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Two British winners was something few of us could have predicted before the weekend, but Ian Stannard and Mark Cavendish delivered the goods for Team Sky and Etixx-Quick-Step respectively.
Here are five things we learned from Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne.
1. Never underestimate your opponent
Ask 100 cycling fans who they think would win in a sprint between Ian Stannard and Niki Terpstra and the numbers would likely be unkind to the Brit. But the Team Sky rider defied the odds for the second year running to pip a classics specialist on the line.
Last year BMC's Greg Van Avermaet was the conquered foe; this time Terpstra felt the force of a Stannard sprint. And when Stannard sprints I expect Team Sky's wheel and pedal providers are wincing as the rider hammers their product to within an inch of their lives.
Terpstra sat on the Brit's wheel for much of the last three kilometres, essentially riding his teammate Tom Boonen completely out of contention by forcing the speed higher.
When it came to the final metres the Dutchman clearly thought he'd have beating of Stannard by going ahead of him in the lead-up to the line. Even cheekily pushing Stannard towards the barriers wasn't enough as the Sky man simply sat down and sped past Terpstra at the last minute.
Terpstra admitted his mistake later on Twitter. He'll have one eye on Stannard on the future.
2. Donkeys are a big deal in Kuurne
Give a map of Belgium to a non-cycling fan and the chances of them picking out Kuurne on it are quite slim. When testing my own knowledge I plumped for a place to the east of Belgium before realising it would be a 400 mile round trip to Brussels and back.
Actually, Kuurne lies in West Flanders, close to Kortrijk and the people who live there are affectionately nicknamed ezels, which translates to 'donkeys'.
According to the historically accurate Wikipedia, the name comes from when the Kuurne traders would set off for Kortrijk market with their ass-drawn carts at the crack of dawn.
They took the nickname to heart, apparently, creating Donkey Beer, Donkey Cake and Donkey bread rolls to name but a few, and even named Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne 'the Donkey Race'.
That explains why Mark Cavendish was clutching a toy donkey on the podium on Sunday, which I'm sure his kids will enjoy more than the traditional winner's flowers.
There you go. A little history for you. I feel like Paul Sherwen talking about 15th Century castles…
3. Ian Stannard is still a machine
That's right, the hyperbole about Stannard doesn't end there. His bear-like strength has led to the nickname Yogi in the peloton, but even bears wouldn't go out of their way to cause themselves more pain.
The photo by Graham Watson below could go down as one of the year, as Stannard proved his power by hitting the cobbles while all of his rivals at Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne wimped out on the dirt at the side of the road.
His exploits at Het Nieuwsblad the day before clearly gave him a taste for cobbles and pain and hopefully his Classics season won't end up in a ditch at Ghent-Wevelgem again this year.
4. Never write off Mark Cavendish
"Mark who?" I hear you say. The lesser-known sprinter from the Isle of Man won a race on Sunday ending a barren run of two whole weeks without a win.
Granted, the Manx Missile had not entered a race in that time and had been out with his Etixx-Quick-Step chums recce-ing the Poggio for his crack at Milan-San Remo at the end of March.
While the famous Italian climb comes 6.2km from the finish line, the sprint to the line at Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne builds up for about 50km, with organisers managing to find a pan-flat circuit in Flanders.
It takes Cavendish's win tally to five on the young year, a feat which took him until April as he jetted off to the heralded Presidential Tour of Turkey to feast on the rich pickings on offer.
Dominating the races where none of the mainstream sprinters turn up is somewhat of a hallmark of Cav's former HTC teammate Andre Greipel, but the Manxman cannot be accused of that this year.
Greipel may have cried off with a sore throat, but Cavendish still beat out Milan-San Remo rival Alexander Kristoff and Team Sky's Elia Viviani in a more-than respectable field.
His biggest challenge, on paper, will come next week, however, as he faces off for the first time this season with heir apparent Marcel Kittel at Tirreno-Adriatico.
Cavendish got his Classics season off to a great start, but he will undoubtedly not be satisfied with just a KBK win on his palmares this season.
5. Cycling is not a numbers game
If you found yourself sitting through France v Wales in the Six Nations rugby on Saturday evening you will have heard Welsh great Jonathan Davies continually shouting "Numbers!" as he commentated on the action.
It wasn't a bout of Tourette's that caused Davies to do that, but merely stating that Wales had a numerical advantage over the French when they passed the ball out wide.
Hours earlier, in the final stages the Etixx-Quick-Step support car must have been making the exact same cry as Boonen. Terpstra and Stijn Vandenbergh found themselves outnumbering poor Stannard.
In Vandenbergh the Belgian team even had someone who could beat the Brit in stature but not, as it turns out, in power.
As Stannard powered along on the front of the decisive breakaway, Terpstra inextricably clung to his wheel to virtually eliminate his teammates.
It's all hypothetical, but had Terpstra not taken the bait and chased Stannard, it's likely the Brit would not have kept the hammer down for so long, which could have brought the Etixx boys back into contention.
>>> The inside story of Ian Stannard's incredible Het Nieuwsblad win
Stannard admitted that Etixx's attacking gameplan helped him to victory, but even the Essex-born rider couldn't have dreamed of just how terribly executed their tactics were.
A similar thing occurred in the women's race, as Lizzie Armitstead's Boels-Dolmans team took three of the top four spots, but failed to win the race. Rabo Liv's Anna van der Breggen took the title, beating out Boels' Eleonora van Dijk, Armitstead and Chantal Blaak.


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-Bob Jones, EGEE project director
National governments and international organizations give a lot of money funding research facilities (labs, equipment, e-infrastructures) in the name of advancing science. In the midst of this – admittedly admirable – goal tricky questions arise:
- Which scientists get to use the facilities? What if their country of origin didn't contribute funding?
-Who pays for the used resources?
- How open should "open access" be? Does this mean open to traveling researchers? Freely available data? Remote operation and control of experiments?
Earlier this week I attended a European Association of National Research Facilities (ERF) seminar in Lund, Sweden. This association promotes cooperation between individual European national large-scale research facilities laboratories, for example supporting research with neutrons, lasers, synchrotron light and ions.
I was at this seminar because ERF brings together key research facilities which are excellent potential partners for e-infrastructures such as Enabling Grids for E-sciencE and the European Grid Initiative. This one-day meeting featured a mix of plenary and parallel sessions. The plenaries were rapid, direct and frank – very refreshing for this type of event. The recurring theme of the day was that everyone present was in favour of open access, but the hosting states for research infrastructures often need to be convinced that it is to their benefit.
The major point of relevance for EGEE/EGI from this event is that the question of open access is important in its own right for e-infrastructures. As we move towards EGI and NGIs the national funding agencies will want to know how much of their ICT resources are used by foreigners and whether their researchers are getting equivalent treatment in other countries.
How can we do this? We must put in place the mechanisms so that we gather the necessary usage statistics to answer the questions that will be raised by the national funding agencies and make a convincing argument for "open access" to e-infrastructures.
Friday, October 30, 2009
Promoting open access to science: A report from the European Association of National Research Facilities seminar
Publié par Danielle Venton à l'adresse 11:32 AM
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Under Open Access philosophy, Redalyc aims to contribute to the editorial scientific activity produced in and about Ibero-America making available for public consultation the content of 550 scientific journals of different knowledge areas: http://redalyc.uaemex.mx
- December 1, 2009 at 12:45 AM
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Dwell Chic Interiors is full service interior design firm conveniently located in Greenville, South Carolina. Specializing in vacation homes, the company has become a go-to for all types of luxury lake and beach home design in South Carolina. Its' vast service area has reached locations from Anderson, Greenville, Oconee, Clemson, Seneca, and surrounding areas, spanning to properties on Lake Keowee, Lake Jocassee, Lake Hartwell, and Lake Greenwood. Dwell Chic's most recent projects have expanded its coverage south into Charleston, Mount Pleasant, Sullivan's Island, Daniel Island, West Ashley, Folley Beach, North Charleston, and Isle of Palms, most specifically the Wild Dunes community.
Dwell Chic Interiors is the only design firm in the area that offers a personalized and completely custom service, designed to serve their clients' needs for style and comfort both now and for years to come. Its extraordinary customer service helps to save the time, money, and stress that can plague anyone trying to create, or renovate, the home of their dreams. From color consultations and spacial planning, to custom creations and professional installations, it is the singular stop you'll need to make every selection for every room.
Sarah O'Dell serves as the owner and principle designer of Dwell Chic Interiors. Her team is comprised of the most talented architects, furniture craftsman, painters, installers and seamstresses in the business. Sarah is fully aware of the challenges busy professionals face everyday. Before living out her passion in as an Interior Designer, Sarah served a luxury clientele as a Certified Specialist of Wine with the E&J Gallo Company. While she still finds joy in sipping Rose on an impeccably styled porch, she now enriches the homes and offices of her clients with a complete knowledge and understanding of their wants and needs when it comes to how they use each individual space. Sarah makes the job of developing concepts through collaboration and artistic creation a smooth and easy process for any homeowner.
Dwell Chic is able to offer complete residential design from concept through completion, all while exemplifying white glove service throughout the process. Sarah has the ability to bring a unique and tailored experience to every project, customizing a home that will be a reflection of each individual presently and into the future.


