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It is one of Churchill's most famous quotes, delivered in 1941 at Harrow, a boys' school in northwest London:
"Never give in," Winston implored from the podium. "Never, never, never, never, in nothing great or small, large or petty: never give in except to convictions of honor and good sense; never yield to force; never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy."
That directive remains true today whether in wartime or peace, through life or its great sporting metaphor, the game of golf.
You see evidence everywhere -- in tales of survival and heroism against all odds; in business where volumes are filled with one tenacious success story after another; and, of course, if you look hard enough, you see it in the pristine fairways of some of the world's greatest courses.
Ernie Els never gave in, even when others had written him out of the winner's circle forever. His putter had abandoned him and his nerves were too raw. He'd had his time and his place, his name and likeness forever memorialized in the World Golf Hall of Fame. But the insecurities of age had crept into his game, or so most experts said.
Els, for all his past glories, was now filler in a field of future champions.
That perception didn't stop him. If anything, it fired him up. He dug deep within himself, never yielding to the negativity, never succumbing to doubt, and never giving up on a shot, even when he was four shots down playing his final hole in the Open Championship.
Keegan Bradley never gave in, either. Though his odds of winning the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational seemed bleak at best, he never played a casual shot or showed any inkling of resignation. Even when people openly wondered if his PGA Championship victory was a fluke; even when they used words like "nice player" to describe him, Bradley never relented. The inevitable wasn't inevitable as long as there were shots left to play.
Sergio Garcia never gave up, even though he knew most serious conversations about his career focused on what he hadn't accomplished rather than what he had. Two years removed from being Colin Montgomerie's assistant captain in the Ryder Cup, Sergio had long outgrown the "best player never to win a major" title and had moved into also-ran territory. His thrilling shots and wealth of potential were from a bygone era, a different century, so far removed from the current consciousness that players like Rory McIlroy weren't yet in middle school when they took place.
But Sergio refused to give up the fight. He wanted to make another Ryder Cup team and prove to everyone -- including himself -- that the competitive fires still burned inside.
Now, his place on the wall of champions in Greensboro means more than an eighth PGA Tour win and more FedExCup points: it is a symbol of never giving up, even when it is expected, even when you can.
And, finally, there is the saga of Steven Fox, a player almost no one outside his hometown of Hendersonville, Tenn., knew. Even golf fans in Chattanooga, where Fox is a senior team captain at the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga, had never heard of him.
Then came Cherry Hills and last week's U.S. Amateur.
Fox was one of 312 players from 43 states and 20 countries to tee off in Denver. Other than his family and his college coaches, hardly anyone noticed. Then he advanced to match play, surviving a sudden-death playoff where 17 players vied for the final 14 spots.
Then he won one match, and another, and a third, beating the No. 1-ranked amateur in the world, Chris Williams, and another, beating highly-touted 21-year-old Brandon Hagy from Westlake Village, Calif., to make it to the finals against Michael Weaver.
It looked like that was where the story would end. Though the 36-hole final seesawed back and forth, Weaver rolled in a birdie putt at the 16th in the afternoon to go 2-up with two to play. Dormie. All he had to do was halve one of the final two holes and it was over.
But Fox never gave in. He birdied the famous par-5 17th to extend the match, and then watched as Weaver missed a five-footer for par at the last.
On the 37th hole of the day, Fox drained an 18-footer to win, capping one of the most thrilling U.S. Amateur finales since the Tiger Woods era.
"You know, my goal was just to make it to match play the first time, being in my first U.S. Amateur," Fox said afterward. "And I just kept going and kept fighting. I'll never be one to give up. Things can click at any moment. You can find your swing or find your stroke throughout a round, and I just wanted to keep going."
The lesson is simple and sometimes clichéd. But it is also real. In golf, as in life, in big things and small, you must never, never, never, never give in.
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Wild Strawberry (Potentilla indica, formerly Duchesnea indica), also called mock strawberry, Gurbir, Indian strawberry or false strawberry belong to family Rosaceae. Its foliage and fruit are similar to true strawberry, though it is classified in a different genus, and has yellow flowers, unlike the white or slightly pink flowers of true strawberries. It is considered a noxious weed in some parts of the world.
Wild Strawberry (Potentilla indica)

subset: commoncrawl


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We're giving away amazing kits from our new Make: Ultimate Kit Guide EVERY DAY — thousands of dollars worth of merchandise, including MakerBots!
To celebrate the release of our latest publication, the Make: Ultimate Kit Guide 2012 (and its companion website), we're giving away at least one of the cool kits reviewed in the issue each day during the holiday season.
