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Guide to Plan and Book a Self-Drive Safari in Kruger Park, South Africa
Going on safari is an incredible experience that you will remember for the rest of your life. It's tough to describe seeing lions and elephants in their natural habitat, but it is a completely different experience from seeing them in a zoo.
Since I couldn't find anything unbiased when I went on safari at Kruger Park in South Africa in December 2008, I'm summarizing my many hours of research into a handy how-to guide that will simplify the planning of your self-drive safari in Kruger.
Kruger is best-known for the incredible Battle at Kruger video that features a smackdown between lions, buffalo, crocodiles and (as of writing) been viewed 41 MILLION times on Youtube:
1. Accommodations through SANParks
If you're doing a self-drive safari you'll be staying at the camps run by the South African Parks Committee, SANParks. They are nice, clean, cheap, and have lots of services. You *might* be able to stay at a game lodge and self-drive, but lodges cater to the high-end (or as a South African friend of mine put it, "scared people with too much money"), so they'll probably drive you around in their trucks. I'm just going to write about self-driving, as that's what I know (you can find lots of info on game lodges by Googling around, but not a ton on self-driving).
With a rest camp you generally rent a private cabin. In late 2008, prices were about R300/person ($30 USD). You can also rent a campsite if you have a trailer or tent. They also have larger family-sized cabins if you are traveling with a family. Many cabins include private kitchen facilities, utensils, AC, private bathrooms, patios, and BBQs. They have restaurants and shops that sell non-perishables, fruit, veggies, alcohol, etc. They have awesome guided night drives, sunrise / sunset drives, and bush walks, and I'd highly recommend trying out all of the above.
2. Figure out Your Route
You want to see game, right? Kruger is not a zoo so there are no guarantees of what you'll see, but if you put in the time, you'll likely see everything you want. As an example, during my first two days (about 11h driving myself and 5h of guided drives) I saw four lions, and more rhino, wild dogs, giraffes, elephants, hyenas, hippos, impala, etc than I could count. The only thing I didn't see were leopards.
These maps will be helpful in figuring out your route:
* MAP: Kruger park map with distances
* MAP: Getting to Kruger park
You could search the Lonely Planet forums for suggestions on camps to visit to see certain types of game. In my experience there were all types of game everywhere, so it's more critical to plan your route based on the amount of time you have available and the airports you're flying into.
Grab a pencil and paper and plan your ideal route. Write down the airports and entrance gates nearest your desired camps, and write down nearby camps in case your first choices aren't available.
This table of driving distances between camps and gates will also be helpful:
* TABLE: Kruger park driving distance between camps
Give yourself plenty of time to drive between camps. The park's roads are mostly paved but animals wander on the road which slow things down (and you'll probably want to watch them!) The speed limit is only 50km/h on paved roads, and the average recommended speed limit is 30km/h.
3. Find Accommodations
This is a royal pain in the ass and is where you will probably spend a lot of your time, especially if you visit during high season (Dec-Jan).
It's a pain because accommodation availability will affect your route. Finding the right lodges at the right prices for the right dates according to your route can be a challenge, so you may have to get creative and use your backup camps from section 2.
* ACCOMMODATION: Here's the online booking page
* ACCOMMODATION: Here's a SUPER useful page showing lodge availability by date
I stayed at Satara, Skukuza, and Berg-En-Dal. All were nice and had lots of game you want to see nearby (including lions and elephants walking along the perimeter of Satara). I also visited Lower Sabie, which has an amazing restaurant overlooking the Sabie River where I saw hippos playing in the water 30 feet away as I ate.
4. Getting to Kruger
To get to Kruger, you can fly into either Hoedspruit (HDS) or Nelspruit (MQP), or drive (Johannesburg is the nearest major city).
I flew, but there's a list of driving times and directions from Joburg here.
Depending on your route, you will want to fly into either Hoedspruit (HDS) or Nelspruit (MQP).
Nelspruit is also known as KMIA (Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport). It took me a long time to figure out that Nelspruit = KMIA. It's confusing to find flights in and out of MQP/KMIA as the big search engines don't recognize KMIA as an airport code, and very few websites refer to it by its airport code, MQP. So when you're searching for flights into or out of Nelspruit, search for MQP.
This map will come in handy for figuring out how to get to your rest camp from HDS or MQP.
Gates close to Hoedspruit (HDS)
Gates close to Nelspruit (MQP / KMIA)
* Phabeni (47 km)
* Paul Kruger (77 km)
* Malelane (90 km)
* Crocodile Bridge (143 km)
Here is a full list of distances between airports and gates (be aware it's a bit confusing, and incorporates driving directions from Joburg).
You'll want to make sure you can get to your rest camp in Kruger while the gates are open:
Airlines that fly to Kruger as of Dec 08
|Flies to Hoedspruit / HDS
|Flies to Nelspruit / MQP / KMIA
|SAX (their site is bunk so I used Travelstart to book)
|South Africa Airways
Travelstart is a good place to search for flights across multiple airlines in South Africa. And, here's a list of all the airlines in South Africa.
5. Rent a car if you're self-driving
You'll need a car if you're self driving (duh). Self driving gives you more flexibility that going with a guide – you decide when and wear to go, you often have better sightlines as positioning a large vehicle to see an obscured animal can be tougher.
The downside is that you also have to do your homework and try to figure out where to see good game. You can use the maps that each camp has that shows yesterday's and today's game.
You can rent a car at both MQP and HDS airports. Use Expedia, Orbitz, etc to book a rental car through the usual suspects – Avis, Hertz, Thrifty, etc.
Rent a car with air conditioning. Summer days can get above 40 Celsius (more than 100 degrees Fahrenheit).
Rent a small car, a big one isn't necessary to navigate Kruger. A 4×4 also isn't necessary as the roads are either paved or manageable gravel. I rented a Hyundai Altos and it was fine (crossing a few of the marginally flooded rivers with it was all part of the adventure :)
Hyundai Altos
Regardless of the car you rent, you need to be smart about positioning your car when you see game. Be early or be high up, otherwise the game will be tough to see because there will probably be tons of cars around. A larger car obviously helps here, but I had no problems with the Altos during four days of game driving.
6. Tips
* Buy food at a Pick and Pay grocery store before entering the park to save money
* Buy a map at the gate you enter. R40 for us.
* Mobile phones work in all camps and some areas in the park
* You can buy water and lots of other provisions at the camps
* I'd suggest getting up early and being out the gates as soon as they open. You will see better game, especially during the summer. Animals rest during the hot and rainy summer days, making them harder to spot. The winters are dry and so you may have better odds spotting animals during the daytime, especially near watering holes.
* Book the sunset and evening drives through the camp (call to book them well in advance – they fill up!) You'll be in the park when nobody else is – everybody has to be in camp by 630p unless on one of these drives. Your odds of seeing predators unobstructed is higher in the early mornings and evenings as that's when lions and leopards hunt.
* The SANParks cabins did *not* have mosquito nets, so bring DEET or wear long-sleeve clothes when you're sleeping.
* Take Malaria pills, because there are malaria-carrying mosquitos in Kruger! Malarone is pricy (about $5/pill in North America) but it doesn't give you the terrible nightmares that some get with Lariam. But seriously, once you have it, it doesn't go away – why subject yourself to the risk?
* Internet is available at some of the parks. I didn't use it as the internet cafe was closed at one lodge and down at the other. I talked to a guy using a 3G modem on the Vodacom network who said speeds were pretty good.
* Have FUN! :)
That's it, hope it helps. Let me know if anything isn't clear or if you have questions and I will update this if I know the answers!
Interview: How to Be a Digital Nomad
Recently I was interviewed about living as a digital nomad by Andrew Warner of Mixergy.com.
Andrew's teaser is below, and the full interview is here. I think it came out pretty well.
If you want to know more about the tip and tricks I use while living this life, head on over to Mixergy and listen to the interview! And if there's anything I didn't answer, please fire away in the comments!
Kareem Mayan, The Nomad from Andrew Warner.
Gear List for a Digital Nomad
This has been a daunting post I've wanted to write for almost a year. Maneesh asked for it yesterday, so I figured I'd do it up!
I had a bigger pack and a lot more gear from Dec 07 – May 08. Here's a list of gear that I've been traveling with since May 08. It currently weighs about 33lbs, if I'm sticking to my three-book limit.
MEI Voyageur
I did a ton of research about a bag, and came to the conclusion that if you're not going with a psycho-small bag like the Life Nomadic guys, but still want to carry on your bag, the MEI Voyageur is the way to go.
I can't say enough good things about this bag. It's the maximum dimensions allowed for a carry-on, and can be worn as a backpack or regular bag (the backpack straps zip into the bag when not being used). It's super durable. I've carried it by its handle while it was stuffed to the gills and I was never concerned that it would rip because of the weight. It has one big compartment which is a lot better to pack and find stuff than a bag with lots of little compartments.
I've never had concerns carrying this on, even when stuffed. Though I did pack poorly once and had to check it because it wouldn't fit into the overhead compartment on a small ATR-82 propeller plane in India.
This is the review that sold me, and there are other good MEI Voyageur reviews here.
I lock it with a Lewis and Clark travel lock (not all locks will fit this bag as the holes on the zippers are pretty thin). I also have a retractable cable lock and Pelilock which have come in handy to, for example, lock my bag in a closet in a sketchy hostel.
Kiva Keychain Backpack
I use this for day trips to the beach, grocery store, etc. It's can fit a couple of towels, books, and bottles of water when it's a backpack, and packs up to a tiny keychain-sized pack when not in use.
Plus, look at the smile you'll be sporting when wearing it! I challenge you to spend 10 bucks in a better way.
Kelty Daypack
This is the daypack from my old, overly-complex pack. I brought it along because my computer fits into it like a glove and it can be folded up and easily stashed in my Voyageur if necessary. It's also great for carrying on stuff I want to be accessible during long flights (laptop, book, water, rhinestone-studded eye mask, etc) so I don't have to dig through the Voyageur.
