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Earlier in 2012, I had my first memoir/humor book published called "PregMANcy: A Dad, A Little Dude and a Due Date," published by Chalice Press. The book follows my wife second pregnancy with our daughter, Zoe (now 3 years old) from conception (more or less) to birth. Suffice it to say I was less than enthralled by the idea of getting pregnant again, so this book was my way of dealing with my own neuroses.
At one point, my wife, Amy, asked me what my biggest fears were about having another kid. So, like any good writer, I compiled an entire list of worries. Below is the first half of the list, with the final five and the conclusion to the chapter coming tomorrow.
Don't ever kill me, OK? Killing me is not safe.
—Mattias, 3 years, 0 months
"What's your greatest fear about having another baby?"
I don't think Amy was just goading me when she asked me this back in the early stages of impending double fatherhood, but she knows we're both pretty good worriers (though I'd argue she's better at it than I am, and since I'm the one writing this book, we'll assume she'd agree with me).
Talk about an open invitation to worry! I don't spend a lot of energy worrying about day-to-day matters; I'm more of a saver. But when something comes along that's really worth worrying about, you can bet I'll draw down that worry account a bit.
After Amy asked me the fateful question, I started compiling a mental list. I figure I'll lay out at least my top ten here for your edification, or at least for simple amusement:
#10. We could have twins: I can't base this on any real facts, but it seems I've read or heard or seen somewhere the older people are, the greater chance they have of multiple births. I suppose I could go look this up and settle it in my own mind one way or the other, but it's a lot more fun to worry about it. Twins don't run in the bloodlines on either side of the family, but that's all the more reason to worry about it, right? Aren't we probably due?
Imagining a baby in each arm is just about enough to make me pass out. And that doesn't even begin to touch the effect it would have on my wife, who plans to breastfeed as long as she can. Hell, I'd never see those puppies again. I'll be lucky if they don't fall off, right on to the floor, by the time the twin suckers are done with them.
#9. He/she could end up like me: All things considered, I think I have an amazing life, but it hasn't been all wine and roses getting to this point. I may tell you more about the summer I spent in lockdown at a psychiatric hospital, and the years I mixed my anti-anxiety meds with beer and weed, but suffice it to say, for the sake of my worry list, there are significant parts of myself that I have no interest in passing on to my progeny.
It's really too early to know if Mattias will struggle with some of the same problems that I had—that I still have—but I am pretty sure that if he does, I can cover therapy for one kid.
Add another one to the mix and, considering my history, it seems a little bit like playing psychological Russian roulette.
#8. He/she could end up like any number of our relatives: I know I run the risk of bruising some egos with this statement, but most people in my family, or Amy's family, will readily admit that we have a plenitude of addicts, going back many generations. My dad and I haven't spoken in more than two years due to problems revolving around addiction and related issues. His father started most mornings with a cocktail, and he found his mother—my great-grandmother—in the garage of their house after she had shot herself.
My grandmother on my mom's side has been known to rely heavily on an exotic combination of prescription pain meds and muscle relaxers and was prone to washing them down with some white zinfandel, at least back before she and my grandfather moved into my mom's house. I'll leave Amy to spill her own beans, but more than a handful of her immediate relatives have gratefully found a new life in recovery, while others arguably still actively practice self-destructive behavior.
I don't want to sound like I'm knocking addicts; on the contrary, Amy and I tend to love them. In fact, those who have struggled with addiction and lived to tell about it often are the most charming, funny, and interesting people I know. On the other hand, that addiction is always there, just under the surface, and is most likely to rear its head when ignored or minimized.
We go to great lengths to teach Mattias solid judgment, self-care, moderation, and recognizing the difference between needs and wants. But every now and then, I see these obsessive little glimmers in his personality that make me wonder if he has that same unscratchable itch. To witness a child succumb to the ravages of addiction is about the worst fate I can imagine, and not unlike the whole depression-anxiety I have, it seems a bit like we're tempting fate with another one.
#7. We can't afford it: I know, who ever has room in their budget for another kid? Of course, when priorities present themselves like this you find a way, but the financial stress can be a killer. Maybe we ought to move, sell a car, or donate plasma. If being a sperm donor was a cash cow industry, I might go that route since I'm obviously not planning to use any of my man-juice for my own purposes anymore.
This doesn't even begin to take care of birth-related expenses. With both of us being self-employed, we have crappy insurance, to put it mildly. We have a $5,000 annual deductible and, oh, did I mention maternity isn't covered? Brilliant.
#6. Birth defects: If I'm going to put my worries out there, I can't leave this one out. I'm going to be thirty-seven years old, after all, by the time this baby arrives, and Amy will be thirty four. Though we're not technically considered to fall in the highest-risk age brackets yet, we're not that far from it. And it doesn't help that, a few months ago, some close friends of ours gave birth to a daughter with Downs Syndrome. Like them, we would love the kid no matter what and, also like them, we'd find the good in the unexpected. But for now, before we know any better, all I end up doing is worrying about it.
I know that part of this concern comes from my career before I started working with nonprofits, back when I worked in clinics for kids with learning disabilities. I saw kids with everything from mild dyslexia to autism, cerebral palsy, and worse. There was one family in particular that I remember who had three of the sweetest kids I'd ever met in my life. The thing is, all three had an incredibly rare disease that not only affected their development but also was expected to prove fatal for all of them before they graduated high school.
Nevertheless, the parents insisted on trying to provide every opportunity to help their children's lives be as normal as possible, and I felt blessed to be a part of those hopeful moments. But every day they didn't make it to the clinic because the buildup of fluid in their brains caused migraines or made them lose feelings in their limbs, it tore me up inside.
It was all I could do to hold it together for those three little guys, and they weren't even my kids. What the hell will I do if I have one of my own?
(Part two of this two-part article will be published tomorrow, October 25th, 2012. For more about the memoir, PregMANcy, click the link on the title. Photos of Mattias and Zoe Piatt courtesy of their Dad.)
Christian Piatt is an author, editor, speaker, musician and spoken word artist. He is Director if Church Growth and Development at First Christian Church in Portland, Ore. Christian is the creator and editor of "Banned Questions About The Bible" and "Banned Questions About Jesus." His new memoir on faith, family and parenting is called "PREGMANCY: A Dad, a Little Dude and a Due Date."
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Fresh strawberries cooked with agave get folded into Greek yogurt and whipped topping to create pretty swirls of fruit and cream. Serving this in a clear glass cup or champagne flute allows the pretty ribbons of red and white to show through.
For those of you that may be unfamiliar with a fool, a fool is a quick and easy dessert that is made with fresh fruit that has been simmered with sugar and folded with fresh whipped cream. This skinny version tastes just as good as the full fat version, making it a perfect summer treat.
I have yet to figure out how to make a low fat whipped cream from scratch, but I recently found an all natural whipped topping at my organic market called truwhip. It contains neither high fructose corn syrup nor hydrogenated oil, and is delicious! Their website has a store finder so you can locate it at a store near you. If you prefer to use Cool Whip Free, I've given you the nutritional info for that as well for you to decide.
Skinny Strawberry Fool (with Truwhip)
For the strawberries:
- 1 1/2 lbs 3 1/2 cups strawberries, washed, hulled, cut in half
- 1/3 cup agave nectar, sugar or Splenda would work
- pinch of salt
- 1/2 tsp grated lemon zest
- 1 1/2 tsp fresh lemon juice
- 8 oz truwhip, or Cool Whip Free
- 12 oz fat free Vanilla Chobani
- Combine the strawberries, agave, and salt in a medium bowl and stir until the strawberries are coated in agave.
- Mash with a potato masher until half of the strawberries are smashed, but some medium sized chunks remain.
- Cook the strawberries over high heat, stirring occasionally, until bubbles form along the edge, about 5 minutes.
- Skim any foam from the surface with a spoon and discard.
- Add the lemon zest and lemon juice, stir to combine and bring to a full boil, about 2 minutes more.
- Remove from heat, skim foam and discard.
- Transfer to a container and let it cool to room temperature.
- Refrigerate until cold, about 30 minutes.
- When the strawberry sauce is cooled, gently fold the whipped topping in a large bowl along with the yogurt.
- Gently fold the strawberry sauce with the whipped cream to create pretty swirls and place in 6 glasses.
Last Step:
Please leave a rating and comment letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business to thrive and continue providing free, high-quality recipes for you.Notes
Servings: 6 • Serving Size: 3/4 cup • Old Points: 3 pts • Points+: 5 pts
Calories: 182 • Fat: 0.4 g • Protein: 5.9 g • Carb: 37.4 g • Fiber: 2.1 g
Sodium: 73 mg