Today's giveaway is for a Gakken Mechamo Inchworm Kit (a $69.99 value.) Here is what Tyler Bennett of Cary, N.C. had to say about it in the issue:
"This kit was a lot of fun for me as well as my 11- and 12-year-old grandkids. The kids put the kit together (with me looking over their shoulders) in around two hours and then we all enjoyed running it around on the floor."
To be eligible for today's giveaway, all you have to do is leave a comment below in this post. The entry period for today's prize will be until 11:59pm PST tonight. We'll choose one person at random, you'll be notified by email, and you'll have 48 hours to respond. The Winners List is kept on the Giveaway landing page. That's it! No purchase necessary or anything else to do. Please leave only one comment per post. You can enter as many giveaways as you like until you win. This giveaway is for US residents only. You also must be 18 years old to enter (Kids: Ask your parents to enter). See the Kit-A-Day Giveaway landing page for full sweepstakes details and Official Rules.
Important Note: If you enter this drawing, when it's over, please check the place where you registered to comment (eg. Facebook, Yahoo, Twitter). Some people are winning these kits and then not responding when we send them a message using the available means of contacting them. We want to make sure you get your giveaway!


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What's an average health insurance premium?
The Commonwealth Fund recently came out with a lengthy report summarizing state trends in health insurance premiums and deductibles from 2003 through 2009. (The upshot: premiums rose 41 percent nationally during those years, while per-person deductibles jumped 77 percent.)
In Washington state, the study found, the cost of premiums rose 38 percent between 2003 and 2009, with family coverage costing an average of $12,758 here in 2009.
How's that compare to everyone else? About in the middle. In a list of the 50 states plus Washington, D.C., from highest family premiums to lowest, we come in 28th.
Also, the Kaiser Family Foundation does an annual survey on employer health benefits. The most recent one -- based on data from January through May 2010 -- found that premiums had risen 114 percent from 2000 through 2010, to a national average of $13,770. Worker contributions during the same time rose -- brace yourself -- 147 percent. (Here's a link to the gigantic full health benefits report.)
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
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The concept of "the bandwagon fan" is very controversial, but I have a fondness in my heart for the new fan. After all, it was at this time of year that I myself hopped on the Sabres bandwagon. Every fan has to start somewhere, and often fandom is inspired by the playoffs. The current Sabres may not feel like a bandwagon-y situation to a longtime fan, but I'm writing this series for the "Katebitses of 2007″; the guy or gal who is suddenly drawn to the Sabres, but doesn't know where to begin.
Begin here, Bandwagoner!
Okay, so yesterday we learned about the goalie. He's pretty self explanatory ("NONE SHALL PASS," says the goalie, especially when your goalie is Crunchy. If your goalie is Toskala, he's more like, "Oh sure. Come on in, pucks.)
But what about all the skaters? To the untrained eye, it looks like a gobbledy mess out there (actually, it looks like that to the semi-trained eye too), but the skaters do have defined roles.
One of those roles is, "the defenseman," or, for our Canadian friends, "defenceman". (Canadians are weird.)
Part Two: The Defense
It's the job of the defensemen to help guard the net by actively battling with the other team's players. Ideally, the defensemen skate around, hitting the other teams forwards and snatching the puck in order to scoot it out of harm's way.
At any given time, two out of the five skaters on the ice are defensemen. If you're having trouble spotting the defensemen, look for the guys skating backwards. That's usually them. They're also the guys who are hanging back at center ice when all the action is down in one end. When I first started watching hockey I used to get cranky thinking,"That guy is just standing there at the blueline doing nothing. He should go try to score a goal. Dumbass." But then I was always pleasantly surprised when the play turned around and there were still Sabres between the other team and our goal. "Toni Lydman, that was very clever of you to stay back behind the blueline so that the other team can't skate right up to Crunchy! You're so smart!"
Fun Fact about defensemen and defense in general: You can just call it "D". At first it will feel redonk to say "D" (very similar to the first time you said "redonk," actually), but after a while it rolls right off the tongue.
Defensemen skate in pairs, so every defenseman has a BFF. Sometimes Lindy (more on Lindy later) mixes the pairs up, but for the most part, the Sabres defensemen are monogamous and loyal to their BFF/life partner.
The Sabres strongest current pairing is Tallinder and Myers. Tallinder separated from Lydman last season and at first he seemed to be having a REAL rough time, but now he's found someone younger and sexier and his broken heart seems to be totally mended.
There are two noteworthy things about the Sabres defense. 1. Everyone thought they would be sucky this year, but they're totally not, and 2. They are NOT sucky, primarily because of this guy:
Tyler Myers is, like, six-years-old. He's a wee little baby. ("Wee" in years, not in size. He's actually humongous.) He's a wee little baby who is about to win the Calder Trophy. "Calder Trophy" is NHL-speak for "rookie of the year."