Four Icebreaker T-Shirts
Icebreaker shirts are a must-have for anybody living with a small wardrobe. They are pricey wool t-shirts, but they can be worn many times before smelling of something other than deodorant. I've done Crossfit workouts in them where the shirt has been soaked, and the next day it doesn't smell like it's even been worn (the lack of smell has been independently verified by multiple parties). Plus, because they're wool, they are breathable and keep you cool in the summer and warmer than a cotton shirt in winter. And if they get wet, they're much more comfortable than cotton.
I could probably ditch one shirt, maybe two. But I like having a little variety.
Can't say enough about these shirts or the company. Two of them had random holes appear in them, and Icebreaker even offered to ship me two new ones to rural India! I'm an Icebreaker convert.
Long Sleeve Icebreaker U-Turn T-Shirt
In retrospect I probably would have gotten a different colour – this shirt looks like a pyjama top. But it's a great layer to have.
Icebreaker Nomad Hoodie
I really like hoodies, and wanted to bring something warm with me. A week before leaving, I was telling my friend Becky that I didn't think a cotton hoodie was a good idea. Bring awesome, she suggested (of course) an Icebreaker hoodie.
So I picked up this 320 weight wool hoodie, fittingly named the Nomad. It has the added bonus of making me look like a speedskater when wearing the hood up. It's super warm, packs way better than a cotton hoodie, and has all the associated Icebreakery goodness I wrote about earlier.
They're heavy and fairly impractical for travel, but I didn't want to feel like a synthetic-pants wearing douchebag when living in a city for 3 months. Also, I'm not schlepping my bag around every day so I am less impacted by their weight.
Cloudveil Cool Convertible pants
Lightweight, breathable, zips into shorts, and waaay nicer to wear in hot climates than jeans.
Quiksilver Board Shorts
These shorts have got to be close to 7 years old, but I can play sports, do crossfit, and swim in 'em. They're still in great shape so no need to replace them.
Quiksilver Khaki Shorts
These might be overkill as the Cloudveils zip-off into shorts too. But these hang lower, feel more comfortable, and have more zippered pockets, so I brought them.
Three Pairs Ex-Officio Boxers
The official boxer of the long-term traveler, 3 pairs suited me well (one to wear, one drying from being washed in the shower that morning, and one because mom advised me to always have a backup plan).
They dry quickly and breathe well. I don't think about them, which is what I look for from my boxers.
Vasque Mantra XCR Shoes
"Equally suited for trolling the farmers market or day hiking your favorite trail, the sleek new Vibram® Ananasi bottom package is built for the trail and all-day comfort. An attractive leather and airmesh upper assures you will look good no matter what you're doing."
Shazam! These shoes kick serious ass. They're light, are GoreTEXed and thus waterproof (my feet were kept bone-dry in Buenos Aires downpours, which don't mess around) and equally at home in the office, at the beach, or canoodling with supermodels at the hottest clubs in Buenos Aires and London. Love 'em.
Mountain Hardware Typhoon
Love this jacket. It's 15oz, can scrunch into a tiny ball, has GORE-TEX PACLITE and is waterproof, has pit zips to cool down when the weather gets unexpectedly hotter, and makes for a great outer layer. I rocked it over my hoodie in the worst London snowstorm in the past 18 years and I was dry and warm.
Rainbow Hemp Double-Stack Flip-Flops
Hipsters love these things. They're hemp and don't smell, but I've worn them for about 8 months and they're practically destroyed. I'll be going back to Gravis flip-flops for my next pair, which have been way more durable since I started wearing them earlier this millenium.
Icebreaker Long Underwear
Super warm long underwear for 10 days in Antarctica. I schlepped them for 3 months, then sent them home, even though they make my pecs look awesome.
Two pairs Smartwool Socks
I'm pretty anti-sock and pro-flip-flops, but figured a couple pairs to do Crossfit in or travel in on cool days were a good idea. People rave about Smartwool – quick drying, not totally uncomfortable when wet, last forever, no blisters, etc. For me, they're like boxers – I put em on and don't have to think about em.
One pair Heavy Smartwool Socks
The super warm version of the above.
One pair Heavy Icebreaker Socks
Last picture of socks, promise. At the last minute, I decided to bring a second pair of socks and went with Icebreaker. Good thing, because at times in Antarctica I wore all four pairs of socks and my feet were only just warm enough.
MEC Yukon Gore-Tex Mittens
I needed some badass waterproof and warm mittens for Antarctica. These fit the bill nicely and were sent home when I got back from the White Continent.
MEC Windpro 2 Gloves
Super light, decently warm, and resistant to all things wind, these stayed with me post-Antarctica and thank goodness – my hands would've been icy bricks if I didn't have them in the London storm.
Oakley A-Wires
9 years old and still kicking, I thought these would be fine… until I went trekking in Patagonia and had burning eyes at the end of the day. Seems the scratched lenses couldn't keep out the UV light. Not wanting to deal with crispy eyeballs thanks to the reflective snow in Antarctica, I sent these home and bought a pair of Rusty sunglasses. At least I think they're Rusty, though I can't find *any* Rusty sunglasses on the web to link to. Oh well, at least my eyeballs don't hurt anymore.
Two Toques
Or beanies, for American readers. One cotton toque and one alpaca toque that was a gift from a friend. Two were a good idea to bring to Antarctica as wearing a wet toque during the afternoon landing wouldn't be pleasant. I sent the alpaca one home after Antarctica.
I thought about buying a Macbook Air to cut 40% off my computer weight but figured I'd be less paranoid about losing or breaking a three-year old computer than a brand-new one.
I've upgraded this with 2GB of RAM and a fast (7200 RPM) 200GB hard drive and it performs like a champ.
Brenthaven Eclipse I Macbook Sleeve
I wanted something durable but small to protect my Macbook when it was packed away in the Voyageur or Kelty bag, and this fit the bill perfectly. It's snug but my Macbook is very well padded without having to use a considerably larger sleeve.
200GB Hitachi Travelstar HD + Case
This drive is fast, quiet, and had lots of space. I have one in my Macbook and one in an external case that is a mirror image of my Macbook drive. In case the Macbook HD gets damaged, I can pop this one into the computer and lose at most 24 hours of data. It was $160 when I bought two in May to replace the Seagate that broke when my laptop fell off a table in Ireland. It's now 75 bucks at Amazon, which is nothing to pay for peace of mind.
Aegis Mini
The Aegis Mini USB 120GB hard drive is tiny and beautiful. I only use it as a backup for movies, music, and photos but it's so small that it'd be silly not to bring it along.
Canon SD800
Plus extra battery, case, charger, and 12GB SD memory
I've had this badboy for coming up on four years now and it has the battle scars to prove it. It fits my two criteria for a camera: it's small and takes great photos and video. I brought lots of extra SD memory because the video file sizes are huge.
Eye-Fi SD Card
This is one of the coolest things I've bought recently. When you take a picture with it in your camera, it uses Skyhook's wifi network to determine your latitude and longitude and adds it to the photo's EXIF data (Skyhook is the same network the first iPhone uses to determine where you are). That means when you upload your photos to, say, Flickr, the photo appears on a world map in the city that you took it. Freaking awesome.
The one downside is that Skyhook's coverage map isn't that large outside of North America, so at times this is just a massively overpriced SD card.
Audio Technica ANC3 Noise Cancelling Ear Buds
I'm a headphone nerd. I was going to travel with the Audio Technica full-sized noise canceling headphones, which I love. Then I realized that would be stupid because they're huge. So I bought these based on the Audio Technica name without researching them at all (which I *never* do).
I was not disappointed. These are amazing. They're tiny, block out a ton of noise with the noise canceling enabled, and even work in regular mode when the battery dies and the noise canceling doesn't work (a lot of competitors' earbuds stop working at all when the battery dies). They also work well when Skyping (using the microphone on my Macbook).
The only downside is that the eartips can be replaced with different sizes and thus pop off the headphones. Which means they sometimes pop off accidentally, and you can lose them, thus effectively turning these into a paperweight. Which I did on a flight from Buenos Aires to Cape Town. I only lost one, which sucked. But to Audio Technica's credit, they offered to send me a complimentary replacement pair of eartips to India.
Either way, these are awesome. Just be sure to bring a spare pair of eartips with you when you go.
Monster Outlets To Go Power Strip
Super useful when you need to plug in multiple devices, this is less than 8 inches long and well-designed.
Blackberry Pearl
My Pearl is unlocked and I pick up a local SIM wherever I go. They range from cheap ($2 in Argentina) to rip-off ($35 in Canada). But it gives me a local number to call and text from, and to forward Skype calls to (more on that soon).
8GB 2G iPod Nano
This is 3 years old and did the job admirably. I recently replaced it with…
1st Generation iPod Touch
I bought this to have wifi access without having to whip out my laptop. In Buenos Aires this is especially useful – there are multiple open wifi points on every corner.
Conair Power Adapter
This is compact and contains the most common plug configurations. This worked everywhere except for parts of India and South Africa, where I had to buy a separate adapter. It's not a transformer, so make sure the device you're plugging in can support the voltage of the country you're in, otherwise you'll fry it. A simple way to check this: look at the sticker on the device and if it supports 110/220 volts (most laptops, video cameras, battery chargers, etc do), you'll be fine.
Ziplinq Cables
These are great because you never have tangled wires to sort through to use a cable, and they're smaller than a regular cable. I brought an ethernet cable, mini-USB cable for charging my Blackberry and for transferring photos from my camera, and an iPod cable.
Princeton Tec Fuel Headlamp
Immensely dorky, yet so useful to have your hands free when looking for stuff with a flashlight. Plus, it's the best way to eat yogurt before 4a game drives!
Other Gear Worth Mentioning
Eagle Creek Packing Cubes
Color code them to sort your gear and make it easier to find. Green is toiletries, blue is small electronic gear and cables, red is medicine / first aid / etc. Don't use them to pack your clothes though. Instead, use…
Eagle Creek Compressor Sacs
Probably the biggest reason I'm able to use a carry-on, these vacuum bags compress the hell out of your clothes by removing all the air from between your clothes. They're amazing for conserving space – highly recommended!
Mitsubishi Alpha Gel Pen
