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Our selection of jams
If you love jam and you are looking for a genuine and special taste, you have to try these natural ones from Puglia. They are made with at least in 80% of fruit and without the use of preservatives.
These delicious jams are simply perfect in the morning, spread on a slice of toasted bread or as an aperitivo to accompany your favorite cheese. Discover the flavours of these fantastic products, always made in Puglia.
The jams are available in 4 different flavours which will please your senses at every time of the day.
Discover the Strawberry & Champagne, the Supreme Cherry, the Supreme Orange and the Redcurrant.
All flavours available in elegant glass jars of 350g.
"Fragola e Champagne" - Strawberry & Champagne = 9€
"Ciliegia Suprema" - Supreme Cherry = 7€
"Arancia Suprema" - Supreme Orange = 7€
"Ribes rosso" - Redcurrant = 7€
We are currently OUT OF STOCK for this type of products


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5 Best Smartphones For Active Lifestyle [Sponsored]
People who live an active lifestyle have a very specific list of requirements for their mobile phones. However, finding the ideal smartphone that meets all of your needs can be rather challenging, especially since not all phones deliver on their promises. Here is a list of 5 mobile phones that will never let you down in an unexpected situation. You can buy them, as well as thousands of other phones, on Jiji (https://jiji.ng/mobile-phones), where you can save money on shopping and still get excellent quality goods.
Sony XPERIA X Performance
Sony made a glorious return into the smartphone market with the XPERIA series of phones, and the Sony XPERIA X Performance model is the perfect choice for anyone looking for a rugged waterproof smartphone. It's not as expensive as some other models on our list, but its outstanding specs make sure that this phone has much more to offer than just its waterproof qualities.
Apple iPhone 7
Despite being the leading manufacturer in the smartphone market, Apple has never released a waterproof phone until 2016, when two of the new models, iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, received waterproof capabilities. These two phones have a lot of similarities, although there are a few key differences as well: most importantly, the larger screen size and the dual-lense camera of the iPhone 7 Plus.
Samsung Galaxy S7
The Samsung Galaxy S7 was one of the most anticipated releases of the last year, and the waterproof qualities only added to the new model's appeal. Besides the standard model, there is also a model with improved durability called the Galaxy S7 Active, which is not only waterproof, but is also equipped with a rugged body that is able to survive being accidentally kicked or dropped on the floor.
Motorola Moto G
The third generation of the beloved Moto G series became the first budget waterproof phone you can get. Despite being released in 2015, this smartphone still has plenty of attractive characteristics, which, given its affordable price and waterproof capabilities, make it one of the top choices for people with an active lifestyle. The high quality cameras and the sturdy design add to the Moto G's advantages.
HTC 10 Evo
The HTC 10 Evo is one of the latest waterproof phones to be released into the smartphone market, and it's certainly one of the best equipped ones. With more RAM, bigger storage space, and faster processor compared to the previous model in the lineup, the HTC 10 Evo can deliver excellent performance while also being your trustworthy lifestyle companion.

subset: commoncrawl


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Xpand your beer knowledge
Newest Xperiment
Experimenting with beer is what we love to do...
and the brewery is our playground. We love every sort of beer imaginable, and are excited by new ways to brew and use beer ingredients. Weather it be with the malts, yeast, hops or water. Each component is vital to the way a beer is enjoyed. The smallest tweak in mash temperature, yeast strain, maltster, hop variety, or water source makes a huge difference in the final product. How is it that a stout can taste so different from a dunkles, or a saison from a pilsner, an english IPA to an American IPA? The answer is simple, it's the way the same basic ingredients are added and used. With our Xperimental ale series, we will introduce new varieties of beer and beer styles, some classic and others not so much. We hope you will be as excited about the prospect of trying each variety as we will be in creating them. Cheers!


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London World Championships Days 2-4: The Journey Gets Rougher
Our second day in the United Kingdom was Tuesday and we planned on spending the morning in Salisbury before taking the train back to the city. We walked by the giant cathedral which is the tallest in all of England. We of course had to get coffee from multiple locations as well. Although their coffee's don't compare in size to those in the States, they definitely have more kick for the quantity. Before heading back to London we passed by a bank where I thought I could exchange some money. The teller said they don't do it their but just down the street at the H&M they do it upstairs. We headed into H&M which was a clothing store and sure enough tucked back in the corner upstairs within the lingerie and undergarments there was a money exchange. I found it quite odd of the location but I guess it is what it is.
We arrived back at the Kensington Thistle Garden around 2pm and much of Team USA Paratriathlon had just arrived and were also checking in. There were many familiar voices but were also many that I did not recognize. The team has grown so large over the last few years that its amazing. I believe the US Paratriathlon team alone was fifty people large. A team run was scheduled for 3pm and it was just what Colin and I needed to loosen up our legs from all of the sitting we had done. We did a short 30 minute jaunt in Hyde Park and begin checking out some of the course. Luckily, I had been in London three years before for a demo paratriathlon event which had much of the same course with some differences on the bike. This was important as we wouldn't be able to get on the bike or run course before the actual race do to all of the other races going on in the area.
Upon return from the run, we quickly began taking the Matrix Tandem (#paintrain) out of the box and assembling it. We had removed the derailleur when packing it to avoid any damage on transport. I don't normally do this and had a bad feeling about this when it was not screwing in smoothly when we attempted to place it back on. My gut feeling turned out to become reality as the next morning we went out for our first ride in Hyde Park. They are very strict on where you can ride in Hyde Park but I am not sure what they expected when you have over 10,000 athletes from all over the world coming over and trying to find a safe place to ride and the roads are filled with crazy motorcyclists that weave all over the road and streets that are opposite to the rest of the world. We needed to get to an entrance into the park which was only about 200m away and decided to take the sidewalk as it seemed safer. This was not well taken by an older local woman who shouted, "no cycling on the pavement." I thought to myself for a second, "I'm pretty sure both the sidewalk and the road are pavement." We knew what she meant but found it interesting on how passionate she was about enforcing local rules.
We eventually made it into the park after many twists and turns attempting to get onto the correct side of the road. We found a nice stretch of road within the park and began doing some build ups when all of a sudden "snap," something broke and it immediately smelled like burnt rubber. We managed to safely stay on the bike but looked down at the remains of the rear wheel and derailleur. Five spokes on the back wheel had snapped as the rear derailleur had ripped off the bike and was dislodged into the back wheel. All I had to say to Colin was, "I hate bikes." To give you an idea of how bad it was, pieces of the derailleur shot all over the road and another nearby biker helped us pick up the pieces and then said, "Good luck with that," as he continued on his ride. The back wheel wouldn't even turn an inch and we were forced to carry the bike over a mile and a half back to our hotel. James the team bike mechanic took a look and said we would need a Shimano Long Cage Rear Derailleur and five 258mm spokes. This was just as foreign as the country we were in if you asked me but we began another wild goose hunt to look for a bike shop that would have these items. We had no good way to call these shops and had less of an idea on how to get to them. We found a few addresses to some shops and I ran up some good international data usage with the GPS on getting to these places. Our first stop was a place named Even's Cycles and the guys were very friendly but didn't end up helping us too much other than helping us find another shop that actually had the derailleur we would need. We did buy some spokes from Evan's but of course with our luck we came to find out these were the incorrect length. My question, and this is one that I have been asking for a long long time is, "Why the heck don't they standardize parts on bikes so its not a needle in the haystack search every time you need a part?" I am still waiting for some genius to come through with this idea. We continued on our hunt and after a few transfers on The Tube came across Condor Cycles which thankfully had our derailleur. We brought the goods back to James and left them for him to do his work. I breathed a sigh of relief as I believed the disaster was over. We wanted to get a swim in on Wednesday so we took the quick dip in the chilly Serpentine Lake and did simulated race pace bouts before we went to our 3:00pm Anti-Doping meeting with WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency) which is always quite amusing. These meetings aren't intended to scare you but every time I leave one I think to myself, "Maybe the only way to ensure being clean is by just not eating at all." This thought only lasts a second or two and then I am back to eating pizza and ice cream :p
Upon returning to the Thistle we headed into the bike room thinking that the Matrix Tandem would be all fired up and ready to go. Instead, it was on the stand and the rear wheel was off along with the tubular and the spoke were still broken. The new derailleur was attached but because James was nowhere to be found we didn't know exactly what was wrong. Later we found out the spokes we got were the wrong length and now we were against the clock to find a replacement wheel or the correct spokes. I thought we may be golden when I found out that Matrix Cycles had a booth in the expo but after doing a short jaunt the next morning (Wed) we found out they had none to loan us.
We had planned to spend the early afternoon on Wednesday touring around to see the sites of London. Colin had never been there before and when you travel all the way across the pond, its pretty much essential to at least see a few sites. These plans went out the door as we now had to put out a massive search for a rear wheel. With 10,000 people in town to race a triathlon one would think this would be an easy task but with limited transportation, limited phone usage and the fact that everyone else needed their bike to ride as well it was tougher than you would expect. I put out a mass Facebook and Twitter search and got many responses but then we had to figure out which options would be compatible with the tandem. Some tandem wheels have wider hubs and some wheels such as disc wheels are not recommended due to the increased durability required for a tandem. If it was the front wheel this issue would have been solved in minutes but with my bike luck it would never be that easy. I didn't feel as bad about missing the site seeing when I saw that it was about 50 degrees outside and constantly on and off raining. The weather in London the week of the race was nothing near ideal and we found ourselves running through clothes at high rates. Each day we were there it was between 50-60 degrees and wet throughout the day. I would say that it was just like Seattle but then again Seattle weather over the past six months has been amazing.
In the evening on Wednesday, we walked past the many Rolls-Royce, Ferrari's and Mercedes Benz cars parked outside the famous Herod's department store. As we walked through the store we glanced at a few price tags and I immediately got as far from anything breakable as possible. Just to give you an idea, a large bowl was 19,000 pounds ($30,470) and the cheapest dinner plates were over 100 pounds (> $160) per dish.
For dinner on Wednesday we ate at an Irish Pub so that Amanda could eat some true fish and chips and Brittney could get some Bangers and Mash. I know you all are thinking what the heck am I doing eating at an Irish Pub two nights before the race but calm down because I had a chicken and potato dish with water. I was ridiculously hungry still when we returned so I did get a pint of Ben & Jerry's Cookie Dough ice cream and took down 3/4's of it. I would have taken it all down but I have Colin some because he looked like he needed some more calories as well.
Before we went to bed on Wednesday, Colin and I discussed our options for the bike. We decided we would use the rear wheel from Team USA Paratriathlon coach Mark Sortino who had graciously offered it to us when he knew we were in a crunch. It was a trainer wheel but this was a sprint race and the course was very technical so the advantage of race wheels was probably minimal. The relief of having a solution was more important at this point.
Thursday morning we woke up and ate breakfast with others of Team USA Paratriathlon. So great to see people like Melissa Stockwell (Also an ESPY finalist when I was in 2011), Sarah Reinertsen (CAF Poster child), fellow blind athlete Patricia Walsh and all the new faces. The hotel breakfast was yummy but we didn't have any time to waste. We had to get out on our bike that team mechanic James did an amazing job getting it back in service. Colin and I had ridden the tandem multiple times now and I was so thankful that I had him out for three days prior to traveling to London so we had that practice. The Thursday ride was purely to ensure that the gears shifted well and to work on getting in and out of 180 degree turns quickly. It is very important when riding a tandem to coordinate leaning into turns together and communicating. It was of course wet and cold which was good because we would most likely have these conditions on Friday during the race.
Thursday afternoon we had our last Team USA meeting to fire us up and remind us that we weren't just racing for ourselves but for our entire country. The mandatory race briefing was in the late afternoon and so I set Colin out to scope out the competition. I had heard that there was a young and up and coming British athlete that was a Paralympic swimmer and would be very good. I had looked at his results and knew that he may be right with us off the bike but I thought my run was much stronger and we could create a large gap before the finish. We met many of the other Tri 6 (blind/VI) athletes and they were all very nice. Many of them asked me if I was new into the sport which was kind of shocking to me but then again I hadn't raced in ITU Worlds competition since 2009 due to my strong stand against the blackout glasses rule. This rule was gone and I was back in the mix.
The International Triathlon Union (ITU) did an amazing job on making some great rule changes in the last few weeks before the race and I was very happy about this. Any governing body is going to take a lot of criticism when trying to conform to International Paralympic Committee (IPC) demands but I commend ITU for including athlete feedback into their decisions. This will continue to help the sport grow in a positive manner.
At 6:00pm on Thursday, we were given the opportunity to swim the swim course which was key for me to know the shape and orientation of the course. Because I can't see the buoys, it really helps to swim the course prior or at least have the shape and number of turns laid out for me. We swam the 750m course twice with a few race pace simulations at the start and finish. Colin did an amazing job of getting his stroke in rhythm with mine so that water didn't go in my mouth when I breathed. The maximum length of the tether of one meter still puts you very close to your guide and splashes from their stroke can make breathing difficult if both athletes are not in sync. I felt very confident about the swim when we were done and it was time to get out and get some dinner.
For dinner, we met up with Brittney and some of the local friends that she knew from her stent of living in London. Daniel and Eva were awesome and we gave them each a CDifferentwithAaron shirt so they would be a part of CDWA Nation. We went to a nearby Italian restaurant and I got a pizza and ate it all. Their young daughter Ella entertained us throughout dinner and around 9:00pm it was time to head back to the Thistle to get our stuff ready and hit the sack.
The process of putting our stuff out for the race was very quick and I felt like I was missing stuff but then I just realized I felt this way because I didn't have 20 plus fake tattoos to lay out. Under ITU rules, any logos on your body is considered "Ambush Marketing" and is not allowed during any part of the competition. This made me a little sad because I have so much fun covering my body with sponsor logos and CDWA eye tats. I told myself, "Aaron you just need to get over it and move on." I was very tired and this made it easy to fall asleep despite being the night before the biggest race of my season. We curled up on our small twin size European style hard beds and dozed off until race day.