subset: commoncrawl


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Both Israeli officials and citizens defend the action as necessary to restore deterrence by making Hamas understand the high cost of shooting their rockets into southern Israel. For example, in today's New York Times, peacenik David Grossman even while making the case for restraint emphasizes this logic:
NOW, after the heavy blow that Israel has dealt to the Gaza Strip, we would do best to halt, turn to the leaders of Hamas and tell them: Until last Saturday, we restrained ourselves in responding to the thousands of Qassam rockets fired at us. Now you know how severe the retaliation can be.
But as with the criminal law, deterrence works well to curb opportunism among those actors who already have strong incentives to continue non-aggressive (even if generally chilly) relations, but works very poorly to curb those actors who have no incentives to avoid the chaos of crime or war; and indeed may have psychic or political incentives to foment violence and chaos.
Is Israel's deterrence broken? There are dozens of Arab and Muslim states in Israel's vicinity. None of them, not even the broken state of Lebanon, has lifted a military finger against Israel. Deterrence works. However for Hamas and for the people of Gaza generally, the base line conditions of life are not high enough to establish the normal incentives that deterrence presumes. If life is one of bare survival and abject humiliation, even a relatively high risk of death, especially an exciting, quick, and morally honored death is insufficient to restrain their desire to inflict pain and fear on their hated enemy (at least for the masculine culture which appears to dominate Palestinian society).
Israeli's understand deterrence probably better than any other people on earth, but their basic anger and mistrust of the Palestinians, especially after the second intifada, is such that they cannot bring themselves to do what they know they must. They know they must build up a true political alternative to Hamas, in the form of President Abbas and his Fatah Party in the West Bank, but they cannot bring themselves to make the political concessions necessary to produce for Abbas gains in sovereignty and legitimacy. They know they should be creating an economic alternative to Hamas in Gaza, by creating the possibilities for economic exchange that will pull young men into the entanglements of markets and diapers rather than honor and death, but they are too angry at Hamas for the humiliating capture of one of their soldiers. So they turn in the inevitable logic of deterrence to raising the collective punishment of Palestinians ever higher, even full while knowing it only exacerbates the fundamental limits on deterrence.
The parallels with our own war on crime, almost the same age as the four decade long Israeli occupation of Palestine, should be clear. Let us pray that President Barack Obama will show the wisdom necessary to save both Israel and the US states from this destructive logic.
Happy New Year


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Collin Klein's 2 TDs help Kansas St. slip past Texas
AUSTIN, Texas -- Collin Klein and Kansas State just keep finding ways to win.
A week after a wild overtime thriller, Klein and the Wildcats survived a dominating performance by the Texas defense for a rugged 17-13 victory despite gaining just 121 total yards.
Klein was clutch when he absolutely had to be.
Klein passed for a touchdown in the final seconds of the first half and capped a short drive in the third quarter with his 25th rushing touchdown of the season.
There weren't many other highlights for Klein and the Wildcats (9-2, 6-2 Big 12), but it was enough for Kansas State's fourth win in a row over the Longhorns. The Wildcats are the only Big 12 team with a winning record over Texas.
"I just love this team," Klein said. "Bottom line is we made some plays."
They didn't make too many.
Klein was sacked five times, held to 4 yards rushing -- he came in averaging 101 -- and completed 9 of 17 passes in an offense that managed just eight first downs. He needs two more rushing touchdowns to tie the Big 12 season record set by Texas running back Ricky Williams in 1998.
"They just beat the tar out of us," Kansas State coach Bill Snyder said of the Texas defense.
Down 17-3 in the third, Texas (6-4, 3-4) had a chance to rally behind backup sophomore Case McCoy, who came in after freshman David Ash threw his second interception. The turnover set up Klein's rushing touchdown.
McCoy led the Longhorns to a touchdown on his first drive, completing all three of his passes and a rollout 36-yard touchdown strike to tight end Blaine Irby.
Texas got within 17-13 on Justin Tucker's second field goal and momentum seemed to be with the Longhorns until their last chance to rally ended at midfield on the final play. Texas snapped the ball as time expired and McCoy ran around for several seconds before throwing a short pass that fell incomplete nowhere near the end zone.
"I really thought we had a chance to win until that last play was over," Texas coach Mack Brown said.
Texas outgained Kansas State 310-121 but the return of running backs Malcolm Brown and Joe Bergeron couldn't provide points. Texas has scored just one touchdown in the last two games. Both were losses that spoiled dominating performances by the defense.
The younger brother of Colt McCoy, who engineered so many rallies for the Longhorns in his career, couldn't muster another one. Case McCoy finished with 80 yards passing and Cody Johnson ran for 61 yards for the Longhorns.
"I was proud of the way we fought," said McCoy, whose play will likely reignite the quarterback debate for Texas' final two games. Ash has started five in a row and is 2-3.
McCoy and Ash could learn a lesson from Klein, who came through with big plays despite getting beaten up most of the night.
After getting sacked for the fourth time, Klein converted a 3rd-and-14 with a 24-yard sideline pass to Sheldon Smith, who barely kept his left foot inbounds. Two plays later, Klein hit Chris Harper with a perfect strike to the corner of the end zone. Texas cornerback Carrington Byndum never turned around on the throw and Harper snagged an easy touchdown to give Kansas State a 10-3 halftime lead.
Ty Zimmerman's interception set up Klein's rushing touchdown and a pass interference penalty against Byndum in the end zone put the Wildcats on the 3. Klein plowed over Texas linebacker Emmanuel Acho to put Kansas State ahead 17-3.
"If you had told me would hold (Klein) to four yards rushing," Brown said, "I would have known that we won the game."
Game Information
2023 Big 12 Conference Standings
Team | CONF | OVR |
Texas | 8-1 | 12-2 |
Oklahoma State | 7-2 | 10-4 |
Oklahoma | 7-2 | 10-3 |
Iowa State | 6-3 | 7-6 |
Kansas State | 6-3 | 9-4 |
West Virginia | 6-3 | 9-4 |
Texas Tech | 5-4 | 7-6 |
Kansas | 5-4 | 9-4 |
Houston | 2-7 | 4-8 |
Baylor | 2-7 | 3-9 |
Cincinnati | 1-8 | 3-9 |


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Purchasing a security camera system is a wise investment. These are used to deter vandals and thefts, and their evidence can help convict anyone who harms a company or property. Understanding what type of security camera to invest in, however, can be difficult. The average business owner is not an expert in security cameras, and he does not have time to learn everything there is to know about them.
Here is a guide to the features that are found in the best digital security camera systems. First, this article will discuss a few components every security system, then it will focus on digital security cameras. With this information, an entrepreneur can wisely decide how to protect his venture. Most importantly, he can quickly return to what he needs to be doing.
Components of Every High-Quality Digital Security System
Digital Access Control
One of the major advantages of a digital security system is the ability to grant or deny access via digital readers. In the past, if an employee left the company on bad terms and kept a key, then all the locks might need to be changed. Today, an employee's access can be denied by simply deactivating his keycard or changing the numbered codes that grant access. Nearly every hotel uses swipe cards to monitor who can access which hotel room, and every digital security system should be able to use the same technology. Any system that uses digital technology to record video should also use digital technology to grant and deny access.
Battery Backup
Battery backup is an essential component of any security camera system. Without it, a digital camera is useless during a power outage. Any battery should be able to supply power for at least a day, if not longer than 24 hours. It is also important to connect all cameras and the recording device to the battery. If only the cameras are powered during a power outage, then the recorder will not save any video evidence.
Monitored Alarm Systems
All security systems should have a monitored alarm. There are a few inexpensive systems that only have a local alarm. These are ineffective. Any digital system worth investing in will have an alarm monitored by an outside agency. This agency might be a private company, the local police or the company's own headquarters. It does not really matter who is monitoring the alarm, as long as they can immediately contact the authorities when the alarm is triggered.
In addition to a monitoring service, the best digital security systems have keypads that allow two-way communication. The keypad is what employees use to arm and disarm the alarm. They also often have a way people can immediately trigger a silent alarm, which alerts the people monitoring it off-site. The best keypads allow for two-way communication between the personnel off-site and the employees in the building. This communication can help the monitoring service determine what the nature of an emergency is, which could save the authorities precious seconds. Furthermore, if the people at a business location can communicate with those watching the cameras, then the people onsite might be able to indicate which cameras should be looked at.
Monitored Digital Security Cameras
The best monitoring services should be able to monitor the digital security cameras, themselves, as well as the alarm. This service requires additional manpower, so it is more expensive. For those companies that have the highest security needs, though, an actively monitored camera system is essential.
There are two ways cameras can be monitored. They can either be watched by an agency that is located off-site. This is almost always the same company that responds to any alarms. In most cases, however, the cameras are watched by an on-site security guard.
Each of these methods of monitoring a surveillance system has its own advantage and disadvantage. If a system is being monitored by a company located in another city, then the response time will be at least a couple minutes. When an alarm is activated, the company must notify the police, who then must drive to the site of the business. On the other hand, an on-site security guard can investigate any suspicious activity within a matter of seconds. The on-site security guard, however, might not have the same level of training that the police do.
Each business will have to decide for itself which method of monitoring is appropriate for its situation. This will be determined by the security needs of the business, its budget and the digital cameras it uses. The most important thing is that every digital security camera is being monitored by someone.
The Best Digital Security Cameras
It is impossible to declare one digital security camera system as the best, because every business needs a unique surveillance system. In some situations, high-powered, infrared cameras are appropriate. In other places, a simple dummy camera is sufficient. Therefore, this section will look at several different types of cameras.
Fake Cameras
It seems like fake cameras would not have any place in the best digital security camera systems. Nevertheless, in some situations, dummy cameras play an important role. They give people a sense of reassurance that they are safe. Fake cameras must be paired with real cameras, but they are an inexpensive way to increase the security presence in a specific area.
Infrared Cameras
Infrared cameras are typically used for outdoor surveillance, although they can also be used indoors. Infrared technology allows these cameras to see in very little or no lighting. Even in a parking lot that is lit by flood lights, infrared cameras can often record a better image than regular digital cameras. The best digital surveillance systems place these cameras in strategic spots around the perimeter of the business, since they can record footage both in the daylight and at night.
Long-Range Cameras and Short-Range Cameras
Long-range cameras are used to focus on specific points several hundred feet away. These best long-range cameras have large image sensors and high-zoom lenses. These parts of the security camera are also included on digital SLRs and digital camcorders.
An image sensor determines how much light is let into the camera. The most common image sensors are ¼ in. and 1/3 in. A larger number will allow more light in than a smaller number. The amount of light allowed into the camera directly affects its field of view, although its effect is only slight when compared to the lens. Image sensors that allow more light in can capture wider pictures than those that allow less light into the camera. Thus, the 1/3 in. image sensor would provide a slightly wider picture than the ¼ in. image sensor.
The lens affects the field of view more than the image sensor does. Larger lenses are able to focus on scenes further from the camera than smaller lenses can, but the larger ones cannot see as wide an angle as the smaller ones. For example, a 3.6 mm lens can focus on something approximately 12 ft. away, while a 50 mm lens is able to focus on an object about 75 ft. away. The 50 mm lens, however, will have a narrower view than the 3.6 mm lens, and it will have difficulty seeing something only 12 ft. from it.
There are cameras that can focus 10 ft. from themselves, while other can focus 75 ft. from themselves, and still other can focus 200 ft. from themselves. No camera, however, can see both 10 ft. from itself and 200 ft. from itself at the same time. Therefore, a mixture of long-range and short-distance cameras is needed to create the best digital camera security system. Both standard digital cameras and infrared digital cameras are available with different image sensors and lenses.
Fixed Cameras and Flexible Cameras
Whether a camera should be fixed or multi-focusing depends entirely on the area it is surveying. If a camera is intended to watch one specific area, then a fixed camera is adequate. In many cases, however, a camera that can turn and focus on different areas is needed. One flexible camera can often do the work of several fixed cameras. Flexible cameras also can be used to track a person. The must, of course, be monitored if they are going to be rotated. Flexible cameras are more complex than fixed cameras, but the cost of a flexible camera can often be justified by the additional controls it gives security guards.
Image Color and Resolution
The image color and resolution should be discussed together, since they are both determined by the quality of image needed. The best digital security cameras have high-quality, color images. Although color is important, resolution is usually more important than color.
A color image can provide more accurate evidence than a grayscale camera can. A dark figure entering a doorway is unlikely to convince a jury beyond "reasonable doubt," but a color video that shows the man's jacket and hair might provide crucial evidence in the trial.
Resolution is even more important than color. A blurry image is useless, regardless of whether it is in grayscale or color. A high-resolution picture, on the other hand, can provide authorities with valuable information. The difference between a high-resolution image and a low-resolution image can determine whether a suspect can be correctly identified or not.
Cameras that are designed to capture license plates are highly-specialized digital cameras. They have a specific task, which not every business will need. For those companies that have a single point of entry and departure, though, these cameras can monitor who comes and goes from a specific location. These work best when there is only one lane into a parking lot or facility.
Capturing images of license plates is one of the greatest challenges in video surveillance, because cars are moving quickly and they are not always in the same place. Therefore, it is worth investing in the best license-plate cameras, if one is going to invest in any license-plate cameras. These should be installed according to the manufacturer's instructions. When they are, license-plate cameras can be very effective.
There is no single digital camera system that is above all the others, because each company has unique security needs. The best system for any situation, nevertheless, will feature digital access control, battery backup, a monitored alarm and monitored cameras. It will also have a unique blend of infrared cameras and standard cameras, which will monitor the entire premises in high-resolution color. Depending on a business' needs, the surveillance system might also include a camera to capture license plates or dummy cameras.
If you have any questions or looking for further information, please do not hesitate to contact us. It is our pleasure to help you.