In my not-at-ALL humble opinion, Tyler Myers is a big deal. Last year, the Sabres were poo. THIS year (Myers' rookie year), the Sabres are third in the Eastern Conference. Coincidence? I think not. In addition to being good at his job, he's almost singlehandedly rehabilitated Tallinder, which was no small feat. I used to worry that Myers would get hurt because he's so spindly, but he seems to have the super-strength of a toddler. You could toss him down a flight of stairs and I bet he'd just pop right back up and start skating around, no problem. Tyler Myers is awesome and he's changed everything about the Sabres. Love him without reservation.
Here are the other defensemen:
In conclusion, the Sabres defense is pretty good and moderately foxy. Since you're a Bandwagoner, I am going to recommend that you focus on Myers. You canNOT be a Sabres fan this spring without knowing that Tyler Myers is young, awesome, tall, and long-necked. Myers is the most deserving of your bandwagoning affections, but really, all of these guys have their good qualities. The defense is relatively safe waters for the new fan.
Have fun watching the D, Bandwagoners!
Stay tuned for tomorrow's installment, when we begin to examine the "forwards".


text: It's easy to think humans have stopped evolving, but nothing could be farther from the truth. Though modern medicine and civilization's graces make the struggle to survive more subtle, evolution's engine keeps churning. In the last few thousand years, in fact, a time when human evolution was once thought to have slowed, it may actually have sped up. Charles Darwin, born on this day in 1809, might have been pleasantly surprised. At least at first, the father of evolution -- pictured at right in the later stages of Wired's Darwin photoshop tennis contest -- didn't talk much about the human implications of his theory. "Light will be thrown on the origin of man and his history," wrote Darwin in 1859's On the Origin of Species, leaving it to scientists like Thomas Huxley to make the full and then-controversial case for humanity's origins in a common ancestor with apes. Only with The Descent of Man, published in 1871 for audiences that had finally wrapped their heads around evolution itself, did Darwin tackle its existence in humans. Though much of the book focused on the importance of mate preferences to shaping traits, he speculated in one section that humankind's altruistic tendencies may have changed our evolutionary trajectory, giving people who would once have died a chance to reproduce. This type of reasoning would lead to a widely held view that human evolution had slowed or even stopped, but research over the last several decades, and in particular the last few years, has led to a very different view. Human evolution is still going strong. Above: Humanity 2.0: Now More Evolvable Humanity hasn't yet spawned X-Men-style superheroes, at least not outside the cosplay community, but there's a kernel of truth to the comic-book trope of unknown powers latent in humanity's masses. Over the last 10,000 years or so, human populations have grown from a few million to more than 7 billion. Every successful fusion of sperm and egg carries a few brand-new mutations; this population explosion means that humanity is awash with new mutations, the raw material of evolution. The image above is a graphical representation of these genetic patterns. It depicts a population-wide tabulation genetic variations collectively present in each part of the human genome, dated to before (left) and after (right) the population boom. Some mutations will have no effect. Others will be harmful. Others may, in the right genetic or environmental circumstances, contain the seeds of extraordinary traits. Images: 1) X-Men cosplayers. (James Hennigan/Flickr) 2) Charles Darwin Photoshop tennis iteration. (emmanuelrio76/Flickr) 3) Fu et al./NatureEvolution Accelerated? Some genetic analyses suggest that humanity doesn't just possess more new mutations, but that evolution itself has picked up pace in the last 40,000 years. Unexpectedly large portions of our genetic heritage contains genomic signatures of recent evolutionary pressure. Studies of these patterns don't make many specific claims about what the changes mean -- the analytical methods were relatively low-resolution, and the genetics of complex traits are poorly understood to begin with -- but whatever is happening seems to be happening fast. In the image above, the number of mutations at selected points in our genome are categorized by age. It drops off precipitously in the present, but this is because the techniques used to estimate age lose power with extremely young variations, and not because new mutations have stopped arising. Image: Hawks et al./PNASFrontier Fertility Human populations grew exponentially in the last several thousand years, an explosion that sent people into previously uncolonized (or, in many cases, in areas where the previous inhabitants were freshly exterminated.) Evolutionary theory suggests that colonization's dynamics favor traits that enable newcomers to gain a fast, firm foothold -- and what better way to do so than by having lots of children, fast? In what may be the most recent evidence of human evolution ever detected, the average age of first birth among mothers in a Quebec island town dropped from 26 to 22 between 1800 and 1940. The town's moms didn't simply have a chance to give birth earlier; they seem to have changed biologically over time. Image: A pioneer family in South Dakota, circa 1889. (National Endowment for the Humanities)Modern Reproduction The tendency to reproduce at an early age, and the