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How to pass the VCE IT exam
(Or at least a few tips that might come in handy)
I am not an examiner.
I have not marked VCAA exams.
I do not know this year's exam questions.
EXTRA INFORMATION ABOUT HOW MARKERS TEND TO MARK PAPERS – 14 November 2011
- If a question asks for (say) 2 reasons, or 2 factors, and you give 3 points, markers will read all the points given and award marks if 3 good points are given. In other words, the marker tries to find marks for you. So if you are asked for 2 points, and your first point is wrong, but you then gives 2 good points, you can still get two marks.
- Markers are not asked to stop reading answers after the requested number of points has been given, so you can write a load of rubbish and still get full marks if you somehow get to the correct stuff by the end. Of course this is to be avoided – it will waste your valuable time!
- The point above does not always apply. In some questions in some years, markers will NOT search for valid points in a pile of rubbish in order to give away marks. It's possible that markers may be asked to find marks for the top kids and not to give away easy marks for the weak students in order to get a better spread across the range.
- If a question asks for a "List and Describe", it will be marked 1+1=2 marks.
- If asked for 2 points and you give 2 points
- 2 marks generally means 2 points need to be made, or a good point with a good reason for it.
- 2 marks for a "discuss…" question can also indicate you have to give a point from each side of the discussion (and if you gave 2 points from the same side of the discussion, you only get 1 mark)
- If asked for 2 points and you give 3…
- if is blatantly wrong, or contradicts of of the two other good points, you cannot get full marks
- if one is wrong, but does not contradict the other two, you can get full marks
- if one is weak due to obvious cluelessness ("NFI" syndrome) you cannot get full marks
- If the number of points required is not given (e.g. "Suggest why this strategy is not going to be effective.") sometimes, two marks is taken to mean 3 points are required if the points are really obvious.
Want to know the secret of how to pass the IT exam? Here goes, in brief…
The IT Lecture Notes' Golden Rule: use common sense.
- know the meanings of IT words and concepts in the ITA section or SD section of the study design and its glossary. More particularly, know the subtle differences between similar words (e.g. bit vs byte)
- if given a case study, your answer must be relevant to that organisation, not for any old organisation.
- if you can think of various options, choose the best option, not just the first option you thought of
- read the question carefully and work out exactly what it wants you to do before you start writing
- identify the verb of the question and obey it: if asked to list, simply give the names of things. If asked to "explain" or "describe", give detail, examples, reasons.
- use IT terms like "data" and "efficiency" and "hard disk" properly
- do not be irrelevant, vague and waffly. Answer succinctly. Explain yourself when necessary. Don't try to bluff.
- answer the question you were asked, not the one you wished you'd been asked
The exam is your way of showing how much you know about IT. The examiners do not deliberately try to trick or confuse you (but they often do accidentally confuse people.) They are really keen that you do as well as you can.
Work out the key knowledge that each question is fishing for and demonstrate your knowledge of it to the marker. If the question is ambiguous, unclear or vague, guess what the examiner was probably hoping to try to say and give that key knowledge.
You must have a study and revision method that works for you. Don't worry about how other people learn best. You do what works best for you. Now is not the time to be experimenting with "interesting" exam preparation fads.
If you know you learn best by reading and writing, read and write your notes with a pen. If you learn best by typing, type. If you learn best by listening, record your notes onto tape and listen to them over and over.
Many students believe music helps them study. Sometimes that is true. I find music with lyrics is really distracting if I'm trying to learn text stuff. Try music with no lyrics, not too loud either. Have you ever tried Gregorian chants as background music? It's actually quite soothing when you're stressed.
TIP: If you really want to know if you understand something, teach it to your mother, grandfather or little sister. As soon as you get a confused "Huh?" from them, you know you need to study some more. If you can't explain it, you don't really understand it.
Look at previous and practice exams both old and more recent. Work on them under exam conditions, with a strict time limit. Compare your answers with the solutions. If you find you're way off track with an answer, you know what you need to do more research on. Even if you can't put aside 2 hours for a full paper, set yourself 10 minutes for a 5 mark question.
You should build a personal summary of the key knowledge in the Areas of Study in the course: a brief outline of the main concepts, key words, and examples. Do not try to plough through your textbook once a week. Daily refreshing of your neurons is far more effective in establishing long-term memory. Weekly "pig outs" on huge quantities of material will not only leave you mentally exhausted after the first hour, but will evaporate quickly in the next two days.
You'll also be so discouraged that you'll do anything to avoid returning to that subject.
If you know you have trouble with certain concepts or words, write (or draw) a really good typical example of it that you can remember easily. A brief, concrete example of each will be far more memorable than an abstract paragraph full of words.
Do not try to memorise paragraphs of text. Learn concepts. You will not be asked to recite paragraph 3 on page 115 of your textbook. You will be asked to put knowledge to practical use.
Know the difference between easily-confused words: effectiveness vs efficiency, data vs information, testing criteria vs testing methods.
Learn basic IT terminology and use IT words carefully. Referring to a 3.5″ disk as a "hard disk" or saying "He should get more megs" will earmark you as a complete doofus. Start your own personal glossary of words you know you have trouble with. For each word, define it (or use an example of it) so you understand what it means. Never work with notes you don't really understand. You're wasting your time. Go back, learn the basics, then come back to the notes.
You are not expected to be an engineer, but you should have a good general knowledge of computer-related topics. You won't be expected to know the structure of TCP/IP packets, but you will be expected to know what a webpage is, and how you can make a good one. You should know: a web site, a browser, web server, email, virus, hard disk, laser printer, monitor, software vs hardware, scanners, operating systems, application software, utilities, USB ports, modems, CD-ROM, RAM, megabyte, wireless networking – that sort of thing. Remember that you will probably not be asked "What is RAM?" but a question could well use the word "RAM" and you will be expected to know what it means so you can answer the question.
On the day before and the morning of an exam, don't break routine. Don't go to bed at 6pm aiming to be super-bright in the morning. You'll probably wake up at 3am and not be able to get back to sleep. Don't have a massive breakfast if you usually have a light breakfast. You don't want to discover for the first time during an exam that your bowels can't handle porridge, bacon, Fruit Loops and muesli.
Do NOT try studying until 3am on the morning of the exam: if you're not already up-to-speed, this will be useless. Studying at such hours is only about 2% effective anyway. Go to bed. Pretend you're on a tropical island until you get to sleep. If you find yourself tossing and turning, stop thinking "exam". Think of something quite dull, e.g. shelling peas, mowing the lawn, your favourite episode of Gilligan's Island.
Your IT exam is at 3pm. What are you usually doing at 3pm? Is your brain in a dozy state and do you always veg out for an hour after getting home? Are you alert and active? If you are dozy and flat at 3pm, practise doing heavy brain work at 3pm for a while before the exam. Get your body clock into training for working instead of turning off and having a snooze.
Make sure you know when and where the exam will be held. Don't miss half the exam because your mate Fred said it was at X o'clock. It is very embarrassing to turn up at the wrong venue too. You do not get extra time if you arrive late. Stupidity is not a grounds for "consideration of disadvantage."
Go to the toilet. Go twice if necessary. Deal with other bodily needs too. You don't want an urgent toilet trip in the exam to break your concentration and waste writing time.
Make sure you have a grey-lead pencil and a sharpener for the multiple choice section. You are also allowed to take in pens, highlighters, erasers and a ruler. Take plenty of spares!
Have a reliable watch to prop up on the table in front of you so you can better keep track of time.
Have your own tissues if you have the sniffles. Hell. Take 'em even if you're feeling fine.
You must have a greylead pencil (no fainter than HB) for the multiple choice section.
You are not allowed to take in :
- mobile phones (or any other communication device)
- calculators (except for a scientific calculator in SD)
- computers (unless you have been approved)
- dictionaries (even if you are in ESL)
- cheat sheets, books, notes, blank paper
- white-out liquid or tape
Clever people might even sharpen their pencils before the exam, and bring a spare pencil or spare leads for a mechanical pencil. You will probably also want a ruler or Mathomat in case you're asked to draw a chart or design a page, or do a DFD etc. Just don't spend half an hour trying to produce works of art.
Make sure you know your VCAA student number.
Read the instructions carefully on how to mark the multiple choice answer sheet. Get it wrong and the machine won't be able to read your answers. If you're lucky, a human will notice the problem and fix it by hand.
You are not allowed to handle a pen or highlighter during reading time. Put it down! You are definitely NOT allowed to use your fingernail to mark the exam paper.
Read actively. Don't just skim without paying attention. Read ALL the questions before you answer any of them. Read the instructions carefully. If you are told to "answer 2 of the following 6 parts", work out which two you will tackle. Look for landmark words like "data" or "information", "efficiency" or "effectiveness". Raise a mental warning flag when you reach such key words and pay very careful attention. Misreading a question could lead to a 100% wrong answer.
Be on the lookout for multi-part questions. Many questions will be multi-part with instructions on what you are meant to do. Look for key words in the instructions like "and" & "or". e.g. "Answer part A or part B", "Choose one of the following…"
If you are told to give (for example) TWO reasons, give the number of reasons asked for. While the marker will keep reading extra points looking for relevant responses, you are wasting your time. Think through your answer first, identify the correct number of important relevant points and write them down.