Otherwise known as the best pen in the world. It won't explode, feels amazing, and writes super smoothly. I got one at the Gel Conference in a gift bag in 2005, and I immediately bought 2 more from Jet Pens. I love this pen!
Sink Stopper + Clothesline
I wasn't sure whether to bring these, but I'm glad I did! I used them waaay more than I expected, mostly because I didn't want to trust that I would be able to convey "hang dry please" for my Icebreaker shirts with my crappy Spanish or Hindi. They were super useful to have around and I used them at least three times a month.
Shaving Oil
This stuff lasts forever (I'm less than halfway through a bottle I bought five months ago), can be carried on to a plane, provides for a smoother shave, and the bottle is tiny… unlike shaving cream. Why settle for anything less?
MSR Pack Towel
Never really used this, though a quick-drying towel was nice to have. Plus, Douglas Adams was a well-traveled guy and why not learn from the lessons he taught? Ryan didn't and look at the towel he had to buy in Argentina:
EarLove Earplugs
These are made by Etymotic Research (who also make good earbuds) and cancel about 20 decibels of noise. They're great for sleeping on planes or in shared dorms at hostels. As a bonus they come with a nifty carrying case that I'll now use to put my Audio Technica earbud tips in!
I now have a three book limit because these mofos are heavy. Typically it's a guide to the country I'm in, and two other books. Though it's possible the new Amazon Kindle will change how many books I carry with me.
Point It
This is a tiny book that has pictures of all kinds of stuff. Scissors, parts of a cow, toilet paper, toothbrush, etc etc. Super useful for when you're traveling in a place where you don't speak or read the language.
PacSafe 55
I felt like a douche struggling to put this steel mesh on my bag in Patagonia, partially because I felt like it might be overkill, but also because I had at least three people laugh at me while doing so. Is being socially ostracized worth the risk of getting your bag slashed and losing all your stuff? Probably!
But seriously, my bag was rarely out of my sight when it wasn't in my apartment, so this was a 1lb+ paperweight. I sent it home.
Inspiration for the stuff I brought goes to these kind people who posted their gear lists:
Life Nomadic
Andy Volk
Sarah Lane
Tim Ferriss
Art and Science of Packing Light
Travel Independent
Kelly and Quang
Nate Kurtz
Lives of Wander
Boots N All
Ian OTR
Christmas in Khayelitsha Township, South Africa
Khayelitsha is one of the shanty towns that was established by the South African government under apartheid, and blacks were moved there from Cape Town in the 1950s. It's inhabited by 1 to 1.5 million people. The infrastructure is poor; many people share public port-a-potties, many shacks don't have running water, and most roads are unpaved. The current South African government is building proper housing at a furious pace (the right to housing is enshrined in the 1994 constitution) and things are improving, but conditions are still poor. Despite this, most people that I met there returned my smiles with even bigger smiles, said hello, asked my name, and most seemed to be enjoying life. The sense of community was super strong. It was a good reminder about how far a smile and a little interest in another person can go – something I often lose sight of when I get too focused on my own problems.
I'd been once before to visit a wonderful couple there, but wanted to see and learn more, so I took a tour of the township. On the tour, we visited Vicky's B&B. Vicky Ntozini started her B&B in 1999 because she wanted to show a different side of Cape Town to the tourists on the buses that came through the township but didn't stop. She has grown from a one-bedroom to a three bedroom B&B, which is a stop on many of the township tours. Since she started her B&B more than 10 others have sprung up and she's been on the BBC, CNN, and a bunch of other major media outlets.
When she first started it, her neighbours wondered why there were lots of white people around, and asked her if she was in trouble. At a community meeting she explained what she was up to, and explained that what was good for her was also good for her community. I asked her if she was worried about anything happening to one of her guests, and she said absolutely not – she knew the people in her community. And indeed, nothing bad has happened to any of her guests.
When we were there as part of a township tour on Dec 23, she told us that she was holding a Christmas party for the neighbourhood kids. After she was done telling us the story of the B&B, I asked her if she needed help with the Christmas party. She said sure, and told me to call her the next day.
Dec 24 was rainy in the township, so she postponed the party to Christmas day. So around noon on Dec 25, Mike, Daniela and I drove to Khayelitsha with 4kg of cookies and 84 pieces of KFC in tow.
When we arrived, Vicky was hard at work setting things up with her two friends. Daniela was put to work in the kitchen with Vicky, while Mike and I sorted out six large boxes of gifts that B&B visitors had sent in from all over the world. The gifts ranged from pens to toothpaste to Batman toys to lined paper and coloring books, and everything in between. What struck me was how most of us wouldn't think twice about throwing away 99.9% of the stuff that was in those boxes.
After we finished, we served up the food. The 50 or so kids lined up in order from youngest (less than 2 years old) to oldest (15). While they waited, they sang in Xhosha:
Afterwards we juiced them up with cupcakes, cake, juice, and candy.
The tunes were bumpin, a dance party broke out, and old and young busted moves for 10 seconds in the dance circle:
After the cupcakes, Vicky handed out toys. This could have been a feeding frenzy – the kids were eager to get anything from the stuff that Mike and I sorted. But when the kids would crowd around too closely, Vicky would bellow in Xhosha and the kids would snap into a line in about 3 seconds. It reminded me of when I sprayed DEET on a bunch of tse-tse flies that were getting too close – they scattered as soon as I let loose.
At one point Vicky held a quiz to give away some of the more awesome gifts. When she asked who the current president of South Africa was, only one answer was offered – a young girl tentatively raised her hand and asked, "Barack Obama"? But when Vicky asked who the president of the African National Congress was, you could hear the woosh as every kid's hand shot up high.
As Vicky gave out the gifts, the kids were beside themselves with glee about receiving a new pair of underwear or a toothbrush. Seriously – I can't remember when I'd last seen that look of happiness on a kid's face. Kids were comparing underwear, playing with their toys, and loving it all. And it was all stuff that we in Canada or the US would barely think of as valuable.
A girl and her Christmas present
The kids were super friendly, interested, and almost joyful. Many insisted that we take their pictures and when one would pose, others would crowd around, hamming it up and laughing with glee when I showed them the pictures. There were few adults around. A couple of Vicky's female neighbours sat around and watched, and a few men passed by every so often, but it was essentially Vicky and her two friends who ran the show.
We left Khayelitsha after 6 hours, utterly exhausted and full of a delicious and huge turkey dinner that Vicky cooked for us. We zipped home on the N2. The windows were down, the sun was shining, and Radiohead's In Rainbows was blasting on the stereo as we reflected on the day.
The biggest lesson for me was how frigging lucky I am to have won the lottery by being born in Canada to middle-class parents. That realization makes it much easier to be thankful for my lot and to give back. The day reminded me of something Nipun Mehta says in this *amazing* talk at Stanford. He says that those who give are thankful – they say things like "thank you for providing me with the opportunity to give". I definitely felt that.
The second is that it's easy to complain about being dealt a bad hand, but ultimately you get to choose how you react to a situation and thus you can improve it. For example, Vicky decided to open a B&B and has brought a lot of good to her community. She also decided to throw a Christmas party for the kids in her neighbourhood, and through sheer force of will she made it happen. Too often I complain about a situation without making the choice to improve it. I'm working on it, but helping Vicky and her friends out was a great reminder that it's more satisfying to be a part of the solution.
Finally, Christine over at Almost Fearless recently wrote a good post called "The moral dilemma of street kids". I'm not sure what the solution is to poverty, but I do know that supporting people like Vicky, who are motivated to make their communities better, is an excellent way to tackle the problem of making the world a better place.
5 Lessons I Learned After a Year as a Digital Nomad
It has been 14 months since I sold all my stuff, left Los Angeles, and started living out of a backpack on the road. I've learned a ton, but here are five lessons that I thought were particularly important.
1. Run Towards Your Fears
Last year, I was scared of eating alone in a restaurant. In May while in Belfast, I decided to face that fear and dine alone at a nice Indian restaurant around the corner from where I was staying. I brought a book as a backup plan, but figured I could enjoy people watching while I ate. Strangely enough, there were 8 tables at the restaurant, and 7 of them were occupied by single diners. I got the sweats (I sweat when facing social fears), and wouldn't say I enjoyed the experience, but I made it through.
Fast forward 9 months. I land in Vancouver from London, and am battling an 8 hour timezone difference so I'm up at 5a. I'm striding down the street en route to a solo breakfast. The air is crisp, I've got a good book in hand, and it feels great to be alive. My thoughts wander to how I felt about eating by myself back in Ireland, and I laugh! It's no longer a fear, but a pleasure to dine alone. And it clears up energy to spend on conquering even bigger fears (like diving with sharks!)
2. Pack Less
Everybody says it, and it's true. After bringing a huge pack to Argentina in December 07, in May I decided to travel with only a carry-on. I set out with a beautiful and functional MEI Voyageur, which I've carried on to the 20+ flights I've taken since. I've visited 6 continents (some twice) with a carry-on, and it feels amazing to pop off a Mumbai to London flight, hit customs, and go!
If you're diligent about washing the stuff that should be kept clean (underwear, socks, etc) and are smart about buying other clothes (like brilliant Icebreaker t-shirts that don't smell) you can go a long way with not a lot of clothes. For example, I've got 3 pairs of boxers, 2 pairs of socks, and 4 t-shirts, and I still think I overpacked.
3. Know the Difference between Traveling and Living
There's a big difference between traveling somewhere and living somewhere. I was in South Africa and India in December and January, and I intended to work a bit and travel a bit while there.
Big mistake.
First, the wifi was crappy – my place in Cape Town was supposed to have it, but didn't. And India just generally had way slower and less ubiquitous broadband than I expected.
Second, Cape Town and India both had a lot of things to see, and since I had limited time in both places, I moved around a lot, which made it tough to establish a regular routine.
