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Each year the G.S.O. Archives receives thousands of requests for research and historical information. The questions we receive range from very simple questions with easy answers to complex questions involving hours of research. If you have a question about AA's history or archives, we hope you will contact us (or one of the many other local and area AA archives) to try to find the answer. Below are some of the most frequently asked questions we receive here at the G.S.O. Archives, and some of our answers.
Q. Where and when have past International Conventions been held?
Q. Does G.S.O. have information about the history of my home group?
Q. What are the origins of the Serenity Prayer?
Q. Who wrote Chapter 8 of the Big Book, "To Wives"?
Q: What is the story behind the Circle and Triangle logo?
Q: What's the history of typical AA slogans like "First Things First" and "One Day at a Time"?
Q. Why do AA members use tokens, medallions, and chips to mark sobriety? When did that practice start?
Q. Who wrote AA's Preamble? And when was the word "honest" dropped from it (i.e. "honest desire to stop drinking"), and why?
Q. I've heard it said that Bill always wished he could change the beginning of 'How It Works' to read "Never have we seen a person fail who has thoroughly followed our path" (rather than "Rarely have we seen…"). Is this true?
Q. What is the history behind AA's Responsibility Statement?
Q. What is the history behind AA's Unity Declaration?
Q. What is the origin of the Third Step prayer and the Seventh Step prayer found in the Big Book?
Q. Was Bill nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize?
Q. Who are the recipients of the milestone printing copies of the Big Book?
Q. What is the origin of introducing oneself with the statement "I am an alcoholic" at A.A. meetings?
Q. What is the story behind the Herbert Spencer quote in Appendix II of the Big Book?
Q. Where and when have past International Conventions been held?
A. Click here for the A.A. International Conventions Information Sheet
Q. Does G.S.O. have information about the history of my home group?
A. Often, G.S.O.'s Archives staff can provide detailed information about the origins and history of groups. Of course, the amount of available information we have about a group depends on the amount of information the group has sent to G.S.O. throughout the years. In addition, it is common for groups to organize meetings prior to contacting the G.S.O. But we can research group histories and usually find fascinating information. Contact the G.S.O. Archives for more information.
Q. What are the origins of the Serenity Prayer?
A. It was debated for years who wrote the Serenity Prayer, and its origins are still somewhat murky, but it seems most likely to have been written by Dr. Reinhold Niebuhr, a well-known theologian who served for many years as Dean and Professor of Applied Christianity at the Union Theological Seminary in New York City. G.S.O.'s Archives can provide more information about this prayer's historical origins upon request.
Alcoholics Anonymous became aware of the Serenity Prayer in 1941, when it was discovered printed in the New York Tribune newspaper. Ruth Hock, AA's first secretary and a non-alcoholic, was immediately taken with it. The headquarters staff thought of printing the prayer on a card to distribute to AA members.
On June 12, 1941, Ruth wrote Henry S., a Washington, D.C.-based AA member and printer by profession, saying:
"One of the boys up here got a clipping from a local newspaper which is so very much to the point and so much to their liking, that they have asked me to find out from you what it would cost to set it up on a small card, something like a visiting card, which can be carried in a wallet... here it is...would appreciate it if you would let me know right away."
Henry answered back immediately and enthusiastically:
"...Your cards are on the way and my congratulations to the man who discovered that in the paper. I can't recall any sentence that packs quite the wallop that that does and during the day shown it to the A.A.'s that dropped in and in each case have been asked for copies. I sent you 500 copies in as much as you didn't say how many you wanted. If you need any more, let me know. Incidentally, I am only a heel when I'm drunk, I hope, so naturally there could be no charge for anything of this nature."
Ruth responded again on June 17, and wrote:
"Your generous response to my request for the little cards is certainly much appreciated by us all up here. Glad so many of you down there liked it too, for it backs me up in my feeling that it really has 'something.'"
Q. Who wrote Chapter 8 of the Big Book, "To Wives"?
A. Bill was the author of the 'To Wives' chapter. It is commonly thought that Lois wrote it. But, as Pass It On describes (page 200), Lois said, "Bill wrote it, and I was mad." She added, "I wasn't so much mad as hurt. I still don't know why Bill wrote it. I've never really gotten into it - why he insisted upon writing it. I said to him, 'Well, do you want me to write it?' And he said no, he thought it should be in the same style as the rest of the book."
G.S.O.'s Archives can provide extensive historical information about A.A.W.S.'s literature and pamphlets: origins; content; editions; printings; changes; and corrections that have been made over time.
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Q: What is the story behind the Circle and Triangle logo?
A: The Circle and Triangle symbol has long been connected to the A.A. Fellowship. It was adopted as an official A.A. symbol at the International Convention in St. Louis in 1955, and from that point on was widely used in the Fellowship. For the Fellowship, the three legs of the triangle represented the Three Legacies of Recovery, Unity and Service, and the circle symbolized the world of A.A. In Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age, Bill W.'s 1955 speech, in which he describes the adoption of the symbol, is printed:
"Above us floats a banner on which is inscribed the new symbol for A.A., a circle enclosing a triangle. The circle stands for the whole world of A.A., and the triangle stands for A.A.'s Three Legacies of Recovery, Unity, and Service. Within our wonderful new world, we have found freedom from our fatal obsession. That we have chose this particular symbol is perhaps no accident. The priests and seers of antiquity regarded the circle enclosing the triangle as a means of warding off the spirits of evil, and A.A.'s circle and triangle of Recovery, Unity, and Service has certainly meant all of that to us and much more." (p. 139)
Nevertheless, in the early 1990s, A.A.W.S. decided to phase out the use of the Circle and Triangle symbol on its literature, letterhead and other material. It was decided to phase out the "official" or "legal" use of the Circle and Triangle symbol, and in 1994 the General Service Conference resolved that the logo be discontinued on all Conference-approved literature. However, the symbol is still associated with Alcoholics Anonymous (and other kinds of 12-Step recovery fellowships) and has a special meaning for AA members all over the world.
Q: What's the history of typical AA slogans like "First Things First" and "One Day at a Time"?
A. We don't have a great deal of information about the origins of AA's slogans and acronyms, but we can provide some sharing and preliminary information. Many of these slogans, as with other practices in AA, were simply passed along verbally to other members, so it is impossible to know who started using them first. It is possible that some of the slogans may have originally stemmed from a part of the Oxford Group Movement language, but it could also be that they were original with Bill and Dr. Bob and the early members.
Members have always inquired as to the origins of various slogans, and it has always been difficult to narrow down; in our research, we discovered a letter written by former GSO Archivist, Frank M., dated 1989, who responded to a similar question that was posed to him. This was Frank's response, "Your interest in the origins of 'One Day at a Time' is shared by many of us. Like hand-holding, however, it's difficult to pin-point the exact 'moment.'" That is the problem we find with most of our AA slogans, unfortunately!
We do know, however, that many slogans commonly heard have been around since the early days of the Fellowship.
In December of 1958 Ruth Hock (non-alcoholic), who was AA's first secretary, wrote a response to a similar question concerning different slogans. In her reply Ruth wrote:
"…Bill [W.] and I first worked together in January 1936 when he had been sober just a little over one year and at that time 'Easy Does It,' 'Live and Let Live,' and 'First Things First,' were part of the daily conversation. They were also used in the very first drafts of the book, but probably only Bill himself could tell you where he picked them up…
"As far as I'm concerned all of the above were introduced into A.A. by Bill W. himself although not original with him.
"Some of these could have been used in Oxford Group meetings but there is no way for sure."
In addition to Ruth's response, page 220 of Bill W.'s biography, Pass It On, also addresses this topic:
"Some 'A.A. saws' were also used as long ago as the late 1930s: 'First Things First,' 'Easy Does It,' 'Live and Let Live.' Because these appear in the first edition of the Big Book (at the end of the chapter on 'The Family Afterward'), it's probable that the use of the slogans originated with Bill and that he brought them with him from Vermont – old saws with new teeth."
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Q. Why do AA members use tokens, medallions, and chips to mark sobriety? When did that practice start?
A. The chip system is thought to have begun in Indianapolis in 1942. The tradition is believed to have started with Doherty S., who originally brought A.A. to Indianapolis. Doherty himself, in a letter to Bill, seems to indicate the practice originated in Indianapolis in 1942.
Nell Wing wrote in 1962 about the history of the chip system: "…The chip system might have begun in Indianapolis….reference was made in a letter from Doherty to the start of giving out 'chips' and 'tokens.' This was in 1942. I imagine this would be about right, because most of the early groups started in 1940 and it would take about a couple of years to think of anniversaries and marking any time of sobriety. I asked Bill about this and his memory is that the system started in Indianapolis."
In Dr. Bob and the Good Old Timers, it indicates that Sister Ignatia in Akron, working at St. Thomas Hospital, also used medallions: "Sister Ignatia gave each of her newly released patients a Sacred Heart medallion, which she asked them to return before they took the first drink. She would occasionally give out St. Christopher medals as well…" (page 195).
We don't know precisely who started this system first, or when and how it spread to other groups. As with many things in AA, the exact nature of the history eludes us!
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Q. Who wrote AA's Preamble? And when was the word "honest" dropped from it (i.e. "honest desire to stop drinking"), and why?
A. The Preamble first appeared in the Grapevine in June 1947, and was written by Tom Y., the Grapevine Editor serving at that time. Its intent was to inform the public as to what A.A. is and what it is not. Shortly thereafter, the Preamble began appearing in each monthly issue of the Grapevine, and later on in much of our A.A. Conference-approved literature. In 1992 the Grapevine published a short history of the Preamble.
In the 1947 version of the Preamble, it contained the wording, "…an honest desire to stop drinking…" as printed in the foreword to the first edition of the Big Book. However, since the adoption of the short form of the Traditions in 1950, the Third Tradition has always read, "The only requirement for A.A. membership is a desire to stop drinking" and this form was used by Bill in writing the book, Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions.
In 1958 the expression "honest desire" was discussed at great length at the General Service Conference. It was felt that it was impossible to determine what constitutes an "honest" desire to stop drinking, thus the word was dropped. The "new" version of the Preamble, without the word "honest," first appeared in the September 1958 issue of the Grapevine.
There have been other versions of the Preamble, written by AA members for their local groups' use, which were then circulated around AA; for example: the "Texas Preamble," the "Wilmington Preamble," etc. Many AA members find these interesting, but they have never been adopted by the Fellowship as a whole.
Q. I've heard it said that Bill always wished he could change the beginning of 'How It Works' to read "Never have we seen a person fail who has thoroughly followed our path" (rather than "Rarely have we seen…"). Is this true?
A. No. A rumor has persisted for years that Bill wished he could have changed "rarely" to "never." But we know, through Bill's own words, that that is not the case. In a letter to Les V., dated May 25, 1961 Bill W. stated:
"…Concerning your comment about the use of the word 'rarely' in Chapter Five of the Big Book. My recollection is that we did give a considerable thought at the time of writing. I think the main reason for the use of 'rarely' was to avoid anything that would look like a claim for a 100 % result. Assuming of course that an alcoholic is willing enough and sane enough, there can be a perfect score on such character. But since willingness and sanity are such illusive and fluctuating values, we simply didn't like to be too positive. The medical profession could jump right down our throats…I do remember thinking about it a lot."