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Real estate news February 20th 6:40pm


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Show All Answers
A request for your DD214 could be made by calling our office at 901.222.4237 and we can submit a request if you are a Tennessee Veteran. You can also complete the SF Form 180, which can be found at va.gov/vaforms/default.asp, and submit it to the appropriate address provided with the form.
Your military service record can also be requested by submitting the SF Form 180, which can be found at va.gov/vaforms/default.asp, to the appropriate address provided with the form.
You will need to contact our office and schedule an appointment with a Veterans Services Officer.
Your Veterans Services Officer must submit the appropriate documentation.
The VA can help you or a Veterans Services Officer can help you. You should contact the number provided on the decision letter or contact our office for assistance.
You can log onto Ebenefits, visit the VA hospital, or visit your Veterans Services Officer to complete the necessary form for submitting to the VA.
Yes they were. Records for the Air Force and Army were destroyed.
If your doctor has diagnosed you with at least one Agent Orange presumptive and you are a Veteran that served in an area designated an Agent Orange qualifier, you qualify for Agent Orange compensation.
Ebenefits is a computerized resource for military personnel and their family members. It is necessary to create an account to access the system and it is free.
Yes, you may qualify for Compensation or Pension. Visit you Veterans Services Officer for more information.
Effective January 1st, 2020, all Veterans with a VA card indicating Service Connected are authorized to shop on base.


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Recently, a question was asked on SO and the user who posted it also posted two answers. Both the question and answers gained both up and down votes. In total, he gained (according to his profile) 120 rep points and lost 22 rep points. The question was then subsequently closed as "not a real question". This means that in the 4 minutes the question was open, the user gained almost 100 reputation points.
It seems to me that because upvotes can significantly outweigh downvotes, there is no real dis-incentive to posting junk questions that will almost certainly be closed a short time later, but in the meantime will gain a user potentially significant reputation, especially so if they also add answers to their own question which get votes.
Could this problem be tackled in some way? Perhaps when a question is closed (only as spam/not a question?), any positive reputation is recalculated to give it a lesser (or even no) weight?


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What is Astrology?
So, what is astrology exactly? Everybody's heard of it. Just take a look in any popular newspaper or magazine and you will certainly find some sort of "horoscope" within its pages. For serious people, it is almost considered indecent to have any interest in astrology. That kind of stuff is for non-educated and superstitious people who are ready to believe in just about anything.
Sounds familiar, doesn't it? This sort of opinion is very common in our pragmatic times. But how it could be then that the greatest minds of the past, whose findings, ideas, and illuminations make the foundations of contemporary science, were actually devoted astrologers? They used astrology in their research and many of them have written the whole books on astrology. It would be impossible to list them all because before the 17th century astrology was an inseparable part of higher education. However, here is a sampling of a few:
The Prominent Astrologers of the Past
- Ptolemy (2nd century AD) was one of the founders of both astronomy and astrology. Ptolemy is honored by astronomers for many different things, but he is also the author of Tetrabiblos, the first comprehensive astrology manual.
- Al Biruni (10th - 11th centuries) created a number of works devoted to medicine, geography, physics, and astronomy, but he is also the author of the "Book of Instruction in the Elements of the Art of Astrology", which is basically a thorough astrological tutorial.
- Paracelsus (15th - 16th centuries) was a legendary healer who considered astrology an important part of his art. He wrote that a doctor who doesn't know astrology is a "pseudo-medic" and that the remedy is found in the sky.
- Tycho Brahe (16th century) was hailed as "the King of astronomers", while simultaneously working as an astrologer and an alchemist. Brahe was able to reach the highest precision in astronomical measurements, but also spent time writing astrological almanacs for the King of Denmark, as well as interpreting the natal charts of his children.
- Johannes Kepler (16th - 17th centuries) was a great astronomer whose laws are now used to calculate the orbits of spaceships. In his first astrological almanac, Kepler predicted an exceptionally cold winter and an invasion of Turks into Austria. When everything happened exactly as he predicted, he became known as a prophet. He criticized the vulgar astrology, similar to the kind we can read now in newspapers and magazines, but added new elements to the theory of true astrology.
- Karl Gustav Jung (19th - 20th centuries) was a famous psychologist and psychiatrist who seriously studied astrology and used it in his work. One of his astrological experiments became widely known.
Not a bad collection of minds, right? Who would dare to say that these people were incompetent and superstitious? So, perhaps there is something more to this astrology business over and above the ubiquitous magazine "horoscopes".
Astrology as an Applied Philosophy
That which is below is like that which is above that which is above is like that which is below to do the miracles of one only thing.
Emerald Tablet by Hermes Trismegistus (Isaac Newton's translation)
The words quoted above came to us from an unimaginable antiquity containing the source, the essence, and the aim of astrology all at the same time. The abbreviated version is used more frequently: As above, so below. One way to understand this is to realize that it is referring to the unity and mutual reflection between the macrocosm, the universe, on one side, and the microcosm on the other side. Microcosm here can be interpreted in a number of different ways: it can refer to a person with his or her unique life; a state, a society, or a factory; basically any integral system of our world — they are all different projections of the same macrocosm.
Such a global worldview is good for philosophy that describes all things in general and doesn't delve into the nitty-gritty of everyday life. This is where astrology is unique: it projects philosophical concepts onto our lives, daily chores, health issues, relationships, onto the processes going on in human society, onto weather, earthquakes, floods, and so much more. The areas of application for astrology are numerous.
Astrologers of the past considered astrology to be an art, but it also has many mathematical and technical elements that do not fit our contemporary understanding of art. Many contemporary astrologers strive to prove that astrology is a science — and it was indeed one of the three Great Sciences of antiquity — however, astrology will never conform to the Procrustean bed of the contemporary view of what a science entails.
In my understanding, astrology can be defined in a most comprehensible way as an applied philosophy. Astrology offers a special, cosmic perspective of the events happening in our lives. It gives the events an orderliness, and because of this, it can help us to find a solution for a predicament, or — since astrology provides an understanding of the moving forces behind events — to make a prognosis.
Traditional astrology has a number of branches, of which the main ones are discussed in the next section.
The Main Branches of Astrology
Traditional Astrology has three main branches:
Natal Astrology deals with human life on the level of individuals and its main tool is a person's birth chart (aka, natal chart, or the horoscope of birth). These refer to a map of the sky drawn for the moment of a person's birth as viewed from the birthplace. This branch also contains synastry, or the astrology of relationships, as well as astrological healing.
Mundane Astrology studies the life of large communities of people such as cities, countries, and nations, as well as the world as a whole. In this branch, we are often unable to establish the moment of birth of such an entity. After all, when exactly is a city born? Therefore, some special varieties of astrological charts are used. This branch also contains political astrology, astrometeorology, financial astrology, and astrology of business, as well as the smaller branches that study various cataclysms such as earthquakes, floods, volcanic eruptions, etc.
Judicial Astrology was almost forgotten by the 20th century and only relatively recently was it reborn. This is a mysterious branch, which is as far from science as it can be, and is very close to the ancient magic. The best-known disciplines included in judicial atrology are horary astrology, where a chart is cast for the moment when a question was asked, and elective astrology, which teaches how to select the best possible moment for various humane initiatives.
The Horoscope, aka the Natal Chart
All these branches and disciplines share a common tool, the Horoscope. A horoscope is a schematic picture, or map, of the sky at a specific moment of time as viewed from a specific location on the Earth. Some examples include: horoscopes of birth, which are calculated for the moment of people's births and for their birth places; horoscopes of important events; or horoscopes of the equinoxes (vernal or autumnal) calculated for specific locations.
This is exactly where "what is above" joins with "what is below": the map that depicts the state of the universe is used to understand a human being, or some other microcosm.
The word horoscope was used, and used properly, for many centuries, if not thousands of years. Nowadays, however, it is so often and widely misused by applying it to just any kind of astrological and pseudo-astrological writing that Western astrologers rarely use it. Instead, the word chart is used: a natal chart, a chart of a nation, a chart of a Vernal Equinox and so on. I will be using both terms interchangeably so that readers can begin to have a clear understanding of where the word "horoscope" truly belongs.
On this website, you will find several lessons in astrology. I will be gradually adding more with time.
There is also a reference page for various signs and symbols used in the lessons. Feel free to check this often to quickly check or refresh your knowledge.
Another page contains a number of astrological reports created by different authors. These will definitely not replace or even resemble real astrological consultations, but the texts for these reports are written by thoughtful astrologers and so this is a very affordable way to find out what an experienced astrologer would say about a specific configuration in a horoscope.
I have already created a number of astrological apps for different mobile platforms, and I am planning to create many more, so look here to see a listing of all the available apps.
Finally, I will be posting reviews of astrology books that I've read so I can provide you with recommendations of the best ones to read.
Don't forget to subscribe to my newsletter if you wish to get updates about the new additions to the website as well as a few interesting bits of information that I will be sharing with you from time to time.