In short, I was trying to both work and travel, which meant I didn't enjoy either or accomplish as much as I could have.
This experience made me realize that I now have two different sets of places to visit. The first list has places I will travel in but won't bother working because there's too much I want to see, and the infrastructure is not developed as much as I want it to be (India, Vietnam, Laos, etc.).
The second list has places I will live because I know the infrastructure is good enough to support a digital nomad lifestyle and I really want to get a feel for what it's like to live in the place (Reykjavik, Brazil, Copenhagen, etc).
There is a third list of places that I'm not sure about that will merit further research (or an exploratory visit while nearby) in order to figure out whether they're livable as a digital nomad (Budapest, Tuscany, Colombia, etc).
4. At the Same Time, Don't Apologize for Living
I'll never forget, I got an email from a friend of mine who is traveling the world that detailed her previous week's adventures. She'd gone hiking at Lake Baikal, gotten arrested in Moscow and bailed out by her Couchsurfing host, and was up late partying and meeting all kinds of great people. She asked me what I had been up to. I was disappointed that my answer sounded so lame – I had left my apartment in Buenos Aires once a day in the previous week because I had my head down cranking on a project – until I realized that I was trying to build a sustainable lifestyle, not just take a once-in-a-lifetime trip.
People think you're footloose and fancy free when they hear you're living in an exotic place. Though you're almost certainly having more adventures than they are, there's a difference between traveling and living. Travel is great because you rarely have responsibilities and can throw yourself into exploring wherever you are. But living is different – you have priorities like paying bills, conference calls, deadlines, etc – you just happen to be in Shanghai or Mumbai.
If living nomadically is what you want, don't be apologetic about it – remind yourself that you're living, not traveling, and if you're successful you'll be able to do this for years while others who are enjoying no responsibilities right now will have to go back to the grind eventually.
5. Take Advantage of the Time Alone
Living in an unfamiliar place with a small or non-existent community can be challenging. You can use those challenges as opportunities to question assumptions you make, strip off social conditioning, and get to know yourself better. Reflect, write, meditate – do what you can to clear your mind and listen to your inner voice. It will help you pursue a life you truly want to live (this is also known as the art of inner travel).
Do you want to read more? Learn a new language? Meet new people? Get rid of bad habits, or try and develop new good ones? Ultimately, you can prioritize how to spend your time without demands or expectations from others, and this is an amazing gift.
Because I didn't have a ton of social obligations in Buenos Aires, I was able to spend a week holed up in my apartment building a prototype of an web application that I may turn into a cash muse. Even better, for a week I got to focus on redeveloping my atrophied programming skills. That will help me down the road, regardless of whether the prototype turns into something real or not. If I was living in a place where I had tons of friends, that probably would've taken 3-4 weeks.
Any other things you're curious about knowing as a digital nomad? Drop me a comment and I'll do my best to answer!
Year in Cities, 2008
I originally posted this on Reemer.com, but it's relevant here too!
My favorite post of the year. Here's a list of cities I stayed in, in roughly chronological order. An asterisk means I stayed there more than once on non-consecutive days. Also see the 2005, 2006, and 2007 editions.
Tigre, Argentina*
Buenos Aires, Argentina*
Mendoza, Argentina
Iguazu, Argentina
Punta Del Este, Uruguay
New York, NY*
Sherman Oaks, CA*
Santa Monica, CA*
Los Angeles, CA
Venice, CA
Vancouver, BC*
Whistler, BC
Toronto, ON*
Dublin, Ireland
Ventry, Ireland
Cork, Ireland
Belfast, Northern Ireland
Tofino, BC
Cortes Island, BC
El Calafate, Argentina
Ushuaia, Argentina
Antarctica (not a city, but deserves inclusion)
Cape Town, South Africa*
Hermanus, South Africa
Franschhoek, South Africa
Kruger Park, South Africa
Scoping Out Cape Town
My landlord welcomed me to Cape Town by saying "welcome to the most beautiful city in the world". I thought to myself, like a wanna-be smug Vancouverite, "I dunno, it seems nice, but it's gonna be hard to beat Vancouver".
I stayed in Camps Bay for two weeks. It's a super ritzy beach town on one side of Table Mountain, a 1km-high mountain that sits in the middle of Cape Town. Camps Bay certainly didn't feel like the third-world Africa I was in in Tanzania in 2005, but more like an upscale European beach town. I spent a bunch of time in Cape Town proper, as well as exploring the ridiculously beautiful coastline to the south.
The Prices
I was told that because of the weak Rand, Cape Town was cheaper than Buenos Aires. I didn't believe it, but holy crap, I do now. I had a five course meal at Five Flies, one of the best restaurants in Cape Town (and one I'd highly recommend – the ambience, service, and food were excellent). Including a great bottle of wine ($16) and coffee and tea, the total bill for two was $90 USD. That was by far the most expensive meal I ate – the average meal was about $25 for two, usually including a glass of wine. And wine tasting cost $6 US to taste 14 wines… insane.
The weather in Cape Town is worth paying attention to. Eight meter swells forced us to reschedule our shark diving trip, high winds prevented us from taking the cable car to the top of table mountain, and rough water cancelled our trip to Robben Island, where many "political prisoners" were held during apartheid (including Nelson Mandela). I would recommend booking your weather-dependent activities early in your trip so there's time to reschedule if they're cancelled.
Cape Town was getting worked over by howling winds while I was there, which is common in the summer. The South-Easter rips through town and is like nothing I've ever experienced. It also turns hot days at the beach into mini-sandstorms.
Natural Beauty
Cape Town is stunningly beautiful and would make any Vancouverite reconsider whether theirs is indeed the most beautiful city in the world. Table Mountain makes for a beautiful backdrop. The elevation differences make for great views, especially of the gorgeous white sand beaches and blue water. And the drive south along the coast is one of the most beautiful I've done.
Lots of Things To Do
Cape Town is low-key, maybe even sleepy, and I wouldn't call it super urban, but there are tons of things to do. You can go shark diving, paragliding off of Lions Head mountain, abseiling off of Table Mountain, surfing, canyoning, sand surfing, go on safari, enjoy brilliant beaches, and go wine tasting… amongst other things.
It's also got fascinating colonial history – Cape Town was originally a Dutch trading outpost where ships could refuel en route to India, and was taken over by the British in the 1700s. Add in the fascinating history of apartheid and you'll be hard-pressed to run out of things to do and learn. It's a vibrant, manageable city with friendly, cosmopolitan people of all colors, and a good food and wine scene.
No description of Cape Town would be compete with addressing race. I was there for a little under two weeks, so I can hardly be expected to understand the rich and nuanced history. Instead, I will just add a few things that I learned.
During apartheid, people were classified as white, black, or colored. Colored meant one was of mixed (non-white) descent, and it a term still used today without, I'm told, the stigma that it has in the US. Colored people generally had it better than blacks during apartheid, though they were most certainly second-class citizens. People were sometimes classified based on the width of their nose, or using the "pencil test": stick a pencil in your hair and if it sticks, you're black.
Mixed marriages between whites and non-whites were allowed, as long as the white person was ok with being classified as black or colored.
The Japanese were honorary whites because they were valuable trading partners with South Africa.
One of the harshest examples of apartheid occurred in District 6. It was a dense area in downtown Cape Town that was inhabited by 55k largely blacks and colored people. The apartheid government decided to move the inhabitants to shanty towns 20km outside Cape Town, which ripped apart tightly-knit communities and families, and made living life a hell of a lot more difficult for those who were moved. Those shanty towns had crappy or non-existent infrastructure: no power, running water, or indoor plumbing were the order of the day (indeed, some parts of the townships still don't have indoor plumbing – people use community port-a-potties). The District 6 buildings were razed to the ground, and a few test homes were built for whites… but nobody bought them (because, our tour guide said, "people had a conscience"). This is one reason that when South Africa held democratic elections and established a constitution in 1994, the right to basic housing (including indoor plumbing and electricity) was established as a right in the constitution.
"European" was a euphamism for "white"
"They" say that crime is bad in Cape Town. It certainly is in parts – Cape Town had a jaw-dropping 2000 murders last year, and most occurred in sketchier parts of the townships, which are outside central Cape Town. My spidey sense never went crazy, but I was definitely more aware of my environment than in, say, Vancouver.
The traveler's maxim holds true here – be aware, don't be stupid, and know that people are generally good and are just trying to live happy lives.
Living Here
If I was picking a city to live in for the rest of my life, this would be high on the list. Especially right now with the strong dollar and low prices, you could get a nice apartment in the city for about $100k, or a sick house two minutes from the beach in ritzy Camps Bay for 300-400k. Thrown in a nice summer home in wine country in Franschhoek (about an hour away) for $200-300k and you'd have a nice setup. The downside is that there's still uncertainty about the country's stability. Rumor has it the educated middle class are leaving because, as one friend put it, "the social contract is slowly unraveling." I didn't stay around long enough to get a good understanding of whether this was true or not, but South Africa is still one of the most stable countries in sub-Saharan Africa.
In the short term, I would recommend living in Cape Town in a heartbeat. It's very livable, very chill, reasonably priced, with lots to do, good people, and great diversity. I'm considering coming back during for a few months in 2010 for the World Cup, and to see Great White sharks breach, which they only do in the winter. I was sad to be leaving Buenos Aires to come here. But as awesome as BsAs is, Cape Town rapidly made me feel good about the decision. It's an excellent place to hang out for a while, and I intend to be back for longer.
the taj mahal is breathtaking in person
the taj mahal is breathtaking in person
amber fort in jaipur
amber fort in jaipur
giraffe and buffalo (via Kruger park safari)
giraffe and buffalo (via Kruger park safari)