In addition, the following question and response were made at the 1970 General Service Conference, as part of the "Ask-It" Basket questions. Bill was, of course, still living at this time and was able to respond:
Has Bill ever said, "If there was any change he would make in the Big Book, it would be to change the world 'rarely' to 'never' at the start of Chapter Five"?
"No, Bill said he had never considered this" (1970 General Service Conference Report, p. 31).
Q. What is the history behind AA's Responsibility Statement?
A. The Responsibility Statement reads:
I am Responsible. When anyone, anywhere, reaches out for help, I want the hand of A.A. always to be there. And for that: I am responsible.
It was written for the 1965 A.A. International Convention in Toronto. In an article titled, 'How I am Responsible became a part of A.A.', from the GSO newsletter, Box 4-5-9. The article identifies former AA trustee, Al S. as the author of the Responsibility Statement.
In the souvenir book for the 1965 Convention, Dr. Jack Norris writes:
"…We must remember that AA will continue strong only so long as each of us freely and happily gives it away to another person, only as each of us takes our fair share of responsibility for sponsorship of those who still suffer, for the growth and integrity of our Group, for our Intergroup activities, and for AA as a whole. It is in taking responsibility that real freedom and the enduring satisfactions of life are found. AA has given us the power to choose – to drink or not to drink – and in doing so has given us the freedom to be responsible for ourselves. As we become responsible for ourselves, we are free to be responsible for our share in AA, and unless we happily accept this responsibility we lose AA. Strange, isn't it?"
In a Grapevine article in October 1965, the Responsibility Statement is discussed, and Bill W. expresses his views:
Two major thoughts stood out in the remarks of the many speakers, alcoholic and nonalcoholic, at AA's July Toronto Convention. The first was admiration and gratitude for AA's startling success in sobering up hundreds of thousands of lost-cause drunks. The other was concern that the success which has come to AA over the thirty years since its start in Akron, Ohio in 1935 would not lead us to any complacency about the size of the job still to be done.
The theme of the Convention was: Responsibility. "I am responsible. . .when anyone, anywhere, reaches out for help, I want the hand of AA always to be there. And for that: I am responsible."
AA's co-founder, Bill, in his talk to over 10,000 attending the major sessions of the Convention, stressed the need for cooperation with all who work on the problem of alcoholism, the more than 100 agencies in the United States and Canada alone now engaged in research, alcohol education and rehabilitation.
"Too often, we have deprecated and even derided these projects of our friends just because we do not always see eye to eye with them," Bill said. "We should very seriously ask ourselves how many alcoholics have gone on drinking simply because we have failed to cooperate in good spirit with these many agencies. No alcoholic should go mad or die merely because he did not come straight to AA in the beginning."
"The first concern of AA members should be with problem drinkers the movement is still unable to reach," Bill said. He estimated that there are 20 million alcoholics in the world today, five million in the U.S. alone. "Some cannot be reached because they are not hurt enough, others because they are hurt too much," he declared. "Many sufferers have mental and emotional complications that seem to foreclose their chances. Yet it would be conservative to estimate that at any particular time there are four million alcoholics in the world who are able, ready and willing to get well if only they knew how. When we remember that in the 30 years of AA's existence we have reached less than ten per cent of those who might have been willing to approach us, we begin to get an idea of the immensity of our task and of the responsibilities with which we will always be confronted."
There have been two Advisory Actions from the General Service Conference regarding the Declaration of Responsibility since it was introduced. In 1971, the Conference recommended that:
The Literature Committee, following the general feeling of the Conference, reaffirm both the spirit and the wording of the "I am Responsible" Declaration from the International Convention held in Toronto in 1965.
And in 1977, the Conference recommended that:
The Responsibility Declaration not be changed, as it was made at the 1965 International Convention in Toronto.
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Q. What is the history behind AA's Unity Declaration?
The Unity Declaration reads:
This we owe to A.A.'s future: to place our common welfare first; to keep our Fellowship united. For on A.A. unity depend our lives and the lives of those to come.
It was written for A.A.'s 35th Anniversary International Convention that was held in Miami Beach, Florida in July 1970. Unfortunately, it appears that the GSO Archives department does not possess records concerning the author of the Declaration.
Documents in our collection indicate that the statement was composed as a combined effort of both the Committee on International Convention and former A.A. trustee, Al S. The correspondence alludes to Al's involvement as a consultant in composing the statement. Certainly, Al wrote the "Responsibility" Statement that had been introduced at the 1965 International Convention.
The "Unity" statement was read by delegates from different countries on Saturday night during the Unity Ceremony. Below, I have presented brief highlights from that night's ceremony, as led by former General Manager, Bob H.:
"As you know the theme of this Conference is Unity Within Our Fellowship. We have asked several of our ex-delegates and members from overseas to be on stage and participate with us adopting our new Declaration of Unity..."
"A.A. unity is the special quality that makes our Fellowship unique. It is the cement that holds our society together, the platform which makes A.A. 'Service' possible. It is more than agreement on basic principles, more than freedom from destructive strife. It is a bond fashioned of shared experience, such as this one we share tonight.
"Unity is our most precious possession, our best guarantee of A.A.'s future. May we all value and preserve it, today and all the tomorrows to come."
Bob H. then asks all participants on stage to recite the Unity Declaration, which was led by Dr. Norris.
Following the International Convention (1973), the General Service Conference recommended that:
The Unity Declaration be added to all A.A. Literature when feasible and economical, and be referred to A.A. World Services, Inc., for follow-through.
Q. What is the origin of the Third Step prayer and the Seventh Step prayer found in the Big Book?
[Third Step prayer: "God, I offer myself to Thee – to build with me and to do with me as Thou wilt. Relieve me of the bondage of self, that I may better do Thy will. Take away my difficulties, that victory over them may bear witness to those I would help of Thy Power, Thy Love, and Thy Way of life. May I do Thy will always." page 63]
[Seventh Step prayer: "My Creator, I am now willing that you should have all of me, good and bad. I pray that you now remove from me every single defect of character which stands in the way of my usefulness to you and my fellows. Grant me strength, as I go out from here, to do your bidding. Amen." page 76]
A. As far as we know, Bill wrote the Third and Seventh Step prayers himself. From the first typed manuscript, which Bill completed in 1938, these prayers contained the same wording they do in the book today. We don't know of the prayers' prior presence in any religious movement, though it is likely that their central message – if not their exact wording – might be from the Oxford Group. The Oxford Group was a popular Christian movement to which both Bill and Dr. Bob belonged, and many of A.A.'s spiritual principles were drawn from that movement.
Q. Was Bill nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize?
A. Bill was never nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. In 1960 an individual from the New York area wrote to Bill concerning the possibility of a Nobel Prize. Bill responded that he would be delighted if overtures were made, but the award would have to cite Alcoholics Anonymous and not himself. Bill made it clear that the prize money could not be accepted because A.A. does not accept funds from any person or entity outside Alcoholics Anonymous. In addition, of course, there was the issue of Bill maintaining his anonymity, which would not have been possible with such a public award.
A proposal to nominate Alcoholics Anonymous for the Nobel Prize was presented in early 1986. After careful consideration and deliberation, the General Service Board of A.A. stated that the monetary prize without question would be declined. Beyond that, it was felt that, and in keeping with our Tenth Tradition, which enjoins us to venture no opinions on outside issues, no further comments were necessary.
While Bill was still alive, he declined several honors, among them an offer by Yale University of the degree of Doctor of Laws. In 1976, after his death, Norwich University wanted to award Bill a posthumous degree of Doctor of the Humanities. The degree, however, was declined by his late wife, Lois.
Q. Who are the recipients of the milestone printing copies of the Big Book?
A. The one-millionth copy was presented to President Richard Nixon in April 1973, and the two-millionth to Joseph Califano, Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare, in June 1979. At the 50th Anniversary International Convention in Montréal in 1985, the five-millionth copy of the Big Book was presented to Ruth Hock, who typed draft after draft of the original manuscript. The ten-millionth was presented to Nell Wing, Bill W.'s longtime (nonalcoholic) secretary and A.A.'s first archivist, in July 1990. The 15-millionth was given to Ellie Norris, widow of former trustee chairman John L. Norris, M.D., in 1996; and in the year 2000, the 20-millionth copy was presented to the Al-Anon Family Groups. The 25-millionth copy was presented to Jill Brown, warden of San Quentin Prison, in July 2005, at the A.A. International Convention in Toronto.
Q. What is the origin of introducing oneself with the statement "I am an alcoholic" at A.A. meetings?
A. As with the origins of other customs in A.A., this is something of a mystery. However, we came across a Box 4-5-9 article on the subject in the April-May 1987 issue:
"Who was the first to start a meeting or a qualification with the statement, 'I am an alcoholic'? How did the worldwide custom begin? As late co-founder Bill W. used to observe, "Nobody invented A.A., it just grew." And so probably did its classic introduction at meetings.
'Many members ask us these questions,' says G.S.O. archivist Frank M. 'Unfortunately, only a few of the early-timers are left, and not many of them are able to provide plausible theories. So we can only speculate.'
According to an early friend of A.A., the late Henrietta Seiberling, the expression dates back to meetings of A.A.'s forerunner, the Oxford Group Movement, which had its heyday in the early 1930s. Mrs. Seiberling, a nonalcoholic who had sought spiritual help in the Oxford Group meetings, introduced Bill to A.A.'s other founder, Dr. Bob, then struggling to get sober in the Oxford Group.
At small meetings, the members knew one another and didn't need to identify themselves. But in the large, public meetings, where there was 'witnessing' along the lines of an A.A. talk today, personal identification became necessary. Chances are that someone at some time said, 'I am an alcoholic,' but Mrs. Seiberling wasn't sure. Nor did she remember that the phrase was used at early A.A. meetings in Akron before publication of the Big Book. In fact, she said, the word 'alcoholic' was rarely uttered, at least in Akron. People referred to themselves as 'drunks' or 'rum hounds' or 'boozers' or other choice epithets reminiscent of the Temperance Movement that gained adherents during Prohibition.
An early New York A.A. first heard the expression as 'I am an alcoholic and my name is…' According to his recollection, that was after World War II, in 1945 or 1946. And it is a matter of record that, in 1947, a documentary film entitled, "I Am an Alcoholic," was produced by RKO Pathé.
From then on, as Bill would say, the custom just grew.
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Q. What is the story behind the Herbert Spencer quote in Appendix II of the Big Book?
A. The Herbert Spencer quote first appeared in the First Edition, First Printing of the Big Book (1939), on page 380, at the beginning of the story "An Artist's Concept." The quote was included with this story throughout all 16 printings of the First Edition, from 1939 through 1955. That story was dropped when the Second Edition of the Big Book was published in 1955 – and the Spencer quote was dropped with it. The Spencer quote does not appear in the Second Edition/First Printing (1955) or the Second Edition/Second Printing (1957). However, the quote was added to the Third Printing of the Second Edition in 1959, at the end of Appendix II, where it still appears today.
We have been unable to locate the source for this quote in any work by Spencer, who published an enormous amount on a great variety of topics. The quote is attributed to Spencer on page 650 of The Great Quotations, compiledby George Seldes and published in 1961. More recently, one scholar conducted a considerable amount of research into the origin of the quote and concluded that it derives from a Christian apologetic work by the 18th Century British theologian William Paley. We can neither confirm nor refute this finding, but share it here as an additional resource.