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|Any Symbian
|Form Factor:
|Any Bar Full keyboard Slider Touch
Nokia X3-02
The Nokia X3-02 Touch and Type combines the power of a touch screen with a keypad in a sleek phone built for entertainment. Type messages on the keypad, and touch the screen to open apps, play games and flip through your albums - all with one hand. Get one-touch access to the music player and FM radio with the dedicated key, then touch the screen to play, skip songs, or change stations. Keep up with your friends with one-click access to your email and SMS - and connect to instant messaging services and social networks wherever you go.
Nokia X2-00
Let's play everything out loud - Nokia X2 is built for music lovers everywhere with its FM radio, music player and powerful speakers.
Nokia 6700 classic Illuvial
The 5 megapixel Nokia 6700 classic Illuvial is the latest S40 device by Nokia. The feature-rich specs sheet of the Nokia 6700 classic Illuvial will serve you with stuff such as a 5 megapixel autofocus camera, GPS navigation with Nokia Maps and the awesome Nokia WebKit Open Source Browser


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Here is a mid-range 4G LTE capable handset from China – and it looks set to remain only available in that part of the world, for the moment.
Oppo 3000 has just been unveiled in the world's most populous country, but do not expect the Oppo 3000 to follow in the footsteps of some of its more illustrious family members, such as the Oppo R5 that once held the title of being the slimmest smartphone in the world.
The Oppo 3000 will arrive with a 4.7" 720p touchscreen display, a 5 MP wide-angle front-facing camera, and an 8MP Sony IMX179 camera sensor.
It will run on a quad-core 1.2GHz Qualcomm 64-bit Snapdragon 410 SoC with an Adreno 306 GPU, 1GB RAM, 8GB of internal memory, Dual SIM, a microSD memory card slot, NFC support and a 2,000 mAh battery.
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This post is sponsored by Instinct® and the BlogPaws Professional Pet Blogger Network. I am being compensated for helping spread the word about Instinct® Raw Boost® Mixers but What's That Smell? only shares information we feel is relevant to our readers. Instinct is not responsible for the content of this article.
Last week I introduced you to Instinct® Raw Boost® Mixers, which are an easy way to help you provide your four-legged family members the most optimal nutrition possible without the hassle and confusion of feeding them a true raw diet. Instinct Raw Boost Mixers are all-natural and are packed with protein in a super convenient freeze-dried form.
Feeding your dog a raw diet can help with their digestion, provide energy and vitality, and give them healthy skin and a healthy coat. Instinct Raw Boost Mixers are such a quick way to add optimal nutrition to your pet's diet – simply add it to their current food either on top or by mixing it in. It's that easy!
My dogs really seem to enjoy this new addition to their diet. Sadie can smell it right through the package! I chose the lamb formula because they don't often get lamb in their diet and it seemed like something they might enjoy.
What's that smell?
It's funny how their personalities shine through while they are waiting for their food to be served. Toby gives me "the look" that I know signifies his impatience. He's like "I know the food is up there, why are you taking a picture of me instead of giving it to me?"
Sadie, on the other hand, appears to be more patient, but really I think she is trying to use telekinesis to get the food to fall on the floor.
I laugh because Toby actually eats around his other food picking out the Instinct Dry Boost Mixers and eating the first. I just add it to the top of their food for that reason, because I know he likes to eat it first.
Sadie just gobbles it all up – make sure you get your fingers out of the way!
Ahhhh, that was so good. Better see if there is any left in my beard.
Sadie is the cleanup crew to make sure no one missed even a single crumb. See how she holds the bowl with her foot so it doesn't move away from her. She's one smart lady.
I am so happy that my dogs enjoy the Instinct Raw Boost Mixers so much because it means that I can feel a bit better about the nutrition in their diet and feed them raw food quickly and easily.
The Raw Boost Mixers package tells you how much to feed your dog based upon their weight and it tells you how many calories each serving is so that you can reduce their regular food so you don't over-feed them.
For more information about Instinct Raw Boost Mixers you can visit the following:
After seeing how easy it is to incorporate Instinct Raw Boost Mixers into your pet's diet, are you more interested in trying a freeze-dried raw pet food?
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Nature's Variety. The opinions and text are all mine.


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I love coding and creating apps that solve problems.
I've graduated through DevMountain's program where I have learned the Swift language.
I've been through DevMountain's curriculum where I've learned the core basics and advance functions of Swift. This allowed me to put three apps on the app store ("Recipe Planner", "Clientel" and a group project - "Bad Bass" ).
I enjoy working with technology and animation for fun, and DevMountain had given me the opportunity to create something more. Making iOS Apps is where I have grown the most.
I've been able to use the Swift libraries to enhance my skills. I've used MapKit,
CoreData, CloudKit, Table/Collection Views and Scroll Views.
Create and add your own personal meals to the app, use the calendar to plan when to eat those meals. Than let the shopping list do the rest by creating a weekly total shopping list for you.
Every Utah Fisherman's Dream! Almost every body of water, the weather, and fishing conditions all in one app.
An app tailored to Mr MAC's sizing layout. When a customer walks in, get your phone out and jot down all their information for their first visit. Next time they come back, you wont be empty minded.
Copyright © 2018 MelshApps - All Rights Reserved.


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Single Family Homes Homes For Sale in Waterville, Maine
Browse for Single Family Homes Listings For Sale in Waterville, Maine with Range Oven. Find the Home of your dreams on Savannah Homes for Sale today!
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Absolutely stunning home with a lagoon view located in Highland Falls! This home offers a desirable open floor concept with beautiful wood floors and TONS of natural lighting shining through every... More Details
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Creating An Emergency Plan For Your Aging Parents
Plan Ahead for How Your Aging Parents Will Handle Emergencies
We never know when an emergency is going to hit. Living in California, earthquakes and fires are our big emergency, however, different parts of the country have different issues from hurricanes to tornadoes. Regardless of the type of emergency, being prepared is the best way to ensure you can safely navigate the aftermath.
If your aging parents live alone, you need to make sure that their house also has emergency supplies that are easily accessible in case you are not able to get to them quickly. In addition to supplies, you should agree on an emergency plan.
Creating An Emergency Plan for Elderly Parents
Unless you live on the same street as your parents, you need to create a plan that they can follow until you can safely get to them. Here are some things to consider.
- Find a Local Contact: Do they have a neighbor that they get along with who can check in on them? Don't just assume their neighbor will watch out for them without discussing it. Visit the neighbor with your parent and ask if they would be willing to check on your parent in an emergency. In California, after an earthquake, you are supposed to check for a gas leak and turn off your gas. Will their neighbor be willing to assist with this? What about helping them get their power back on, or pick up debris to reduce fall risks.
- Post-Emergency Contact: After an emergency, will you parents be able to call you to let you know that they are OK? Do they have a traditional cord phone that doesn't require electricity to work (cordless phones need electricity to work). Do they have a cell phone that is regularly charged? If not, you may want to explore getting the tools they'll need to reach out. You should also have an out-of-state person that you can all call to let them know you are safe. Sometimes, it is difficult to make local calls, so an agreed contact can be the go-between.
Emergency Supplies for Aging Parents
Aside from the standard emergency supplies that every household needs (bottled water, non-perishable food, flashlights, batteries, etc.), here is a list of necessities specifically for older adults.
- Extra Prescription Medication: If possible, reach out to your parent's medical provider about securing samples or an extra 10 day supply of necessary medication. Don't assume that they'll be able to use what they already have. What if they're at the end of the prescription? What if the pharmacy is closed or not functioning for a few days?
- Over-The-Counter Medication: In addition to necessary prescriptions, they should also have a small stash of over-the-counter medication for minor medical issues. In my house, I need ibuprofen and allergy medication on a semi-regular basis, as well as band-aides. What does your parent use? Once you are sure it is safe to use with their prescription medication, purchase extra supplies for their emergency kit.
- Flashlights and Batteries: Put working flashlights in each room of the house and be sure to have a stash of extra batteries. You never know which room your parent will be in when their power goes out, so having working flashlights in every room will help lower their fall risk in an emergency.
- Battery Operated Can Opener: If your parent has arthritis, using a manual can opener can be challenging. There are a number of options on Amazon.com to choose from. You may want to consider getting rid of their manual can openers altogether.
General Emergency Supplies for Everyone
In case you need a refresher, here are emergency supply recommendations from the American Red Cross.
- Water: One gallon of water per person per day for at least three days (2 weeks is optimal)
- Food: Non-perishable food that doesn't require cooking
- Flashlights with extra batteries
- Battery operated or hand-cranked radio
- First aid kit and manual
- Medications
- Multi-purpose tool
- Sanitation and personal hygiene supplies (toilet paper, garbage bags, deodorant, etc.)
- Copies of personal documents (medication and medical information, deed to home, birth certificate, insurance policies)
- Cell phone with extra battery/charger and land line with a cord
- Printed list of emergency contacts
- Cash in small denominations
- Emergency blanket
- Map of the local area
- Whistle to attract attention of emergency workers
- Manual can opener
- Extra set of keys
- Entertainment (playing cards, crossword puzzles, etc.)
We never know when disaster may strike. Taking the time to prepare now will save you and your family stress in the event of an emergency.