Furthermore, excessive writing can be hazardous. If you give more than the required number of points but one is really bad or contradicts one of the good points you made, you will not get your full marks! Cluelessness is punished.
If you choose more than one option in a multiple choice question, you get no marks.
Pay very careful attention to the stems or verbs in questions: they are not chosen at random. Learn the difference between these question stems:
- outline – give a broad, brief summary without much detail
- list – give the names of. That's ALL! Don't describe, don't explain, don't give examples. Just give their names.
- sketch/draw – draw a picture!
- explain – provide reasons for something
- justify – defend your decision about something with good reasons
- recommend – choose the best option from a set of possibilities (if based on a case study, make sure your recommendation is appropriate to that particular case!)
- describe – give a detailed account of something
- analyse – critically discuss the component parts of something
Look at previous exams to see what sorts of stems are used in questions, and check the examiners' reports to see what the examiners thought about students' answers to those questions.
Plan your time. The number of marks for each question is given to you. Give each question the time appropriate for how many marks it is worth (about 1.3 minutes per mark). Writing half a page for one mark is foolish.
The length of each answer, and the amount of detail you should go into, are suggested by the number of lines provided in the exam book. Examiners have complained in the past that students do not explain things in enough detail.
The examiners reported on the 2000 exam: "Generally, students should be urged to write longer responses when asked in a question to 'explain' or 'justify'. Many students did not provide enough detail to obtain full marks. For example, students would be expected to provide more than a one-sentence response to a question worth 4 marks that warranted an explanation or justification."
On the front cover of the exam book, fill in your student number in digits and words, for example…
Keep an eye on the clock. Ration your time strictly according to the value of the questions.
2016 Note – the Informatics exam format has changed. React appropriately!
The (old) IT Applications exam, for example, has 90 marks and you have 120 minutes: allocate about 1.3 minutes per question. You might find the multiple choice are quicker to answer because there's no writing. You might allocate 1 minute to each of the multiple choices (spending the time to very carefully read the question and options… they can be quite tricky!) . This will leave 100 minutes for the remaining 70 marks: about 1.4 minutes per mark (e.g. a 3 mark question would deserve 4.2 minutes)
In Informatics, allocate equal time for 1 mark in both sections B and C.
IN ALL QUESTIONS: Read each question at least twice before answering it. Look for key words like data, information, criterion, method. Let them raise red warning flags in your head.
Tip: after deciding on an answer, imagine a trusted teacher/friend whispers into your ear "Have you read the question properly, you complete and utter idiot?" Look back to the question and try to find where you might have forgotten or mis-read a key piece of information.
If you can't see anything wrong – great! You are probably correct (and move onto the next answer).
If you suddenly shiver and think "O, Dog. I didn't notice that" – read the question yet again and formulate a new answer. Or stubbornly decide to use your original answer and acknowledge that you are irremediably stupid and should start choosing a different career path as soon as this exam is finished.
1. Part A – Multiple Choice Section (Informatics, SD)
The first section of the exam is multiple choice, to be completed on mark sense cards. Make sure you have a grey-lead pencil!
Look for the MOST CORRECT answer. Don't settle for the FIRST one that COULD be right… there might be a more correct answer later. e.g.
What data type is "4 August 2004" – <A> Text,<B> Alphanumeric, <C> Numeric, <D> Date/Time?
If you chose "Alphanumeric" you would be technically correct, but the better, more precise answer is Date/Time. You would not get a mark for choosing <B>.
Multiple choice questions are famous for "distractor" options that suck in stupid and careless people, or those who don't read carefully. Often, options will be VERY similar and need some thought to tell the right from the wrong. In multiple choice, the time saved answering the question should be invested in READING the question more carefully. Don't answer on impulse – a question that looks easy can be deceptively tricky if you consider it properly!
2. Part B – Short Answer Questions (Informatics, SD)
Read the questions carefully, looking for key words like "List", "Describe", "Justify" and make sure you do what you're asked to do.
Look for important words like how many examples to provide, "and" / "or" because some questions are complex. Set your answer out in a table if it helps you. e.g. "Describe the benefits and disadvantages of the new hardware and software" means 4 things to talk about. Set it out in a table with columns "benefits" and "disadvantages" and rows "hardware" and "software".
Think out what the MOST important thing is you have to say – DO NOT START WRITING until you've worked this out. Put down your most important point first, then the next most important etc. Don't waste writing time on trivial or arguable points.
Put down points even if they seem bloody obvious. Don't say "Hmmm, OBVIOUSLY (this point) applies, but that's TOO obvious – I'll have to think of something more difficult". Sometimes, the bloody obvious is exactly the right answer.
Get to the point and stay on the point. When you've finished, stop writing and move on. Just writing words does NOT get marks – only relevant words count.
If asked for a number of things, only provide that number of things: writing fewer loses marks; giving more is a waste of your time. Think first, write later. The exam is a test of your thinking, not your writing powers. If you write without thinking, you are not showing your understanding of the course… and that's exactly why you're sitting in that exam. You do not get bonus marks for filling in all of the blank lines. You get marks for relevant, knowledgeable responses to questions.
Pay special attention to words you tend to confuse, e.g. effectiveness and efficiency. Data and info. Acquisition and input. If you don't read the question properly, everything you write could be a complete waste of time.
Jot down key points of your answer in point form before writing it out, especially if you have to choose which options you should discuss.
Write LEGIBLY (so your writing can be read)
Write in PLAIN ENGLISH, not some cone-headed, SMS-befuddled version of our mother-tongue. Use short sentences and make every word count. Do NOT try to impress the marker with fancy expression or talking like a lawyer in court – you'll just screw things up and sound like an idiot. Say what you need to say QUICKLY and CLEARLY. Get out of there and go on to the next question.
I know that when I read answers, I say "Thank DOG!" when someone nails the main point in the first few words – the rest is often a good example or some elaboration on the main point. In my head, they immediately get full marks with those first few words, and will only lose marks if they go on to say something DUMB.
If you strike a question that makes you think "WHAT THE…??", settle down and try to think it through calmly. If you still can't work it out, try to say something relevant. If you find the question vague or ambiguous, you may need to explain your interpretation. e.g. on last year's exam, the term "end date" in Question 9c was very confusing to some people. You could have said, "If 'end date' means the date of the final milestone, there will be a XX day delay", or "If 'end date' means the last possible day of work, there will be XX delay." Let the examiners know what you're thinking and your explanation may at least get partial marks.
Some case studies offer very little information for you to use to make decisions and recommendations. This is where saying something like "If they had 'X' then I'd recommend Option A because … otherwise I'd recommend Option B because …"
By the way, "letting the examiners know what you're thinking" does not include comments like, "I'm tired and I had a bad year and my teacher was horrible to me so can I pass please?"
Do not copy out or repeat the question! Just answer it!
If you are asked, "Give two reasons why email attachments should be limited in size" do not say, "Email attachments should be limited in size because blah blah blah…"
Only the words after "because" will earn marks!
If necessary, use headings to identify what portion of a question you are answering. e.g. If asked
What economic and technological benefits might the organisation aim for?
You might say:
Economic: blah blah blah
Technological: blah blah blah
Note that most of the time, the examiners provide separate labelled spaces for answering each section of a multipart question.
Just because you got an elephant stamp and a warm smile from your grade 4 teacher because you always answered in full sentences does not mean you should do it in the IT exam.
GET STRAIGHT TO THE ANSWER … don't repeat the question!
Summarise in your head what your main point is before you set pen to paper. If you can't summarise it in your head, you can't write it, and you'll just be wasting ink and time.
If you start running out of time, answer in point form. Saying something about each question is better than saying nothing.
If you have absolutely NO CLUE what an answer is, you'd be better off skipping it than hoping that a random answer might magically hit the spot. It's probably a waste of writing time. Go on to a question you are more confident with. Come back to it if inspiration strikes you later.
Be aware that the questions start off short and easy and get more valuable and bigger as the paper goes on. Don't run out of time before you reach the "big mark" questions.
Take a deep breath and relax. Avoid freaking out and doing something silly.
If you come across a word you're unfamiliar with, try working it out logically by the context of the question. e.g. "manipulation" is a synonym for "processing". "Folder" is the same as "directory". A question on health and safety that uses the acronym "OH&S" is probably "something Health and Safety". (It's "occupational" in case you were wondering.) Use common sense!
As soon as reading time finishes, you might want to jot down things you know you have trouble memorising e.g. the info processing cycle stages. Once jotted down, you won't have to keep them in memory them while formulating complex answers to questions.
3. Part C – Case study (SD and… yes… Informatics! Shock news for 2016)
All questions must be answered with reference to the case study. Answers that are not applicable to the case study (even though they may be technically correct in a different circumstance) will be deemed to be incorrect.
Avoid the "post mortem" discussions after you get out of the exam room. "
What did you say for question 2? REALLY? That's odd, I said…"
Such discussions will only depress you before your next exam, or ruin your mood for the post-exam parties. Forget it all. There's nothing you can do that will change the exam answers. Move on.
Good Luck
But remember, getting an A+ is not luck: it's a whole year of preparation and study.
Last modified – 2015-11-23, 13:02