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The 18-year-old man who was fatally shot by Chicago police on Thursday died from a gunshot wound to the back, according to an autopsy report.
Paul O'Neal, of the 1700 block of E 70th St, was killed around 9 p.m. Thursday night in the city's South Shore neighborhood, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner's office.
His death has been ruled a homicide.
U.S. & World
Two Chicago Police officers were "relieved of police powers" on Friday, a department spokesperson said, adding that the officers may have "violated" policy. The third and final officer involved was relieved from duty Saturday, according to a statement from the Chicago Police Department.
"Tonight, Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson has relieved two officers of their police powers following last night's police involved shooting from 73rd and Merrill," CPD spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi said Friday.
The officers' identities were not released.
"Following the release of autopsy results from the Cook County Medical Examiner this morning, Johnson spent hours behind closed doors at police headquarters Saturday getting briefed on the results and rereviewing video evidence with Department officials," Guglielmi said in a statement Saturday.
He said the "chronology of events is complex" and still being investigated by the Independent Police Review Authority. Johnson spent the afternoon with advisors and department command staff going over the incident, Guglielmi wrote.
Around 7:30 p.m. Thursday, officers saw a Jaguar S-Type convertible that had been reported stolen from Bolingbrook, according to police. Police said they "attempted to curb" the car near 74th Street and Merrill Avenue when the Jaguar sideswiped the police vehicle and another nearby parked car.
Three officers then fired their weapons at the Jaguar, police said. O'Neal, who was in the car, was taken to an area hospital where he died, police said.
According to police, officers sustained injuries while attempting to stop the vehicle and were transported to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
The officers were wearing body cameras, police said.
"CPD investigators determined three officers discharged their weapons in the course of their duties and given what is known thus far, it appears that departmental policies may have been violated by at least two of the police officers," Guglielmi said in the email.
All three officers will be assigned to administrative positions pending the IPRA's investigation, he said.
Another police-involved shooting occurred on Chicago's South Side Thursday, when officers wounded a man suspected of robbery in the city's Englewood neighborhood.