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While some protagonists are amazingly good at blowing away the bad guy, and awesome from an audience point of view, they may actually suck at the jobs they're hired to do. If you're a cop, for instance, the D.A. is going to go nuts if you keep blowing away bad guys. They want to prosecute these guys in court and get a conviction. Killing them leaves an element of doubt and that's not great from a criminal justice point of view. If you're a cop in a movie, you get a medal for shooting a serial killer. In the real world, you're going to get a mountain of paperwork and a dressing down from your captain, the D.A., the mayor, and pretty much every reporter in the city wondering why you're running around like a vigilante dispensing such harsh "Justice."
There's also those that are just completely inept; so laughably bad at what they do that you can't imagine how they got their jobs in the first place. Those sorts of characters number in the hundreds, so for the sake of clarity, we've only included one (our personal favorite) super dummy on our list.
Here are 12 Great Characters That Suck At Their Jobs.
Yes, Homer is supposed to suck at his job, it's a massive part of who he is. Even so, he's come to symbolise every lazy office peon in the world that skates through life doing the absolute minimum to stay in a job without getting fired.
Despite his slovenly behaviour, he's surprisingly motivated at times. When he's thought up one of his hair-brained schemes, he's been surprisingly focused on making it a success. Mr. Plow saw him working all hours in a blizzard. When he was in a barbershop quartet, they outsold The Beatles.
Considering he's travelled the world, met numerous famous individuals, and done more with his life than most people could ever hope to, he's incredibly inept at his day job. Good thing it's not overseeing the safety of a nuclear power plant or anything…oh wait…
Jurassic Park's game warden and (supposed) expert on all things Raptors. Muldoon has a keen awareness of just how lethal these creatures are, having lost a man in the opening scene of the movie. He even goes so far as to make a point of telling the visiting palaeontologist, Alan Grant, how smart the Raptors are. He's even noticeably fearful of them on at least two occasions.
Which has to raise the question of how he allowed the beasts to get the drop on him at the end of the movie using the exact tactic Alan Grant predicts they would use at the beginning of the movie when he's still in Montana. Sure, Muldoon wasn't present for that explanation, but Grant must have written books on the subject, being the foremost authority on the subject. If Muldoon had been doing his job, surely he'd have done the necessary research?
Putting aside the fact that a spy is supposed to blend in and a man in a trench-coat and eye patch stands out like Santa in July, Nick Fury massively dropped the ball when it came to running S.H.I.E.L.D.
Aside from his cunning plan in The Avengers to task a half dozen guys that just leveled a German forest when they were smashing each other team up with no training, no plan, and no experience, take on a whole alien invasion pretty much single-handedly, he also ran S.H.I.E.L.D. for years without noticing he was working alongside Hydra the whole time.
While Fury got lucky with the Chitauri invasion, the events of Winter Soldier showed that he had serious issues when it came to human resources. The C.I.A for instance does regular polygraphs on employees to check for moles, and S.H.I.E.L.D. is supposedly the MCU equivalent of the C.I.A and N.S.A all rolled into one -- yet it had more traitors than in all the Bond movies put together. Fury dropped the ball big time.
What does a spy look like? If you think it's a guy in a tuxedo, you'd be wrong. A spy, a real one, blends in to a crowd. You'd never know you were talking to a spy, that's the point of them.
But the tuxedo image comes from five decades of James Bond movies, most of which involve James Bond doing a tux at every opportunity. Even worse than standing out, he gives his actual name wherever he goes. Spies spend years undercover, developing assets, maintaining a strict cover, never breaking their cover except to have a meeting with their handler at regular intervals to hand over vital intelligence. Rarely, very rarely, do they actually have to kill anyone. They usually gather information, while unarmed, and pass it along. If someone needs to be sanctioned (to be killed) they send in SEAL team 6.
Bond runs all over the globe, breaking all the rules of spy craft, and leaves explosions and destruction in his wake wherever he goes. Sure, the bad guy is always beaten, the girl bedded, and the shaken not stirred martinis consumed. But as spies go, he pretty much fails on every level, though he does look cool doing it.
Iron Man 3 had the unenviable task of following on from The Avengers, which was not only the highest grossing superhero movie of all time, but (at the time) the third highest grossing movie ever -- and the highest grossing movie not directed by James Cameron. It took in a massive 1.3 Billion dollars, and complaints about the Mandarin aside, there were few complaints about the success of the movie.
The people in the film, however, seemed to be totally unaware of how the Secret Service, and just about every branch of the military, works. The President gets kidnapped, and the Secret Service (the guys whose only job is to protect the president) do nothing about it. They don't even call S.H.I.E.L.D., who at the time weren't known to be full of Hydra agents.
Surely the first thing they would have done is call Captain America. Instead, they seem to think "Hey guys, we're in an Iron Man movie. Let Stark take care of it." While Iron Man does indeed save President Ellis, the head of the government being kidnapped by the MCU equivalent of Bin Laden should have had a bigger response from the government.
While the X-Men are dedicated to saving the world and ensuring the peaceful co-existence of man and mutant, they also run a school for gifted youngsters that aren't old enough to be X-Men just yet.
Herein lies the problem. Charles Xavier, in the movies at least, lies about the nature of the school. In X2, Bobby Drake (Iceman) tells Logan (Wolverine) that his parents are unaware he is a mutant and believe he is at a prep school for the gifted. While yes, Bobby is gifted, taking a child away from his family to a boarding school under false pretences is a serious federal crime. Also, the dangerous in-house equipment such as Cerebro (which has almost killed the world on multiple occasions now) raises issues of child endangerment.
As the leader of the X-Men, Charles Xavier has prevented the Cuban Missile crisis from getting worse, stopped Magneto and Apocalypse, and saved the world a bunch of times. As a school teacher, entrusted with the safety and well-being of teenagers, he'd not only be shut down, but quite possibly arrested too.
While The X-Files is often referred to as a cult show, it was anything but. For a time, it was the highest rated show on Fox, winning 16 Emmy Awards and 5 Golden Globes in its heyday. It wasn't just a hit show, it redefined smart sci-fi and set the bar for high-concept shows for a generation. Lost, Heroes, Fringe, they all owe a huge debt to The X-Files.
Central to the success of the show was Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) whose belief that "The Truth is Out There" became the motto of the '90s. Despite being a self-confessed sociopath and porn-addict, Mulder made the F.B.I. suddenly the coolest profession in the world. While his battles against government conspiracies were central to the mythology of the show, there were numerous "Monster of the week" episodes too. But there's always been one nagging thing about the show, a problem mentioned by die-hard fans time after time: Mulder never actually solved a case.
The F.B.I. is a law enforcement agency, and central to that is wrapping up cases and making sure bad guys go to jail. When Mulder closed a case, they were filed away and largely ignored. When he did manage to get Eugene Tooms into a courtroom to prosecute him for being a serial killer, his evidence was deemed too "far-fetched" and Tooms was free to kill again until Mulder eventually managed to kill him himself.
While from an audience standpoint he solved dozens of cases, from an F.B.I. standpoint, he had a shockingly poor arrest record.
It's become something of a punchline now that in the entire original trilogy, the Empire's soldiers, known as Stormtroopers, were notoriously bad shots. Early into 1977's Star Wars: A New Hope, Obi Wan Kenobi tells young Luke Skywalker that the Jawas were killed by Stormtroopers, not Tusken Raiders as the blaster fire is too accurate and only Imperial Stormtroopers are so precise.
Only, they really aren't. during the shootout on the Tantive IV, R2 D2 and C3PO walk through a volley of blaster fire without a scratch. There are thousands of shots fired by Stormtroopers over the course of the original trilogy, and aside from Leia taking a tiny scratch to the arm in Return of the Jedi, none of the main characters are ever seriously wounded on-screen by Storm Troopers.
The very first scene of the very first Mission Impossible had Ethan Hunt interrogating a Russian while in disguise in one of the franchise's signature rubber masks. Pretty good spy stuff, and more covert than anything Bond has ever done on screen.
Things go downhill from there, however. The masks, so vital in concealing one's identity, aren't used when infiltrating the Vatican in MI:3 or even when standing three hundred feet from a former colleague who knows what he looks like in MI:2. It's beyond sloppy. Hunt's disregard for maintaining his cover comes to a head in MI:3 when interrogating Owen Davian on board a plane. This is one of the most resourceful and dangerous men on the planet, and not only do the agents not have masks on, they use their real names in front of him, leading to the kidnapping of Ethan's wife.
Indiana Jones is a beloved action hero, and one that made a generation want to become an archaeologist. The only thing is, he's a terrible archaeologist. Ninety percent of an archaeologist's life is spent in the library (or online these days) fact-checking and developing a workable theory to gain funding for a dig to prove or disprove said theory, which will hopefully enrich our understanding of history.
While Indy single-handedly found The Lost Ark and The Holy Grail, he didn't follow any procedures regarding site examinations or documenting the expeditions. Sure, there were those pesky Nazi's running around, but even so, the nation's greatest archaeologist should have done at least some paperwork.
There's even an entire episode of The Big Bang Theory that addresses the fact that Indy is tasked with returning the Ark to the museum but fails to do so, as it ends up in a government warehouse instead.
Thanos may well be the big bad of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but right now, his plans look a little flawed. While not yet completely clear, his goal certainly seems to be "acquire the Infinity Stones, conquer universe."
There's a problem with this, however. For a start, he has one less stone than he started out with. He was in possession of the scepter containing The Mind Stone but lent it to Loki to aid in the Chitauri invasion. The plan appeared to be, let Loki have Earth in exchange for the Tesseract (which contains the Space Stone) and take back the sceptre. Only, Loki failed and the Mind Stone is now firmly in Vision's forehead.
It's not just Loki that has failed to acquire a stone for him either. Ronan was supposed to acquire the Power Stone for him in exchange for Thanos destroying Xandar. Ronan's ended up keeping the stone for himself, and his betrayal eventually led to the Nova Corps gaining control of the stone. Given he now has one less stone than he had to begin with and his monumentally bad decision making when choosing henchmen, it's no wonder he has chosen to "do it himself" as he swore to do in the post-credits scene in Age of Ultron.
Boba Fett is known the greatest bounty hunter in the galaxy, and one seriously scary guy. Except, in the entire original Star Wars trilogy, he never captures or kills a single person.
While he is the one that determines Han Solo is going to go to Bespin, and indeed beats him there, it's Darth Vader himself that captures Solo and the other rebels and merely hands him over to Fett. In Return of the Jedi, he's hit in the back by a blind guy, triggering his jet pack and launching him into the Sarlacc pit. His Dad, Jango Fett, faced down Obi-Wan Kenobi and held his own against the Jedi. Boba, despite being awesomely cool, failed to live up to his father's legacy in pretty much every way.
He was somewhat redeemed in the Expanded Universe of novels and comic books, which rounded out his character and made him much, much more badass. But now that The Force Awakens has pretty much erased all that from the established canon, Boba Fett has once more been relegated to the status of "awesome-looking henchman." The man who was once set to be the big bad of Jedi could use some redemption.
Any other awesome movie characters that actually aren't that great at their jobs? Tell us about them in the comments!


