a Reddit "Ask Me Anything" question, saying the game sold roughly 800,000 in alpha for €9.95, then over 1 million beta versions at €14.95. A little math wizardry puts the total revenues at €23 million, or $33 million.
Persson notes that some is removed for PayPal and taxes, but he says "it's still a huge wad of money." At the same time, he isn't living too lavishly. "It all ends up in an account somewhere, and I try not to look at it. I get a normal salary these days for day to day stuff, but there's a big pile somewhere."
So now that Persson is an IGF award winner and a bona fide Richie Rich, he's in a good position to give advice to aspiring developers. "Start with just making games to get used to it," he said in the Reddit thread. "Focus on the details. What makes a jump animation feel good? What is a good main menu? Try to finish a few projects."


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- Tensai and Brodus Clay are officially tag team partners after last night's RAW. Clay approached Tensai backstage in a WWE App exclusive video and asked him to be his partner after being impressed by his dance moves. Tensai agreed to be a part of the team if Clay would put in a good word for him with Cameron.
- While the WWE Divas didn't appear on RAW again this week, Divas Champion Kaitlyn and Tamina Snuka appeared in a backstage segment for the WWE App. Kaitlyn approached Vickie Guerrero about not competing on RAW in a few weeks. Vickie said there was a reason for that. Vickie then revealed that Kaitlyn will defend her title against Tamina Snuka at Elimination Chamber. Kaitlyn extended her hand for a shake but Tamina cut a promo on her, calling her un-deserving. This led to a brawl in Vickie Guerrero's office. Tamina threw her through two end tables and left her laying.
- Below is the second Fandango promo that aired on last night's RAW:
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Angry Conversations with God – The Solo Show – Spring Arbor
Angry Conversations with God – the Solo Show
Written and performed by Susan Isaacs
A wildly hilarious dramatic monologue of selections from her book
Tuesday, April 23
7 p.m. in the Ralph Carey Forum
Sponsored by the Andrews Chair in Spiritual Formation and Winget Foundation along with SAU's Master of Art in Spiritual Formation and Leadership program.
When comedienne Susan Isaacs finds herself jobless, loveless, and living over a garage, she does what any church girl would do. She takes God to counseling. "Clearly, we are not getting along."
"Angry Conversations with God: The Solo Show" is based on Isaacs' award winning memoir in which she chronicles her personal and professional struggle, and her combative relationship with corporatized Churchianity. Publisher's Weekly calls it "funny, biting, earthy, and brilliant." Yet even at its most scandalous, Angry Conversations remains an affirmation of faith, divorced from politics and expectations.
Contact: 517-750-6388 or email@example.com.