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subset: commoncrawl


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Personalized Mailings
Personalized Mailings
Personalize your mailers by name, graphics and special offer to drive greater response.
Today's advancements in variable data printing (VDP) through KKP enable you to go far beyond "Dear Sir or Madam" to personalize your letters, postcards and other direct mail pieces.
Everyone appreciates it when they're made to feel valued. And, if you address individuals within your target audience by name, recognize their interests and/or craft promotional offers specially for them, you're apt to be well rewarded.
In a 1:1 Lab Case Study conducted by the Conference Board of Canada and published by Xerox Canada, direct mail response rates doubled with a relevant (i.e., personalized) campaign compared to a non-personalized effort.
Variable data printing makes it possible. You'll create just one mailer. But, VDP allows text and graphics within the document to be customized according to your customer database — producing unique messages for each individual on your mailing list.
Using data you've collected on your customers and prospects, we'll help you customize your messages to better appeal to each. Consider driving greater response for your next direct mail effort with personalized mailers from KKP that reflect:
· A recipient's name or their company name
· Special offers based on purchase history or other information you know about the customer
· Varied photos or graphics based on each prospect's age, gender or interests
· Personalized QR codes and URLs (i.e., website landing pages)


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Today I was bored so I made myself some silhouette art out of paper. Here is how.
First, look for a subject. I printed this bloodhound from the internet.
Trace the outline of the subject's body with a pencil and cut it with a pair of scissors.
I glued the silhouette on top of a magazine page. This page is an interview with Penelope Cruz from Vogue magazine.
I also made this lady's silhouette with different colors and patterns. I don't have any picture frames so I taped them on the wall above my bed.
This lady is my favorite. Classic black silhouette, on white background and a little bit of doodles.


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LMS Perfect World
Welcome to LMS Perfect World 1.5.1 New Horizons ServersEvery server of LMSPW is free to play, you don't need to donate to become the best player around. With hard work and commitment everyone is able to get the best gear there is. Of course it is a lot easier when you don't have to do it all on your own, there for we provide help to players who can't, or simply don't want to, spend money on a virtual world. This help comes in the form of many events. Take for example the monthly voting event, which allows every player to get event gold by just supporting our server, all you have to do is vote and manage to end up in the top 3 of voters. Or maybe you're lucky and you get picked as the random winner of the month. And this is just one of the examples of helpful events.
Do you want to know more about these events and the servers? Well don't hesitate and become a part of the LMSPW community!
You can download our client - 8Gb:
You start at lvl 100 with good +12 gear set, most skills learned, demon/sage fairy, lvl7 crafting skills, SP, starter pack.
You can find usefull stuff on sale for coins from NPC's in West Archosaur, CV mats at 520 628. Some popular daily quests gives also reputation as reward. You will automaticaly receive gear set at lvl 107, 113, 120.
1.5.1 PvE 1000x10x faction base rewards
10x Influence,
10x Prestige
Timezone: +3GMT
150 lvl cap
Sage/Demon Cultivation at start
Our server have custom exp rates, a lot of customizations and modifications. Easy start for new players. You will receive free gear set at 107, 115, 120 lvl. Earn Cubis for voting and being online!
Vote and receive Cubis
You can report about any issues, bugs, suggestions on forum
We are searching for experienced GMs, Read details


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Perhaps there's more we could do to antagonize American allies.
The National Security Agency could tweet Chancellor Angela Merkel's juicy phone conversations, or post video clips on YouTube of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan singing in the shower.
The Pentagon could fly drones over Paris, dropping Big Macs on fine restaurants, just to show that we can.
Government officials fume at Edward Snowden and Chelsea Manning for harm they did to American security. Fair enough. But the latest uproar over our N.S.A. spying is a reminder of how senior American officials have themselves jeopardized our strategic interests — by overreaching and doing things just because they could.
Our national security policy has gone off the rails since 9/11. For a dozen years, security has been an obsession, rarely constrained by a weighing of trade-offs, and to what result? We have sought every tactical advantage, and this sometimes leads — as in eavesdropping of foreign allies — to strategic losses.
We have doubled spending on intelligence, after inflation, to more than $70 billion annually. More people have "top secret" clearances than live in the District of Columbia — and it was inevitable that there would be some rogues among them. When everything is classified, the system loses credibility, transparency and accountability.
The war on terror led us to fight wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, achieving few obvious gains but costing thousands of American lives. For every jihadi we killed, we appear to have created several new ones.
As a Chinese saying goes, we lifted up a rock and dropped it on our own feet.
When he took office, President Obama seemed likely to reorient security policy. He did, indeed, bring troops back from Iraq and, after a misconceived "surge" in Afghanistan, is winding down our presence there.
But, over all, his security policy is surprisingly similar to President Bush's: Guantánamo remains an affront to our values and the world's, N.S.A. spying programs continue in force, drone strikes have been stepped up, and the White House has tried to curb serious public conversation about drones, spying and cyberwarfare. The Obama administration has prosecuted more whistle-blowers under the Espionage Act than all previous administrations put together.
The latest scandal involving our spying on European leaders is symptomatic of this larger myopia about our strategic interests.
It's true that some of the outrage in Europe is affected. As Bernard Kouchner, the former foreign minister of France, bluntly noted in a radio interview: "Let's be honest. We eavesdrop, too. Everyone is listening to everyone else. But we don't have the same means as the United States, which makes us jealous."
Still, our eavesdropping seems to have broken German law, as well as the first rule of spying: Don't get caught.
If President Obama really didn't know that 35 world leaders were being listened to, something was wrong with intelligence oversight. A former C.I.A. senior official says that before 9/11, that kind of monitoring of world leaders was always cleared by the White House.
"Anything with senior government officials or heads of state was checked quite carefully, at least with the national security adviser, if not the president," the official told me.
Yet, since 9/11, our security policy has been on autopilot: If we can spy on Merkel, let's do it! If we can use a drone to kill a suspected terrorist, go for it! If we can keep people indefinitely in Guantánamo, why not?
Our hubris has undercut America's greatest foreign policy advantage: our soft power. In Pakistan, for example, our drone strikes have removed some dangerous militants. But drone strikes deeply antagonized the Pakistani people, tarnishing our image and reducing our leverage in a pivotal country. Our drones damaged our own influence in Pakistan more than the Taliban's.
As David Rohde of Reuters puts it: "The United States obsession with Al Qaeda is doing more damage to the nation than the terrorist group itself."
Richard Haass, the president of the Council on Foreign Relations, notes that the majority of Europeans today have no memory of the Cold War and that, as a result, we have less leeway today to antagonize our allies. "This is a different geopolitical era," he said. "We can't assume that people are for us."
Yes, there is still a place for drones, for spying on allies, for the N.S.A. But they need to be subjected to scrutiny, context and brakes, as they were before 9/11.
Commercial aviation would be safer if we were all required to fly stark naked. But we accept trade-offs — such as clothing — and thus some small risk. In the same way, it's time to pause for a breath in the security realm and start examining the trade-offs, rather than just doing things because we can.