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Our attention spans are getting shorter in every regard, including romantically. A study released last month made the observation that the one-time seven year itch has inched it's way closer to three years. Granted this study came as an effort to promote Hall Pass, so it should be taken with a grain of salt (as any study should), but it's still disconcerting. The article speaks more to the staling that naturally occurs rather than directly about the cheating that has become a symptom of the itch. This I understand. Relationships will ultimately become familiar and it will take a concerted effort to (for lack of a less cheesy phrase) maintain the spark. But I feel like it's at this point where that real love stuff everyone is always babbling about comes in.
I am far from an authority on this matter (obviously), but I've been lucky enough to witness it in my parents. There have been times when their relationship strays from perfect, but they come back around to that strange phenomenon of a love truer than that flutter that occurs in those first month, two months or three years. They've struggled sure, but they push through to the other side of imperfection to something more. So I guess what I'm saying is I refuse to believe that the itch has to be scratched by someone outside of the relationship.
I know plenty of people understand that this is the worst possible idea for anyone who wishes to actually stay in the relationship they've been committed to for the past seven (or three) years. Hell, the 3-year Glitch study itself listed a number of perfectly legitimate ways to foster a healthy relationship after the new love glow has lost its luster (though, to be fair, I can't imagine many people would admit to total strangers that they've cheated). But I have seen infidelity destroy enough relationships (in some cases it's decades of covert cheating that is more likely ignored than actually hidden) to know that there are also plenty of people who justify the infidelity as an easier short-term solution to meet their own needs rather than the needs of the relationship.
I often wonder what happens inside of those relationships up to and including the period of time where the individual strays. As the 4-Way article points out, I think many people who aren't satisfied with their relationships jump outside before they even take a moment to deal with it from the inside. It's easier and less sticky that way. At first. Ultimately the lying and betrayal will come back to cause a bigger mess than the offending party probably ever thought was possible.
It seems like this would be obvious. But for some reason it doesn't seem to be to those in it. I think we often expect our significant others to just know what we need. Especially after we've been with them for long enough for the bloom to fall off the relationship. I've fallen into this unrealistic realm myself. After all, shouldn't that be the perk of emerging from the honeymoon period? He's not as romantic, but he now understands me. Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately) with the ever-evolving nature of human beings, communication is still required no matter how well we know the individual with whom we've become one. And who knows, in the process of communicating our needs, we may uncover a way to scratch that itch that doesn't involve the demise of our relationships.