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Press release
Kicks off with a $1 million national & ethnic radio buy targeted around the $250 one time tax-free donut hole rebate check included in the Affordable Care Act
As eligible seniors who have entered the Medicare Part D donut hole this year begin to receive their tax-free, one time rebate check for $250 starting this Thursday, Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and senior officials from the Administration on Aging and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services today launched a national education effort to ensure that seniors have the information they need to protect themselves from potential scams or fraud when it comes to their Medicare benefits.
The national fraud prevention campaign will include radio, television and print advertising and outreach efforts.
The campaign will begin with a $1 million national radio buy that will run in June through August as $250 tax-free rebate checks get mailed to eligible seniors each month. CMS will purchase time in markets with high percentages of Medicare recipients who fall into the donut hole and time on ethnic radio to communicate with groups of seniors who have been particularly targeted by scam artists.
Thirty second and sixty second radio spots will be produced in English, Spanish, Korean, and Armenian for the initial radio buy. English language spots will begin running in a small number of markets by the end of this week. The number of markets will steadily increase and the national buy will be completely in place by the end of June
CMS will post audio files of the English language and Spanish language 60 second spots later today at www.cms.gov. Scripts for the spots are attached at the end of this release and can also be found at http://www.medicare.gov
"The more we can work together to educate the American people about ways to protect themselves and the health care system from fraud and scams, the better chance we have to protect taxpayer dollars and the Medicare Trust Funds," said Secretary Sebelius. "In addition to this outreach and education media campaign, we are working with organizations across the country to ensure seniors know where to turn to get information about the new law and their Medicare benefits."
"Since early April, we have learned of seniors across the country who are being asked for personal information to help them get a rebate check," said CMS Acting Administrator Marilynn Tavenner. "Beneficiaries who reach the donut hole will get a check mailed to the same address Medicare uses to send them information now without doing anything special. Seniors should be on the look-out for scams where people they don't know ask them for their personal information in order to get their checks. This is not how the process will work. Checks will come directly to beneficiaries who qualify for this benefit under the Affordable Care Act. Seniors or family members should contact us at 1-800-MEDICARE to report any of these types of calls or go to www.stopmedicarefraud.gov to learn more about efforts to fight scams like these."
The first $250 checks are being mailed June 10 to those Medicare beneficiaries who entered the Medicare Part D donut hole, also known as the coverage gap, in the first quarter of 2010 and are not eligible for Medicare Extra Help (also known as the low-income subsidy or LIS). The donut hole is the period in the prescription drug benefit in which the beneficiary pays 100 percent of the cost of their drugs until they hit the catastrophic coverage. People in the Extra Help program already have assistance with the cost of prescription drugs. Beneficiaries should contact the Social Security Administration at www.ssa.gov for information about Extra Help.
"Empowering consumers to prevent fraud is essential in preserving the integrity of the Medicare and Medicaid programs," said Assistant Secretary Kathy Greenlee. "This joint education and outreach campaign will not only protect seniors from fraud and scams but will help protect the Medicare trust fund as well."
# # #
Listen to Medicare's Official messages about the $250 Part D rebate Check:
http://media.cms.hhs.gov/audio/English-Affordable-Care-Act-30.mp3 -- English 30 second PSA (audio, mp3)
http://media.cms.hhs.gov/audio/English-Affordable-Care-Act-60.mp3 -- English 60 second PSA (audio, mp3)
60 –Second Radio Script Affordable Care Act Fraud Prevention
Did you know that you are one of our more important resources when it comes to fighting Medicare Fraud and stopping scams against seniors.
Protect your personal Medicare information. Don't share it with anyone except your trusted sources and Medicare.
The new Affordable Care Act contains some important benefits for Medicare beneficiaries.
If you're enrolled in a Medicare prescription drug plan and enter the donut hole this year, you will receive a one-time tax free $250 rebate check – if you are not already receiving Medicare Extra Help.
The donut hole rebate check will be mailed to the same address Medicare uses to send you information now. So there is no need to share your personal Medicare information with anyone who calls you asking for it on the phone.
If you have any questions, visit medicare.gov or call -1800 Medicare.
Brought to you by Medicare and the US Department of Health and Human Services
30 Second Radio Script Affordable Care Act Fraud Prevention
The new Affordable Care Act offers important new benefits to people with Medicare.
If you're enrolled in a Medicare prescription drug plan and enter the donut hole this year, you will receive a one-time, tax- free $250 rebate - if you are not already receiving Medicare Extra Help.
After you reach the donut hole, your check will be mailed to the same address Medicare uses to send you information.
No need to do anything special AND no need to give ANYONE your personal Medicare information if they call you.
If you have any questions visit medicare.gov or call 1-800 Medicare.
Brought to you by Medicare and the US Department of Health and Human Services


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Timothy Sullivan, a freelance writer in New York, has been a senior vice president of Court TV and editor of Manhattan Lawyer magazine. He publishes essays and criticism on his website, www.sullivanwords.com.
Tim Sullivan appears in the following:
Opinion: From Gun Control to Guantanamo, the Issues 2012 Ignored
Monday, November 05, 2012
Here is a partial list of the issues on which, in my view, the candidates have failed to offer constructive proposals:
1. Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. It is offensive that both parties (and the media) now routinely refer to these programs as "entitlements," and that they employ the euphemism ...
Opinion: Romney and Obama Need to Cool their Jets on Iran
Friday, October 26, 2012
In the final presidential debate, both candidates made it clear they will take the country to war, if and when Israel decides that Iran's nuclear program has reached the critical point.
Opinion: On Banks and Foreign Policy, Ron Paul is Right
Monday, October 15, 2012
It's a pity the mainstream media and the leadership of both big parties cast ideas such as Paul's and Nader's as having come from of the lunatic fringe.
Opinion: Sach's Price of Civilization More Relevant than Ever after Romney-Ryan
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
With the presidential election now squarely focused on the economic issues Sachs expertly analyzes, the book has gained relevance during the past year and its sales should gain a second wind as a result.
Opinion: Why Can't We Just Disagree?
Friday, August 24, 2012
What if we each took the responsibility, individually, to take hypocrisy and contempt out of our discussions about the presidential and Congressional campaigns this year? How much would that change the conversation?
Opinion: I'm Over Obama, and Over to the Green Party
Wednesday, August 01, 2012
Our two-party system leaves us to conclude that the personnel in office is less important than the system that personnel serves.


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The man in charge of overseeing the distribution of federal stimulus money in Massachusetts says he's impressed with Ashland using its share to fund energy- and cost-saving improvements.
The man in charge of overseeing the distribution of federal stimulus money in Massachusetts says he's impressed with Ashland using its share to fund energy- and cost-saving improvements.
Jeffrey Simon, director of the Massachusetts Recovery & Reinvestment Office, stopped first at the Department of Public Works building on Ponderosa Road and then at the Howe Street Water Treatment Facility to see the fruits of the $486,000 in stimulus funding awarded to the town for energy improvements.
The cash was used to install a 120-panel solar array on the roof of the DPW building as well as replace and improve operations and efficiency at the treatment plant.
"It's really impressive when you look at a $400,000 grant divided between the solar project and here at the treatment plant, and you see the savings to the town," Simon said after finishing his tour at the Howe Street plant. "When you're looking at a payback of abhttp://http://wout two years or so, you can't beat that."
The 24.6-kilowatt solar array was completed at the beginning of last month and generates about 29,000 kilowatt hours annually.
The improvements at the water treatment plant, including the installation of variable speed motors on the water pumps, were completed shortly after.
The pumps change speed in response to demand, decreasing output at non-peak hours. They are expected to cut energy costs at the treatment plant by 30 to 40 percent, Assistant Manager Mark Purple said.
"It's amazing to me that instead of turning (the pumps) on and off, but putting it slowly up and down, you can save half your cost," Simon said. "This is a no-brainer."
Although the savings are sizable - about $75,000 a year - the savings from the projects amount to more than just cash off the town's electric bills.
Town Manager John Petrin said the motors will also increase the life of the pumps, which will reduce maintenance costs.
The computer system used to monitor operations at the plant and the town's water tanks also allows DPW employees to troubleshoot small problems and adjust chemical and pH levels from home, cutting down man hours.
State Sen. Karen Spilka, D-Ashland, who joined Simon on his tour of stimulus-funded projects across MetroWest, said the biggest benefit of the two Ashland improvements are the jobs created by the projects.
"All of the components were made here in Massachusetts," she said. "This is putting people back to work."
"This is a fully Massachusetts grown and bred product," Simon said.
(Kendall Hatch can be reached at 508-626-4429 or email@example.com.)


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Look around the Las Vegas Valley, strip malls have more retail spaces filled (just a few years ago they were vacant). The Boulevard Mall has converted space for offices that were once retail stores. The conversion of retail spaces in the mall to call centers has been very successful largely due to amenities in the mall and readily available parking. In Downtown Summerlin the second office tower (Two Summerlin) is well on the way to be completed with lots of interest in available spaces.
Daniel Palmeri, senior director at Cushman and Wakefield stated "We're kind of seeing a westward movement of companies looking to be in Summerlin or the west side of town." Brian Gordon, principal at Applied Analysis, stated "The general feel is that the economy is remaining relatively healthy, and we've moved beyond the effects of the past downturn and looked more toward growth in the future."
We are seeing a lot of new segments being added to the Las Vegas economy – Major League sports, the tech industry and an increase in tourism. The Golden Knights have already made an impact on the economy and the commercial real estate market. There are more retail stores thriving around the T-Mobile Arena and adding employment opportunities. The Raiders will be in Las Vegas by 2020 and more retail and office space will be filled by their employees.
The tech market has seen an increased local presence of national companies, as well as the acquisitions of local startup companies. This has made Las Vegas a credible hub for technology companies with more opportunity for upward movement for local tech talent and a good reason for more tech talent to move here.
Current Las Vegas market trends data indicates an increase of +2.8% in the median asking price per sq ft for office properties compared to the prior 3 months, the current median price of $176 per square foot in Las Vegas. In the industrial market the median price is now $118 per square foot and retail space prices are still rising at a slower pace.
Do you need commercial space? We can help you with that… just call us at 702 SELL NOW or click on this link to my website http://www.702SellNow.com
Choose to have an amazing day…..Jeff