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While Rob moved to North Carolina the WPG's banner is now being carried by Central Florida Cat Herders, a permaculture-ish group of local farmers and other people who are serious about their food. The Cat Herders are more real world than Internet group. Our main ways to keep in touch are workdays (when everybody comes to someone's place and we get a lot of stuff/big project done) and potlucks. We also do movie nights and classes when someone feels like organizing it. Most of our members are in Greater Dade City area but we have some people as far as an hour drive away. If you're interested in learning more/joining email Leon at [email protected].
SOLD! Just leaving here for reference.
- 1 year old food forest with passively-irrigating swale on contour and overflow pond.
- Regency F2400 75,000 BTU woodstove with cook top and 2.3 cu. ft. firebox.
- Kitchen greywater system with valve to feed septic tank or irrigate sunken garden bed on contour.
- Approximately 1000 sq. ft. of raised garden beds with numerous perennials and self-seeding annuals. Drip irrigation installed in approximately half the beds.
Thanks to Leon and Nataly from Alexandra Lake Farm, who I met through this website (yea!), for leading me to Wendel's Farm and Nursery. I was surprised to find a developed and active permaculture homestead right here in central Florida, tucked away north of us in Sumter county.
Wendel's very knowledge, friendly, and humble--a rare combination. He also has some very affordable useful plants, fruit trees, and organic fertizer. His brilliant wife designed their passive solar house. Definitely recommend the trip there to check it out. Christina took some good pics of the place and put them up on her blog.
Saturday May 28 at 5pm, Christina and I are hosting a potluck at our place in east Dade City. Please RSVP at http://www.wcpermaculture.org/contact with what you are bringing and how many people are coming with. I will respond with directions. Also feel free to bring any extra seeds you have. We will have pigeon pea, calendula, seminole pumpkin, cowpeas and coriander seeds for the taking.
I had some eggplant that needed eating and came across an interesting "Greek-style" stuffed eggplant recipe. Here is my twist using seasonal veggies we had that turned out plate-scraping delicious:
Getting the timing down of when to plant what is a crucial part of growing food that new gardeners often struggle with. This is further complicated by our unique seasons in Florida, which differ from the traditional temperate climates usually mentioned in gardening literature. However, if timed right in addition to building good soil, we can be blessed with year round harvests from annual crops in Florida, especially if incorporating tropical annuals during our sweltering summer season.
Hungry? Just take a walk outside. Nature is a grocery store! It's actually better because it's free and foraging requires no energy inputs (except for the minimal energy expending walking around and preparing the food). I have identified around 30 edible plants within a 20 minute walk from my house and posted pictures, parts edible, season and habitat.
|Part edible
|vegetative shoot
|spring, summer
"In thinking of ways in which soil life assists us to produce crops, it itself becomes a crop." –Bill Mollison
As many gardeners are aware, fungi is extremely import for soil life since it cycles organic matter, makes nutrients available for plants, and helps give soil its crumbly structure (tilth) to bind those nutrients. Fungi is an integral part of our ecosystem that we live in and are apart of. While popular culture often focuses on negative interactions with fungi (mushroom poisoning, mold in dwellings, pathogens, etc.) many species of fungi are directly useful to us as food, medicine, dyes, fermentation and bioremediation.
I thought it would be a good idea to share what we've been up to at our (Rob & Christina's) place. I'd like to make these updates regular so we can at the very least keep a log of our progression implementing our permaculture design. When we actually went outside and started implementation we ended up changing many aspects of the deisgn. I still need to re-draw the pictures to reflect the changes but this version here is mostly current to what our plan is.
Sprouting seeds for food involves germinating them by first soaking them, then putting them in a moist, warm environment for a few days, rinsing them at least twice a day. Over the years, sprouting has been mentioned to us as a beneficial and easy method of increasing the nutrition of cereal and legume seeds. We have wondered about the actual benefit of sprouting. Does it change the nutrient content of seeds significantly?
The permaculture design for our place in Dade City is completely different from when I started and is getting closer to being finished. Lots of recent changes but the most interesting probably are Keyline-inspired rainwater irrigation for almost the whole site, two food forests, and the Fukuoka method for grains and legumes. I am grateful for any feedback or comments. :)
Catchment Area – Runoff Calculator/Spreadsheet. Download and adapt this spreadsheet for your site's average annual rainfall and/or surface material. Use as a dynamic computer spreadsheet or print out a hard copy to use as a quick reference guide for estimating runoff from variously sized catchments.
Note that the spreadsheet default is a 90% runoff coefficient, meaning 90% of the rain falling on the catchment will run off. The other 10% will be lost to evaporation, wind, leaks, infiltration into the catchment surface, etc. This is typical for an asphalt or concrete roof or hardscape such as a patio, road, or driveway. You can change the runoff coefficient in Excel for different catchment surfaces if needed. (Metal: 95%; Concrete/Asphalt: 80-95%; Tar Roof: 85%; Sonoran Desert Uplands: 20-70%; Bare Earth: 20-75%; Grass/Lawn: 5-35%; Gravel: use coefficient of material below gravel).
I'll be facilitating a group discussion on permaculture at Sweetwater's Community Garden Workshop & Open House on Sept 19 at 11AM [Facebook event]. I'll be talking about our food forest plans and companion planting with mushrooms among other things. Would love to speak with others practicing or interested in permaculture in the area.
Let's continue our exploration of permaculture design principles. From sectors in permaculture to permaculture zoning to relative location to the ideas that one element should have multiple functions, and one function should be met by multiple elements - we've already covered a vast array of tools and techniques that permaculturists use to create low input, high output sustainable gardens. The next principle on our list is probably the most familiar to most greenies - energy efficiency. But the permaculture take on energy efficiency goes a little beyond those Compact Fluorescent Bulbs you just screwed in.
In landfills studied by researchers, paper makes up the largest item by weight and volume. Most of this is from virgin lumber, trees that have taken sometimes hundreds of years to grow cut down just to be used for a day for print media. Not having trash service out in rural Dade City, we are acutely aware of how much paper in the form of junk mail is sent to us, the far majority of it unsolicited. That and all the unnecessary packaging, like huge cardboard boxes, adds up quick.
I've been reading about growing mushrooms and decided to channel this energy and clean out some of the recycling bins we had piling up. Oyster mushrooms are known for their vigor and adaptability, growing on nearly anything that has cellulose. A perfect match!


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1-877-426-3843 makes reporting wildlife crime easy.
PRATT, KS ––(Ammoland.com)- Each year, Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism (KDWPT) natural resource officers (NROs) check tens of thousands of hunters in the field, and about 96 percent of them are found to be law-abiding.
Unfortunately, many non-hunters sometimes associate these ethical hunters with that small percentage who are not.
KDWPT has 73 NROs to cover the entire state, so they need the help of hunters — and anyone else who enjoys the outdoors — to watch out for those who don't take wildlife crime seriously. Whether it's trespassing, shooting from a vehicle on the road, any other activity that appears to be a violation of the law, KDWPT officers need your help.
The easiest way to fight wildlife crime is by phoning KDWPT's Operation Game Thief hotline, 1-877-426-3843. Using this toll-free number, concerned hunters and landowners can quickly turn in wildlife criminals simply by picking up the phone. All calls received through the Operation Game Thief line are immediately relayed to the natural resource officer nearest the violation. The line is available anytime of day or night, every day of the year, and callers may remain anonymous.
Nothing can spoil a good hunt more than poachers, who should not be considered "hunters." Although they may seldom describe themselves as poachers, wildlife thieves are just that. These are the people who trespass, road hunt, litter, take more than their bag limit, drink while they hunt, use illegal equipment, take game out of season, take wildlife for which there is no season, or vandalize. Poachers not only damage the natural resources they should be committed to conserving, they reflect poorly on hunters in the eyes of the general public.
Operation Game Thief calls have resulted in arrests and convictions on violations ranging from public lands vandalism to deer poaching. In many cases, poachers have been arrested within minutes of the call. Even drug operations have been uncovered by alert hunters using this number.
But remember these two important reporting rules:
- never confront suspects; and
- provide as much specific information as possible, such as vehicle descriptions and license tag numbers, descriptions of people involved, locations, and the time and location the incident occurred.
Remember, when you see someone violating wildlife laws, they are stealing from you and damaging the image of legal hunters. Help bring them to justice by phoning 1-877-426-3843.


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Anyone heard of this car? Looks pretty familiar...
9. Detroit Electric SP:01
Reduce your carbon footprint by driving a sports car... yeah, you heard right
Available in the fall, this amazingly curvy EV sports car (now being engineered in the UK) has an interesting perk for homeowners. The car itself will run for about 280 kilometers on a charge, which helps reduce carbon emissions on your way to work.
But at home, the car can act as an emergency back-up generator. In a power outage in your area, the car automatically senses a change on the smart grid and can provide power for appliances, heating and lights for about 24-48 hours.
The car will also be highly connected, offering apps you can use to monitor charge levels and even adjust charge time based on the lowest rates.


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Linky Linky
I'm kinda torn. While I'm glad it wasn't removed, I am disappointed that a decision wasn't made on the central issue. Though I do see their point, how can a jackass parent sue on behalf of their daughter, who he believes he concieved when he was "raped", who's mother and the daughter disagree with the parent. (ok that was a really badly worded sentance but oh well )


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Overcriminalization: Congressional Research Service Doesn't Have The Manpower To List All Federal Crimes
from the perhaps-we-have-too-many deptA new video from the Cato Institute discusses the issue of overcriminalization, which is quite interesting:
The task force staff asked the Congressional Research Service to update the calculation of criminal offenses in the federal code, which was last undertaken in 2008, said task force chairman Representative John Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.)There's clearly something very, very wrong about a criminal code where the governmental agency charged with doing basic research for Congress finds it too big a task to list out all of the crimes listed under federal law. At that point, you no longer have a "rule of law." You have a system of loopholes and gotchas, with enough tricks and traps that anyone can be made into a criminal if the authorities decide that's what they want to do. This isn't to suggest that law enforcement regularly goes after people with trumped up charges -- I don't think they do. However, it does happen sometimes. But, far more common, and equally worrisome, is how this allows law enforcement to pile on additional charges and potential punishment for people accused of relatively minor crimes.
"CRS's initial response to our request was that they lack the manpower and resources to accomplish this task," Sensenbrenner said Friday. "I think this confirms the point that all of us have been making on this issue and demonstrates the breadth of overcriminalization."
Filed Under: congressional research service, crimes, jim sensenbrenner, laws, overcriminalization


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|Gamay and Viognier
Eternal Gamay but also Viognier
Since the beginning of its venture into wine production, the Sérol family's mission has been to make its terroir better known and to reveal the different expressions of Gamay in red and rosé.
The granitic soil of our terroir is also perfect for the full expression of Viognier. Two parcels planted in 2007 and 2008 on a steep hillock with full southern exposure provide a combined area of .99 hectares with 8,400 vines per hectare.
More information about Viognier.