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[Watch] Azealia Banks - "Van Vogue" (Official Video)
Azealia Banks has once again teamed up with director Rankin—the two previously worked together on the video for "Liquorice"—delivering a rousing visualization of the Harlem beauty's track "Van Vogue", which was included on Banks' 1991 EP. The video focuses on Banks herself, quickly cutting between various shots of Young Rapunzel and her various outfits and styles. If anything, the video sure as hell shows off Banks' involvement in the fashion industry. Nicola Formichetti has definitely made a muse out of her. Watch the replay above.
In other Azealia Banks news, she recently teamed up with AraabMUZIK on a track called "Succubi", which you can stream below. The song is apparently a beef aimed at Jim Jones, which started over the use of the term "vamp". It's a pretty fucking stupid reason to start beef, but then again the rap world has been known for pointless disses and feuds. Check out the full story over at MTV.


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The first thing that comes to mind when I think of The Dark Knight a week after watching it is the great role played by Heath Ledger. The scene where he talks about his drunk father had me involuntarily touching my face, in anticipation of the gore that mercifully remains off-camera. All in all, a great villain. Pity we won't get to see him again.
Batman, in contrast, is not so great. He is overshadowed in so many scenes; can't blame him really, when you have folks like Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman as co-stars (not to mention The Joker).
The movie may be topical for an American audience, in that it explores things like how too much focus on security could lead to fascism, what people are willing to sacrifice for their personal safety [*], and so on, but these things are of not much interest to somebody who is just looking for a good action movie.
One thing that strained the credibility a bit was the power wielded by the Joker, and how he gets access to all the resources that he commands. Would have been easier to believe if he were a traditional comic book villain with superpowers or a super-weapon.
Oh, I've mentioned this before, but what's with these superhero movies where people are not able to put two and two together and figure out that the caped crusader bears a more than passing resemblance (mask notwithstanding) to the well-known local billionaire?
[*] The denouement of the ferry scene, while inducing the intended swelling of hearts in the audience, seemed a trifle contrived. Maybe it's just the cynic in me.
P.S. The high-tech kidnap scene in Hong Kong would have looked more natural in a Bond movie or in an MI sequel, IMO.
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Friday, August 29, 2008
I received this in an email from Citibank (italics mine):
Dear Customer,Dear Marketroid, if you click on the 'Profile' link on the top right hand corner of this page, you will see my picture. Please note that I am a dark-skinned Indian, and that a 'glowing tan' is the last fricken thing on my mind. Considering the fact that the email was sent from 'firstname.lastname@example.com', you guys will have to either a) stop mindlessly using copy from your international marketing *ahem* collateral or b) kindly remind your copywriters that, while they are enamoured with all things western, it wouldn't hurt them to reflect once in a while on the fact that they are in India, where people buy Fair and Lovely, not Coppertone.
When did you last abandon the boardroom in pursuit of play? Forsaken corporate schedules in favor of a holiday itinerary? Swapped your starched suit for a glowing tan?
Saturday, August 23, 2008
Lisp or Smalltalk?
I have been thinking about doing all my side projects in Lisp -- due in no small measure to taking the time to finally read Practical Common Lisp cover to cover -- and have been playing around with the various Lisp environments and libraries. Impressions:
- Programming in Lisp makes one feel good (I know, this is about as touchy-feely as you can get). The constant effort to abstract things away, looking for ways to automate repetitive code fragments, and so on brings with it a real sense of progress (at least from a programming perspective).
- Though Lisp shares the concept of an image with Smalltalk, this is not as readily apparent and IMHO as powerful as Smalltalk; for example, I need to load packages through startup files each time I start the environment.
- The Lisp environments are not as friendly as the Smalltalk IDEs where everything hangs together, so to speak.
- Library support also seems more cohesive in Smalltalk. asdf-install does provide a way to pull packages easily, but there is no way to see what packages are currently installed in the image, what *are* the 'right' packages to install, etc. Not to mention the need to load packages every time using the startup file.
- File-based development seems like a regressive step after programming in Smalltalk. For one thing, I don't know if there is an easier way to load the code from all my files than calling load every time I start the environment.
- I have a small homegrown wiki application running in VisualWorks which I wanted to see if I could redo in Lisp. After googling a bit and searching the Common Lisp web sites, two frameworks seemed worth pursuing: WebActions (modelled on Struts) and Weblocks (a Seaside-like continuations-based framework). Weblocks seems the more promising, no doubt owing to the advantages of using continuations.
Monday, August 11, 2008
Joke of the day
From a Slashdot comment:
Where did you get your php info? foreach was introduced in PHP4...
I get mine from phpinfo();
Saturday, August 09, 2008
Can you spell 'frame-up'?
From an article in The Hindu about Aafia Siddiqui:
...Ms Siddiqui was arrested by Afghan police in July along with her son — the date is unclear — after they found them loitering outside the compound of the Governor's house in Ghazni. They questioned her, and on suspicion, checked her bag, in which they allegedly found "suspicious" liquids in glass containers, a bomb-making manual, and some material on New York and its landmarks. She was handed over to the U.S. authorities on July 17.
On July 18 , Ms Siddiqui is said to have fired at American soldiers who were present at the Afghan facility where she was being held, with a rifle that one of the soldiers had left lying around. A soldier fired back, wounding her. Charged in a criminal complaint filed in the Southern District of New York with one count of attempting to kill U.S. officers and employees and one count of assaulting U.S. officers and employees
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Contact: Rose Santellano-Milem, Academic Program Specialist or Jianhong Meng, Director, Graduate Program in Food Science, Marie Mount Hall #3304, College Park, MD 20742 Phone: (301) 405-4521 FAX: (301) 314-9327 E-mail: email@example.com Website information: www.agnr.umd.edu/users/nfsc/gradfdsc.htm or www.gradschool.umd.edu/catalog/programs/FDSC.html
Degrees Offered: M.S., Ph.D.
Associated Fields and Departments: The Graduate Program in Food Science is an interdepartmental program that draws upon the faculty and resources of the Departments of Nutrition and Food Science, Animal and Avian Sciences, Cell Biology and Molecular Genetics, and Natural Resource Sciences and Landscape Architecture. Currently there are eleven members of the graduate faculty Opportunities exist for collaborative research with scientists at the Food and Drug Administration through the Joint Institute in Food Safety and Applied Nutrition and the U.S. Department of Agriculture Beltsville Research Center.
Entrance Requirements: B.S. degree from an accredited institution, GPA 3.0/4.0; Graduate Record Exam-General test with a minimum score of 1500 (Verbal + Quantitative + Analytical) required; official copies of transcripts from all institutions attended (native language as well as English translation); 3 letters of recommendation, a statement of objectives and professional experience, a UMD Graduate School Application. International applicants must take the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEL), a minimum score of 575 is required. International students must also provide documentation of adequate financial support for their studies.
Program of study: Both M.S. and Ph.D. degree programs are offered. Students may select specialized research projects in the areas of Food Chemistry, Food Processing and Engineering, and Food Microbiology. Courses in the area of specialization augment the basic food science course series, statistics and colloquium.
Graduate Requirements: M.S. requires 30 credits and Ph.D. requires course work mandated by the student's Ph.D. advisory committee. The M.S. thesis option degree requires successful thesis defense. The Ph.D. degree requires admission to candidacy preliminary examination and successful dissertation defense.
Statement of Costs: As of Fall 2001, tuition per credit hour is $289 for Maryland residents, and $448.00 per credit hour for out-of-state students, which includes all mandatory fees. Application fee of $50.00.
Availability of Financial Aid: Teaching and research assistantships are available on a competitive basis.
For more information regarding admission to the University of Maryland Graduate School please refer to: www.gradschool.umd.edu/catalog/admission.html . You may access an online application from this website.
Faculty and Research Interests
Bean, George A., Professor, Cell Biology and Molecular Genetics & Nutrition and Food Science Depts; Ph.D.; University of Minnesota; Mycotoxicology.
Giusti, Monica, Assistant Professor, Nutrition & Food Science Dept; Ph.D.; Oregon State University; Anthocyanins, carotenoids, and other natural food colorants with proven or potential biological activity and their application as natural alternatives to the use of artificial dyes.
Joseph, Sammy W., Professor, Cell Biology and Molecular Genetics Dept; Ph.D.;St. John's University; Food Microbiology & Food borne bacterial pathogens.
Kantor, Mark, Associate Extension Specialist, Nutrition & Food Science Dept; Ph.D.; Rutgers University; Food Safety; Diet & Chronic Disease.
Lei, David K.Y.,Chair and Professor, Nutrition & Food Science Dept; Ph.D.; Michigan State University; Nutrient and Gene Expression; Trace Mineral Metabolism.
Lo, Y. Martin, Assistant Professor, Nutrition & Food Science Dept; Ph.D.; The Ohio State University; Food Bioprocess Engineering; Food Processing & Engineering; Food Safety Engineering & Extension.
Magnuson, Bernadene, Assistant Professor, Nutrition & Food Science Dept; Ph.D.; University of Manitoba, Winnipeg; Food Toxicology; Diet and Cancer Prevention.
Meng, Jianghong, Associate Professor, Nutrition & Food Science Dept; Ph.D.;University of California, Davis; Food borne Bacterial Pathogens; Mechanisms of Pathogenicity; Diagnostic methods for pathogen detection.
Quebedeaux, Bruno, Professor, Natural Resource Sciences and Landscape Architecture Dept; Ph.D.;Cornell University; Crop Physiology.
Solomos, Theophanes, Professor, Natural Resource Sciences & Landscape Architecture Dept; Ph.D.; Cambridge University, U.K.; Postharvest Physiology.
Vijay, Inder K., Professor, Animal & Avian Sciences Dept; Ph.D.; University of California, Davis; Biosynthesis and Regulation of Glycoproteins.
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Oscillator Phase Noise Reduction Using Nonlinear Design Techniques
Steinbach, David
MetadataShow full item record
Phase noise from radio frequency (RF) oscillators is one of the major limiting factors affecting communication system performance. Phase noise directly effects short-term frequency stability, Bit-Error-Rate (BER), and phase-locked loop adjacent-channel interference. RF oscillator circuits contain at least one active device, usually a transistor. The active device has noise properties which generally dominate the noise characteristic limits of an oscillator. Since all noise sources, except thermal noise, are generally proportional to average current flow through the active device, it is logical that reducing the current flow through the device will lead to lower noise levels. A theory based on the time-varying properties of oscillators proposes that narrowing the current pulse width in the active device will decrease the time that noise is present in the circuit and therefore, decrease phase noise even further. The time-domain waveforms and phase noise of an active-biased 700MHz oscillator are analyzed, showing heavy saturation and high harmonic content. Redesigns of the example oscillator in active-bias and four-resistor-bias configurations show improved phase noise and lower harmonic levels at the output. Five oscillator designs of each bias configuration, each having a different pulse width, are simulated. As predicted by the theory, the narrowest current pulse corresponds to the lowest phase noise of the simulated oscillators.
- Masters Theses [19240]


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So I'm taking this anatomy class….
I'm absolutely loving it! I'm learning so so so so much!!
But now I feel like I'm doing and cueing so many postures incorrectly. How have I never really truly thought about the cues I've received from the yoga community and broken them down and really thought about how they feel in the body? And if I'm doing those few things that I've seen in just five weeks wrong, what else am I doing wrong?
I have become a nitpick monster not just with myself, but with all the bodies and students that I encounter every day. How it is at all possible to teach yoga to a group of people when everyone's bodies are so varied, beautifully and uniquely different?
Then, I decided. As ALWAYS, it is about balance. Too much of anything, even the best things in the world, will change your taste, your opinion, your outlook, your appreciation, your gratitude, your why of whatever it was that led you to label that "thing" as "best" in the first place.
Too much yoga can create laxity in the joints and muscles and ligaments.
Too much strength training can cause a loss of mobility.
Too much healthy food and you miss the treats in life.
Too many treats and you feel physically bogged down and sluggish.
Too much work and not enough time for you and you'll lose your sense of self.
Too much me-time and reflection and you can lose a sense of purpose.
The list is infinite.
I reflected on how I even ended up taking a class like this and it's because I love yoga. I love movement. The body is capable of the most wondrous things. To move and breathe and create something that feels beautiful from the inside out. It may not be perfect and "correct", but it FEELS amazing, superb, divine.
Is it important to know your body and know how to move optimally? Yes, but it is so we can move and breathe freely for as long as these temporary bodies will allow us to.
Instead of feeling like your body is limiting you, let it set your soul free.
This, my friends, THIS is yoga. Samadhi, nirvana, heavenly bliss, tranquility, light.