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Posts Tagged 'playground equipment'
We are so lucky to live in the Cartmel Peninsula in the North West of England. The area is populated with beautiful little towns that have their own characters and treasures.
Cartmel is considered to be one of the best places to live in the country and boasts; a race track, riding stable, Michelin Stared L'enclume, a magnificent priory and of course the world famous Sticky Toffee Pudding. There are also many wonderful pubs to eat in, a brewery, artisan bakery and cheese maker and many lovely little shops that sell beautiful gifts. The town is protected by the watchful eye of the medieval priory that dates back to 667 AD. The town successfully embraces the modern world without removing the medieval element of the town. Chris Evans (BBC 2) describes it as a, 'Thimble full of diamonds'. and many more people are continuing to discover the secret that locals already knew – how wonderful Cartmel is.
Cark in Cartmel
Cark is very reminiscent of 1950's Britain with the river Eea at its core. It has a railway station, hairdressers, two pubs, artisan bakers, garden centre, access to the estuary, a small business park and of course the pièce de résistance – Holker Hall. Cark was originally an industrial town built round a watermill that was used in the production of cotton. The river is much smaller than it used to be but the high tides restores the river to its original height and makes the estuary look like a magical place. The estuary is a place of scientific interest and school children come from all over the north west to conduct surveys of the river. Annually scientists come to study the plants and animals in the estuary.
Holker Hall
Holker Hall is a magnificent stately home with beautiful gardens. It is owned ny the Cavendish family, who own lots of property and land all over the Cartmel and Furness area. Houses owned by the Cavendish's are painted a special blue colour which distinguishes them from privately owned houses. Many events are run at the Hall including the famous Garden Festival. You can buy local produce from their farm shop, enjoy a high class meal and of course look around the hall itself.
Haverthwaite and Backbarrow
Haverthwaite and Backbarrow are separated by the A590 and were possibly Viking settlements. Haverthwaite is home to the Lakeside and Haverthwaite Railway which takes you directly to lake Windermere where you can go on a lake cruise, visit the Aquarium of the lakes or enjoy a top notch cream tea at the Lakeside Hotel. Over the course of the year the railway hold children's events such as, 'Thomas Weekend', and 'Witches and Wizards'.
Playdale Playgrounds and Lakeland Motor Museum
In Haverthwaite itself Playdale Playgrounds designs and builds playground equipment which is exported all over the world – they have even won awards for exporting. This timber yard turned playground equipment manufacturer has made play magical for children all over the country. If you are into cars and yummy food then the Lakeland Motor Museum is the place for you.
Flookburgh is a small village dominated by the local fishing trade, it is believed that its name originates from the word, 'Flukes', a flat fish found in the area. Some of the houses even advertise that they sell potted shrimps. The square bustles with a sandwich shop, convenience store, chemist, pub, hairdressers and village hall. Down a long straight road, known locally as the, Mile Road, you can find Willow Water, the factory where Cartmel Sticky Toffee Pudding is now produced, Duckys Park Farm, the Haven Lakeland Holiday Park and Cark Airfield which is home to mega car boot sales, Sky Dive North West and the annual Steam Gathering.
Allithwaite is a small village between Flookburgh and Grange, it is near to Humphrey Head, which is a limestone outcrop looking out onto Morecambe Bay. According to folk law, the last wolf in England met a grizzly end after being chased to the end of the cliff with men wielding spears. There is a street in Allithwaite called Greendales which may or may not be a reference to Postman Pat. You can enjoy drinks and food in the local pub called The Pheasant and children can enjoy the well maintained playground near to the school. The church and the school over look the rolling countryside.
Grange Over Sands
Grange over Sands may have started off as a storage place of grain by the Cartmel monks. It became a fishing village then a popular Edwardian tourist attraction which boomed during the Victorian era. Before the River Kent was redirected, Grange was really a beach and ferries operated to jetties leading to the promenade. The prom is well maintained by volunteers and hosts Prom Art during the summer months. The railway station is at the end of the prom near to the ornamental gardens. It has always been traditional to wave at the train going past as you walk along the prom.
Grange Lido
At the far end of the prom is a dilapidated lido that was very popular up until the 80's where it became difficult to maintain and now looks like a ghost of its former self. Grange is a cornucopia of gift shops, hardware stores, cafes and pubs. It is often referred to as, Heaven's waiting room', due to the high density of old people's homes. However these days there seems to be a resurgence in younger members of the community. There are a large number of hairdressers and beauty salons in the town and the area in general. Grange is home to magnificent hotels such as, The Cumbria Grand and the Nether wood.
There are many more wonderful things that I could tell you about my local area but I am at nearly 1000 words already. You are welcome to come and see for yourself the wonderful Cartmel Peninsula.
- In: Parenting | Playgrounds | Projects
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Generally you don't really take much notice of the condition of playgrounds until you get a child's eye view. Parents of preschool children tend to spend lots of time in playgrounds giving their children fresh air and getting out of the house. Our local Sure Start centre even provide a list of the locations of playgrounds in our area to visit. Therefore it is hardly surprising that you notice how worn out playground equipment is while you sit in your shattered mother of a toddler state.
The little playground near to us is very basic with just a slide, swings and a couple of rockers. I did consider fund raising to update the equipment but only got as far as contacting Playdale and a lady who seemed to know about how to raise funds for playgrounds. My only major issue was that I didn't know enough people to start a committee with. Unfortunately the five years you spend with your baby is very fleeting and before you know it they are striving for independence so you don't really see the playground equipment close up any more.
Once your child has made the transition from toddler to infant and you are starting to foray into the adult world, the shoddy swings and ancient slide suddenly don't seem to be important any more. New parents take your place in the playground and if they are all like minded they could work together to improve the local playground. This is exactly what happened in our area but the playground in question is to be a new one on a big stretch of road quite away from where we live. The playground project is extremely ambitious and aims to fulfill the recreational needs of all ages including adults.
The NCB has produced a fact sheet on how to raise funds for your playground. You can request a funding guide from playground equipment companies like Playdale Playgrounds who have produced a funding guide. They also follow up the request by contacting you to see if they can help with your project. Once you have read through all of the instructions you will have to form a committee and be prepared to write detailed plans so that people funding your project know exactly what they are paying for. In some cases you may need to think about why your project is more important than other people's so you can secure grants from different organisations.
Hopefully you will have some very creative and dynamic people on your committee who will be full of ideas for fundraising events. Eventually after a lot of hard slog and dedication you will be ready to speak to your local playground adviser who will help you to confirm which pieces of equipment you would like and where you are going to put them. Once an installation date has been agreed the playground equipment installers will come and set up your playground. Most playground equipment companies provide maintenance contracts to ensure that your playground remains in tip top condition.
All that is left is for your local community to launch the new playground and welcome children and parents into your amazing play area.
- In: Children | Education
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When looking at different cultures it is extremely interesting to notice the different ways in which we approach religion, morality, social structure, appearance and of course food. Fundamentally the needs of human beings are exactly the same but how they are provided is determined by those who rule our societies. Different belief systems tend to be the greatest determiner of how a country is run. One element of every culture, that is almost identical, is the act of storytelling.
Traditionally storytelling was used as a way for elders in a society to teach younger generations about the strife of life and the values of their community. Stories were passed down each generation like heirlooms changing and growing in each telling. Cavemen in France told stories about hunting and battles against enemies by drawing on cave walls. As communication got better and people could share ideas through a common language stories became the main entertainment in any society.
Pow Wow
Before electricity and the microchip revolutionised the world candle light or the flame from a camp fire was the only source of light groups of people had to gather round. The most striking image that comes to mind is that of the Native American Pow Wow. Tribes would sing songs and tell stories about the world around them to the flicker of warm protect flames. Without the use of technology and special effects it was up to the storyteller to keep their audience engaged.
Multi Media Storytelling
As society has become more sophisticated, storytelling is presented in the form of; films, plays, computer games, songs and television programmes. I haven't included books because I am concentrating on the performance side of storytelling. It doesn't really matter how good special effects are, if the story is weak then the film will flop. Stories have maintained their durability due to people retelling them over and over again.
Encourages Anticipation
Being able to communicate and anticipate are two very important skills in life. Without these skills our lives would exist very much in the present and we would be very vulnerable to the trouble and strife of life. Retelling stories helps children to structure sentences while they are speaking and get their message across. Being able to think ahead and consider the implications of any decisions you may make is an extremely valuable skill to learn. Just being able to sequence a story will help you deal with maths problems.
Written Stories
Eventually people started to write down stories so that they would not be lost by the passage of time. At first reading and writing was a pleasure that only religious figures and insanely rich people could enjoy. The introduction of the printing press in the 15th century eventually led to more people having access to books and eventually the existence of schools. Reading is generally a private activity where one person can immerse themselves into a fantasy world from the safety of their arm chair, while storytelling is very public and involves lots of people.
Storytelling Chair
Schools are very keen to reignite the concept of storytelling because of the many factors I have mentioned above. As well as storytelling areas in the classroom schools have installed storytelling chairs in the playground. Sometimes the storytelling chair is surrounded by little seats or benches so that everyone can gather around and enjoy stories being told like our ancestors told them.
Storytelling is always going to be with us and the history of storytelling is one huge story in itself.
As an advocate of play and all of its positive attributes it is really quite fitting that I live very close to a playground equipment manufacturer. In fact every time I drive towards the main road I can see the yellow sign for Playdale Playgrounds Ltd smiling at me. The playground next to the school has been stocked by Playdale and most of the school playground equipment has been purchased from Playdale.
Nine Generations Of Croasdales
The evolution of Playdale from Barrel makers to playground equipment manufacturers demonstrates how a family business can survive the test of time. Since the 1800's there has been a member of the Croasdale family manufacturing goods in Haverthwaite in Cumbria. From 1770 to 1978 the Croasdale family have done the following trades; cooper, hooper, woodmonger & farmer, woodmonger, timber merchant and playground equipment manufacturer. In 1978 the concept of Playdale Playgrounds Ltd was born.
Timber Playground Equipment
John Croasdale was inspired to make playground equipment when he decided to replace the old equipment in the leven Valley Playing Fields. He looked at a playground equipment brochure and noticed that it was all made from timber and they could make a lot of the equipment themselves. The playground equipment at the Leven Valley Playing Fields has been updated yet again and the fundraising required to purchase it united the local community.
From Classic Adventure Trail To i.Play
The very first piece of playground equipment was the classic adventure trail which made use of the natural timber logs. By 1983 the Croasdale's moved their business on and concentrated on building playground equipment. Playdale Playgrounds went from strength to strength and in the 30 years of trading have diversified into building; steel equipment, play towers, slides, outdoor classrooms, play panels and much more. They also combined technology with playground equipment by developing i.Play which is a fascinating combination of computer technology and playground equipment.
From Haverthwaite To The Rest Of The World
Playdale Playground equipment can be found all over the world and they have installed playgrounds in 22 countries all over the world. In 2014 they won an award for their export success at the Insider's North West International Trade Awards. They also participated in the, Exporting Is Great', national campaign featured in the Financial Times and the Spectator. This year 2015 they opened their global distribution centre.
It is exciting watching this fantastic business grow and grow particularly as they are helping to ensure that children are able to play safely all over the world.
- In: Education | Exercise | Outdoors | Play eqipment | Playgrounds | School | school playground equipment
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- In: Children | Education | My Stories | Playgrounds
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It is going to be so exciting when the children go back to school in September because they will find some new playground equipment in their school grounds. The PTA and local business Make Us A Website have put money together to buy playground equipment from Playdale Playgrounds. If my memory serves me correctly when we go back to school in September there will be a new Story Telling Chair, climbing wall and a bird table. These pieces of playground equipment will be great additions to the playground simply because of the play potential the children can have with them at playtimes.
The school playground is quite small really but the imaginative teachers have utilised the space to its fullest potential by having different activities in all of the nooks and crannies. It would seem that apart from the sand pit and mud kitchen, the favourite playground activity is to build wobbly towers using crates and terrify any observing adult that they may just tumble when they reach the top. Parts of the playground remind me of the concept of the, 'The Land', in Plas Madoc in South Wales, where children are able to use every day junk to create their own play area. Whereas only a minute part of Allithwaite school playground is dedicated to this type of play (it would look really awful otherwise) the whole play area in Plas Madoc is devoted to imaginative play.
Apparently when you approach, "The Land. A Space Full of Possibilities." (Guardian) it looks like a dangerous junk yard and would send chills down the spine of any over cautious parent. The whole point of the area is for children to learn about risk in their own way and explore activities that they may be prohibited from doing elsewhere. Children who play in The Land recall exciting experiences where they have built amazing dens and furnished them with mattresses they have found. Others remember building a huge water slide. Inspirational youth worker Claire Griffiths set up The Land and with assistance supervises the children from a safe distance, broken bones and grazes are inevitable but that is all part of the learning process. Play experts from all over the world have visited The Land to observe and gain inspiration from the project.
Plas Madoc is a town stained with deprivation, the local leisure centre has closed and play opportunities are few and far between for children. The Land gives these children a sense of purpose and achievement that can not be acquired in a structured environment. Apparently the risk assessment for The Land is huge and is based on risk verses benefits from the activity, the fire risk assessment is nine pages long. I was lucky to grow up in a time where there was enough space to do all of the things that the children do in The Land before over protectiveness took hold. Being left to your own devices to play and learn about pain and your limitations gives you a strength and independence that cannot be found in a text book.
As parents we really do need to loosen our apron strings and let our children find out for them selves what they can create. It is very difficult though because when your child hurts themselves you can feel their pain and you want to protect them for ever – sadly this does not protect them as it make it difficult for them to deal with adversity in real life.
Illness has always been one of those things that I am terrible at judging, particularly with my own health. For some bizarre peculiar reason I don't consider myself to be ill until I can't function properly and am unable to do the smallest things. Unfortunately this has often resulted in me battling on incompetently and admitting defeat in a flood of tears. Everyone around me seems to know when they are ill and are really good at discussing symptoms and how it is effecting them. My inability to detect illness makes it quite difficult for me to decide how ill my son actually is and therefore he has missed very little school because if he can walk and talk then he is well enough to go.
Last week he was really tetchy and everything I did or didn't do for my son seemed to be an indication of how little I cared for him. We went to the playground to play on the playground equipment and the mere prospect of leaving caused an unprecedented amount of fuss – well out of proportion to the request. I had an inkling then that maybe he was going in for something and that hunch was correct as he spent most of the weekend sleeping and watching Miss Marple. We decided to keep him off on the Monday to let him rest more until he felt better. On Tuesday he woke up saying he didn't feel well enough for school and I wrongly assumed it was because he had enjoyed being off too much so I sent him in anyway, dressed with green socks for sports day. He did pretty well and won one race, came second in three and lost another.
Near the end of the school day I had a phone call informing me that Alistair was feeling sick and needed to be taken home. Obviously I had made the wrong decision and he was in fact ill and maybe should have been at home. As a result of this I am keeping him off for two more days and have had to cancel a much awaited play date – he didn't make a fuss about that indicating that he really wasn't feeling very well.
Alistair is very rarely ill and is always on the move so when he told me he felt ill and stayed unnaturally still I should have listened to him instead of suspecting that he was trying to miss school. Being a parent is so difficult at times because you swing from worrying that they are seriously ill and in need of hospital treatment to missing the signs that they are ill.