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Find Our Latest Video Reviews on YouTube!
If you want to stay on top of all of our video reviews of the latest tech, be sure to check out and subscribe to the Gear Live YouTube channel, hosted by Andru Edwards! It's free!
Thursday November 12, 2009 6:01 pm
2009 Holiday Gift Guide: Kodak Zi8
Posted by Andru Edwards - Categories: Cameras, Handhelds, HDTV, Women, Men, Techies, Under $250
We love how inexpensive it's gotten for people to attain the ability to record high definition video, and we think this category is set to explode this holiday season. Based on this, and you know how much we love video, we've got to recommend the Kodak Zi8 handheld camera. Why? Well, the Kodak Zi8 records full 1080p HD video at 30 fps, and can also take 5 megapixel still images. It incorporates image stabilization as well, which helps avoid that whole Blair Witch shaky cam effect that none of us enjoy, and in a rare move, it even has a microphone jack so you can connect a nice, high quality audio device, if you so choose.
It's definitely a great value for such a small device that packs a nice punch. The Kodak Zi8 typically sells for $179, but you can find it on Amazon for a little less than that.
Honorable Mention:
Flip Mino: It isn't HD, but it's about $60 cheaper than the Kodak Zi8.
Read More | Kodak Zi8 pocket video camera
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Valentine's Day may be a distant memory, but another "holiday" in which dudes need to go through the process of buying flowers is on the horizon. Because procuring perrennials is not an activity ingrained in our DNA, us guys need some help.
FTD and 1-800-FLOWERS are easy options, but that can be a hit or miss proposition, plus, the designs can be rather generic, not to mention overpriced. The best way to reach that place in your special lady's heart is to come up with something unique.
"Many men forget that they can call a florist to make them a custom creation for any event or any recipient," said Mike Hines, owner of Epoch Floral, Inc. in Chicago. "They just need a little direction when calling in and ordering to give it that personal touch and score some extra brownie points."
Hines says to keep the following things in mind when buying flowers:
- Budget: Make sure you let the florist know your budget on the floral design and what the occasion is. For example, birthdays may not be as extravagant as anniversary.
- Recipient: Keep in mind who the flowers are going to. Mother? Mother-in-Law? Girlfriend? Friend? Co-Worker? Lover? All of these people will be getting a different type of design, color and presentation. For example, consider whether you are trying to say "I love you" or "Thanks."
- Personal Touch: What is their favorite color? Flower? Be sure to tell the florist that so they can incorporate something into the arrangement. This is something that women remember and will appreciate.
- Location: Are they going to be carrying it home from work or is it going to a house? This is also something you should think about so the flowers won't be left at a desk all night.
- Money Matters: The more you spend, the better the design. This doesn't necessarily mean size, but flowers, design, container, etc. If you are willing to spend a little extra, do it. The end product will be worth it and definitely earn some brownie points.
- Keep the Peace: Flowers for mothers and mother-in-laws are a great idea, just don't send so-so flowers to the girl and extravagant flowers to their mother!
- Dude, Where's My Flowers? Men like flowers, too, so all the above rules still apply. Let the florist know so they can use dark vases and woody stems to make the design more masculine and personalized.
- Color: A color sends a thousand words. Color plays a big role. Depending on who the recipient is, men should be aware of the colors they are sending. Red typically means love or sex, so we stay away from red flowers in an office setting or when sending to their mothers. Yellows and whites are neutral and elegant and can be sent to an office or to a mother-in-law.
- The Card: A great tip when ordering flowers in advance is to hand write the card and have it picked up or delivered to be attached to the flowers for a super special touch. This is something that takes advance ordering, but well worth it.


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Search For Properties In Boca Raton Riviera
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Embodying all the allure of its European counterparts, Boca Raton Riviera is a prestigious estate neighborhood reaching from the Intracoastal Waterway to the lush beauty of South Beach Park, spanned by a gorgeous stretch of sugar-sand beachfront on the Atlantic Ocean.
Real Estate: Impressive architectural designs of Boca Raton Riviera luxury homes feature timeless masterpiece estates inspired by the grand Old World European traditions. Single family homes for sale in Boca Raton Riviera are infamous for their Mediterranean and Tuscan architecture, strong construction, and close proximity to the sparkling blue waters of the Atlantic Ocean. Boca Raton Riviera real estate includes several sought-after multi-million dollar properties.
Lifestyle: Residents enjoy easy relaxed living in an environment with the utmost of quiet, privacy, and enjoyment. As a favored location only minutes away from the legendary Boca Raton Resort & Club and Boca Raton's private executive airport, the area is designed for gracious Gold Coast living and entertaining. Residents visit high-end shopping and dining destinations at Boca Raton Town Center, Atlantic Avenue, Royal Palm Place, and Mizner Park, home to the Boca Raton Museum of Art.
Education: Residents of Boca Raton Riviera enjoy easy access to several area schools, including J.C. Mitchell Elementary School, Boca Raton Middle School, and Boca Raton High School. Some of the region's most prestigious private schools are located nearby as well, including Donna Klein Jewish Academy, Pine Crest Preparatory School, and American Heritage.
Water Access: Boca Raton Riviera real estate fronts the Intracoastal Waterway on the Northeast Spanish Trail. The area captures magnificent vistas of the waterway and tropical sunsets, and provides the yachter with prime dockage protected in a low-wake zone. Boca Raton Riviera is a mariner's paradise, as boaters take pride in knowing that their yachts are docked right outside their homes. Residents take advantage of their beautiful natural surroundings at nearby Red Reef Park, a 67-acre oceanfront park for swimming, snorkeling and fishing that includes a nature center. Nearby South Beach Park attracts a number of visitors as well, providing incredible ocean views, and opportunities for swimming, fishing and bird-watching.


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I'm excited to introduce y'all to Heather this week. I received one of her beautiful necklaces as a gift from Alison last year. Since then I have connected with her on IG and I adore her unique work.
I hope you will enjoy reading about Heather and her work and use the code PENANDPAINT15 for 15% off your order!
1. When did you first begin creating art?
I have been drawing and painting for as long as I can remember. From our dining room table, my mom used to teach art classes to the neighborhood kids. This is where I first started painting with watercolors, and is probably why it remains one of my favorite mediums.
|hand painted sewing machine necklace by Heather Kent
|hand painted flower garden necklace by Heather Kent
2. What is your favorite/most sentimental creation you have made? Why?
Though my favorite medium is watercolor, and my favorite things to create are my Original Hand Painted Necklaces, a few creations that will always be special to me are 3 Acrylic paintings I did a few years ago. My friend returned from a Missions trip to Uganda, and several of her photos inspired me to paint them. I painted a series of Ugandan Children, and quickly sold all three paintings. I hope to someday add to the series. I attached a photo of 2 of the paintings in their new home, along with the 3rd Ugandan Boy.
3. Is there a project you've always dreamed of creating? What would it be?
Quite a few. One project that is on the top of my list is a large painting that is composed of tiny 1 inch paintings to make a huge, beautiful, colorful collage. I love painting tiny! I have a feeling this project will take quite a while - stay tuned!
|design your own hand painted necklace by Heather Kent
|hand painted poppy earrings by Heather Kent
|Downton Abbey hand painted necklace by Heather Kent
Heather thank you so much for taking the time to share your talent with us!
You can connect with Heather through her
FACEBOOK: http://www.facebook.com/Heatherkentart
TWITTER: https://twitter.com/HeatherKentArt
INSTAGRAM: http://instagram.com/heatherkentart/
And don't forget you can save 15% off your order from her shop with the code PENANDPAINT15.


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Cher loses top costume designer
Cher has said she is heartbroken that her favourite costume designer has had to pull out of her last ever tour.
The singer has had her custom-made clothes and accessories designed by Bob Mackie, 73, for 42 years, but tweeted that he had had to turn down one last tour because of other work commitments.
She wrote: "The man who made all my costumes since 1972 decided he couldn't do my last tour.
"No matter how disappointed any of u are, you don't know my grief ... Felt I had to tell you. I'm crying."
Bob had created costumes including Cher's 1986 Oscars black feathered headpiece, and has previously worked with Bette Midler, Judy Garland, Diana Ross, Liza Minnelli, Tina Turner and Joan Rivers.
Bob also tweeted: "Nobody wanted to design this last tour more than I did! I am sick about it. My professional and business commitments were just too great. There simply was not enough time to give this wonderful project the proper amount of care and attention it deserves.
"After all these years of collaborating, it is like turning down your own little sister, and how many guys have a little sister like Cher?"
Cher continued: "I tried to convince him to end with me, but he had many reasons a s 2 why he couldn't do it. 2 many obligations n ot enough time even 2 do 1.
"Thank God I have a lovely man & wonderful designer!! Hugh Durant. He is talented & brave. We will persevere."
Hugh worked with Bob and designed the dancers' costumes for Cher's previous farewell tour in 2002.
PA Media