large families that resulted, would have been useful on the frontier, but what happens when frontier is replaced by industrial-age urbanity? Analyses of the Framingham Heart Study, a long-term research project on the residents of one Massachusetts town that started in 1948 and has involved more than 10,000 people, suggests that reproductive traits continue to evolve. Framingham women are, on the average, able to give birth slightly earlier and later than their recent ancestors did. Because some physical traits tend to be associated with fertility, Framingham should also be slightly shorter and stouter, with lower cholesterol levels. Image: Pieterjan Vandaele/FlickrMilk: It Does a Population Good For nearly all of human history -- heck, for nearly all the history of a lineage that started 85 million years ago with this shrew-like furball and ended with us -- milk was consumed in infancy. The genetic processes involved in breaking down lactose, milk's main sugar, shut down when babies finished weaning. Then, about 9,000 years ago, cattle were domesticated for the first time, offering great advantage to anyone who could take sustenance from their milk. Lactose-processing mutations spread fast and wide, first in north-central Europe and later in Africa. The majority of humankind is now lactose-tolerant, making these mutations among the fastest-spreading in known human history. Image: bluewaikiki/FlickrHumans Are Becoming Dumber. Or Not. It's easy to think that evolution has a purpose, that it optimizes design in some predictable, self-evidently appealing way. On the grand scale, this is probably true: evolution filled a dead, ammonia-choked Earth with biological processes that run on water and sunlight, and should keep going for the next few billion years. On a narrower scale, though, evolution's outcomes aren't necessarily for the better. They might even be for the worse. Take human intelligence. According to geneticist Gerald Crabtree of Stanford University, humanity is, for reasons involving the genetic architecture of intelligence and the nature of modern life, becoming emotionally and intellectually dumber. Crabtree thinks we reached a peak several thousand years and have declined ever since. This is, to be sure, just a hypothesis unsupported by data, and one that's received much criticism. But even if Crabtree is wrong, his argument makes for an enjoyable read. "A hunter–gatherer who did not correctly conceive a solution to providing food or shelter probably died, along with his/her progeny," wrote Crabtree in Current Biology, "whereas a modern Wall Street executive that made a similar conceptual mistake would receive a substantial bonus and be a more attractive mate." Image: Eliot Phillips/FlickrHumans Smell Worse Well, we don't exactly smell worse, not in the hold-your-nose sense. But there's reason to think our sense of smell has ossified: Unlike most animals, we no longer rely on that sense to make crucial everyday decisions (although it does seem that the ability to smell potential mates with compatible immune system profiles is still active.) Just as cave-dwelling fish gradually lose their no-longer-necessary sense of sight, evidence suggests that mutations impairing our sense of smell have accumulated in human genomes. Image: Mark Rosenwald/FlickrCultural Evolution People, including this science journalist, tend to emphasize biology when thinking about human evolution, but that focus contains an element of looking-for--my-keys-under-the-streetlight reasoning. Genetic evolution can be rigorously measured and quantified. Cultural evolution is messy and difficult to study in journal-appropriate ways, yet in many ways culture -- our social practices and institutions, including the all-important vehicle of language -- is more powerful than biology. After all, if we could travel back in time a few hundred thousand years, Homo sapiens would be quite recognizable. It's culture that truly distinguishes us. In the last decade, researchers have developed tools for studying cultural evolution, from patterns of linguistic change to folktale relatedness (above) to interpretations of Polynesian canoe design. As with biological evolution, cultural evolution is clearly continuing: The advent of digital communications technologies, for example, makes new types of cultures possible. For now, though, an Origin of Species for cultural evolution hasn't yet been written. Image: Ross et al./Proceedings of the Royal Society B


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Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Black bean & rice enchilada
I can hardly believe it....my daughter is going to be 14 tomorrow! That is crazy. I suppose some of you may wonder why I never post any pictures of her. She is very particular on which pictures I can share with others, and she is a full-fledged teenager :/ Where as my 2 year old couldn't care what photo I post of her, that is until she reaches grade school :P My dad came to visit us too and is here for her birthday.
We are in the middle of week two of Vegan MOFO, and this is what I made for dinner tonight. Everybody gobbled it up :) I am not a fan of spicy food, J said he could of used some jalapenos in his...so if you like it spicy, then do it up.
2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion-small diced
2 tsp cumin powder
2 cloves garlic-minced
1 green pepper-small diced
3 cups cooked black beans
1 tomato- chopped
1 cup water
sea salt
In a pot heat oil, add onions, garlic saute until soft. Add the rest of the ingredients and cook for 10 minutes, until thickens. (mush some of the beans with a fork).Season and set aside.