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Friends Season 9 Episode 13 : The One Where Monica Sings
Phoebe suggests that Monica sing at Mike's piano bar. After some doubt, Monica does. The audience love her but only because when the light is on her they can see her breasts as she isn't wearing a bra. Meanwhile, Ross, still shocked and angry at Rachel for moving on 'without the courtesy of telling', tries desperately to find a date. Rachel, wanting to talk with Ross, realizes their situation isn't working and decides to move back in with Joey, t...
Episode Guide
Season 01
Season 02
Season 03
Season 04
Season 05
Season 06
Season 07
Season 08
Season 09
Season 10


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Steven Michael Lukes is the author of numerous books and articles about political and social theory. Currently he is a professor of sociology at New York University. He was formerly a fellow in politics and sociology at Balliol College, Oxford. He was then, in turn, a professor of political and social theory at the European University Institute, Florence, of moral philosophy at the University of Siena and of sociology at the London School of Economics.
His first major work was a full-length study of the life and ideas of Emile Durkheim and he retains a keen interest in the Durkheimian tradition in sociology and anthropology. He then published a study of the history and diverse meanings of the concept of 'individualism.' His interests include political sociology, focusing on the study of power; political theory and philosophy; Marxism and other socialist traditions; philosophy of the social sciences; the history of ideas, in particular the political thought of Condorcet; political humour and satire; and, most recently, the sociology of morals, his current preoccupation.
Lukes's best-known, still controversial academic theory is his so-called 'radical' view of power. It can be simply stated. It claims there are three dimensions of power. The first is overt power, typically exhibited in the presence of conflict in decision-making situations, where power consists in winning, that is prevailing over another or others. The second is covert power, consisting in control over what gets decided, by ignoring or deflecting existing grievances. And the third is the power to shape desires and beliefs, thereby averting both conflict and grievances. The first is the most public of the three and is how the powerful usually want to be seen: for instance, the power of political leaders to make policy decisions after widespread consultation with opposition parties and the wider public. The second is the power to control agendas. It has been called the 'mobilization of bias,' reinforcing the powerful by excluding threatening issues from discussion in public forums. The third kind of power can be the most insidious. It is the most hidden from view—the least accessible to observation by social actors and observers alike. It can be at work, despite apparent consensus between the powerful and the powerless. It is the power to influence people's wishes and thoughts, inducing them to want things opposed to what would benefit them and to fail to want what they would, but for such power, recognize to be in their real interests.
He is a member of the editorial board of the European Journal of Sociology and a fellow of the British Academy.