subset: commoncrawl


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BACKGROUND IMAGE: iSTOCK/GETTY IMAGES
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iSTOCK/GETTY IMAGES
Vendors retool SRM apps
The definition of what constitutes storage resource management (SRM) depends on who you ask and what they're selling. A recent study by the Enterprise Strategy Group queried respondents on the SRM features they use most often, their most desired features and if they would purchase an SRM product without a particular feature.
- Bob Laliberte, Enterprise Strategy Group
| Storage resource management tools come in a variety of flavors and offer features that take steps toward automating your storage environment, while reporting on the efficiency of the installed storage systems.
The definition of what constitutes SRM depends on who you ask and what they're selling. The number of SRM providers has fluctuated over time as innovative startups appear, grow into independent companies, and are then acquired or fold up shop (see "Current SRM vendors," left).
Large storage vendors and ISVs tend to have larger scale, more mature platforms. Smaller ISVs and startups typically deliver deeper functionality within a narrower feature set or focus on a specific problem (e.g., capacity utilization, business continuity/ disaster recovery, etc.).
To understand the role of SRM in managing an organization's storage requirements, consider the instruments used to monitor and control a car. A wide and clear windshield is needed to see the way ahead. Easy to use and clearly marked instrumentation continuously monitors and analyzes trends, and recommends adjustments. SRM software functions in much the same way. It monitors the health and utilization of storage resources by providing managers with detailed insight relating to the real-time load being placed on storage resources by servers, switches, backup applications, archives and other systems. Due to an increasing demand for higher service levels for business applications, there's a growing need for application-aware SRM products that extend the spheres of visibility and analysis to include all of the software assets that make use of an organization's storage resources. Given the importance of SRM solutions, how many companies are actually deploying these solutions?
SRM solutions in production environments
It's interesting to note that of those organizations with active SRM solutions, 55% have been using SRM tools in production environments for three years or more. Twenty-six percent report active use for between one and two years, while 16% report active use of less than one year.
Larger organizations are more likely to use SRM tools. Almost half (49%) of surveyed enterprises have deployed SRM software in production environments, and an additional 37% are planning to because they have larger and more complex environments. By comparison, only 21% of midsized organizations have production implementations up and running. As the scale of midsized organizations' storage environments increases, and a new generation of more cost-effective and easier-to-deploy SRM tools and services become available, midsized firms will likely become more interested in SRM. This assessment is supported by reports that 46% of midsized organizations plan to deploy SRM software in their production environments in the future. This will be especially true as virtualization services become more prevalent in this market.
Recently, multiple functions are being combined to create more powerful products. As a result, the list of SRM features has continued to grow over the last five years. Today, SRM covers SAN management reporting, NAS management reporting, device and application performance monitoring and analysis, change management, topology mapping, business continuity and disaster recovery monitoring, process automation, backup reporting, fault correlation and capacity planning. More advanced features that will soon be widely available include analytic tools and policy-based automation of routine storage admin tasks. Many of these tools also feed information into organization-wide service management processes and configuration management databases.
When polled on all features used in an SRM solution, users cited capacity utilization and reporting most often (see "SRM features used most often," above). Given the pressure to optimize the data center and to reduce power and cooling requirements, this isn't a surprise. IT managers have challenged their staffs to not only drive up server utilization (through virtualization), but to increase their storage utilization rates. Why? Because this feature has the biggest impact on an enterprise's bottom line; increased storage utilization means not only deferring capital expenditures, but fewer storage arrays taking up expensive raised floor space with related power and cooling requirements. By deferring a storage purchase, the enterprise can also take advantage of year-over-year reductions in disk prices.
While this feature sounds simple, it's important to understand the capabilities of each vendor. Critical to understanding actual utilization is the ability to define not only the allocated storage in the array, but the ratio of allocation to actual usage. You need visibility into the storage from both the array and the host. This coverage is quickly growing to include the ability to track snapshots and replicated data. When additional storage is provisioned for an application, it's important to understand all of the implications of that growth.
In addition to expanding features, SRM tool vendors are delivering these features while leveraging agentless technology. Host-based agents are hard to manage, consume server resources and introduce risk. Maintaining agents in an app environment that's growing in size and complexity can be a never-ending job. Some of the newer, more innovative startup products like Aptare Inc.'s StorageConsole Capacity Manager, MonoSphere Inc.'s Storage Horizons and Tek-Tools Inc.'s Profiler for VMware, take advantage of this agentless technology. Some of the more mature products leverage agents to provide information, but are making progress in reducing the number of agents required. Firms like EMC Corp. and Symantec Corp. have recently reduced the number of agents required and all are actively trying to eliminate them where possible.
Innovative practices in this area allow for Web 2.0-like information sharing and database access so customers can construct customized reports using tools they're familiar with. For example Aptare's application can be accessed on an iPhone. EMC simplified the number of its prepackaged reports to just a few and then opened up access to its database for use with Crystal Reports and other third-party tools. Symantec launched Veritas CommandCentral Enterprise Reporter, which provides a global view of the enterprise storage environment, allowing users to link metrics from multiple data centers and consolidate reporting for the entire enterprise using simple, easy-to-use, drag-and-drop GUIs. This is an important addition to any company with multiple, geographically dispersed data centers.
The role of configuration management is expanding as well. Understanding the entire data center environment--and, more importantly, the relationships among all related devices--is becoming far more important as data centers grow in size and complexity. This is amplified by adding virtualization services to the mix. Being able to accurately understand how all of the pieces are connected or interrelated plays an integral role in troubleshooting outages and performance degradation. Going forward, discovering devices and reporting on their configuration will play an important role in automating manual processes. Onaro Inc.'s products are the best known in this space and will now deliver solutions as a part of Network Appliance (NetApp) Inc. Other notable players in this space include EMC's ControlCenter SAN Advisor, IBM Corp.'s Tivoli TotalStorage Productivity Center (TPC) and Symantec's Veritas Configuration Manager.
Backup reporting vendors have also expanded their offerings to include SRM capabilities. Those companies that have been forced to deal with regulations and compliance issues understand the importance of verifying that relevant data has been adequately backed up and is available for recovery. Aptare, Bocada Inc., Hewlett-Packard (HP) Co. and Tek-Tools all offer integrated backup reporting. In addition to supporting backup operations, some vendors are focused on providing support for replicated environments. In the event of an application outage--or worse, if an entire data center needs to fail over--ensuring that the secondary site will be able to resume operations is paramount. Some of the larger storage vendors focus their offerings only on replication, while smaller vendors are trying to provide a wider range of applicability. Companies like Continuity Software Inc., NetApp's Onaro and Symantec are focused on heterogeneous environments, while IBM concentrates on IBM-specific products.
Future needs
Among the top five responses was support for storage virtualization (third) and support for server virtualization (fifth). Given the popularity and high adoption rate of technologies like VMware, IBM System Storage SAN Volume Controller (SVC) and thin provisioning, it only makes sense that virtualization support will be a requirement for SRM solutions. In addition, it highlights that for all the benefits a new technology introduces, problems are also created. In this case, the problem lies with management. Do I trust the alerts in the thin-provisioning software? How do I know where the app resides, and is the path optimized?
Server virtualization requires SRM software because even virtualized environments need to be supported by networked storage. According to ESG research, 86% of respondents deploying server virtualization are leveraging networked storage. This is because to take advantage of all the data mobility and protection capabilities made possible by virtualization, there needs to be an infrastructure supporting it. Today, users employ a mix of Fibre Channel SANs, NAS and iSCSI SANs to accomplish this.
SRM companies only began providing support for virtualization services last year and the response has been great. EMC ControlCenter SAN Manager was the first software package to provide end-to-end support for VMware, and it sold more than 1,000 licenses in its first six months. Tek-Tools added a VMware module to its Profiler suite. Symantec CommandCentral Storage 5.0 announced support for not only VMware, but for IBM's SVC and Hitachi Data System arrays. IBM's Tivoli products provide support for SVC as well. Smaller companies have also come out with support for VMware. Akorri Inc. and NetApp's Onaro were awarded "Best of" awards at VMworld for supporting virtual environments. If your current vendor doesn't support virtualization services, ask about their roadmap; they should be in the process of addressing it.
Expect support for virtual environments to continue to grow not only in terms of functionality, but in vendor support as new products gain market share. While VMware is the current market leader in the server virtualization space, Citrix Inc.'s XenServer, Microsoft Corp.'s Veridian and Virtual Iron Software Inc.'s Virtual Iron are all players. On the storage side, IBM's SVC is a leader in the storage virtualization space; however, there are many other independent providers and thin-provisioning offerings that need to be supported.
SRM roadmaps
One trend worth tracking is the effort put into extending data center automation to storage. The result will be end-to-end visibility and control of the data center. Larger companies selling SRM tools have been making acquisitions and developing technology to create a portfolio of offerings capable of managing the entire data center. Notably, HP recently rolled Storage Essentials into the HP software group being driven by the Opsware team. EMC has been working diligently to deliver an end-to-end package with its Smarts and nLayers acquisitions, as well as by developing products, like IT Process Centre, internally. Net-App has invested several years developing its Storage Management and Applications Integration team and has augmented its internal efforts with a string of software acquisitions, most recently, Onaro.
The large vendors have been developing tools at the application layer through to backup, but they're still largely separate software packages. Even if more features were combined into a super-sized SRM package, there's some question of whether enterprise organizations could absorb them. Most are still highly siloed and require executive sponsorship for one domain to get visibility into a different area. Cultural changes will need to occur before a holistic solution can be deployed.
Standards--or rather a lack of mature standards--continue to impede progress in storage domains. Without them, heterogeneous solutions are very difficult to develop and support. Storage vendors focus their efforts on their own products first and then provide less-developed support for others. Independent firms like Symantec, Tek-Tools and startups put a lot of effort into delivering true heterogeneous solutions. Traditionally, the smaller independent companies usually start by supporting market leaders and then extending support as time and opportunity allow.
Eventually, there will be a data center OS that will fulfill the role of monitoring and managing the entire data center, automating all of its processes. It will take some time before that occurs, but that's not a reason to wait. SRM solutions offered today still deliver real value. Choose the one that will provide the most value for your environment today.
Dig Deeper on Storage market research reports
Virtual server management: Top tips on managing storage in virtual server environments
NetApp acquires Akorri for performance analysis
HDS launches Virtual Storage Platform (VSP); SANpulse launches storage discovery app
Improved storage resource management tools may deserve second chance from IT shops


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4th and 5th Grade Elementary School Science ProjectsAlthough science projects are done all through elementary school, fourth and fifth grades seem to be the most popular times for kids to be required to enter the science fair. Our parent guide will help you as you work with your child to find a great project idea, and work together on a great science experiment. We'll explain all the unfamiliar terms, guide you through the creation of a science board, and help you with that project demonstration.
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MSE Student Innovation Fund
Encouraging innovation and entrepreneurship for the future
The key to transforming the future and meeting the grand challenges of society today is innovation. For a gift of $6000, the School of Materials Science and Engineering (MSE) offers a variety of opportunities for companies to contribute to the future with an investment in our students.
The MSE Student Innovation Fund provides the School with the necessary funds to offer our students key opportunities for learning how to solve real-world problems while developing both innovative and entrepreneurial skills. The flexibility of the Innovation Fund allows us to maximize the opportunities to provide our students with skill-sets for making, and leaving, a positive impact on our national and global economy and society.
Sponsorship Opportunities
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Sponsorship Opportunities
The Undergraduate Research Scholarship Program offers top-tier students the opportunity to work on designated research projects during the summer following their freshmen year. Students are matched with faculty and industry sponsors to work in an area of mutual interest. The sponsor chooses the broad, general area of research, the student gains valuable research experience, and the company benefits from the research results.
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Design teams perfect their presentation and communication skills as they showcase their efforts at the spring Georgia Tech Capstone Design Expo, where over 1000 students, compete in front of more than 5000 sponsors, industry guests, and families. Project sponsors receive a comprehensive, final report and potential prototype following the Expo.
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Naresh Thadhani
Alyssa Barnes