2 cups cooked rice
Red sauce
2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion-small diced
4 cloves garlic- minced
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1 tbsp dried oregano
3 cups water
3 tbsp tomato paste
1 tbsp sugar
sea salt
1 tbsp cornstarch-mixed with 2 tsp water
In a pot, heat oil add onion garlic. Saute until soft
Add spices, stir until combined
Add water and tomato paste.
Bring to boil. Add sugar
Season to taste
Simmer for 20 minutes.
Add cornstarch to thicken.
Using flour tortillas, wrap up the filling and rice. In a baking dish spoon a little of the sauce on the bottom of the dish. Place enchiladas in and spoon over some more of the sauce. Bake at 375 for 20 minute or until bubbling. Save some sauce for spooning on top when you serve it :)
9 comments:
wow that looks so good! making me hungry!ReplyDelete
Nice info here. Keep us these great posts!ReplyDelete
Black beans are my favorite legume and the addition of them in this enchilada makes me excited to try these. Mr. Sideline Chef would request them to be spicy as well. Looks incredible!ReplyDelete
Looks super yummy!ReplyDelete
Approx. how many does this make?ReplyDelete
They look very tasty! I can't wait to try them.
Mmm.....nothing not to love about this! Looks so good.ReplyDelete
Jacklyn...They were good! thanksReplyDelete
Hiba...I cooked 5, because that is all I could fit in the pan, but I had left over mixture for at least 2 more.
Thanks! I tried them. They were absolutely delicious. This is a recipe that will stick around for a long time.ReplyDelete
Yummo!! Looks like I just found dinner! And simple too, even better!ReplyDelete
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Missing Williamstown Woman Located
Gasoline Smell Brings Williamstown Fire Department to College Dorm
Williamstown, North Adams Police Seek Reports of Stolen Jewelry
Mount Greylock Student Injured in Motor Vehicle Accident
Williams College Senior Reported as Missing Found Unharmed
|Nathaniel Whittle
Updated, March 10, 2 p.m.
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Williamstown Police Department announced Friday afternoon that a Williams College student who had been reported missing on Wednesday was found unharmed.
Police said Nathaniel Luke Whittle, 23, a senior from Texas, was safe and in contact with his family.
Whittle was reported missing to police on Wednesday after last having been seen Monday at a bank in Bloomfield, Conn.
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Williamstown Police Department is seeking the public's assistance in locating a missing Williams College student.
Nathaniel Luke Whittle, 23, a senior from Texas, was reported missing to police on Wednesday. At this time, law enforcement does not believe this is a matter of suspicious circumstances. However, authorities are concerned for Whittle's well-being as he may be in need of mental health treatment.
He was last seen Monday at a bank in Bloomfield, Conn.
Whittle is described as a white male, standing 6-foot-1, weighing 180 to 200 pounds and operating a gray Toyota Tacoma extended-cab pickup truck with Texas plate number CBJ0333.
A nationwide broadcast has been sent to all law enforcement agencies requesting assistance.
If anyone has information concerning this matter, contact Sgt. Scott McGowan at the Williamstown Police Department at 413-458-5733.


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This is for the One out of Two New Earl of the Falcon for the Phoenix LARP. Parts will be left blank and will be filled in as Truths are made.
Public Name - Barrett
Secret Name -
Family Name - Sinjin
Truths -
1) He hates all orks and tries to wipe them out wherever they are because they murdered his wife.
2) All of his vassals are related to him in someway, his sons serve as his personal guard, his nephews are in his secret army and his daughters work as his spies. He believes this will keep loyalty in his ranks.
3) He is blind but knows all the lands of Shanri as well as those that own them.
4) He is secretly Oleander Krev's twin brother and was raised by their mother.
Virtues -
Strength -
Cunning -
Courage -
Beauty -
Wisdom -
Prowess -
Aspects -
Devotions -
Family -
Sister - Twin - Oleander Krev
Titles -
Earl of the Falcon
Castle and Lands -
Vassals -


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I saw some very strange behaviour from my installation of the "hosts" package last night. It did an auto update at about 9pm but then I noticed that I suddenly had VERY limited conectivity - I couldnt even get to Google.
A quick look at the hosts file didnt reveal anything obvious but I was getting my arse chewed by my wife and daughter about needing the net to finish some work so I just disabled the package and forced an update then re-enabled the package and it all sprung into life.
I'm guessing that the hosts file got corrupted in some way.
Any ideas/comments/suggestions ??
TIA Bob


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Superstar actress and singer Jennifer Hudson will perform tonight at the Obama Administration's first state dinner, according to Politico.
The Chicago native, whose life was marred by tragedy last year, will sing for 320 guests at the black tie affair. Hudson performed at the Democratic National Convention in August 2008. Just two months later, her mother, brother and 7-year-old nephew were murdered, allegedly by the estranged husband of Hudson's sister.