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Five Ways the Obama Administration Has Made the Gulf Oil Crisis Worse
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The oil spill in the Gulf AKA Obamatrina has been a disaster for everyone involved. Millions of ordinary people who did nothing wrong are taking a huge economic hit, it's a genuine environmental disaster, BP may end up going bankrupt over the whole disaster, and Obama's incompetence has been so galling that even Democratic apparatchik's like James Carville and Chris Matthews are criticizing him publicly.
The political beating Obama has taken over the spill has been entirely appropriate. After all, this is a far left-wing President who believes in inserting the Federal Government into EVERYTHING because he thinks there's nothing they can't do better than the private sector. Run the banks? Run the auto-companies? Student loans? Health care? You name it and Barack Obama wants the government to control it.
Of course, the government can't handle any of those industries any better than they can this oil spill, but there's the rub: This time, there's no waiting. People are getting to see the failure of government in the Gulf in real time. Here's a test of the government's preparation and competence that can be judged by a simple standard: How long will it take them to "plug the damn hole" and get the mess cleaned up? Answer: Apparently, a long, long, long, long time.
Yet, what is Obama primarily being criticized for? His inability to even pretend that he cares more about the Gulf than his golf game. His creepy autocratic demand that BP give him 20 billion dollars to use how he sees fit instead of staying within the law of the land. His disengagement. His flat emotionless response to this disaster. His inability to make any significant progress, even though he has admitted that his Administration, not BP, is calling all the shots.
While these are all valid grounds for criticism, there's another area where Obama has actually been getting much more of a pass than he deserves: His administration has greatly hindered the clean-up efforts in the Gulf. In other words, there are businesses that have been ruined, people's livelihoods lost, and beaches that have oil on them today as a direct result of the Obama Administration's incompetence. It's a real world example of Ronald Reagan's famous quotation, The nine most terrifying words in the English language are, "I'm from the government and I'm here to help." Here's some of the "help" the Obama administration has provided to the Gulf states in the aftermath of this crisis:
Why Won't Obama Waive the Jones Act? Waiving the Jones Act would make it easier for "foreign vessels to move in U.S. waters and between ports." This is quite significant, since the "State Department acknowledges it has had 21 aid offers from 17 countries." Getting that help could have been the difference between skimming off the oil at sea and seeing that same oil wash up on American beaches. George Bush waived the Jones Act during Katrina, so why hasn't Barack Obama followed his lead? Whatever his reasoning may be, the consequences of his inaction have been rather severe,
Sen. George LeMieux (R-Fla.) pressed the president on the Jones Act during a recent face-to-face meeting. LeMieux said the action would signal America's allies that their help is wanted. Given the dire situation in the Gulf, what's the harm?
Two other members from Florida, Reps. Corrine Brown (D) and John Mica (R), said their state is suffering while skimmers sit idle. At a hearing on Thursday, Brown held up photos of vessels in Mexico and Norway, asking, "What is the process for the state to take advantage of skimmers from other countries?"
Mica trained his criticism on Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano for failing to mobilize the entire American fleet. "U.S.-flag vessels have the capacity to bolster the current oil skimming and removal taking place in the Gulf of Mexico," he said. "Over the last couple of weeks, we have seen oil products wash up on the shores of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida while vessels, which could have been pressed into service, sit idle. This is unacceptable."
Perhaps the real problem Obama has with waiving the Jones Act is that it would be an acknowledgement of the obvious truth: That government regulations often slow the private sector down and get the way. When you're a liberal who has never seen a regulation that you don't like, that can be a hard admission to make.
The Louisiana Sand Berms: Louisiana has been trying to build sand berms to keep oil away from their coastal marshes, where it would obviously cause a lot of environmental damage. Rather bizarrely, after dragging their feet about approving the sand berms, The Obama Administration has told Louisiana to stop building the sand berms because they might cause environmental damage. In other words, their logic is that Louisiana needs to allow oil to permeate their coastal marshes in order to prevent possible environmental damage. No wonder Bobby Jindal is pleading for, "the federal government to get out of the way."
16 Crude Sucking Barges Taken Out Of Action By The Feds: Believe it or not, the Coast Guard actually stopped 16 crude-Sucking Barges from siphoning up oil in order to make sure "there were fire extinguishers and life vests" on the ships. Had Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal not pitched a fit to the media and called the White House, those barges might still be sitting around today, waiting for some Coast Guard bureaucrat to allow them to get back to work.
Government Delays Hamstring Alabama: Alabama Governor Bobby Riley's biggest hurdle in dealing with the oil spill has apparently been the Coast Guard,
As an example, (Riley) said a Coast Guard plan for protecting the Alabama shoreline has been held up for 45 days because another member of the committee is reviewing it.
"You can't continue to do that. We're going to have to have one person who makes the call on what we do and where," he said.
Imagine desperately needing to swing into to action to help safeguard your state and having some bureaucrat strangling you in red tape for 45 days. But wait, it gets worse,
Riley, who has quietly lobbied for weeks for more oil-blocking barriers called booms, said the Coast Guard wrongly decided to remove miles of boom from Alabama and Mississippi last week and take it to Louisiana after large amounts of oil began hitting that state.
Speaking in an interview with The Associated Press during a three-state conference on hurricane planning, Riley said the decision meant wetlands, estuaries and beaches on the northern Gulf Coast are more at risk from the oil that began hitting their coasts in reddish-brown globs on Tuesday.
The Coast Guard wrongly believed floating booms could be returned to their original positions and used along with oil-removing boats called skimmers to keep oil off the coasts, Riley said, and the agency has held up approving the use of hundreds of private boats to remove oil.
If you think this is bad, just wait until the American people get to experience this sort of bureaucracy in action as the government takes over America's health care.
Deploying Only A Tiny Percentage Of Skimmers: As of a week ago, only 1/100th of the skimmers in the United States were deployed to help clean up the Gulf oil spill. Here's what Florida GOP Sen. George LeMieux had to say about this from the floor of the Senate.
61 days ago is when the tragedy started. We are here 61 days later, we still have this tremendous pouring of oil from the bottom of the sea floor into the Gulf of Mexico.
In fact, the amount of oil that is coming into the gulf now equals the size of the Exxon Valdez oil spill every 2 1/2 days.
…Last week — a week ago tomorrow, I met with the President of the United States and Admiral Allen in Pensacola.At that time, I raised the issue of skimmers. Why are there so few skimmers in the Gulf of Mexico? Why were there only at that time 32 skimmers off the coast of Florida?
…And I'll come to the floor tomorrow to talk about that in more detail. But the state of affairs is that there are only now 20 skimmers off the coast of Florida for.
When there were 32 last week, there are now just 20.
While there are 2,000 skimmers available in the United States alone. That number comes from Admiral Allen.
I spoke to Admiral Allen last week, along with my colleague from Alabama, senator Sessions, and we said, where are the skimmers?
I showed him information like I have here today which is the Deepwater Horizon response report from the incident command in the state of Florida.
Then it showed 20 skimmers.Today it still shows 20 skimmers.
And I asked him to reconcile this for me. If we're asking for all these skimmers, if we're calling for all of them to come here, where are they?
The response is anemic, at best.So, Mr. President, today I've sent a letter to Admiral Allen asking for an inventory of the 2,000 skimmers that he has said are available in the United States of America.
Now, when I talked to the President and Admiral Allen about this last week, they said, look, some of these skimmers are not available because we may need them for an oil spill. Well, we have an oil spill.
It wasn't so long ago that Obama said, the Gulf Oil Spill "echoes 9/11." Yet, the Obama administration is holding back all those skimmers in case there's a real emergency? I guess we're lucky Obama wasn't President when 9/11 happened or he'd probably still be trying to figure out who to bow to and where Afghanistan is on a map between games of golf.
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I am very happy to announce that my first book "SQL Server 2014 Development Essentials" has now been published by Packt Publishing.
SQL Server 2014 Development Essentials is an easy-to-follow yet comprehensive guide that is full of hands-on examples, which you can follow to successfully design, build, and deploy mission-critical database applications with SQL Server 2014. You can view and download the table of contents, sample chapter, code files and the preface of this title on Packt Publishing website here.
Who this book is for?
If you are a database developer, architect, or administrator who wants to learn how to design, implement, and deliver a successful database solution with SQL Server 2014, then this book is for you. This book will provide you with all the skills you need to successfully create, design, and deploy databases using SQL Server 2014. You will also learn how to add, modify, and delete data stored within a database. You will use Transact-SQL statements to create and manage advanced database objects that include scalar and table-valued functions, views, stored procedures, and triggers. Finally, you will learn about how SQL Server works, how indexes and statistics improve query performance, and the new SQL Server 2014 in-memory technologies.
From this book, you will learn:
- Get introduced to SQL Server 2014's new in-memory database engine
- Understand SQL Server database architecture and relational database design
- Use joins, subqueries, CTEs, and windowing functions to write advanced Transact-SQL queries
- Learn about tools that let you monitor SQL Server database performance
- Identify and troubleshoot blocks or deadlocks that might slow down a system
- Design, create, and manage advanced database objects that include scalar and table-valued functions, views, stored procedures, and triggers
- Use SQL Server 2014's structured error handling blocks to handle errors that occur in the Transact-SQL batches and programmable objects
You can order it at Packt Publishing, Amazon UK, Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble. It will also be available at O'Reilly Media and Safari Books Online.
Please feel free to contact me via twitter (@BasitAali) or via email, if you have any questions or feedback about this book.


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Users complain of sound issues with Apple's 27-inch Cinema Display
A thread was started on Apple's official discussion forums in October for problems with the new 27-inch, LED backlit screen, which sells for $999. Since then, it has grown to over 200 posts and 15 pages as of Wednesday, with numerous users reporting the same problems, while other threads (1, 2) have also been created.
Some of the new Cinema Displays completely lose sound after a period of use. Users said the only way to fix the problem is to unplug the display, and then plug it back in. But the temporary fix does not prevent the issue from returning.
There are also issues with the response time of volume control on the keyboard. Some said they experienced delays of 6 to 7 seconds after pressing a key to change the volume.
Some who contacted Apple support were sent replacement displays, but those also exhibited the same problem. Some who contacted support were told that Apple is aware of the problem, but the company could not provide any details on a potential fix.
Some said they have experienced the same issues while running the display with Windows as well, suggesting it is not a software issue related to Mac OS X. Some have found success by changing audio settings, and have suggested the problems are related to USB audio, as newer Macs that send audio over the Mini DisplayPort are apparently unaffected.
"Audio becomes disabled and I cannot even select Display Audio (USB) audio from Sound preferences pane," user hmss007a wrote. "The only options available are Internal Speakers and LED Cinema (DisplayPort), which doesn't work."
Before it was released, Apple issued a software update for the new Cinema Display. But that update simply added the ability to adjust ambient light sensor settings in the System Preferences pane.
"System power setting re-set does not fix it, nor does unplugging mini-display port," user jeremypk wrote. "Very disappointed. Puzzling because the sound did work at first (at least after installing the recommended software patch from Apple), and sound seems to be dead completely now. I hope Apple is reading this."
The 27-inch LED Cinema Display went on sale in September. It packs a 2,560-by-1,440 pixel resolution and a 178-degree viewing angle. The hardware replaced the previous 24- and 30-inch Cinema Display models.


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Will Sharing a Bed with Toddlers Harm Their Development?
It's okay for a parent and a toddler to sleep in the same bed, according to a new study.
Bed sharing has always been a topic of disagreement among parenting experts: some endorse the practice, while others say it's a bad idea.
Research published in Pediatric magazine tracked 944 low-income parent-toddler pairs from the ages of one-to-five, asking parents about sleeping arrangements, and testing the tots along the way. After analyzing the results, it was found that bed-sharing didn't result in any behavioral or cognitive problems in the youngsters.
However, this doesn't give parents the green light to sleep with children who are less than a year old. Previous studies have linked bed-sharing during infancy to sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).