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Vfbnolulu Oahu Molokai Maui Lanai Kahoolawe Hawaii Change, they say, is inevitable. Nowhere does this inevitability show itself more insistently than in Hawaii, where so much depends on staying the same, yet the thrust of everything is change. The very essence of life in the Islands is preservation of outdoor tropical beauty and placid, happy ways, yet the surge is to more hotels, more shops (more banks, too, and loan offices), more TV towers, more acres of blacktopped airports and highways. In a land where the call is from secluded beaches, who can look up with comfort to a 400-room hotel cut into the black rock? Who can learn that unspoiled children picked keawe thorns from their bare feet in these once hot sands, and still now complacently ride a golf cart across watered fairways? Who can gaze from Waikiki across the bay to Barbers Point twenty miles westward and realize those two faint silhouettes against the setting sun are stacks at the oil refinery—and not cringe? Who, indeed, can sing about his "little brown gal in the little grass skirt in the little grass shack..."', knowing that she's living in a 20th floor apartment in Waikiki? Who can? A million two hundred thousand visitors can. They came last year (for an average stay of five days). This year it will be a million four. A hundred thousand people in the armed services can, too. (Their longest stay may be three years.) And so can most of the 700,000 Island dwellers who are busy riding elevators, fighting traffic, catching planes to the Mainland; rushing to that golf course, to the yacht club, to dance at the Royal, to dig the art show, to pick up the sitter, to do their jogging; going to conferences, designing ads, washing windows, fixing cars, auditing financial statements; and generally enjoying a per capita income that puts Hawaii in 17th place among the 50 states. They are so busy they don't really have much time to think about these things. "Change?" says Herb Yamane, who became a principal in the H & S Honolulu Office in 1967. "Well, I don't know. There are lots of new buildings." And to most Honolulu and outer-island businessmen, activity means business, and business couldn't be better. Where else will you find 1967 to 1968 retail sales up 14 per cent, construction up 24 per cent, bank clearings up 19 per cent and unemployment at less than 3 per cent of the work force? It's all relative, of course. Those people who come back to the Islands today and cry shame because the road to the Pali cuts a broad swath out of verdant Nuuanu Valley are only echoing what those before them exclaimed in i960 when Hawaii became a state and gave u p any official rights to being a carefree dependency; or in 1937 when the union came to the sugar plantations; or in 1929 when the first inter-island plane service doomed the steamships; or in 1893 when Queen Liliuokalani, the last of Hawaii's royal rulers, gave way to a provisional government and eventual annexation by the U. S. in 1900. Even Captain Cook, whose first voyage of discovery was in 1788, must on his return have rued the changes—if he had time before he was killed at Kealakekua Bay by natives.


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FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) All-Star pitcher Matt Harrison and the Texas Rangers agreed Wednesday night to a $55 million, five-year contract, according to a person familiar with the deal.
The contract includes an option for a sixth season, the person said, speaking to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the team hadn't announced the agreement.
Several media outlets had reported the deal earlier, all citing anonymous sources.
Harrison was 18-11 with a 3.29 ERA in 32 starts last year for Texas and is 32-20 while tossing 399 innings over the past two seasons. He was the Rangers' starting pitcher for Game 7 of the 2011 World Series, which they lost to St. Louis.
The deal, which runs through 2017, came a day after the 27-year-old lefty filed for salary arbitration. Harrison could have become a free agent following the 2014 season. If he reaches a certain number of innings, the 2018 season could become guaranteed.
Texas acquired Harrison from Atlanta in July 2007 in a multiplayer deal that included shortstop Elvis Andrus coming to the Rangers and Mark Teixeira going to the Braves.
Harrison has a 48-30 record in 126 career games, all with the Rangers over the past five years.
With Harrison under contract, the Rangers have three of their starting pitchers signed for at least four more seasons.
Japanese ace Yu Darvish last year signed a $56 million, six-year deal with the Rangers and then won 16 games as a major league rookie. There are provisions in his contract that could allow him to become a free agent after the 2016 season.
Texas has left-hander Derek Holland under contract through at least 2016, with club options for two more years after that.


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In my January 25th blog "If I had only known I was a BRCA gene carrier sooner." I wrote about my extended family and how I could have known sooner that I was a BRCA II carrier if they had only told me. The truth is that although members of my extended family had a suspicion that there was a genetic breast cancer gene mutation in my father's family, the actual testing didn't take place until just over a year ago. Sister finally got to the core of the issue. Although we were not informed at that time, neither would it have made a difference in my circumstance. I was diagnosed with breast cancer long before that. I therefore have to let you know that they are fine people who had no intention of allowing me to suffer unnecessarily. In addition, there was such a strong link to cancer through my mother's family history that my genetics counseling group didn't suspect my father was the carrier.
I was upset to think that I could have known and perhaps been able to detect breast cancer in an earlier stage. In some way, I had found something to blame for breast cancer invading my life. I guess I just didn't realize that I needed something to blame. There is definitely an injustice that comes with being diagnosed with cancer. Nobody deserves it, and it can strike at a time when so much in your life is going right. For those of us that have endured lasting effects, it may seem simple to put on a happy face and keep marching, but in reality there are so many days when you realize that cancer has changed you.
The hardest thing that I have had to learn form the whole cancer experience is to be real with myself and those I love. I had to give up my role as the strong, unaffected soldier who came to everyone's rescue. I had to rescind my caregiver credentials and let others care for me. This has been one long hard journey of discovery. I hate to give cancer credit of any kind, but here I am a much more open, honest, vulnerable and real individual because of it. Oh heck!