Hudson, who launched her career on "American Idol" and has won a Grammy and an Oscar, came out of mourning to perform "The Star Spangled Banner" at this year's Super Bowl. She was recently tapped to play Winnie Mandela in a forthcoming biopic.
U.S. & World
The Obamas have had several soul singers perform at the White House. For the Governor's Dinner, they drew on their Chicago connection and had funk band Earth, Wind and Fire perform for guests.


text:
Al Hugayet Tower
King Fahd Road, Al Khobar, Saudi Arabia
Level 22, Al Hugayet Tower
About Al Hugayet Tower
A highly distinctive architecture standing twenty six floors tall and boasting a beautiful glass façade. A water fountain welcomes you at the entrance of the tower. Al Hugayet tower is located in the busy commercial centre of the country's Eastern Province, offering close proximity to large corporations, 5 star hotels and major banks. Located on the highway, the tower provides easy access to Al Khobar- Dammam and Bahrain via the King Fahad Causeway.
Al Hugayet Tower has security at both the front and back entrances of the building, 5 elevators, 4 floors dedicated to parking, a prayer room and a restaurant on the ground floor. The Servcorp reception area on the 22nd floor offers stunning views over Bahrain bridge, the sea and Al Khobar cityscape. Besides great views, the impressive boardroom, coworking space and exclusive pantry make this location with no doubt the best serviced office in Khobar.
How to get to Al Hugayet Tower
How to get to Al Hugayet Tower
50 Minute drive to King Fahd International airport.
Direct 4 hour trip to Riyadh by train. 10 -15 min drive from Al Hugayet Tower to the Station. VIP sections on the train are available at SAR130 per person.
10 min drive from Al Hugayet Tower to the Bus Station. Direct trips via the Causeway from Al Khobar to Bahrain. Trip can take 20 minutes to an hour depending on the paperwork stops.
Taxis are available 24/7. A taxi pick up can be arranged through the Servcorp reception team at Hugayet Tower
If you are to succeed
Meet, test and try! Don't buy a lie!
Ensure you protect your business by confirmation.
Ask if they have unique-password, rocket-fast WiFi – For your security.
Ask to be connected to the internet – How long does it take?
Ask if the provider is Tier-1.
Ask to be allowed to check download speeds.
Ask to speak to IT support: Are they in-house or a third party? Are they even in the country?
Ask to be given a phone number so you can try the service before you buy.
Ask for a phone rate card.
Ask to meet your dedicated receptionist. The receptionist is the front line of your business.
Ask about disaster transfer.
Ask if your phone extension can roam at no cost to other locations.
Ask if the wireless internet is secure.
Ask what kind of firewall can be set up for your network.
Ask to see the transparency code of the provider.
Ask if incoming callers can dial '1' for voicemail to mobile.
Ask if you can get free calls equal to your connection amount.
Ask if your phone bill is 20% lower than telco rate.
About the area
Within 5 minutes walking distance:
- Intercontinental Hotel
- Tulip Inn.
- Al Khobar mall
- Banks
- Convenience Store
- Travel agencies
Recommended lunch places:
Al-Sanbok (International Buffet)
Tel 03- 845 0999
Queens of India (Indian subcontinent & Chinese)
Soul Kitchen (Seafood, Steak & Sushi)
Tel 03-331 444


text:
This event is full. Please contact the Event Organizer for further information.
Time: March 6, 2010 from 2pm to 7pm
Location: Adaptive Path
Street: 363 Brannan St
City/Town: San Francisco
Website or Map: http://www.adaptivepath.com/c…
Event Type: mini-conference
Organized By: IxDA San Francisco
Latest Activity: Mar 8, 2010
Export to Outlook or iCal (.ics)
Thank you to our drink sponsor Hot Studio, our space host Adaptive Path and our volunteers for another successful IxDASF Event!
event organizers: Josh Damon Williams and Aynne Valencia


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Just hours from now we will be bidding adieu to 2012 and welcoming in 2013 with uncertain prospects in our future.
2012 saw several disappointments for conservatives as the march towards socialism in America increases, embraced by those who fall for whatever canard they are spoon-fed by the leftist pundits in the lamestream media.
Almost unbelievable was seeing Barack Obama, after four dismal years at the helm of the country, easily swept back into office in November. That all indicators point to us being much worse off than when he and his party seized the country, he easily won reelection against Mitt Romney amid more empty promises of how much better he will make the country, even though are more divided today than we have been in several decades.


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The agent for Avalanche center Ryan O'Reilly on Monday said the restricted free agent is not asking for a short-term contract at $5 million annually, but Mark Guy declined to specify what has been offered by Colorado or how far apart the sides remain.