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I feel like I suck and I can't think of anything to blog about on my own. lol After 30 days of having someone else tell me the subject, I am at a loss for what to write about...
The kids all started school last week... Even my Livie!! She is in full time kindergarten!! Liv tells me everyday that the next day she isn't going back to school because "it's too long." It's been an adjustment, but I'm sure in the next few weeks she will be fine. :) I feel bad for loving my free time... This is from the 1st day... I had to black out her school's name on her shirt-- it's a super cute shirt from www.trenditotsboutique.com.
[caption id="attachment_4150" align="aligncenter" width="489" caption="My big girl!!"][/caption]
Taj is in 2nd grade. He missed the age cut off by 5 days when he went in to kindergarten, so he's the "old" kid in his class. He will be 8 on Tuesday!! He loves his teacher and is enjoying school so far. He was super excited that his classroom has a pet corn snake, just like our Wormy!!! He also has his friend, Tyler, in his class again. Taj is still taking gymnastics and is starting Cub Scouts next week!
[caption id="attachment_4151" align="aligncenter" width="510" caption="My 2nd grader"][/caption]
Isabel is my 7th grade middle schooler... She got her braces off 2 weeks before school started. The deal was, when they put braces on her I let her get contact lenses. You know, to balance things out. (I had braces AND glasses!! The horror!!) Well, when they yanked her braces off I told her she was too pretty and had to wear her glasses again. lol She IS beautiful!! She's playing basketball this year and I am excited for that. :)
[caption id="attachment_4152" align="aligncenter" width="531" caption="Isabel and her "hippie hair." We're workin' on it..."][/caption]
Alec is a FRESHMAN in high school!!! I can't believe I have TWO kids in high school!! I'm old!! Freshmen actually went to school a day earlier than everyone else so they had a chance to roam the school, find their classes, etc... without the upperclassmen there. Alec is loving high school. He is taking ASL and is the teacher's pet because he already knew some signs thanks to me. ;) He likes the law enforcement class (lucky! They didn't have cool stuff like that back in the day...) and he can't wait for basketball season to start!! Did I mention he's 4 inches taller than me now??
[caption id="attachment_4153" align="aligncenter" width="531" caption="Alec the freshman!"][/caption]
And last but not least, Tristan is a junior. A freakin' JUNIOR!!!!!! I have a 16 year old!! Does that whig anyone else out besides me? Tristan is playing football again this year. He's punter and I think Defensive End. Idk. I just know he looks cute and his cleats rock. lol He is excited to get his driver's license soon. He still gives me hugs in public and he's great at math. :) He's about 6 to 7 inches taller than me. Weird.
[caption id="attachment_4156" align="aligncenter" width="720" caption="#66 Check out his cleats!! He gets his triceps from me... not"][/caption]
[caption id="attachment_4155" align="aligncenter" width="531" caption="JUNIOR!!!"][/caption]
I also started back school THIS week. I took 13 hours in the Spring, 3 in the Summer and now I am taking 13 hours. I was able to squeeze all my classes into Tues and Thursday, so I still have MWF to get things done. I am nervous about this semester. My school days are loooonnnngggg and my workload is heavy. I am especially stressed about my Earth Science course. Blech. Today I nearly gave myself whiplash because I dozed off. I totally thought I was awake and paying attention... Apparently not... I guess I need more than 4 1/2 hours of sleep before a long day of listening to lectures... ;) No one took a pic of me with my cute backpack. :(


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You work hard
every day to serve
your communities
and make the world
a better place.
Together we can amplify your impact.
We provide the tools and momentum to
take your organization to the next level.
Engaging your teams & community members in fun and creative activities that draw out important insights and result in stronger solutions.
Creating and helping you implement systems that allow your team to measure what matters and create value from your data.
Sharing trends and tools to increase collaboration, generate ideas, and turn those ideas into action on a continuous basis.
Providing workshops & training that strengthens your team's ability to ask better questions and implement ideas long after we're gone.
No matter the project or setting, we're known for 5 things:
- Challenging your thinking and expanding your point-of-view
- Breaking down complicated (and sometimes intimidating) concepts into relatable, easy-to-understand bites
- Equipping you with practical tools and advice that are designed for the real world
- Breaking down resistance and building momentum
- Doing it all in a fun, creative, energetic, and inspirational environment
Just because you don't have
a data & strategy expert on your staff,
doesn't mean you can't have one on your team.
With over 10 years of experience working as a facilitator, trainer, and consultant, Bobbi Nance is the founder and President of Recreation Results LLC. Recognized as an industry leader in performance measurement and innovation, she partners with parks, open space, recreation, sports, and fitness organizations across the country to use data, trends, and strategy to drive real change within teams whose mission it is to change the world.
Before starting Recreation Results, Bobbi spent 15 years working in the field of parks and recreation in the areas of recreation programming, facility management, project management, data & analytics, and innovation. It was there that she had the opportunity to build data-driven systems and innovation initiatives from the ground up, which were featured in national publications, resulted in the Havlick Award for Innovation in Local Government, and contributed to her organization's National Gold Medal Award. These initiatives were all noted for their success in combining technical tools with people-centered processes, which led to increases in adoption, engagement, and results.
After witnessing first-hand the potential for these efforts to not only increase organizational performance, but also improve organizational culture, she decided to put her unique strengths to work on a broader scale. Since then, she's traveled across North America to provide training, project leadership, and process improvement designed to help teams work smarter, capitalize on trends, implement strategy & innovation efforts, and increase their impact in the communities where they work.
Bobbi has a Bachelor's Degree in Leisure Studies from the University of Illinois and a Certificate in Project Management from Northwestern University. Beyond that, she also is trained in GIS, SQL, HTML/CSS, and other techy-skills that give her the opportunity to get her geek on to help people-driven industries. (Don't let all those acronyms scare you though; Bobbi has a real knack for explaining the important stuff without all of the technical jargon.)
Beyond her speaking appearances at national, regional, and state events, Bobbi is actively involved in the park & recreation industry including:
Regent / Instructor for NC State University / NRPA's Revenue Development & Management School
Board Member / Instructor for NRPA's Director School
President of the Women in Leisure Services (WILS) Chicagoland chapter
Secretary of the WILS national organization
Certified Park & Recreation Professional (CPRP)
Bobbi has been featured in industry magazines, podcasts, and blogs including:
Bobbi doesn't just believe in making an impact with her business - it's a part of who she is. In her free time, she volunteers with inner-city teens to expose them to life skills through experiences in outdoor recreation including camping, hiking, canoeing and wilderness trips to the Boundary Waters. She helped found a 5K in her brother's memory which has raised over $100,000 for youth programs and organ & tissue donation awareness. Utilizing her presentation skills, she has been a volunteer speaker at high schools and events, sharing her perspective as an organ donor family member and recently had the incredible opportunity to give back on a new level as a bone marrow donor.


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Thousands in Morocco march for rights
By Souhail Karam
Sunday, 20 March 2011
Thousands took to the streets in cities across Morocco on Sunday demanding better civil rights and an end to corruption in the moderate North African country where the king this month promised constitutional reform.
"Morocco should start drawing some serious lessons from what's happening around it," said Bouchta Moussaif, who was among at least two thousand people marching alongside the city's medieval walls in the capital Rabat.
Thousands joined protests in Morocco's main city, Casablanca, in Tangiers in the north, and in Agadir on the Atlantic coast where witness Hafsa Oubou said several thousands were marching.
A government official said at least as many were protesting as on Feb. 20 when interior ministry estimates were 37,000.
The Rest…HERE


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These amazing villas, located only 600 m from the fantastic Marina Rubicon harbour in Playa Blanca, enjoy sweeping views of the islands of Fuerteventura and Lobos from their terraces. The centre of Playa Blanca is around 1.5 km away. Guests will find the nearest restaurants, bars and shopping around 6 minutes' walk from the hotel, and links to the public transport are to be found some 15 minutes' walk away. Playa Dorada beach is roughly 10 minutes' walk away. The Parque Nacional Timanfaya is about 28 km away and Puerto del Carmen is some 25 km away. Lanzarote Airport is around 37 km away.The property offers a total of 3 units. Facilities at this air-conditioned property include a hotel safe and wireless Internet access.Each villa consists of 3 modern and bright bedrooms, with built-in wardrobes. The main bedroom has an en suite bathroom with a hydro-massage shower, spa bath and direct access to the terrace. Other fittings in the villas include high-quality furniture, oak wood and marble floors, individually regulated air conditioning and heating, piped music in and out of the villa, Internet access, and a private heated pool. They also have a fabulous, modern, fully equipped independent kitchen with a fridge, cooker, microwave and tea and coffee making facilities. The bright dining room comes with fantastic views of the terrace. A wooden staircase connects to the upper floors with the amazing living room on the lower floor, which includes a big comfortable leather sofa. Other amenities include a hairdryer, double beds, satellite/cable TV, a safe, washing machine and ironing set.The hotel has an outdoor heated saltwater swimming pool, sun loungers and a hot tub, as well as a Finnish sauna and aromatic hydro-massage shower.
Club Travel Destinations