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Sunday, 7 April 2013
I Carry You In My Heart
#Stickgirl.Productions: "I Carry You In My Heart"
A picture to my favourite line.
Stickgirl.Productions: I Carry You In My Heart
Type: Artwork
Size: A5
Materials: 150gsm paper, Sharpie, Marker Pens
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Tag: platform
Gallery International Fashion Tradeshow
The list of new exhibitors includes bag label Anokhi (stocked by stores including BREUNINGER), authentic woollen sweaters by Fisherman out of Ireland, international fashion by Sarah Pacini (which has its own shops and shop-in-shops worldwide), minimalist scarves, hats and T-shirts by Nebo from Munich, handcrafted shirts by Edward Cooper and contemporary looks by Suncoo from Paris (via Feldges & Heidt). They are complementing the existing portfolio of brands which includes Add, Another Souvenir, D.A.T.E. Sneakers, Des Petit Hauts, Fabiani, Hannes Roether, Inuikii, Kaos, Lucky de Luca, Majestic Filatures, Luis Trenker, Parka London, Tom Kerk and Wool & Co.
Milano Unica presents the Spring/Summer 2019 trends and sends a strong message: Save the planet
The route to the 26th edition of Milano Unica has begun with the presentation of the S/S 2019 trends at the Teatro Vetra in Milan. The three themes that inspire the international global trends focus on three elements that are essential to our life on the planet - Water, Air and Earth - and its payoff is projected towards the future: «Milano Unica: Save the Planet»
Designed by you, made for you - tailored garments by Brooks Brothers
Discover the timeless craftsmanship of Brooks Brothers combined with modern innovation to create a tailored garment - Designed by you, made for you.
The Smart Création Square at Première Vision Paris 2016
The Smart Création Square is a place for information, communication and exchanges. It is a visionary and informative space, where exhibitors, designers, buyers and fashion brands can experience and really visualize responsible values and innovations in the creative fashion industry.
Pitti Uomo - joyful fashion anarchism
The transformation of a man into a wonderful frivolous mannequin, covered with draperies and Art Nouveau wine red, was a particularly intrusive trend during the latest edition of men's fashion platform Pitti Uomo.
London Collections: Men changes its name
'It is the ninth edition as London Collections: Men. As fashion weeks change and our businesses start showing to consumers, we need to open our doors to more consumer-facing content. Over the next six months, London Collections: Men will embrace London Fashion Week Men's as a title to better engage with a consumer audience'.
31st Season of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Russia concluded in Moscow
From October 21 till October 25 Moscow saw the Spring/Summer 2016 Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Russia. During the major Eastern European fashion week the runways of the Manege Central Exhibition Hall welcomed shows of designers coming from Russia, Georgia, Turnkey, China and other countries.
Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation: 100 Russian brands at AliExpress
Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Russia hosted the presentation of the joint project with the international trade platform, AliExpress - Fashion. Made in Russia.
Happy Birthday Re.Verso
Re.Verso™ is the first and only platform for re-engineering wool and cashmere materials for fashion. It was created and developed in Italy by a group of companies who lead the way in this field, who now, after only one year can boast some great achievements in the short time since its launch, at Première Vision last year where the inaugural Re.Verso™ collection of fashion fabrics was presented by A. Stelloni by Mapel.
C.L.A.S.S. Tour Presents the Autumn/Winter 2016-2017 Eco-Smart Collections
C.L.A.S.S. the international Milan based eco-smart resource platform, is pleased to announce the third edition of its WORLD C.L.A.S.S. TOUR presenting the latest trends and promoting partners' smart textiles to selected brands and retailers. Thanks to the Italian Trade Commission's support, they will provide spaces in New York, Madrid, Paris and London, while for Copenhagen stop we are pleased to confirm the partnership with Danish Fashion Institute (DAFI).
Existence - Consciousness - Bliss - describes the essence of AMAATRA
AMAATRA stepped into conscious being in the summer of 2009 as a curated tribal jewellery platform.
The new Ninetyfives
he Ninetyfive family of yarns expands in the name of sustainable-cashmere knitwear. Now there are two sources of these "double life" yarns with an eco-friendly message. They are among the finest yarns by Filpucci, a company which combines its textile research expertise with a passion for exploring new sustainable alternatives.
Foxes plays with personal style in new H&M campaign
H&M is proud to announce that British singer-songwriter and Grammy Award winner Foxes will be the face of a new campaign this July, featuring the first looks from Divided for autumn 2015.
Michael Kors Resort 2016 Collection
Graphic glamour...deco sportif...geometric hexagon, octagon and diamond motifs play off bold stripes and crisp piping. Optimistic tones of coral and geranium paired with shades of caramel, dune and black. Sharp black and white, electric accents of lime and aqua. Neatly tailored coats, jackets and trousers juxtaposed with the movement of softly pleated skirts and dresses. Scarf dressing in relaxed kimono and wrap shapes, the neatly structured shoulder bag and the graphic clutch.
See by Chloé Summer 2015 collection
See by Chloé, launched in 2001, is the playful and casual alternative to its elegant sister brand (Chloé) and presents effortlessly chic everyday designs - garments and accessories.
Fashion trends Fall-Winter 2015/2016: Footwear
For Fall-Winter 15/16, influential designers have created directional looks in the form of Contemporary 70's and the Super Chunky Shoe.
Cheryl Cole presents second collection of shoes for StylistPick
The 28-year old British singer Cheryl Cole presented her second collection of shoes in cooperation with the brand StylistPick.
All the shoes have candy-themed names like Fizz Balls, Pink Shrimp, Flying Saucers, etc.
The range consists of various models - from spring ankle boots to classic heels for the holidays. It's a fun but stylish collection full of pastel shades and platform heels.
Spring trend – wedges for fashion combinations
The 70s fashion is again on trend and for the upcoming spring, the leading designers advice to pair up jeans with some cool wedges, shaped in a specific form.
This spring, the wedges look like a brick from the fingers to toe. All models are very comfortable and no doubt women all over the planet will love these shoes and would love to follow the new fashion trend.
Latest Yves Saint Laurent "Palais" platform pumps for Fall/Winter 2010
YSL's amazing shoes, the palais pumps for Fall/Winter 2010 are finally in stores. They are made from plain suede or suede in mohawk style. Heel measures approximately 140mm/ 5.5 inches with a 30mm/ 1.5 inch platform. The colors are black, grey, green, blue, yellow, and tweed.
The suede pairs retail for $720 and the mohawk pairs retail for $935, available at YSL stores now.
Shoe trends spring - summer 2009
On the fashion catwalks for season spring -summer 2009 in the designer's collections
were shown so much new proposals in construction and architecture of shoes
that participants could stay only speechless!
One of these curious and rarely appropriate shoes became an unusual platform, which was shown in any style by many designers. These platforms in distinction of the usual ones do not entirely copy feet line but finish in the half, like someone wanted to make it more refined and cut the "redundant".
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SEG Millennium Edition is a web-based application that connects geoscientists to geologic maps extracted from peer-reviewed papers from Economic Geology. Easily discoverable on a map-based interface, each map contains a link to the source paper, with the ability to download the map into multiple file formats, allowing integration with Petrel™, ArcGIS™, Google Earth™, and PowerPoint®.
This exclusive benefit, customized for SEG members, serves as a strong complement to SEG's existing archive of 9,000+ articles of Economic Geology. Start exploring today!
SEG Member Access
In September of 2012, SEG partnered with Elsevier to deliver over 100 years' worth of SEG scientific maps through Geofacets. Read the Elsevier press release.
The SEG Millennium Edition offers over 5,500 maps from Economic Geology (years 2000-present) with maps being added from current issues as they are published. For access to the entire selection of SEG maps, you can subscribe to Geofacets™ which offers, in aggregate, access to over 750,000 maps from over 10 leading geological societies and research institutions, plus over 1 million additional assets such as tables, plots, graphs, stratigraphic columns/wells/cores, profiles, and much more.
Beginning January 2019, SEG Millennium Edition will be included in all SEG membership categories.
No. The value of SEG Millennium Edition lies not only in access to the maps included in Economic Geology, but also in access to the contextual information for the map made available in a full-text, read-only PDF of the associated journal paper.
While all available maps are downloadable as TIFF or JPEG files, there are some maps that could not be georeferenced, possibly for the following reason(s):
Yes. You can integrate content with your own proprietary data and maps by downloading and importing our maps into external software programs. Download GeoTIFF files to integrate into a GIS program, KMZ files to integrate into Google Earth, and JPEG files to integrate into PowerPoint or similar presentation software. Not all maps are available as a GeoTIFF or KMZ file.
No. Only papers containing maps are included.
Maps are intended for internal purposes only, and all users must comply with copyright laws. Access to maps via this platform does not imply right to use or reuse for any commercial purposes or public display without consent from SEG. Terms and conditions for map use may be accessed via the "Detail Window" included on each map in the platform.
Maps are available at a variety of scales, depending on the publication and maps the author chose to convey geospatial information.
Maps are extracted as is from papers and will only have a key/legend if the original map contained one. Depending on map format, you may need to view the "original image" tab in the Detail Window or the original publication.
Georeferenced maps are only available as raster (GeoTIFF/KMZ formats) at this time.
Maps are georeferenced by trained staff and must pass strict screening criteria to ensure proper geographic information is present before being georeferenced. The map must contain an adequate number of coordinate pairs (marked latitude/longitude intersections) and/or geographic identifiers must exist in at least three map quadrants for a map to be georeferenced. All other maps (about 25%) are geolocated (approximate map location is determined using information from the caption or title).
Georeferenced map alignment accuracy is checked by:
Cross-sections or other geological interpretations depends on the geographic area of interest and the research publications that exist in that area.