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You will visit the following 8 places:
Cabo San Lucas
Cabo San Lucas, commonly called Cabo in American English, is a city at the southern tip of the Baja California Peninsula, in the Mexican state of Baja California Sur. Cabo San Lucas together with San José del Cabo is known as Los Cabos. Cabo is a varied destination that captures the essence of Baja Peninsula in its many resorts, championship golf courses, world-class dining and amazing outdoor activities. The city also houses a range of wildlife including rays, sharks, birds like eagles and a range of fish like mahi-mahi (dorado) and stripe marlin. For much of its history, Cabo was a sleepy, remote fishing port which was generally accessed either by ship or a three-hour drive from La Paz. In 1977, the airport to the north of San Jose del Cabo was expanded to handle jet aircraft and international flights, thereby launching the transformation of Cabo into one of the most popular resort destinations in Mexico.
Puerto Vallarta
Puerto Vallarta is a Mexican beach resort city situated on the Pacific Ocean's Bahía de Banderas. The 2010 census reported Puerto Vallarta's population as 255,725 making it the fifth largest city in the state of Jalisco, and the second largest urban agglomeration in the state after the Guadalajara Metropolitan Area. The City of Puerto Vallarta is the government seat of the Municipality of Puerto Vallarta which comprises the city as well as population centers outside of the city extending from Boca de Tomatlán to the Nayarit border (the Ameca River). Around the Bay, marvellous beaches, lush jungles and sparkling waterfalls offer many opportunities for the adventurous while five star resorts, world-class shopping and gourmet restaurants satisfy even the most sophisticated traveller. Stretching from the south end of Old Town to central downtown, a newly extended and refurbished boardwalk along the ocean, called the Malecon, passes by any number of shops, restaurants, and hotels, and often plays host to mimes, break-dancers, clowns and artists.
Costa Rica
Costa Rica is a small, rugged, rainforested Central American country with coastlines on the Caribbean and Pacific. Since the late 1980's Costa Rica became a popular nature travel destination, and its main competitive advantage is its well-established system of national parks and protected areas and home to a rich variety of flora and fauna. Costa Rica is also known for its beaches, volcanoes, immense biodiversity and progressive environmental policies, being the only country to meet all five criteria established to measure environmental sustainability.
Los Angeles
Los Angeles, Spanish for "The Angels", is the most populous city in California and the second most populous in the United States, with a population of 4.06 million on a land area of 498.3 square miles (1,290.6 km2). It is the focal point of the larger Los Angeles-Long Beach Riverside combined statistical area, which contains nearly 17.8 million people. This makes it the 12th most populous metropolitan area in the world. Los Angeles is also the seat of Los Angeles County, the most populated and one of the most multicultural counties in the United States. The city's inhabitants are referred to as "Angelenos".
Fort Lauderdale
Fort Lauderdale is a city in the U.S. state of Florida, 28 miles (45 km) north of Miami. The city is a popular tourist destination, with an average year-round temperature of 75.5 °F (24.2 °C), and 3,000 hours of sunshine per year. Greater Fort Lauderdale which takes in all of Broward County hosted 12 million visitors in 2012, including 2.8 million international visitors. The district has 561 hotels and motels comprising nearly 35,000 rooms. Greater Fort Lauderdale has over 4,000 restaurants, 63 golf courses, 12 shopping malls, 16 museums, 132 nightclubs, 278 parkland campsites, and 100 marinas housing 45,000 resident yachts. Fort Lauderdale is named after a series of forts built by the United States during the Second Seminole War. The forts took their name from Major William Lauderdale (1782–1838), younger brother of Lieutenant Colonel James Lauderdale. William Lauderdale was the commander of the detachment of soldiers who built the first fort.
Cartagena is Colombia's most famous tourist destination on the Caribbean coast. The city is renowned for its colonial and colourful architecture. With a tropical climate, the city is also a popular beach destination. The city was founded on June 1, 1533, and named after Cartagena, Spain, itself after the original Carthage in Tunisia. However, settlement in this region around Cartagena Bay by various indigenous people dates back to 4000 BC. During the colonial period Cartagena served a key role in administration and expansion of the Spanish empire. It was a center of political and economic activity due to the presence of royalty and wealthy viceroys. In 1984 Cartagena's colonial walled city and fortress were designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Colón is a Panamanian city and sea port beside the Caribbean Sea, lying near the Atlanticentrance to the Panama Canal. It is the capital of Panama's Colón Province and has traditionally been known as Panama'ssecond city. Originally, it was located entirely on Manzanillo Island, surrounded by Limon Bay, Manzanillo Bay and the Folks River, but, since the disestablishment of the Panama Canal Zone, the city's limits have been redefined to include Fort Gulick, a former U.S. Army base, as well the former Canal Zone towns of Cristobal, Margarita and Coco Solo.
Puerto Quetzal
Puerto Quetzal is Guatemala's largest Pacific Ocean port. It is important for both cargo traffic and as a stop-off point for cruise liners. It is located in Escuintla department, alongside the city of Puerto San José, which it superseded as a port in importance to the country's maritime traffic during the 20th century. There is also several bars, hammocks to relax in, a restaurant, and performances from Marimba bands.


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Advanced process control in the cloud
Engineering and IT Insight: When considering which applications to move to the cloud to reduce costs, consider moving advanced process control (APC) model building and APC model validation tools—usually lightly used and usually not mission critical. Learn three types of cloud-based services.
Using the "cloud" is not something that is normally considered for process control, but the situation is slightly different when using advanced process control (APC). APC uses predictive models of a process to generate setpoints and control moves that are better than those generated by typical PID algorithms. APC is usually used where responses are nonlinear or even discontinuous and where multiple process values can be required to generate the correct control move. Implementing APC usually involves three steps: building the APC model, validating the APC model using data from a running system, and executing the model to generate setpoints and control moves.
Model execution is implemented in real-time control systems and is not suitable for moving to the cloud. Cloud response times are variable and accessibility is problematic, so this is not an environment for any real-time control. Model execution is often performed within a distributed control system (DCS), programmable logic controller (PLC), or an attached PC. Most DCS vendors provide APC elements in their control systems, but these are usually just model execution blocks that assume you have already created and validated the APC model.
APC model building, however, is different. If you are lucky to have very smart engineers, you may be able to build an APC model from first principles. First principles allow you to use knowledge of your processes to construct mathematical models, accounting for all required product quality attributes and all possible process parameters needed to achieve the attribute targets. Most people are not lucky enough to have the knowledge or resources to build first principle models. Even something as simple as a blending operation may require so much physical modeling as to make it impractical for general use. In these cases, you can use pattern analysis tools to discover the mathematical relationships between the process parameters and the quality attributes to develop an empirical model.
Pattern analysis tools take a lot of data and use a lot of computing time, but they are only occasionally needed, usually when the process changes or equipment is changed. Lots of data, lots of computing power, and only occasional needs are the sweet spot for a cloud-based solution. A purchased pattern analysis system would require servers and databases that would normally sit unused, tying up capital and consuming IT support resources.
Three types of cloud-based services
A cloud-based solution may be a system as a service (SAAS), in which the cloud service vendor provides an operating system environment, such as a Microsoft Windows Server, that runs your application. Another option is a platform as a service (PAAS), in which the cloud service vendor provides a bare-bones machine that you load with your operating system and application. A third option is an application as a service (AAAS), in which the cloud service vendor provides a full application and the environment. Any one of these options should provide a lower cost solution than locally hosting and maintaining an application that you will use only rarely. Model building for advanced process control that produces an empirically derived model is a good candidate for a cloud-based solution.
Many APC projects fail because the models are not maintained, and over time they fail to accurately reflect the real behavior of the system. There should be, but often is not, a schedule for regular validation of the model. Model validation compares the expected results from the model with the actual results from the system. When validation is not performed, small changes in material properties, or equipment changes due to aging or replacement of equipment, will eventually result in an invalid model. Invalid models will generate suboptimal or even wrong control moves for the process. Validation can be performed on every production run, but if the model was built from statistical data, then validation should be performed when only enough data is available to smooth out random variations.
Model validation is also a process that requires a lot of data and computing power, yet may be only occasionally run. APC model validation is also a good candidate for a cloud-based solution. One of the advantages of a cloud solution is the general ability to scale up the database space available and computing power available for short periods of time. Online retailers take advantage of this by scaling up during the main shopping seasons, then downsizing and saving money during off-seasons. You can use these same scale-up features to validate your APC models when the cloud vendor's systems are being least used and are available at reduced rates.
When considering which applications you can move to the cloud to reduce your capital and support costs, consider moving your APC model building and APC model validation tools. These tools are usually lightly used and are usually not mission critical applications. So when your CIO says, "Everything to the cloud," your manufacturing IT team will have a plan in place.
– Dennis Brandl is president of BR&L Consulting in Cary, N.C., www.brlconsulting.com. His firm focuses on manufacturing IT. Contact him at email@example.com. Edited by Mark T. Hoske, content manager, CFE Media, Control Engineering and Plant Engineering, email@example.com.
ONLINE extra – This posted version contains more information than the print / digital edition from March 2013 Control Engineering, including explanation of three types of cloud-based services
Do you have experience and expertise with the topics mentioned in this content? You should consider contributing to our CFE Media editorial team and getting the recognition you and your company deserve. Click here to start this process.