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Columbia College Coach Mike Davis put his women's basketball team through two-a-day practices Thursday and Friday to get the players back into a basketball mind-set after a Christmas layoff.
Improved communication on defense was the emphasis of those practices. Cougars sophomore forward Corri Hamilton said that communication fell into place during last night's 77-54 win over the University of Saint Mary in the Cougars vs. Cancer Classic at the Southwell Complex.
Saint Mary (1-10) shot 28.6 percent from the field, including 4 of 23 (17.4 percent) from 3-point range. The Spires also had 17 turnovers, and No. 21 Columbia (5-4) had a 65-37 advantage on the glass.
"We've been talking about talking all week," Hamilton said. "Just talking and helping everyone get to where they're supposed to be."
Columbia hadn't played since losing 86-68 to MidAmerica Nazarene on Dec. 12. As much as the Cougars wanted to mentally move past that defeat, junior point guard Tierney Seifert acknowledged that was tough to do during the layoff.
"It's always in the back of your head, but Coach really harps on moving forward," Seifert said. "What's done is done, and we have to focus on what we need to do to get to the national tournament."
Columbia led 21-19 after Saint Mary's Adrianna Brown made a free throw with 7:11 left in the first half. Seifert then hit consecutive 3-pointers, first from the left corner and then from the right corner, to launch a 20-4 run. Seifert capped that run with another 3-pointer.
"I thought early in the first half, even to maybe the 10-minute mark, we really settled for shots," Davis said. "Just kind of what they gave us is what we took, instead of getting the things we wanted."
Seifert scored all of her game-high 16 points in the first half, and she led all players with four assists. Seifert said improved ball movement led to her open looks.
"When we move the ball, get it into the post and then kick it out, that's when we see success," she said. "When we're just going around the 3-point line, passing back and forth, that's when nothing really falls for any of us."
Columbia's defense kept it in the game until its offense caught up.
"That's really what our focus has been these last two" practices "during two-a-days, is our defense," Seifert said. "We haven't really focused on offense all that much."
Laurel Wichmann and Hamilton added 15 points each. Wichmann supplied a game-high 11 rebounds, and Hamilton added 10.
Columbia beat Saint Mary 116-49 on Nov. 23. Since then, the Spires lost Ebonee Rhymes, who is no longer with the team. She was averaging 19.2 points and 7.3 rebounds per game.
"It's definitely hard not to look past them, but you have to get in the mind-set that anything could happen," Tierney said.
Korbynn Stallbaumer led Saint Mary with 12 points. The Spires scored 22 points from the free-throw line.
Petrolina Chilaka, who had been recovering from a concussion, made her season debut for Columbia and tallied four points and four rebounds in 15 minutes.
The Cougars played without Ashley Fisher, who is averaging 10.3 points per game. Davis said Fisher has dealt with leg issues all season, and they held her out last night. He expects her to return to action at 6 tonight, when the Cougars face No. 20 Cumberlands in the Classic. No. 25 William Woods beat Cumberlands 81-72 yesterday.
"We're going to have our hands full" with Cumberlands, Davis said. "They've been one of the top 3-point shooting teams in the country."
Columbia men 102, Avila 72: The No. 1 Cougars took advantage of a 62-34 edge on the rebounding department to win the nightcap of the Classic. Patric Massey led that rebounding attack with 12 boards.
"We had them outsized," Columbia Coach Bob Burchard said. "We haven't rebounded well, and that's been a huge focus for us in terms of finishing defensive plays."
Devin Griffin led five Cougars in double figures with 18 points. Wendell Crowder supplied 15 points.
This was the Cougars' first game since a 73-59 loss to Benedictine on Dec. 18.
"I thought we were lively and had lots of energy, which I was happy with," Burchard said. "I don't know that we were very efficient."
Columbia starting guard Derrick Dilworth exited the game and had to go to the hospital after sustaining a left hand injury. Burchard wasn't sure of his status for Columbia's game at 8 tonight against No. 18 Culver-Stockton (10-1). The Wildcats, who beat William Woods 93-81 yesterday in the Classic, reached the NAIA quarterfinals last season.
"They're really high-powered," Burchard said. "They play a little unorthodox in terms of they have guys who can shoot threes from all positions.


text: Denver offering up a new HTPC that can handle eight simultaneously CableCARD streams while dishing out content to some ten Media Center Extenders -- oh no, Exceptional Innovation showed up with a slightly less powerful, albeit equally effective alternative of its own. If you'll recall, EI shined last year by boasting a swank quad-CableCARD rig, and this year, the LMS-810 Life|media server raises the bar by handling twice that. The $30,000 box comes with 12TB of internal storage, two internal CableCARD slots, a USB add-on box (Life|tuner) with six other CableCARD slots and a Blu-ray writer. Those unaffected by sticker shock can look for it to ship in "early 2009." For now, you can peep the gallery below to see it in action.


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The deserts of the world are home to many strange things, both natural and unnatural. One of the strangest - and most unique things is Salvation Mountain, located outside of Niland, California. Salvation Mountain was the work of one man, Leonard Knight. Over the course of thirty years, Leonard built - and re-built Salvation Mountain out of hay bales, plaster, and paint to spread his simple but powerful message - "God is Love".
Leonard Knight, 1931-2014
Yesterday was a sad day for fans of folk art, as Leonard Knight passed away at the age of 82. Chances are that you don't know who Leonard Knight is, as his name was not a household name. But, chances also are that you know his work, which is one of the largest free-standing folk art projects in the United States and perhaps, the world - Salvation Mountain. Salvation Mountain is many things to many people - but what it is and what is was is art. And as art, it was Leonard's life's work, and his way of spreading his message - "God is Love". While Salvation Mountain was Leonard's life's work, the truth of the matter is that for the last two years, the mountain was out of his care, as he had been placed in a convalescent home.
While friends of the mountain have stepped up to continue Leonard's work - and his dream, the desert is an inhospitable place, and I for one, wonder, how much longer the mountain will last, especially now that Leonard is gone. I for one, would highly recommend that any of my readers interested in Salvation Mountain plan a trip sooner rather than later, in order that they may see the mountain as it was, and as Leonard intended it to be. I'll always remember meeting Leonard for the last time in 2010, when above all else, I was impressed by his humble demeanor and love for all. Even though it was late in the day, and he was covered with the blood of Salvation Mountain - paint and plaster, he took the time to greet all of us, discuss life, his work, the desert, and his faith without reservation. To me, you could ask no more of any artist than an honest discussion of their work, which he provided not just to me; but to all on a daily basis with much love, and clearly, the desert around Niland will not be the same without him.
Directions: If you're headed out to Salvation Mountain, navigate yourself to Niland, California, and head East. The Mountain is located a short distance from the town, and is on the outskirts of Slab City. Also, if you are are headed out to Niland, be sure you visit the water towers above Salvation Mountain, as they feature some interesting art as well.
Salvation Mountain
As I stepped out of the back of the Jetta at Salvation Mountain, I tried to unobtrusively rub my butt. The long ride had made my left cheek go completely numb. At that point, it was very clear that the seating arrangements in the Jetta TDI were not one of its positive attributes. While it did seat five adults, it was definitely not comfortable for a long journey. Then again, when we had left Mogfest in the Jetta, Denver had told us that it was only going to be a twenty minute drive to Niland. Forty-five minutes later, we had finally passed through Niland, and into Slab City. Nothing had been moving on the streets of Niland, but then again, we hadn't seen many signs of active human habitation since we had left.
There had been plenty of signs of habitation along the way, but there had been no people. We had passed empty houses that were slowly being reclaimed by the drifting sands of the desert. We had passed through towns with empty businesses that sat behind cracked parking lots with boarded windows and doors, their painted hours of operation from years past flaking off cinderblock walls. The trappings of civilization were all around us, but there were no explanations provided or given about why they had faded. It was easy to imagine fantastical scenarios about what had happened in that landscape. As I sat there, and watched everything go by, it reminded me of many things – of apocalyptic books and movies I had seen or read; of half-remembered dreams; and of what the area had looked like when I had been there before.
Mainly, what I had ended up thinking about while my back and butt had grown numb and my fellow backseat travelers had fallen asleep, was that the desert was still the place of the unknown. (http://lastadventurer.com/last-adventurers-fieldnotes/2010/5/14/the-general-wastelands-are-not-lightly-traveledstories-and-t.html).
I didn't know what had happened in all of these places; wouldn't know; couldn't know, and could only speculate. All I could determine was that the desert was a hard place as it took portions of you and changed you, weathering you in ways that you could not hope to fathom. In such an absolute terrain, I theorized, wouldn't like the changes that they found the environment making to themselves, and fled. And, others, like Leonard Knight, liked what the solitude changed in them, and in turn, used those changes to in turn change the world around them.
With this in my mind, and minor butt pain, there I was, staring at Salvation Mountain. Next to me, Denver and everyone else was transfixed by the vibrant colors of Salvation Mountain that contrasted with the dull browns and grays of the Mojave Desert. Next to me, someone whispered to me, "That's pretty awesome in a creepy way, but it's no mountain!" I laughed, the sound breaking the late afternoon silence before bouncing off the plastered yellow brick road ahead of us. Salvation Mountain while many things, is most definitely not a mountain. It's a giant work of folk art, writ large across the face of the desert in paint, plaster, and hay bales that occupies a small hill halfway between Niland and Slab City.
Salvation Mountain is and has been the work of one man – Leonard Knight, who, after serving in the Korean War, and doing a variety of other odd things, ended up outside of Niland after his plans to build a giant hot air balloon which would say, "God is Love" fell apart. (Literally. According to Leonard himself, the balloon pieces rotted and fell apart). Rather than giving up, he began constructing a massive edifice on the present location out of hay and plaster, which he then painted.
At some point, the original Salvation Mountain collapsed, but again, Leonard did not give up, and rebuilt it into the form that we were viewing.
As we approached the mountain, we passed by rusted vehicles of man, a bulldozer, a truck, and even a boat, all covered with painted scripture, and Leonard's signature "God is love" slogan, slowly weathering in the endless sun of the desert. Just as we stepped onto the first portion of the "Yellow brick road" of Salvation Mountain, Denver approached me. "Dude…" he whispered, "I think Leonard's dead now, he's…"
Exactly what Leonard was or was not, I never learned from Denver, because at that point, Leonard, looking very alive, popped out of one of the caves in Salvation Mountain, greeted us, and began to give us a tour of the forest he had recently built on the side, while discussing the plastering and painting techniques he had used. Eventually, we left Leonard behind, after thanking him for his time, and headed up to the top of Salvation Mountain, while laughing and razzing Denver for both his poor timing, as well as his poor identification skills of whether people were alive or dead. From the top, we could see the hazy outlines of the Salton Sea to the west, and the irregular clumps of Slab City to the East. After an appropriate moment of silence to such a mammoth piece of folk art, everyone started talking at once about what they thought about it. I know what I think about it. It, like many other things in the desert is the unknown, and it's good to experience it.
How to Get There: I'm going to keep this simple. If you're in Niland, California, head east. You can't miss it. Trust me. If you need better directions, check out the Salvation Mountain website, here: http://www.salvationmountain.us/map.html .
Other Tips: If you like folk art, you should also check out the "Slab City Water Towers", which are a fifteen minute walk from the top of Salvation Mountain to the East (very visible from the top). They feature two very interesting pieces: One, the "Wheel of Kama" (the pictures I took are too racy for my G-rated site!); and second, what we named the "Wheel of War" (featured herein) at the end. I'm sure they're not affiliated with Leonard, nor the mountain, but, they are great viewing nevertheless. And, if you get a choice for your parting gift from Leonard, I'd take the jigsaw puzzle rather than the DVD – because puzzles are that cool!