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Monday, June 18, 2007
Tania and I got engaged to be married this weekend on Saturday, June 16. It's our unofficial anniversary. I guess it's official now that a ring is involved? June 16 represents the day six years ago we started "hanging out." We don't know the exact day, but it was right around then. We know because June 16 is "Bloom's Day," a day I tend to celebrate much like St Patrick's Day, Part Two. Anyway, I gave her a ring, asked if she would marry me, and she said, "Yes."
The long version:
"On June 16, James Joyce aficionados the world over celebrated Bloomsday. The day is named after advertising salesman Leopold Bloom, protagonist of Joyce's novel Ulysses. The entirety of this 700+ page book recounts one ordinary day, June 16, 1904, as various characters go about their ways in Dublin."
Joyce and Ulysses means a lot to us. Part of our month long Ireland vacation a few years ago was devoted to Joyce nonsense. We had our own Odyssey trying to find the Martello tower that served as the opening scene in the book and which Joyce actually lived for a brief time.
Tania at the top of the stairs.
Me freezing my ass off trying to be a "stately, plump Buck Mulligan."
We also visited the James Joyce museum where the actual door from Leopold Bloom's house at 7 Eccles St. is preserved.
And of course we went to a couple of pubs that appear in the story.
This is not one of the pubs. This the pub in the Clarence hotel which is owned by U2. I was trying to take a photo of my pint of Guinness but this pretty little bird kept getting in my shot.
We're completely aware of our level of nerdiness.
We were supposed to have our Gentleman's Hockey party this last weekend, but Tania said, "No hockey on our anniversary." I agreed. So the hockey party is next weekend. As the rules state, "There must be a keg, meat and ice cream and it better be fun." Except for the year "The Other Guy" won—and actually that bitch was the reason we had to make rules in the first place—every hockey party since has been a success. Although the Dog Patch Winos attended last year's and they took turns throwing each other into the cactus patch. When they sobered up, I don't think they would have considered it a success. So we decided that this last weekend would be spent in the woods camping. Not the most romantic place in the world to propose, considering the fact that I hate nature, but it would have to do.
I decided to employ the ole "Router a Hole In a Copy of Ulysses and Place the Ring in the Hole" style of proposing. It's a cliché, I know, everyone does it, but I'm a traditional kind of guy. I practiced on an old math book I had hiding behind the stacks, and once I was satisfied the router actually worked on a book, I took out a copy of Ulysses and began flipping through it to find the page I wanted to propose on. I had originally intended to do it at the beginning of Chapter Two (because, you know, this is the second chapter in our relationship), but instead I went for page 55, Chapter Four, the beginning of Book Two, which begins with a giant M. which, besides standing for "Mr. Bloom…" and "Molly" (Bloom's wife), it also stands for "Marry Me." Upside down it makes a nice W for "Will you?"
To read any Joyce, you kind of need one of the many annotations, compendiums or notes to completely appreciate his genius and what he's doing. Every chapter in Ulysses, for instance, besides paralleling a chapter in Homer's Odyssey, is also represented by a variety of symbols. The "organ" for Chapter Four is the kidney, which Bloom is frying up at the beginning of the chapter. In ancient Jewish rites, apparently, the kidneys were regarded as "the special parts to be burned upon the altar as a gift to Yahweh." Neither of us are particularly fond of kidneys, nor do we have a drop of Jewish blood in our veins (Tania, being German, is completely the opposite, as is our dachshund who, unfortunately, is decidedly anti-Semite), but if it's good enough for a Yahweh ceremony, it's good enough for our wedding. I'm sure we'll have an argument about this, but I think we should serve kidneys at the reception. "Would you like the pork kidney, or the chicken kidney?"
So there's that. I also like Chapter Four because right where I drilled the hole for the ring, Bloom's cat is winding its way around his legs while he's frying up the kidney. Gary! And I remember the first time I read that passage, I thought, "That is the best phonetic rendering of what a cat sounds like that I've ever seen on paper."
—Mrkgnao! the cat cried.
They call them stupid. They understand what we say better than we understand them. She understands all she wants to. Vindictive too. Cruel. Her nature. Curious mice never squeal. Seem to like it. Wonder what I look like to her. Height of a tower? No, she can jump me.
—Afraid of the chickens she is. He said mockingly. Afraid of the chookchooks. I never saw such a stupid pussens as the pussens.
—Mrkrgnao! The cat said loudly.
Lastly, Ulysses is about Yes. The deconstructive philosopher Jacque Derrida even wrote an entire essay about it titled, "Ulysses Gramophone: Hear Say Yes in Joyce." I've read it, but I couldn't tell you what the hell he's talking about. All I know is that the last line in the book, the last word even, is very famous: "Yes." Which is kind of what I was going for.
Everyone in our expedition went on a hike except Tania and I. Fuck hiking. We are anti hiking. I had originally intended on popping the question at the waterfall at the campground we go to—it's a very idyllic location, even a nature hater such as myself has to admire it—but to get there entails a short hike. And out of principle, we had silently vowed not to do any hiking of any sort. Plus we haven't gotten any rain, so I don't even think it would have been worth it to even walk up there anyway. The point is, their hike provided the perfect opportunity to steal away and pop the question.
"Wanna take the dog up to the end of the campsite for a short WALK?" I said. Strolling, walking, even scampering is allowed, but no hiking.
"Sure," she said.
I had my little bike messenger bag with my new camera and the drilled out copy of Ulysses, laden with ring, inside. The ring fit snugly in the hole, but I had a rubber band around the book just in case. Carrying the full bag on a short walk was a little peculiar, but Tania didn't say anything. We walked through the campsite commenting on all the sites we passed.
"Oh there's the loud Asian family we almost had as neighbors," Tania said pointing at a group of Asians unpacking.
"It's hard to tell if someone is really a boy scout these days," she said as we passed a teenager in a boy scout uniform, "or if they just got it at a thrift store."
I don't know how she does it, but Tania, even after a night of drinking in the dirt next to a fire she somehow manages to look beautiful. She is simply awesome. Unlike Beckett who panted at the end of his leash and barked at imaginary devil rats. I love that girl. I tried to put my arm around her, but failed because I had dislocated my shoulder the day before in a croquet related accident. Yes, I dislocated my shoulder playing croquet. When we go camping we play "Rugged Mountain Terrain Croquet." I don't play golf, but Jason likens it to the Master's Tournament that just went down at whatever that "gnarly" course is. Anyway, we're totally gnarly. Extreme even. We had set up a couple of wickets on one side of a felled log and dug a hole under the log through which you had to hit your ball to get to the next wicket. Once I finally got through, I went to climb over the log and I tried to employ a hunk of bark as a kind of step. The bark, however, gave way and I fell. I threw my arm up in the air and, POP! out of the socket. I don't think I squealed, but I fell to the ground and instantly thought, "Arm out of socket! Very far from hospital! Shit!" But just as Tania arrived at my side, POP! it slid back into place all by itself. I don't thank God for anything, but if I did, that would have been a perfect opportunity.
"Shit," I said while walking beside her, "I want to put my arm around you, but I can't lift it that high."
"Aww," she said.
My second choice, after the waterfall, for a place to pop the question was this little stone plateau above a creek and in the shadow of a miniature Yosemite-ish rock. I remembered it looking fairly majestic, but as we approached it was anything but. Just a bunch of dirt in the hot sun, not a tree in sight and a small pool of still water below. "Shit," I thought. I was already getting really nervous. I wasn't really worried about her answer, we've talked about marriage a lot, but I just didn't want to fuck it up. I wanted it to be romantic. I wanted it to be something we'd remember. But here we were in what might as well have been the parking lot at the county fair.
"Oh well," I said, "it's now or never."
I got out my camera and took a few pictures to stall for time and kind of figure out how I was going to do this. She posed with Beckett for a couple. Once I got myself together, I said, "Well it is Bloom's Day, after all. And I brought a copy of Ulysses." Which I hoped still contained a very expensive ring.
"Oh god," she said laughing.
"But this is a really special copy," I said kind of shaking.
"What?" she said. She was suddenly paying attention because I think she sensed how nervous I was. It was about this point that everything gets kind of blurry.
"Yeah," I stammered trying to take the rubber bands off. Once I opened it and found the page (the ring was there), I dropped to one knee and proffered her the text and the ring. "Because Book Two begins with the sentence, 'Will you marry me?'"
The words felt weird. Not bad weird, good weird, but really heavy. "Our lives have just changed," I thought. "Cool."
Tania was stunned. It took her a second to realize what was going on, but eventually she was able to choke out a, "Yes."
Above us, on the trail we had just left, a boy scout troop was passing. I had always envisioned asking for her hand in at least a semi-private environment. I'm not one to do it in a crowd, or at a restaurant. But unfortunately that's just what I did. "WOOOO!" they screamed. "YEAAAAAH!" "WAY TO GO!" I didn't even look up. I was too busy kissing my fiancée who had tears streaming down her face.
When we were done, she turned to the last page of the book and read the last words, "'…yes,'" she said, "'I said yes I will Yes.'"
this is tania before the ring. see how she's all bummed? lost? unwed?
then you give her a ring and she pipes right up!
"love you tania!"
"love you david!"
"we love each other!"
10 comments:
- Heather said...
Sharan asked me if I cried when I came back from the hike and heard you were engaged. I can now say that I did cry, with multiple happy tears and few sniffles. Congratulations to two amazing people.
- June 18, 2007 at 5:32 PM
- Heather said...
- This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
- June 18, 2007 at 5:34 PM
- Unknown said...
That was my favorite story to read on a random Tuesday in the middle of June. Yer such a big ol softie Dave. I am so happy for you two- if you were near I might be tempted to squish your faces together and babble at you and probably even tear up a bit because I am sappy like that. happy happy day.
- June 19, 2007 at 7:34 AM
- magiclaughter said...
- This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
- June 19, 2007 at 7:37 AM
- Unknown said...
Awesome and Romantic!
congratulations both of you!!!
can't wait to see you two.
xxoox fran
- June 19, 2007 at 10:43 AM
- Jim Fitzpatrick said...
Hey, congratulations.
Here's to Joyce and both of you!
And to you and yours...and when you and yours come across mine and ours, I'm sure you and yours will do as much for mine and ours, as mine ours will do for you and yours!
Let me know if you want a 'sinister minister' to officiate your ceremony, I might be available!
- June 20, 2007 at 9:50 AM
- Christian said...
Most awesometacular!
Nice work, fella!
If you need a wedding DJ, I promise not to play Bad Company!
I am also ordained so can do the whole Dj'n minister thing but the 'sinister minister' dude sounds proper. Man, if I can get catering sorted, then I can just go straight into weddings. Screw this freesports crap. There's way more money in weddings.
The UK is very happy for all ya'll. MUCH LOVE from this side of the pond.
Christian, Naya, Blue, Noah, & Frasier!
- June 21, 2007 at 8:46 AM
- Christian said...
- This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
- June 21, 2007 at 8:47 AM
- heatherleeroach said...
totally gay dude.
- June 21, 2007 at 3:12 PM
- Unknown said...
I'm glad you're a man who could offer your honor.
So for the rest of your life you should be on her and off her.
- August 13, 2007 at 2:05 PM


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Outland needed a new logo design and created a contest on 99designs.
A winner was selected from 206 designs submitted by 82 freelance designers.
We're looking for a logo for our store - Femme Fatale, that sells shoes, bags and accessories for women.
Femme Fatale
Desired Color Scheme:
gold and black, but not necessary
Desired Style:
Accepted File Formats:
Vector Formats (.eps, .pdf or .ai)
Logo should convey: femininity, exclusivity and sensuality.
Find out how a design contest works or learn more about our logo design services.


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Odom's numbers through 11 games: 19.5 minutes, 6.6 points, 4.7 rebounds. And this excoriating column in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram:
But even if Odom is acting instead of playing basketball, he has already qualified as our runaway No. 1 in the local jock kingdom when it comes to a sniveling, whining, self-pitying fool.
Stick a pacifier in his mouth and a playbook in his paws. Shut up, Lamar, and start reading.
But just three weeks into a new NBA season, Odom, without question, is the biggest bust in the NBA. The real worry is he doesn't even seem to care that he's the biggest bust in the NBA.
Armchair psychology qualified by the fact that the author, Randy Galloway, is a radio guy, and this is textbook drive-time shit-stirring. Still, it's impressive to see an NBA trade where both sides feel like they got screwed.
Dallas Mavericks, Lamar Odom no perfect match [Fort Worth Star-Telegram]


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Industry veteran active in numerous civic efforts.
OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. – Arvest Bank is pleased to announce Ben Purkeypile has been promoted to vice president, commercial banker.
Previously an assistant vice president, commercial banker, Purkeypile will continue to generate, evaluate and approve commercial loans, among other duties. He will office at Arvest's 3900 N. Lincoln branch in Oklahoma City.
Purkeypile has nine years of banking experience, including serving as assistant vice president of business banking most recently at BancFirst. He also worked previously at Citizens Bank of Edmond, during which time he was selected as a member of The Business Times' Top 20 under 40 class of 2013.
Purkeypile studied English and business administration at both Emporia State and the University of Central Oklahoma. He is active in numerous community and civic groups, including the Edmond Area Chamber of Commerce, Edmond Young Professionals, Rotary Club of Edmond, Oklahoma Rural Water Association, and Oklahoma Municipal Contractors Association. Purkeypile and his wife, Jamie, have three children.
Submitted questions will be answered by an Arvest banker and may appear on the Arvest Blog.
All Arvest banks are Equal Housing Lenders and Member FDIC.
Investment products and services are provided by Arvest Investments, Inc., doing business as Arvest Asset Management, member FINRA/SIPC, an SEC registered investment adviser and a subsidiary of Arvest Bank. Trust services are provided by Arvest Bank. Insurance products are made available through Arvest Insurance, Inc., which is registered as an insurance agency. Insurance products are marketed through Arvest Insurance, Inc., but are underwritten by insurance companies.
Securities and Insurance Products: Not Insured by FDIC or any Federal Government Agency, May Lose Value, Not a Deposit of or Guaranteed by a Bank or any Bank Affiliate.