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Zuni Ricotta Gnocchi
Source: From The Zuni Café Cookbook.
Yield: Makes 40 to 48 gnocchi (serves 4 to 6)
Prep time: Step 1 will take 24 hours. Steps 2 through 4 will take approximately 1 hour.
- If you can find it, use fresh ricotta. As Judy Rodgers advises in her recipe, there is no substitute for fresh ricotta. It may be a bit more expensive, but it's worth it.
- Do not skip the draining step. Even if the fresh ricotta doesn't look very wet, it is. Draining the ricotta will help your gnocchi tremendously.
- When shaping your gnocchi, resist the urge to over handle them. It's okay if they look a bit wrinkled or if they're not perfectly smooth.
- If you're not freezing the gnocchi for later, cook them as soon as you can. If you let them sit around too long they may become a bit sticky.
- For the variations to the challenge recipe, please see the end of the recipe.
Equipment required:
- Sieve
- Cheesecloth or paper towels
- Large mixing bowl
- Rubber spatula
- Tablespoon
- Baking dish or baking sheet
- Wax or parchment paper
- Small pot
- Large skillet
- Large pan or pot (very wide in diameter and at least 2 inches deep)
For the gnocchi:
1 pound (454 grams/16 ounces) fresh ricotta (2 cups)
2 large cold eggs, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon (1/2 ounce) unsalted butter
2 or 3 fresh sage leaves, or a few pinches of freshly grated nutmeg, or a few pinches of chopped lemon zest (all optional)
½ ounce Parmigiano-Reggiano, grated (about ¼ cup very lightly packed)
about ¼ teaspoon salt (a little more if using kosher salt)
all-purpose flour for forming the gnocchi
For the rainbow chard sauce:
2 tablespoons butter
½ medium onion, chopped
15 – 20 leaves fresh rainbow chard (or similar), rinsed and chopped (leave the water on the leaves after rinsing
salt to taste
Step 1 (the day before you make the gnocchi): Preparing the ricotta.
If the ricotta is too wet, your gnocchi will not form properly. In her cookbook, Judy Rodgers recommends checking the ricotta's wetness.
Step 2 (the day you plan on eating the gnocchi): Making the gnocchi dough.
To make great gnocchi, the ricotta has to be fairly smooth. Place the drained ricotta in a large bowl and mash it as best as you can with a rubber spatula or a large spoon (it's best to use a utensil with some flexibility here). As you mash the ricotta, if you noticed that you can still see curds, then press the ricotta through a strainer to smooth it out as much as possible.
Add the lightly beaten eggs to the mashed ricotta.
Melt the tablespoon of butter. As it melts, add in the sage if you're using it. If not, just melt the butter and add it to the ricotta mixture. (I didn't use any flavorings other than the butter, egg and Parmesan cheese.)
Add in any flavouring that you're using (i.e., nutmeg, lemon zest, etc.). If you're not using any particular flavouring, that's fine.
Add the Parmigiano-Reggiano and the salt.
Beat all the ingredients together very well. You should end up with a soft and fluffy batter with no streaks (everything should be mixed in very well).
Step 3: Forming the gnocchi.
Fill a small pot with water and bring to a boil. When it boils, salt the water generously and keep it at a simmer. You will use this water to test the first gnocchi that you make to ensure that it holds together and that your gnocchi batter isn't too damp.
In a large, shallow baking dish or on a sheet pan, make a bed of all-purpose flour that's ½ an inch deep.
With a spatula, scrape the ricotta mixture away from the sides of the bowl and form a large mass in the centre of your bowl.
Using a tablespoon, scoop up about 2 to 3 teaspoons of batter and then holding the spoon at an angle, use your finger tip to gently push the ball of dough from the spoon into the bed of flour.
At this point you can either shake the dish or pan gently to ensure that the flour covers the gnocchi or use your fingers to very gently dust the gnocchi with flour. Gently pick up the gnocchi and cradle it in your hand rolling it to form it in an oval as best as you can, at no point should you squeeze it. What you're looking for is an oval lump of sorts that's dusted in flour and plump.
Gently place your gnocchi in the simmering water. It will sink and then bob to the top. From the time that it bobs to the surface, you want to cook the gnocchi until it's just firm. This could take 3 to 5 minutes.
If your gnocchi begins to fall apart, this means that the ricotta cheese was probably still too wet. You can remedy this by beating a teaspoon of egg white into your gnocchi batter. If your gnocchi batter was fluffy but the sample comes out heavy, add a teaspoon of beaten egg to the batter and beat that in. Test a second gnocchi to ensure success.
Form the rest of your gnocchi. You can put 4 to 6 gnocchi in the bed of flour at a time. But don't overcrowd your bed of flour or you may damage your gnocchi as you coat them.
Have a sheet pan ready to rest the formed gnocchi on. Line the sheet pan with wax or parchment paper and dust it with flour.
You can cook the gnocchi right away, however, Judy Rodgers recommends storing them in the refrigerator for an hour prior to cooking to allow them to firm up.
Step 4: Cooking the gnocchi.
Have a large skillet ready to go. Place the butter and water for the sauce in the skillet and set aside.
In the largest pan or pot that you have (make sure it's wide), bring at least 2 quarts of water to a boil (you can use as much as 3 quarts of water if your pot permits). You need a wide pot or pan so that your gnocchi won't bump into each other and damage each other.
Once the water is boiling, salt it generously.
Drop the gnocchi into the water one by one. Once they float to the top, cook them for 3 to 5 minutes (as in the case with the test gnocchi).
When the gnocchi float to the top, you can start your sauce while you wait for them to finish cooking.
Place the skillet over medium heat and melt the butter. Swirl it gently a few times as it melts. As soon as it melts and is incorporated with the water, turn off the heat. Your gnocchi should be cooked by now.
With a slotted spoon, remove the gnocchi from the boiling water and gently drop into the butter sauce. Carefully roll in the sauce until coated. Serve immediately.
Variations: For the gnocchi, you can flavour them however you wish. If you want to experiment by adding something to your gnocchi (i.e., caramelized onion, sundried tomato), feel free to do so. However, be forewarned, ricotta gnocchi are delicate and may not take well to elaborate additions. For the sauce, this is your chance to go nuts. Enjoy yourselves. Surprise us!!!
Freezing the gnocchi: If you don't want to cook your gnocchi right away or if you don't want to cook all of them, you can make them and freeze them. Once they are formed and resting on the flour-dusted, lined tray, place them uncovered in the freezer. Leave them for several hours to freeze. Once frozen, place them in a plastic bag. Remove the air and seal the bag. Return to the freezer. To cook frozen gnocchi, remove them from the bag and place individually on a plate or on a tray. Place in the refrigerator to thaw completely. (I cooked mine without thawing) Cook as directed for fresh gnocchi.