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On Wednesday, the President gave the annual State of the Union Address to a joint session of Congress. Since I am known as a political junkie, I was asked by many people if I watched the speech and what I thought of it.
I have to confess that I haven't watched a State of the Union Address in over twenty years. I find them almost unbearable to watch — full of platitudes and bromides, with artificial applause lines, and little that is of real substance or interest. I liken it to an American political version of Kabuki theater — highly stylized and formal dance, with everyone wearing a mask.
In my mind, it would have been much more interesting if the President and Congress had taken a few moments to take stock of the real state of the most important union we have — marriage.
The strength of marriage is an essential measure of how healthy our society is. Marriage — the life-long faithful union of a man and woman, dedicated to their well-being and the procreation and raising of children — is the foundation of any society. And by all reasonable measures, marriage is in trouble right now:
By all measures, marriage is in a crisis right now, and one would think that our political leaders would see the problem and want to address it. The Department of Health and Human Services actually has a pretty good program called the "Healthy Marriage Initiative". But that's not good enough — has anyone even heard of it?
In fact, think about this. When's the last time you heard any significant public official say that we need to start looking at our public policies — taxes, health care, etc. — to see how they impact marriages? When's the last time you heard a political leader say that we need to promote marriage? Did you read the President's proclamation last fall for "National Family Day"? The word "marriage" wasn't even mentioned.
This is a crisis that needs to be addressed by our own Church, too. The Bishops of the United States have issues a pastoral letter on marriage, and have set out on a National Pastoral Initiative on Marriage, which is producing excellent resources for couples and those helping to serve them. Here in the Archdiocese, Cardinal Egan and our priests were very supportive of our efforts in the Family Life Office to enhance our marriage preparation and natural family planning programs. It is very encouraging that Archbishop Dolan has put such a strong emphasis on marriage as a pastoral priority, calling the state of marriage a "real vocation crisis". The promotion of marriage will require a wide effort by all our Church institutions.
Let's be honest — the state of our most important union is troubled. We have to redouble our efforts to support and promote marriage.
Tags: National Pastoral Initiative on Marriage, State of the Union Address


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Tag: фотограф на свадьбу
Sarah in Blossoms
We caught the last blossoms of the magnolia last week in the parc de l'Oragerie. We started around 5 and went for about two hours, seeing the light just getting softer and softer and really felt like magic: a lovely lady, beautiful blossoms and great light! It was such a pleasure.
Florence in Brittany
Beginning of March is not a very warm time but we had a vision and we went for it because that is how we roll. Also as the weather in Brittany is crazy and so if you see the sun it doesn't mean it's going to be there in 10 minutes. And that means go go go! So imagine this – early morning, 5 degrees Celsius, high tide ( which we didn't expect at all), and this courageous lady in a dress, well and also me running around like crazy so I'm freezing and sweating at the same time XD
Anyways, fun times.
It was in the beginning of Autumn that Gladys wanted photos in the beautiful historic parts of Strasbourg. We went there good and early to avoid the crowds of tourists and it worked out perfect!
Petite France is a historic quarter of the city of Strasbourg in eastern France. It is located at the western end of the Grande Île, which contains the historical centre of the city. At Petite France, the River Ill splits up into a number of channels that cascade through an area that was, in the Middle Ages, home to the city's tanners, millers and fishermen, and is now one of Strasbourg's main tourist attractions. Petite France forms part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Grande Île, designated in 1988.
Nadia Audigié is a professional photographer based in Strasbourg, France. She specialises in portrait photography and loves the confidence it gives to people when they see their beautiful selves reflected in the portraits.
Nadia was born in Stavropol, in the south of Russia, and has lived in Moscow, London and Strasbourg. She has plans to travel the world and further pursue her passion for photography that has streched over 10 years.
Nadia is currently curating 3 instagram accounts:
@n.audigie.photo – account for portrait and wedding photography
@tea.in.airports – account for travel photography
@the_unicorn_ways – a creative outlet account
Julia & Aaron
2 years after they took couple photos in this orchard – they come back with a baby bump! The magic of pumpkin season! PS The baby arrived just a couple of days later=))
Pierre and Doreen
A couple French – Taiwanese couple from Sweden (I know, right!) had their wedding in Alsace and I had the privilege of capturing the moment. What makes it even better is the fact that the groom is a fellow photography enthusiast, so he knows where it's at 😉 The whole day was amazing, starting with the bride pretending to put on make-up just for me and down to a bunch of people running down the street being chased by a T-rex!
Little Thomas will be a rockstar one day and I will boast that I was there to capture his first days in the world. And it seems like he and Framboise ( the doggy) are already kicking it, chill-style.
Utku & Hilal
A most smiling couple that I had the pleasure to meet in March. Neither the wind nor the cold could get to them. Many years of happiness to you both!
Find my work here:
Foxx Family
The lovely Foxx family has a new foxy member and he's the cutest and most serious baby. This one is going to be a heart-breaker I can tell =)
Find my work here:
Sarah and the Vosges
What do you do on a sunny weekend? I make people hike to mountain lakes and take pictures.
The place is truely amazing as well as Sarah, who patiently climbed every rock that looked good)


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Augusta admits first female members
Things are finally changing at Augusta National. The home of The Masters finally has some women as members, with former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and South Carolina financier Darla Moore being admitted as members.
Posted in: Courses, Lifestyle, Videos
Tags: Augusta National, Condoleezza Rice, Darla Moore, golf and business, The Masters


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Doug McDermott scores 34 as No. 13 Creighton beats Cal
BERKELEY, Calif. (AP) — Doug McDermott did his usual thing on the offensive end, and his teammates took care of California's two best players on defense.
McDermott had a season-high 34 points and nine rebounds with more than a dozen NBA scouts watching, and No. 16 Creighton ran its winning streak to four games with a hard-fought 74-64 victory against Cal on Saturday night.
Gregory Echenique added 10 points, 11 rebounds and five blocked shots, while Jahenns Manigat added 11 points, six assists and picked up the defensive load on Cal star Allen Crabbe for the Bluejays (10-1).
McDermott, averaging 22.7 points coming in, posted his seventh straight game with 20 or more points and became the first Creighton player with consecutive 30-point games since Bob Harstad in 1990. It was McDermott's third 30-point effort this season.
He is seeing every kind of different defensive look.
"I'm kind of used to that by now. Teams have shown a lot of different stuff," McDermott said. "We just found other ways to score."
McDermott scored 18 of his points in the first half and shot 6 for 8 from the floor with a pair of 3-pointers and offered quite a show for all the scouts in the building — primarily in attendance to see him.
In a matchup featuring the nation's top two scoring juniors, McDermott outshined Crabbe, the Pac-12 scoring leader who was held to 14 points after coming in with a 21.9 average.
"I just missed shots," Crabbe said. "I guess I sped up a little bit and that caused me to miss shots. I apologized to my team after the game. … It was just one of those nights. I was here early putting up shots."
Cal guard Justin Cobbs scored a late layin and crashed into the support and was down briefly, then came out holding his head and was set to go through a series of tests. Cobbs finished with 18 points, seven assists and six rebounds, while David Kravish grabbed 13 rebounds as the Golden Bears held a 53-38 advantage on the boards.
Crabbe missed his first 12 shots from the floor and grew increasingly frustrated after an offensive foul early in the second half before hitting an eight-footer at the 16:53 mark for his first field goal. He missed again the next time down.
After Crabbe's basket with 11:49 remaining pulled Cal within 46-43, McDermott hit the first of three straight 3s by the Bluejays as they pulled away.
"This is a great win for our program," Creighton coach Greg McDermott said. "Our guys competed tonight, defensively especially. Our goal coming in was to hold Cobbs and Crabbe under 50 percent shooting. I was really proud of our defense. Offensively, Doug had another special performance. He's scoring in a lot of ways."
Cal (6-3) lost its third in a row following a 6-0 start and second straight against a ranked opponent at Haas Pavilion. The Bears were beaten 76-75 on a buzzer-beater against No. 21 UNLV last Sunday. They have three remaining nonconference games before the start of Pac-12 play at UCLA on Jan. 3.
Crabbe and Cobbs shot a combined 14 for 43.
Creighton showed few signs of being travel weary out West, going 25 for 61 from the floor and building off a 77-61 victory at home against Akron last Sunday in which McDermott scored 30 points and had a career-high six 3-pointers.
"He's pretty consistent," Cal coach Mike Montgomery said. "He doesn't make a lot of mistakes. He doesn't miss a lot of shots. It was a hard matchup, and we knew it was going to be a hard matchup."
The Bluejays' lone loss was an 83-70 defeat to Boise State on Nov. 28.
Creighton played again without reserve guard Josh Jones, who is scheduled for a procedure Tuesday to restore a normal heart rhythm after he passed out before a Dec. 6 game at Nebraska.
Cal missed its initial nine shots before Robert Thurman's layup at the 16:16 mark and began the game 2 for 15. Each team was 0 for 4 from long range in the opening 8½ minutes.
Crabbe was 0 for 9 in the first half and 6 for 26 overall — including 0 for 8 from long range — while facing constant pressure and a hand in his face. He missed a breakaway layup going to his left with 18 seconds remaining in the first half as Cal trailed 34-29 at the break.
"It's shots I usually make, that's the frustrating part," Crabbe said. "I thought I was going to get in a rhythm at some point in the game. I just didn't — 6 for 26 is a horrible percentage."
A moment of silence was held before the national anthem for the victims of Friday's deadly attack at a Newtown, Conn., elementary school.
The game attracted more than a dozen NBA scouts, with 15 NBA personnel credentialed in all. General managers Bob Myers of the Golden State Warriors, Dell Demps from the New Orleans Hornets and Oklahoma City Thunder's Sam Presti attended.
Cal won the previous two meetings between the schools, but they hadn't played since the 1987-88 season. McDermott lost at Cal in December 2009 while coaching Iowa State.
The Bluejays improved to 4-11 all-time in road games against current members of the Pac-12 Conference.
Photos from action around the Top 25:


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via- MERS
Set forth on Exhibit A are proposed changes to the MERS® System Rules of Membership ("Rules").
These proposed changes are "technical" in nature in that there are no substantive changes to any of the Rules. The changes mainly clarify the distinction between Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc., and its service provider, MERSCORP, Inc. They also properly reference the MERS® System, where appropriate.
The proposed changes to the Rules are highlighted and underlined in Exhibit A [Below].
[ipaper docId=74344261 access_key=key-2oldis7h147wp3xoxvyk height=600 width=600 /]
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