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It is really easy to download videos from ceskatelevize & convert them using MyVid. It's a fast, secure, reliable ceskatelevize video downloader online. Try it out!
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GENEVA (Reuters) - Brazil's Roberto Azevedo has won the race to become the next head of the World Trade Organization, the first candidate from the BRIC club of emerging economies to take the job.
The career trade diplomat now faces a huge challenge to reinvigorate the global body, which has failed to wrap up the Doha trade liberalization talks after years of stalemate and risks becoming irrelevant without a breakthrough.
Azevedo beat Mexico's Herminio Blanco, widely seen as the favored choice of the United States, in the final round of the contest to succeed France's Pascal Lamy on Tuesday.
The result of the selection process was meant to be secret until a formal announcement on Wednesday but diplomats close to the talks named him as the winning candidate on Tuesday and he later confirmed his victory on his website.
"My candidacy had a very broad base of support from all kinds of countries," Azevedo wrote.
He will become the first Latin American to head the trade body since its creation in 1995 once Lamy steps down on Aug 31.
Both Brazil and Mexico had pushed the case for their candidates hard, seeking to cement their status as growing economic powers.
Azevedo, who has up to now been Brazil's ambassador to the WTO, had touted his ability to listen to all sides in a negotiation and to find solutions by quietly building consensus, a contrast with Blanco's idea of using the business sector to force governments to make deals happen.
"Selecting Roberto Azevedo means a lot to many in the WTO system who have been looking for a non-dogmatic perspective on trade liberalization," said Ricardo Melendez-Ortiz, a former Colombian trade negotiator who now heads the International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development in Geneva.
The global trade talks that began in Doha in 2001 reached deadlock in 2011, forcing the WTO to focus on a far smaller package of trade reforms and prompting many countries to pursue bilateral and regional trade deals instead, such as the U.S.-led Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).
Even the smaller package of reforms - widely seen as a crucial first step - is proving hard to agree on. At the same time the WTO's global rules risk getting drowned out by the plethora of regional deals now being negotiated.
In Washington, the National Foreign Trade Council, a leading U.S. business group, praised Azevedo's experience and the focus he had placed on consensus-building in Geneva, but warned that there was a big job ahead.
"The next head of the WTO faces two critical tasks in steering the membership toward a successful outcome to the ministerial conference this December in Indonesia," the NFTC's vice president Jake Colvin said in a statement.
The Indonesia meeting - the WTO's biennial ministerial conference, which will be held in Bali - will be a baptism of fire for the new director general.
The WTO is struggling to get an agreement lined up for the meeting, despite massively pruning its ambitions after its Doha failures.
The Bali deal aims to cut bureaucracy by standardizing customs procedures, lending a potential trillion-dollar boost to the world economy, while introducing new rules to promote food security and concessions for poorer countries.
It could also massively reinvigorate the WTO's confidence in its own ability to reform the global trade rules, opening the path to more global negotiations in future.
But the United States and others have warned that on the current trajectory, the WTO is not going to get a deal in Bali, forcing a huge burden of expectation onto Azevedo.
He beat eight other candidates in a contest overseen by three WTO ambassadors, who totted up the support of the 159 member countries to settle on a single winner after three rounds of competition.
Sources involved in the contest said Blanco got a late boost from narrowly winning the European Union's support, although the bloc made clear that it could accept either man. Azevedo still managed to secure wider backing among the WTO's 159 members.
Reporting by Tom Miles, additional reporting by Alonso Soto, Anthony Boadle and Doug Palmer; Editing by Stephanie Nebehay and Andrew Heavens


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Can I Buy a Higher Benefit?
This and 3 other unusual questions answered
Adam Voorhes
En español | Q: I'm 71, still working and collecting Social Security. When I retire soon, I'll have a $150,000 lump sum coming to me from my employer. Can I give the $150,000 to Social Security and get an increase in my monthly benefit?
A. Sorry, but the answer is no. That's not the way Social Security works. Social Security benefits are based on your lifetime earnings — in particular your highest 35 years. There is simply no way for you to add earnings this way to your record.
So you'll have to find another way to use your $150,000. You might consider seeking advice from a certified financial planner (CFP) in your community. Try the Financial Planning Association at www.fpanet.org or, for fee-only planners, try the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors at www.napfa.org.
Q: My mother died at age 52, my father at age 58. What happens to all the money that they paid into Social Security and never collected?
A. Basically, the money has already been used to pay benefits to other people, whether they're the children of a 30-year-old widow or retirees who've lived into their 80s or 90s. Social Security is not like a retirement account, in which you put money that accumulates interest and comes back to you as benefits. Rather, today's contributions fund benefits for today's beneficiaries. Had your parents lived long enough to begin benefits, their monthly checks would have been funded by contributions of people still working.
Community: Share your fears about Social Security. Join the Discussion
In the Social Security system, some workers will contribute more than they will receive in benefits, while others will contribute less. To that extent, Social Security is a bit of a gamble. Perhaps that's one of the reasons many people take their Social Security benefits at 62, the earliest age they can do so, even though the amount they get is reduced.
Q: I've heard that my ex-husband has died. I've asked Social Security if his death will increase my Social Security benefit. But I am told I must furnish his death certificate before my question can be answered. What can I do to get his death certificate?
A. Social Security can sometimes make some awkward demands on us concerning paperwork. Someone in your position probably wouldn't want to approach the former spouse's family for a copy of the death certificate.
But state governments have offices of "vital records" or "vital statistics" that can provide various personal documents, including death certificates. An online search for your ex-husband's state's name and "vital records" should turn it up. But beware: Fees and rules on who can and can't get a death certificate vary by state. Good luck on your search.
See also: Divorce and Social Security benefits
Q: In the past, I received statements from Social Security giving my income for each year. However, I noticed that a few years of my earnings were missing. How do I go about getting Social Security to include those earnings in my work record so they can be increase my retirement benefits?
A. There are two things you should know. First, there's a regular process for correcting errors on your earnings record. Second, there's a time limit for correcting errors, but that rule has a number of exceptions which may work to your advantage.
Start by calling Social Security at 800-772-1213 (TTY 800-325-0778) between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. Monday-Friday. Or contact a Social Security office. People there will work with you. To show that earnings are missing, you'll want to provide several documents, such as W-2s, pay stubs or tax returns. But even if you don't have these, Social Security may be able to run down missing amounts using its own records or your employer's.
As for the time limits, the rule book says that you have three years, three months and 15 days after the close of the tax year in which you earned the money to correct any errors. But there are exceptions to this deadline if an omission was caused by Social Security's own failure to update your records properly. If the deadline has passed for you, ask Social Security if you qualify for an exception.
Stan Hinden, a former columnist for the Washington Post, wrote How to Retire Happy: The 12 Most Important Decisions You Must Make Before You Retire. Have a question? Check out the AARP Social Security Question and Answer Tool.
Member Discounts! Discover great deals and saving through AARP membership
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text:
UK patent office spawns free search site
Hopefully no one's patented that
The Intellectual Property Office (IPO) has launched a new online service to reduce the cost to business of requesting patent documents.
Named Ipsum, the service allows users to obtain a document for free rather than pay a £5 application fee. The Department of Business, Innovation and Skills claimed the service could save UK businesses nearly £100,000 a year.
The department also made the point that, under the old system, patent documents were often out of date once they had been sent in the post.
Ipsum is open to anyone, although the department expects the main users will be businesses researching patents, and patent attorneys helping clients to protect their IP rights and potential investors to understand specific patent applications.
Minister for intellectual property Baroness Wilcox said: "Ipsum is free so it removes unnecessary costs for businesses. The service will give businesses, universities and consumers instant access to the information they need so they can understand the progress of patent applications and save money.
"Patent examiners around the world will also benefit as they can now immediately understand why the UK Intellectual Property Office did, or did not, grant a patent. This could help reduce the global backlog of applications benefiting UK business hoping to get their patents processed in another country."
The IPO has launched Ipsum as part of the government's response to the Hargreaves Review of Intellectual Property and Growth, which highlighted that patent backlogs can have a negative effect on innovation and growth.
This article was originally published at Guardian Government Computing.
Guardian Government Computing is a business division of Guardian Professional, and covers the latest news and analysis of public sector technology. For updates on public sector IT, join the Government Computing Network here.
Sponsored: Detecting cyber attacks as a small to medium business


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These handmade Kenyan one-of-a-kind baskets are made from sisal and food-grade plastic. Mifuko collaborates with over 600 Kenyan female artisans to create these beautiful and durable baskets.Traditional craft together with modern design create high-quality and elegant products. This helps to maintain the traditional weaving skills and provides income and wellbeing to the communities. Every Kiondo basket is signed by the woman who has made it, this way every basket carries the story of its maker.
Materials partly recycled food grade plastic, sisal and leather handles
Care instructions Wipe clean with damp cloth or rinse with water. Do not rub. Let dry.
Kiondo baskets and bags
Kiondo baskets are perfect for storage; toys, clothes, hats and magazines fit neatly in the baskets, but they work also as elegant fashion accessories. They are beautifully designed, extremely durable and easy to keep clean, and aren't afraid of little water either.
The baskets are handmade in Kenya, by women self-help groups in rural villages. Traditional skill is passed on to the younger generation. With the income the women can invest in their farms, ensure their children's education and plan for the future. Mifuko is a certified member of World Fair Trade Organization and all products are produced following the principles of Fair Trade.
Please note that all of our products are handmade, so size and shape may vary slightly. + /- 3 cm
XS - height 16 cm, diameter 15 cm / S - height 21 cm, diameter 24 cm / M - height 28 cm, diameter 30 cm / L - height 40 cm, diameter 35 cm
XL - height 53 cm and diameter 40 cm, XXL - height 30 cm and diameter 50 cm
Photos: Uupi Tirronen