"People report numbers without any mention of term and it is just as important a consideration," agent Guy wrote in a text message.
Last week, an NHL source told The Denver Post that O'Reilly, 21, was seeking $5 million a year and turned down two deals: two years for $7 million (a $3.5 million average) and five years worth $17 million ($3.4 million average) .
But Guy said a salary of that amount would apply to O'Reilly only if signed to a long-term deal that brought him past unrestricted free agency, which is reached at age 27, or seven years of service. O'Reilly turns 22 on Feb. 7.
"It is not accurate to say a player wants X dollars without factoring the term, (and) any suggestion that Ryan is asking for $5 million on a deal similar to (Matt) Duchene is completely inaccurate," Guy said.
The Avalanche, which is more than $18 million under the salary cap of $70.2 million, according to capgeek.com, selected Duchene third and O'Reilly 33rd in the 2009 draft. Duchene signed a two-year, $7 million contract last summer after an injury-plagued third season when he was limited to 58 games and 14 goals.
O'Reilly had a breakout third year, leading the Avs with 37 assists and 55 points.
Duchene has 65 goals in 220 career NHL games. O'Reilly has 39 goals in 236 games. Duchene could be in line to receive a big raise after the 2013-14 season.
The salary cap shrinks to $64.3 million next season, but minus four current players on the roster who are not under contract after this season, the Avs are more than $17 million under the next cap.
Footnotes. The Avs practiced Monday with the entire 23-man roster. … Forward Chuck Kobasew is eligible to play in Tuesday's home-opener against the Los Angeles Kings, the defending Stanley Cup champions after missing Saturday's season-opening 4-2 loss at Minnesota because of illness.


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Christ Is Risen!
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Amigos, sabem se hay iglesias ortodoxas en El Salvador?
Proselytizing people to your jurisdiction is no longer allowed. I don't care if it is the GOA or the ROAC, we don't exist to give spiritual advice, but rather to discuss spiritual matters. There is a healthy distinction. If you feel the need to plug your group then do it by private message.
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'Castle,' Season 4, Episode 1, Season Premiere: TV Recap
Source: WSJ, 9-19-11
We ended the last season of "Castle" with a classic cliffhanger: Beckett was shot by a sniper at Captain Montgomery's funeral. Castle had tried to knock her out of the way when he saw what was happening, but he wasn't successful. As Beckett lay bleeding, Castle confessed his love for her.
The season premiere picked up exactly where it left off. Beckett is being frantically rushed into surgery. She is slipping away. We are taken back and forth between the operating room and the hallway where everyone has gathered.
In surgery, Beckett's boyfriend Josh has to start the surgery to save her life despite protests from around the table. "You can't operate on her, she's your girlfriend." To which Josh responds, "She's dying." And then he cuts in to stop her bleeding.
Outside in the hallway, Beckett's father, Castle's daughter wait. Josh, relieved by another surgeon, comes out of surgery and slams Castle into the wall, blaming him for forcing Beckett to investigate her mother's death. Back in the room Beckett flat lines.
Castle admits, "I put her on the crosshairs."
Meanwhile, an envelope is pulled out of a mailbox with the name Smith on it. Montgomery sent it before he was shot. Castle's pictures, a news article about Beckett's shooting and some other paperwork are inside and once Smith read's it all, he places a call to someone who is high up in government.
Beckett doesn't really flat line. She pulls through. Castle visits Beckett in the hospital while she's recovering. He says, "I just never thought I'd see again." Followed by "I heard you were opening a flower shop so I thought I'd pitch in."
Jokes aside, he quickly realizes Beckett doesn't remember anything about the day she was shot, including his confession of love. She says, "There are some things better not being remembered." Not that it matters because Beckett tells Castle to leave. She tells him she'll call him. But she doesn't.
Then, with the magic of TV, it is three months later, Beckett returns to work, still not having contacted Castle. She learns Castle had worked tirelessly to figure out who shot her and that the new captain, Captain Victoria Gates (who prefers to be call sir) kicked Castle to the curb anyway. Castle has taken the files home so he can continue working on finding Beckett's shooter.
Beckett gets into it with the new captain because her case has been closed and because she has to retrain to get her gun back even though she did okay on her psych examine. With no leads on her shooter the captain said it was a waste of time to keep pursuing.
Beckett finally decides to connect with Castle so she catches up with him at a book signing. He is furious she had let three months go by without a call, explaining that it was painful to watch her die on the ambulance, and then recover. He is angry, but softens when Beckett said she needed to work through some things.
"Did Josh help you with that?"
"We broke up."