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Sun January 31, 2016 7:00 pm $8 or Free with RSVP
Fact: STOMATOPAD is the name of a "superpowered-punching mantis shrimp." It's also a grunge revival power trio from the Chicago underground. STOMATOPAD, formed in 2013, features ELLIOT DICKS (NERVES, #1 sound dude) on drums, audio engineer LIZ BUSTAMANTE on bass and JOHN HUSTON (PAWNER'S SOCIETY) on vocals and guitar. Together, this band lives by the mantra "If it ain't broke, why fix it?" They play true to the classic, moody post-punk and grunge of the 80s and 90's, channeling bands like MUD HONEY and MATERIAL ISSUE. Their debut LP, Air By The Ton, received lots of love from the Chicago Reader, Midwest Action and Hellride Music among others. Also joining us this evening is THE RUTABEGA, the Indiana carp rock duo of JOSHUA WAYNE HENSLEY and GARTH MASON. If you're wondering what carp rock, it's kind of like sad, indie-blues inspired rock ala ELLIOT SMITH and BUILT TO SPILL. Get ready to feel some things. Since they began in 2011, THE RUTABEGA has played a bundle of shows (mainly Midwest, but also venturing to the coasts), recorded live sessions with DAYTROTTER and WPRB's Jon Solomon, and released a 2013 full length, Brother The Lights Don't Work. Their new 7", Shiny Destination, was released on Triple Eye Industries this past March. Opening this eveing is THOUGHTS DETECTING MACHINE, the music moniker of RICK VALENTIN (POSTER CHILDREN, SALARYMAN). VALENTIN is from Normal, IL, but his electronic side project is anything BUT normal. This dude builds songs using looped guitars, vocals and electronics. One man band – how dope is that?


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PASADENA, Calif. - Scientists say the Martian soil at the rover Curiosity's landing site contains minerals similar to what's found on Hawaii's Mauna Kea volcano.
The finding released Tuesday is the latest step in trying to better understand whether the environment could have been hospitable to microbial life.
Curiosity recently ingested its first soil sample and used one of its instruments to tease out the minerals present. An analysis revealed it contained feldspar and olivine, minerals typically associated with volcanic eruptions. Mission scientists said the Martian soil is similar to volcanic soil on the flanks of Mauna Kea.
Curiosity landed near the Martian equator in August on a two-year mission. It'll be another month before it drills into its first rock. Then it's expected to head toward a mountain by year's end.
Judge denies satellite voting for Montana Indians
BILLINGS, Mont. - A federal judge has denied an emergency order sought by American Indians who wanted election officials to provide satellite voting stations on remote Montana reservations.
Tuesday's ruling from U.S. District Judge Richard Cebull puts off a final decision on satellite voting until after Election Day.
Cebull said regardless of whether voting discrimination exists, he is not convinced the plaintiffs are suffering immediate harm.
Yet his denial of a preliminary injunction in the case does not end a lawsuit brought by 15 Indians alleging discrimination by county and state officials.
American Indians from the Crow, Northern Cheyenne and Fort Belknap reservations argue the long distances they must drive for early voting and late registration leaves them disadvantaged.
Attorney Steven Sandven said there is too little time before the election to appeal.
Gingrich raising cash for Akin Senate bid
LEE'S SUMMIT, Mo. - Shunned by Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney, Missouri Senate candidate Todd Akin turned Tuesday to former presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich to help draw money and attention to his quest to oust Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill.
Gingrich appeared with Akin at a pair of Kansas City area fundraisers as part of what Akin's campaign hopes will be a $1 million advertising push in the final week of the campaign. So far, McCaskill has significantly outspent Akin on TV ads that have cast the suburban St. Louis congressman as extreme - even "scary" - because of his conservative views and a remark about "legitimate rape."
Gingrich acknowledged "the gap between Todd Akin and Sen. McCaskill on issues ... is enormous." But he predicted voters ultimately would side with Akin's limited-government philosophy and forgive him for his much-criticized remark that women's bodies have ways of avoiding pregnancy in what Akin called "legitimate rape."
"Todd Akin has had a 12-year career of being a solid conservative. Claire McCaskill has had a six-year career of representing Barack Obama's liberalism," Gingrich, a former House speaker, said during a news conference with Akin. "This state deserves to have a senator from Missouri, not a senator from 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.," he said in reference to the address of the White House.
Amtrak plans some Northeast service
WASHINGTON - Amtrak said it will resume some service in the Northeast on Wednesday, but flooded train tunnels continue to prevent service to and from New York's Penn Station.
The railroad said late Tuesday that modified service between Newark, N.J., and points south will resume Wednesday. It includes restoring Virginia service to Lynchburg, Richmond and Newport News, Keystone trains in Pennsylvania and Downeaster service between Boston and Portland, Maine.
However, Amtrak said in a statement the amount of water in train tunnels under the Hudson and East rivers is unprecedented, preventing service to New York.