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A 14-year-old girl riding a city bus in Queens, New York, Saturday on her way home from a sweet-16 party was shot in the head and killed by a stray bullet from gunfire on the street, police said.
Police identified the victim Sunday as Daja Robinson of South Jamaica.
Robinson was sitting about three rows from the back of the Q6 bus at about 8:45 p.m. near Sutphin and Rockaway boulevards in South Jamaica when the shot came through the bus and killed her.
U.S. & World
Stories that affect your life across the U.S. and around the world.
The shots were fired toward the bus while it was moving, according to police. Investigators recovered nine bullet shell casings.
Robinson was with two friends returning from the party at Onyx Lounge on Rockaway Boulevard, according to Police Commissioner Ray Kelly.
Kelly said police didn't believe Robinson was the intended target, and they are looking into possible gang involvement in the shooting.
No arrests have been made.


text:
Haven't found anything yet?
• living world: living room, bedroom, hallway
• material: non-woven
• high quality - made in Germany - highly wash resistant
• good lightfastness, dry strippable
• euro role: 10,05 x 0,53 m; 11 yd x 21'' – match: offset match 32 cm/12.6''
Funky Flair 2015
… always in fashion: hand made
The new "Funky Flair" wallpaper collection expresses the temperament and passion of Spanish folklore. .
Woven, braided, embroidered, knitted: the new materials emerging in wall-covering and interior trends are actually age-old. Handcrafted, in other words. It's hardly surprising – interiors with hand-made elements, whether floors, textiles or wallpaper, have a particular flair. They evoke foreign cultures, they're tangible, credible and authentic. .
The new rasch taste collection Funky Flair brings artisanal skills to modern, colourful wallpaper designs. This means elaborately worked textile designs from the "Culture" style world which call on time-honoured handcraft techniques and lend them new life. Naturally this means that the weave isn't always identical. Sometimes coarse, sometimes fine, these textile textures give walls a whole new look and create an atmosphere which is at once cosy and chic. Along with various check designs, there are circular weave wallpaper patterns whose graphic arrangements lend walls a modern flair. .
One of the highlights of Funky Flair is a stylised nature motif. The tendrils of this vine stay fresh all year long on high-quality flock wallpaper, while colourful birds hop from branch to branch, shimmering gently in the sunlight. And there's an extensive range of plains to round out the collection. With a coarse linen texture, these colours stand out as a visual and tactile experience. The natural qualities of the fabric ensure each wall is completely individual. Monochrome non-woven paper can be creatively combined to bring your space alive with colour which pops but never clashes. The palette ranges from subdued tones like beige, brown, taupe, light grey and cream through to luminous shades such as ochre yellow, turquoise, yellowy green and warm brown-orange. For funky, hand-made designs, "Funky Flair" is the best choice – hands down.. .


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By Brand
UK distributor of the following brands
If you are a trade company and are interested in stocking any of the ranges listed above, please contact us by email (firstname.lastname@example.com) or call us on 0203 475 89 89. We will happy to discuss your requirements and assist you to open a trade account with us.
Le Petit Olivier is a well established French company offering a comprehensive range of body, skin and hair care products as well as a SPA range.
Kae is an organic range of skin and hair products combining argan with essential oils.
Nizou is a range of scented candles, made of vegetable wax and hand-poured in the UK, with subtle fragrances.
For wholesale information please contact us


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What is a Traffic Calming and Traffic Safety Investigation?
A Traffic Calming and Traffic Safety Investigation is an evaluation conducted by DDOT that responds directly to targeted citizen concerns regarding traffic speed, volume, and type, as well as behavior such as aggressive driving. The assessment and investigation are aimed at developing short-term, high-impact measures to manage or tame traffic flow in areas where problems are observed. Assessments and safety Investigations are performed within clearly defined geographic areas such as blocks in sequence (i.e., 300 to 500 block on a specific street) or parallel blocks (i.e., 400 blocks on three adjacent streets). Desired outcomes of the Traffic Calming and Traffic Safety Investigation process may include a reduction in traffic speed, enhanced residential comfort, and improved general safety for pedestrians and bicyclists.
Traffic Calming Measures Available for Residential Neighborhoods in the District
The following physical traffic calming measures may be installed in residential neighborhoods in the District:
Bulb-out / Curb Extension: An extension of a curb in the form of a bulb, usually at an intersection, that narrows the vehicular pathway and inhibits fast turns, and shortens the crossing distance for pedestrians.
Chicane: A series of fixed objects, usually extensions of the curb, which alter a straight roadway into a zigzag or serpentine path to slow vehicles.
Choker: A narrowing of the fixed street, often mid-block and sometimes near an intersection. Might be done with curb extensions, landscaping or islands in the street.
Neighborhood Traffic Circle: A small circular island, usually less than 26 ft in diameter, used in the middle of intersections and intended to force vehicular traffic to slow and negotiate around it. When used in residential areas, they can be landscaped for aesthetic or barrier purposes and may have mountable curbs to facilitate movement of emergency vehicles.
Diagonal Diverter: A partition that connects two diagonally opposite curbs, bisecting the intersection, to force motor vehicles to slow down and turn. A traversable barrier allows emergency vehicles, as well as bicyclists and pedestrians, to cross over.
Forced Turns: These are islands used on approaches to an intersection that force drivers to turn in only one direction (usually right).
Full Street Closures: Barriers placed across an entire width of the street to completely close the street to through-traffic, usually leaving only sidewalks open. Full street closures are also referred to as cul-de-sacs or dead ends.
Gateways / Entry Treatments: Alterations in the pavement surface, with bricks, stamped concrete, or other colored materials intended to signal to drivers that they are entering a neighborhood or community that requires lower speeds. Pillars and archways are sometimes used to complement gateways.
Half Closures / Semi-diverters: Barriers that block travel in one direction for a short distance on an otherwise two-way street.
Median Barriers: Narrow islands constructed between travel lanes through an intersection. Median barriers are intended to prevent left turns from the major street and through movements along the minor street.
Raised Crosswalk: A traditional pedestrian crossing area purposely raised above the normal pavement surface level in order to give motorist and pedestrians a better view of the crossing area.
Raised Intersection: The entire area of the intersecting streets is purposely raised above normal pavement surface level in order to reduce vehicle speed through the intersection and provide a better view of pedestrians and motorists in the intersection.
Rumble Strip: Pavement surface treatments intended to cause drivers to experience vehicular vibrations signaling the drivers to slow down.
Speed Bumps: Narrow mountable obstructions installed on the pavement surface, across the traveled lanes, and intended to cause vehicles to slow to almost stop. Speed bumps are usually less than 14 inches wide and 4 inches high.
Speed Humps: Similar to speed bumps, but utilize larger vertical radii that result in wider widths and a gentler crossing by vehicles.
Speed Tables: Wide mountable obstructions installed on the pavement surface across the travel lanes, and intended to cause vehicles to slow. Speed tables are similar to speed humps, except for the flat-topped section located between the approach and far edges; are generally wider than speed humps and are gentler on vehicles.
On-Street Parking: On-street parking provides increased safety by placing a physical barrier between moving vehicles and pedestrians and reduces the speed of traffic traveling adjacent to the parked vehicles.


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Analog ultrasonic sensor
For lubricant reservoirs bigger than five litres
Virtually maintenance free, the SKF Ultrasonic sensor utilizes ultrasonic waves to provide a non-contact measurement of the distance to the lubricant surface. Depending on the preset window limits, a distance-proportional analog signal is output. The sensor's two-color LED indicates operation and the status of the analog output.
Feature and benefits:
- Reliable fill-level monitoring
- Easier maintenance
- Improved monitoring of pump function
- No reservoir blind zones
- Analog output
Continuous level message


text:
Ready To Use Tempera Paint
by Prang
Bright non-settling colors blend easily with creamy smooth textures and good working characteristics. Great paint for today's busy classroom. Available in 16 oz. bottles. AP certified non-toxic. Made in the USA.
?Ask a question about this product | See all questions & answers (2)
Average User Rating: Based on (4 Reviews)
Pamela J. from Silver Spring, MD says:
I have ordered from other companies and while they were good, I didn't know what great was until I popped open the first jar of the paint!! It was gorgeous! great consistancy! Some tempura's dry crunchy,...[more]
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Product Questions and Answers
Can the Prang Ready-to-use Tempera Paint be used on tile for a kid's art craft?- Asked by Toni C. on 13-Dec-13
Tempera is not as effective on tile as a non-toxic craft acrylic. Tempera does not have the right viscosity or adhesion for tiles. Acrylics have a polymer additive which allows them to stick to the tile more effectively. Porcelaine 150 China Paints are non-toxic, safe for children, and specifically designed for non-porous materials like tiles. However, they are not food-safe and should be used for decorative purposes only.- Answered by MisterArt on 16-Dec-13
Is this product washable?- Asked by Maria M. on 05-Sep-12
This product can be washed off with warm water and soap. This paint is not recommended for painting the face and or body, however.- Answered by MisterArt on 10-Oct-12
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