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Cardinals insist they're prepared to replace Dansby
Karlos Dansby could have signed a two-year free-agent deal with the Bills in the spring of 2013, but he had bigger plans.
"Everybody wanted to give linebackers two-year deals last year, but I said, 'No. I'll do a one-year because what I bring to a team is a gift that's not given to everybody. I'm God-sent!" Dansby said Friday. "I have the ability to change any organization into a winner. Guys will gravitate to me. I don't have to be out front, but guys feel my presence and they know there's something different about me when they bear witness."
Dansby got his wish last month when he signed a four-year deal with the Browns. The Arizona Republic reported that the Cardinals were only willing to offer two years.
"That's a big loss because he's a great leader," defensive end Calais Campbell said. "The knowledge you get from having a guy like that around is hard to replace."
The Cardinals insist they're prepared to replace the guy who led them in tackles (122, 114 solos) while adding 6 1/2 sacks and four interceptions.
Showing some spirit
"You're going to lose at least 10 guys a year the way this league is set up now between free agency, injuries and whatever else," defensive coordinator Todd Bowles said. "You have to plan for that. Somebody else just has to step up."
For now, that player appears to be Kevin Minter, the Cardinals' second-round pick in 2013 (45th overall). Minter was largely relegated to special-teams play last season due to the superlative play of Dansby and Daryl Washington, but he'll get the first crack at replacing Dansby, while Lorenzo Alexander also could see time inside.
When Minter arrived, coach Bruce Arians described him as "a thumper," a clear indication that Minter's body type and skill set are a little different than Dansby's.
"He has different athletic abilities. He's more of a downhill player whereas Karlos was a longer, more fluid athlete," Bowles said. "Kevin has to put his own stamp on things. He doesn't have to be as fluid and graceful as Karlos. He just has to get the job done. If there are some things he does well, we'll tweak more to his style, and if there are things he doesn't do as well, we'll tweak there, too."
The Cardinals will get a clearer picture of Minter's ability in OTAs and minicamp before deciding whether they need to add another piece in free agency. But the addition of cornerback Antonio Cromartie in free agency, the return of injured outside linebackers Sam Acho and Alexander (both were lost for the season in Week 3 last year) and last season's No. 6 overall defensive ranking has the Cards more than confident.
"We have two Pro Bowl cover corners now," defensive tackle Dan Williams said. "I think we're going to be a top-five defense."
You're going to lose at least 10 guys a year the way this league is set up now between free agency, injuries and whatever else. You have to plan for that. Somebody else just has to step up.
Cardinals defensive coordinator Todd Bowles
While Campbell acknowledges that Dansby was a major cog in last season's success, he also thinks a full year under Bowles will be evident this season.
"Once we figured it out last year, we were hard to beat," Campbell said. "I just hope we can start a little faster this season."
That is exactly what Bowles will be preaching when offseason workouts begin.
"I don't believe in momentum from season to season, even if you have the same players," he said. "Swagger comes from practice and attention to details, and that's where we're going to put our focus."
As for Dansby, the chance to play for defensive-minded head coach Mike Pettine in a scheme he understands has him focusing on the loftiest of goals in Cleveland.
"What people don't understand is I want that yellow (Hall of Fame) jacket, and that's how Ray Lewis got it, by playing in this defense," Dansby said. "That's why I came back (to Arizona), because Todd Bowles has a version of the same scheme.
"It's checkers, not chess. King me!"


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Griffin designed and rigorously tested Survivor All-Terrain to be the most protective case possible for whatever your day has in store. Built from the inside out to meet or exceed the standards published in US Department of Defense MIL-STD-810G, Survivor All-Terrain protects your phone from extreme conditions, including drops, dust, sand, rain, impacts, vibration, and a host of other environmental factors. Survivor All-Terrain's 4 layers of protection start with a foam-lined shatter-resistant polycarbonate frame clad in rugged, shock-absorbing silicone. A built-in screen protector snaps on to seal your touchscreen from the outside environment. Volume and power buttons are covered, and hinged plugs seal the Lightning connector, headphone port, and hold switch. And, to make it easy to carry, a detachable heavy-duty rotating clip secures your phone to your belt or bag strap.
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Carrying Case
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This week in scrapbooking, we've really been talking about finding the joy in scrapbooking. Did you catch that? Monday I talked about the type of scrapbooker I've come to be and Wednesday, I encouraged you to find a positive word to fill in the blank, "I am a ________ scrapbooker."
Remembering & Finding the True Joy in Scrapbooking
Those topics go hand in hand. Somewhere along the way, it seems so easy to fall in love with scrapbooking initially but it seems there's always somewhere we fall out of love with it. Why does it seem so hard to fall back in love with scrapbooking again?
I think the first step has to be figuring out where the real joy is from. That's gonna be different for each of us. But, I think just as in the joy in life isn't in the stuff or even necessarily the things we do, the same is true in scrapbooking. It's not the couch, the lamp, the car, etc that really are were the good stuff in life are. Joy just can't be found in things like that (the real true joy even when it comes close is that it's an expression of us, a feeling etc.) The same is true about the all those cute and wonderful supplies and that technique you've been wanting to try with washi tape.
The real joy of scrapbooking is much deeper. For me, it's a number of things:
1) Appreciating Life
Seriously, it's the best thing that happens to me when I scrapbooking or after I've had a dose of scrapbooking. It makes me appreciate life- appreciate the many good things or even give me an appreciation for the not so stellar times.
2) Learning about myself
It happens. Some of it comes from increased awareness and looking for stories. But, it also comes to me as I set out to tell a story and it ends up going in a different direction. Or just as a sit and stew about a story.
3) Sharing my stories
Ultimately, I've come to peace to peace with the fact that the first two reasons are more than enough reason for me to enjoy scrapbooking. But, I still couldn't tell you that I don't love watching others enjoy my pages and read the stories.
Here's the thing for me- all of that is centered around telling the story. When you take a look at where your true joy is when it comes to scrapbooking, it doesn't make sense to hang your hat on all that other stuff. Sure, the supplies are fun- I do have a bucket of washi right here on my desk that makes me smile. But, when it comes to scrapbooking I'd much rather focus on the story and not the washi tape. Doesn't that make more sense?
It really is kind of like life, when we get our priorities skewed, everything else gets out of whack. It happens, we focus on the wrong stuff. We lose sight of our true goals in scrapbooking. We start to hear the voices and send ourselves negative mental messages. And then, we lose the joy. The first step to recovery has to be remembering the real joy and then we can work on the rest.
What are you scrapbooking reasons? What brings you joy in scrapbooking? Share with us in the comments below.