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Karle, Isabella L and Flippen-Anderson, Judith L and Gurunath, R and Balaram, P (1994) Facile transition between 310- and alpha-helix: Structures of 8-, 9-, and 10-residue peptides containing the -(Leu-Aib-Ala)2-Phe-Aib- fragment. In: Protein Science, 3 (9). pp. 1547-1555.
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A structural transition from a 310-helix to an alpha-helix has been characterized at high resolution for an octapeptide segment located in 3 different sequences. Three synthetic peptides, decapeptide (A) Boc-Aib-Trp-(Leu-Aib-Ala)2-Phe-Aib-OMe, nonapeptide (B) Boc-Trp-(Leu-Aib-Ala)2-Phe-Aib-OMe, and octapeptide (C) Boc-(Leu-Aib-Ala)2-Phe-Aib-OMe, are completely helical in their respective crystals. At 0.9 Å resolution, R factors for A, B, and C are 8.3%, 5.4%, and 7.3%, respectively. The octapeptide and nonapeptide form ideal 310-helices with average torsional angles phi(N-Calpha) and psi(Calpha-C') of –57 deg, -26 deg for C and –60 deg, -27 deg for B. The 10-residue peptide (A) begins as a 310-helix and abruptly changes to an alpha-helix at carbonyl O(3), which is the acceptor for both a 4 – 1 hydrogen bond with N(6)H and a 5 - 1 hydrogen with N(7)H, even though the last 8 residues have the same sequence in all 3 peptides. The average phi, psi angles in the decapeptide are –58 deg, -28 deg for residues 1-3 and –63 deg, -41 deg for residues 4-10. The packing of helices in the crystals does not provide any obvious reason for the transition in helix type. Fourier transform infrared studies in the solid state also provide evidence for a 310- to alpha-helix transition with the amide I band appearing at 1,656-1,657 cm-1 in the 9- and 10-residue peptides, whereas in shorter sequences the band is observed at 1,667 cm-l.
|Item Type:
|Journal Article
|Additional Information:
|Copyright for this article belongs to Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press.
|alpha-aminoisobutyric acid peptides;helical peptide structures;helical transitions;helix packing;peptide conformation
|Division of Biological Sciences > Molecular Biophysics Unit
|Depositing User:
|M.K Anitha
|Date Deposited:
|11 Nov 2004
|Last Modified:
|19 Sep 2010 04:17
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|Our Price:
|Cucina Credits:
|11.95 (Whats this?)
Our SKU #REV2073
Brand: Romanico
More Romanico products
Manufacturer: Agroles
More from Agroles
UPC / EAN Code: 852470001014
Tags: Spain, Spanish, Cholesterol Free, Sodium Free
Romanico is the general brand for the oils produced on the Agroles Estate by the largest co-operative in the Les Garrigues region of Catalonia. Based in Borges Blanques, this estate serves 42 primary co-operatives with around 6000 families in total. The land here varies from the rolling hills of the lower valleys with vineyards and tidy olive groves to the steep-sided ridges higher up. Up there the olive trees grow in terraces and the countryside is much wilder in character.
Some of the olive trees are as much as 150 years old. Others are very new, often planted between the rows of older trees after the installation of drip irrigation allowed for more intense cultivation. Arbequina is virtually the only variety planted here and it has a long history in the area. On of the Agroles' primary co-operatives is at Arbeca to the north east of Borges Blanques and the name of the town is thought to be associated both with the Moorish settlement and with the local olive variety. Indeed there is some speculation that this variety came originally from North Africa.
Romanico Extra Virgin Olive Oil is produced near Arbeca, the most arid territory in Catalunya, Spain. Arbeca is the village in the region that gives the namesake to this variety of olive. The olives that survive the cold weather in winter and drought in summer are the key ingredient to this outstanding olive oil.
Nuts, then wet grass and herbs followed by a touch of lemon start the aromas of this excellent oil. This is followed by light citrus fruits and more herbs with sorrel and watercress. Quite strong pepper kicks in and out leaving a long herby and lemon aftertaste.
Each bottle of Romanico Extra Virgin Olive Oil contains 16.9 fl.oz. or .5L.
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Since coming home from a 3-week holiday in Asia, I've been willing the weather to warm up. To be fair, the weather in Wellington has warmed up from the freezing winter temperatures. But Wellington, true to form, is taking its time schleping towards more summary days.
We had 104km/h winds yesterday. And the thermometer did not go up any further than 10 degrees. You see what I mean.
So as much as I'd like to start planning meals with lots of lovely fresh salad leaves, drizzled with this, that and the other, I find myself heading down the path of tummy warmers more often than not.
- Lose some weight
- Tidy up and paint my toes nails
- Break out the summer clothing.
Now this year, I'm carrying more than the usual 'winter weight'. It's more like winter weight + eat all I want in Asia weight + eat until I'm about to burst at the conference weight! To help with the mammoth pre-summer weight loss regiment, I've been cooking more vegetarian meals and also soups and casseroles that are lighter than what I had been cooking for winter (thick stews, cream-based sauces, slow-cooked fattier meats, etc).
'S' loves noodles, so I try and cook it at least once a week. Asian style noodle soups are often easy to make and relatively healthy. In fact, you could make this dish as healthy as you want it to be - like using lean mince and udon noodles for example. I've used 'regular' mince here, that is, mince with fat. It's a personal choice.
This really isn't a recipe that I created. It's simply something I throw together often using flavours I'm very familiar with. And if you decide to make this weekly like I do, change it up a bit by using different proteins (beef/pork mince, chicken/duck slices, frozen prawns and squid or tofu), or different types of noodles and just about any type of vegetable will work as well. No fix rules here.
Give it a go and let me know if you like it, or what you did to change it up a bit!
Asian Beef Balls Soup with Noodles
Meat balls:
500g mince beef
2 cloves garlic, grated
1/2 tbsp sesame oil
1 tsp cornflour
1 tsp ground white pepper
Rice bran oil (or any other light tasting vegetable oil, like canola or soya)
10 shallots, sliced (you can use onions if you prefer)
25g ginger, sliced (about 2 fingers length and width)
2 cloves garlic, smashed and roughly chopped
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp chilli flakes (use 1/2 TSP if you prefer it less spicy or omit entirely)
1 bunch of fresh coriander (appx 1 cup), roughly chopped and set aside for later
The stems (near the roots) of the coriander, chopped
8 cups water (you can use stock, but I prefer to keep the flavour of the soup base clean)
2 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp fish sauce
1 tsp sugar
Salt to taste
Selection of vegetables chopped/sliced - zucchini, carrots, corn, bok choy, asparagus, or whatever you like
Buckwheat noodles - follow cooking instructions on the pack
- Use a light hand and quickly mix the mince beef and all other meat balls ingredients together. Don't over mix as I find that it makes meat balls dense and tough.
- Cover and put aside for the mince to marinade a little whilst you get on to the soup.
- In a large pot, heat some rice bran oil over medim heat and gently fry the shallots, ginger, ground coriander, chilli flakes and coriander stems. Fry until the shallots are soft and lightly browned.
- Add the 8 cups of water to the shallots mixture to make the soup.
- Bring to boil.
- Lower down the heat to medium-low and add the vegetables. Note - if you're using vegetables that cook quickly like bok choy, asparagus or zucchini, add these vegetables in only once the meat balls are almost cooked, in the last 3 minutes of cooking.
- Add the light soy sauce, fish sauce and sugar to the soup.
- Whilst the vegetables is cooking in the soup, make the beef balls.
- Wet your hands and very quickly and lightly again, roll the marinated mince beef into balls and place them on a plate. Damp hands will help prevent the mince sticking to your hands and make it easy to roll. I rolled my beef balls into the size of large Jaffa balls or gobstoppers.
- Heat a little rice bran oil up in a fry pan on high and very quickly brown the beef balls. You want only a light brown and sear - not to cook the beef balls through. Once lightly browned, scoop into a bowl/plate lined with kitchen paper and set aside.
- At this point, boil some water, ready for cooking your choice of noodles.
- Back to the soup - Turn the heat up to medium and add the beef balls into the soup and cook until the beef balls are just cooked. Don't be tempted to cook the beef balls for too long, or else they'll over cook and start to fall apart. So will your vegetables!
- Add some salt at this point, to taste.
- Whilst the beef balls are cooking, quickly cook your noodles in a separate pot. Most noodles will take only between 3-5 minutes cooking time.
- Drain your cooked noodles and divide them into large bowls. Top the noodles with the the cooked beef balls and vegetables - scoop these out without the soup. Then ladle the hot soup over the noodles, beef balls and vegetables.
- Top with plenty of fresh coriander and enjoy!


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Did you know? One of the better Metroidvania titles just landed on the Switch.
Tag Archive: axiom verge
Axiom Verge: Multiverse Edition heading to Switch, PS4, PS Vita, Wii U in August
Everyone's favorite retro modern take on the Metroidvania genre is making its way to the Nintendo Switch and other platforms in a special edition release.
Axiom Verge review for PS4, PS Vita
One single programmer has created a fantastic game that will punch you right in the nostalgia!


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This is an old revision of the document!
sudo pcmanfm
moving a folder
mv /etc/freedns/ /home/pi/freedns
find . -name testfile.txt
where: X is any combination of the letters `u' (for owner), `g' (for group), `o' (for others), `a' (for all; that is, for `ugo'); @ is either `+' to add permissions, `-' to remove permissions, or `=' to assign permissions absolutely; and Y is any combination of `r', `w', `x'. Following are some examples:
crontab -e
from the webcam thing
crontab -e
crontab -u userName -l crontab -u vivek -l
0 * * * * /path/to/script.ksh
# Example of job definition:$ # .---------------- minute (0 - 59)$ # | .------------- hour (0 - 23)$ # | | .---------- day of month (1 - 31)$ # | | | .------- month (1 - 12) OR jan,feb,mar,apr ...$ # | | | | .---- day of week (0 - 6) (Sunday=0 or 7) OR sun,mon,tue,wed,thu,fri,sat$ # | | | | |$ # * * * * * user-name command to be executed$
By default the first column is for minutes and the second one is for hour
every 30 minutes is
*/30 * * * * /path/program.sh
I did one of the maybe 10 years ago and managed it then. But I have forgotten sooo much. This time I hacked together from two sources that was actually similar in concept to what I once did. What I finished with
BUT you have to install dnsutils package, otherwise dnslookup will not work
sudo apt-get install dnsutils
Type df -h or df -k to list free disk space: $ df -h
OR $ df -k
Mount Other Drive
Well I tried moving var folder to new partition and edited fstab to say this
/dev/sda3 /var ext4 defaults 0 0
But but I couldn't boot and ended up just starting from scratch and installed the non NOOBS version.
BUT, while getting out of the shower this morning I remembered that I forgot to make an empty new VAR folder for the new partition to be mounted into…Dang if it actually worked! it took a few reboots for the OS to adjust the file structure but on the third boot it all worked.
Still I went back to my new install, but it is good to know it works