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The hotelier tradition of the Zacchera family is deeply rooted in the past. More precisely, it dates back to 1873, when Francesco Zacchera decides to open his "Osteria Milanese" tavern. Stresa, Baveno and the other gems of Lake Maggiore are already attracting travellers from all over Europe, but to a great extent, tourism facilities are still in the distant future. Francesco Zacchera has an authentic pioneering spirit. He expands the tavern which becomes the "Locanda Italia" inn; successively, it will be transformed into the elegant Hotel Splendid. Over the years, four generations of the Zacchera family work to safeguard the legacy of their forefather, in spite of the adversities and unexpected turns of history, continuing and developing a hotel business that will evolve to become the first hotel group on Lake Maggiore, one of the most important in Italy. The two World Wars, in particular, the Second World War, heavily scar the shoreline of Lake Maggiore. The fifties are a period of reconstruction and the Zacchera family also swings into action. Eight descendants of Francesco, follow in their uncle's footsteps and expand the hotel business, by renovating and converting the Locanda Italia inn into the Splendid Hotel; the only hotel in the area directly on the shore of Lake Maggiore, and then by taking over the Simplon Hotel; a four-star facility, encircled by luxuriant, centuries-old parkland. In the following decade, another jewel becomes part of the Zacchera hotel chain: the Grand Hotel Bristol, with its striking winter garden, in a unrivalled position on the Stresa waterfront promenade.The seventies are marked by the acquisition of another remarkable property in Baveno, but are also saddened by the premature death of a family member; Corrado Zacchera, known affectionately as Dino, a descendant of the forebearer, Francesco. As a tribute, the new hotel takes his name; Grand Hotel Dino. The hotel, linked by a unique art gallery to the Hotel Simplon, hosts what is to become one of the most cutting-edge conference venues in Italy, able to accommodate up to one thousand two hundred participants and equipped with the most state-of-the-art technology. In 2001, during renovations, a magnificent and innovative fitness centre; the Dino Health Club is added to the hotel facilities, which together with the private beach, the swimming pool and the magnificent grounds, and the five-a-side football pitch, allow the hotel to offer an extensive range of services, capable of fulfilling even the most diversified needs. Today, the young generations of the Zacchera family are still personally involved in the management of the hotel group. Their presence, politely discrete and professional, can be perceived in the careful and personalized welcome. This success story has been built over time, with humility, vocation and passion, where the care dedicated to customer satisfaction is evident in every single detail and where the legacy of the founder has been nurtured sagaciously brought into the 21st century.
In recognition of its outstanding professional qualities, an expert panel chaired by The Honourable Ombretta Fumagalli has presented the Zacchera family with the 2014 EXCELLENT award for TOURISM. This special accolade is given to leading players in the Italian hotel and tourism industry who seek to bring out the best in everything that Italy has to offer. The following reason was given for the panel's decision:
'The Zacchera family of the eponymous group from Baveno and Stresa is a true purveyor of excellence in the hospitality sphere. It devotes unparalleled attention to service and continually strives to enhance its facilities and surroundings with ongoing investments and innovation.'
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Energy Secretary Steven Chu plans to say that the buck stopped with him over the half-billion dollar loan made to California solar company Solyndra, using a hearing on Capitol Hill to take responsibility for the failed investment while continuing to defend his actions as not politically motivated.
Chu, in testimony prepared for delivery Thursday to a House committee, claimed he was looking out for the taxpayer when reviewing the Solyndra finances.
"As the Secretary of Energy, the final decisions on Solyndra were mine, and I made them with the best interest of the taxpayer in mind," Chu said in testimony prepared for the House Energy and Commerce Committee. "I want to be clear: over the course of Solyndra's loan guarantee, I did not make any decision based on political considerations."
Chu is the highest-ranking official to testify on the scandal, and Republicans on the committee are eager to grill him on his involvement and on why he overrode concerns from his own subordinates about Solyndra's financial situation.
Chu, in his prepared testimony, said his decision to approve the $528 million Solyndra loan was based on the analysis of experienced professionals and on the strength of the information they had available to them at the time.
"The Solyndra transaction went through more than two years of rigorous technical, financial and legal due diligence, spanning two administrations, before a loan guarantee was issued," he said.
"Based on thorough internal and external analysis of both the market and the technology, and extensive review of information provided by Solyndra and others, the (Energy) Department concluded that Solyndra was poised to compete in the marketplace and had a good prospect of repaying the government's loan."
He claimed the investigation into the matter should back up his claims that the department believed the loan was viable.
"As you know, the Department has consistently cooperated with the Committee's investigation, providing more than 186,000 pages of documents, appearing at hearings, and briefing or being interviewed by Committee staff eight times," he said. "As this extensive record has made clear, the loan guarantee to Solyndra was subject to proper, rigorous scrutiny and healthy debate during every phase of the process."
Chu also took responsibility for a later decision to approve a restructuring of Solyndra's debt that allowed two private investors to move ahead of taxpayers for repayment in case of default
Chu undoubtedly will face hostile questioning Thursday from House Republicans who are investigating the $528 million federal loan received by solar panel maker Solyndra before it went belly up, laying off its 1,100 workers.
In a joint statement, Reps. Fred Upton of Michigan and Cliff Stearns of Florida said they intend to find out how decisions were made to guarantee and lend more than $500 million to Solyndra. Upton chairs the energy panel while Stearns heads a subcommittee on investigations.
"We want to find out why the administration restructured the loan after Solyndra had reached a technical default, and how they explain putting private investors in line ahead of taxpayers. And we need to understand how all the warnings, from inside and outside the Department of Energy, were ignored and this risky bet was allowed to happen," Stearns and Upton said.
The Energy Department faced a difficult decision in late 2010 and early this year, he said: Force Solyndra into immediate bankruptcy or restructure the loan guarantee to allow the company to accept emergency financing that would be paid back first if the company was still unable to recover.
"Immediate bankruptcy meant a 100 percent certainty of default, with an unfinished plant as collateral. Restructuring improved the chance of recovering taxpayer money by giving the company a fighting chance at success," Chu said.
Although both options involved significant uncertainty, Chu said he made the judgment that restructuring was the better option to recover the maximum amount of the government's loan. The decision also meant continued employment for the company's approximately 1,100 workers, he said.
Chu said it was worth noting that U.S. taxpayers remain first in line for repayment of the initial loan and noted that private groups invested nearly $1 billion in the company.
Solyndra faced another crisis in August, Chu said. This time, after consulting with outside analysts, he decided that the U.S. should not provide additional support to Solyndra. Days later, the company filed for bankruptcy.
While disappointed, Chu said the U.S. should continue to support clean energy.
"When it comes to the clean energy race, America faces a simple choice: compete or accept defeat. I believe we can and must compete," he said.
Solyndra was the first renewable-energy company to receive a loan guarantee under the 2009 stimulus law, and the Obama administration frequently touted the company as a model for its clean energy program. Chu attended a 2009 groundbreaking when the loan was announced, and President Barack Obama visited the company's Fremont, Calif., headquarters last year.
Since then, the company's implosion and revelations that the administration hurried a review of the loan in time for the September 2009 groundbreaking has become an embarrassment for Chu and Obama and a rallying cry for GOP critics of the administration's green energy program.
The Obama administration is fighting back, circulating documents showing that Committee Chairman Fred Upton, R-Mich., sought the Energy Department's assistance on behalf of a solar company in his home state that, like Solyndra, recently announced it is halting operations.
But Upton spokeswoman Alexa Marrero said it is "ultimately the role of the agency" to vet the applications, which is what Marrero said the Michigan delegation asked the department to do.
"Many in Congress questioned whether the stimulus would produce the promised jobs -- at the same time, members on both sides of the aisle wanted to see jobs created and folks put back to work, especially in Michigan," Marrero said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.


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Accessibility, as it pertains to information technology (IT), is about removing barriers that inhibit the access of certain groups, including people with disabilities, mature users, and non-native language learners. When you design or modify software or hardware to allow access by the greatest number of people, you make it accessible.
Checklists and techniques
Accessibility is achieved by following accessibility standards. The standards in the IBM accessibility checklists are based on the US Standards for Electronic and Information Technology, developed by the Access Board for Section 508 of the US Rehabilitation Act, Worldwide Web Consortium (W3C) recommendations, and IBM Research. Following these guidelines can help developers and content providers understand why and what they need to do to make their technology and information accessible to people with disabilities.
Web checklist
This section provides the implementation and testing techniques and information on tools to help you create accessible Web sites and Web applications.
Software checklist
In addition to the checklist to help you create accessible software, this section includes resources such as helpful information about software accessibility test tools and additional references on software accessibility issues.
IBM Lotus Notes® application checklist
In addition to the checklist to help you create Notes applications that will be deployed on the Notes Client or the Web, this section includes additional references on Lotus Notes issues.
Hardware checklist
This checklist can help you design accessible personal computers and server hardware.
Hardware Self Contained, Closed Products accessibility
This checklist can help you design accessible copiers, printers, fax machines, and kiosks.
Documentation checklist
This checklist can help you create accessible product and Web site documentation.


text: I think happiness comes in small… moments. Like tiny bursts of falling stars. It's nothing tangible, but this light and fuzzy feeling that makes you float for just a few seconds (longer if you are lucky). It's that instant when your face breaks into an uncontrollable smile. Or when you catch something truly mesmerizing and… Read more »


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Intensely pruritic bullous autoimmune disease associated with pregnancy which tends to recur in successive pregnancies. It may begin at any time between 9 weeks' gestation and 1 week postpartum, with the average onset being 21 weeks' gestation. Usually, it lasts several weeks, but it may persist for many months after delivery. The lesions consist of grouped erythematous oedematous papules and plaques, target lesions, grouped vesicles on erythematous bases, and tense subepidermal bullae. In a high proportion of patients the eruption begins around the umbilicus and then spreads over the abdomen to the thighs. The extremities, palms and soles can be markedly affected. The disorder may be associated with other autoimmune diseases such as Graves' disease and vitiligo.
Herpes Gestationis, Pemphigoid Gestationis, Pemphigus Gravidarum, Dermatitis Multiformis Gestationis
Dermatitis herpetiformis of pregnancy, Herpes Gestationis, Herpes gestationis NOS, Herpes, gestationis


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A PLEASANT virtue, extreme, penance to an extreme course;
Also pleasant, when God is delivering me.
Pleasant, the carousal that hinders not mental exertion;
Also pleasant, to drink together about horns.
Pleasant is Nud, the superior wolf-lord;
Also pleasant, a generous one at Candlemas tide.
Pleasant, berries in the time of harvest;
Also pleasant, wheat upon the stalk.
Pleasant, the sun moving in the firmament;
10 Also pleasant, the retaliators of outcries.
Pleasant,, a steed with a thick mane in a tangle; p. 551
Also pleasant, crackling fuel.
Pleasant, desire, and silver fringes;
Also pleasant, the conjugal ring.
Pleasant, the eagle on the shore of the sea when it flows;
Also pleasant, sea-gulls playing.
Pleasant, a horse with gold-enamelled trappings;
Also pleasant to be holiest in a breach.
Pleasant, liquors of the mead-brewer to the multitude;
20 Also pleasant, a songster generous, amiable.
Pleasant, the open field to cuckoos and the nightingale;
Also pleasant when the weather is serene.
Pleasant, right, and a perfect wedding;
Also pleasant, a present that is loved.
Pleasant, a meal from the penance of a priest;
Also pleasant to bring to the altar.
Pleasant, mead in a court to a minstrel,
Also pleasant, the limiting a great crowd.
Pleasant, the catholic clergy in the church,
30 Also pleasant, a minstrel in the hall.
Pleasant to bring back the divisions of a parish;
Also pleasant to us the time of paradise.
Pleasant, the moon, a luminary in the heavens;
Also pleasant where there is a good rememberer.
Pleasant, summer, and slow long day;
Also pleasant to pass out of chastisement.
Pleasant, the blossoms on the tops of the pear-trees;
Also pleasant, friendship with the Creator.
Pleasant, the solitary doe and the fawn;
40 Also pleasant, the foamy horseblock.
Pleas-ant, the camp when the leek flourishes;
Also pleasant, the charlock in the springing corn.
Pleasant, a steed in a leather halter;
Also pleasant, alliance with a king.
Pleasant, the hero that destroys not the yielding; p. 552
Also pleasant, the splendid Cymraec language.
Pleasant, the heath when it is green;
Also pleasant, the salt marsh for cattle.
Pleasant, the time when calves draw milk;
50 Also pleasant, foamy horsemanship.
And what is pleasant to me is no worse.
And. the paternal horn by mead-nourished payment.
Pleasant, the directing of fish in the pond;
Also pleasant, calling about to play.
Pleasant, the word that utters the Trinity;
Also pleasant, extreme penance for sin.
Pleasant, the summer of pleasantness;
Communion with the Lord, in the day of judgment.