After some small talk, Beckett reveals she built up a wall inside after her mother's death. She tells Castle she needs to put the murder to rest in order to have the kind of relationship she wants. Castle tells her he's still mad, but says they will figure it out. He softly changes the subject and tells her he's been working on the money trail to find her killer, but has no leads. He promises to get reinstated by Gates.
He goes around Gates to get back into the squad, having called his pal the mayor to pull strings. Gates is not happy. She threatens to bury Beckett if she ever lets Castle embarrass her again.
The team is in the middle of connecting some dots on a warehouse fire deemed accidental that might lead to some clues on Beckett's mother murder, when Gates sends them all out on another lead. Becket is back in the saddle, but clearly isn't ready. After a chase she hesitates to raise her weapon when faced with one pointing at her. Her hand is shaking and Esposito and Ryan come in and take down the bad guy before anything happens.
Back at the station, Castle confronts her on freezing and the shaky hand. She says it won't happen again. The two of them go and talk to the fire investigator about the warehouse fire that might lead to her shooter. He insists the report is accurate. Beckett flips out and accuses the investigator of lying, and being pressured to falsify a report. He throws them both out of the fire station.
She and Castle go to her home to review the files and they disagree on the fire investigators guilt and the cause of the fire. Beckett can't accept this because it would mean she has no leads in her mother's murder.
After they part, Castle gets a call from someone claiming to be a friend of Montgomery's. Presumably the high-placed official silenced by Montgomery's mail. He's got the envelope's contents spread out in front of him.
"We need to talk."
Here's the crux of that call: the contents of that envelope are so damaging to people in high places that they ensure the safety of Montgomery's family. Beckett was shot at the funeral because that envelope arrived late. She's safe now and won't be targeted again, as long as Beckett doesn't pursue the case any further.
Castle decides to not mention the call to Beckett and instead decides to work to steer her away from the case. He convinces her to take a break until she feels better.
Beckett focuses on the killing of a debutant instead, that they thought had already been solved. She figures out who the killer is, which is not the guy in custody. This time, when they chase the suspect down Beckett doesn't hesitate and she faces the second gun barrel of the show. This time she prevails and cuffs the suspect.
"We'll figure it out. That wall inside won't be there forever," says Castle as they part.
And just when you think its over, the last few minutes of the show set up the season to come. Castle has, for the time being convinced Beckett to stop pursuing the case, but he is clearly still looking into finding her sniper. And Beckett, in an appointment with her shrink, acknowledges she actually remembers everything from the day she was shot.
Why do you think she lied to Castle about not hearing him say, "I love you"?


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PedNet: Highlighting the Link Between Transportation and Health
Apr 2, 2012, 7:44 PM, Posted by NewPublicHealth
The County Health Roadmaps project, a collaboration of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin Public Health Institute, includes efforts to build connections within and between local communities and national partners, including grants to coalitions across the U.S. The grantees will build on the County Health Rankings model, which highlights the critical role that education, jobs, income, and other aspects of the community in influencing health.
Roadmaps to Health grantees are working to create healthier places to live, learn, work and play. One such grant was recently awarded to the PedNet Coalition in Columbia, Mo., and NewPublicHealth spoke with several health leaders who will be implementing the grant—Stephanie Browning, health director of the Columbia/Boone County Department of Public Health and Human Services, Stacia Reilly, a health educator for the health department, and Michelle Windmoeller, assistant director of PedNet.
NewPublicHealth: Tell us about the PedNet Coalition and its mission.
Michelle Windmoeller: The PedNet Coalition was formed in April of 2000 with the mission of establishing an interconnected set of trails and walkways and basic infrastructure to encourage people to bike, walk, even use a wheelchair for their transportation needs. Since then, PedNet has evolved to be engaged in a lot of different health aspects. We have some grants that deal with healthy food and food production in the community. We have grants that deal with public transportation and we still have our basic programs that encourage biking and walking like our walking school bus and our bicycle education classes.
NPH: And can you tell us about the scope of the Roadmaps to Health Community Grant you received?
Michelle Windmoeller: It actually is a two-year, two-fold project. One part deals with public transportation as a factor of health and the other is a health impact assessment. We're trying to show the health benefits of increasing the use of public transportation in Columbia. If people are using the bus system, they're saving money on their transportation costs, and it also gives them access to health facilities, to jobs, to community activities, to getting involved in their community, to friends and neighbors for good social networks. The goal is to boost the usage of public transportation through awareness campaigns, through social marketing, and through having community conversations about transit and then working to help influence policy change.
NPH: What else will you are doing with the Roadmaps to Health grant?
Michelle Windmoeller: One thing is social marketing. We have a certain amount of funding to try to get people to ride the bus more. We have a goal of reaching 3,000 individual people and 300 businesses to sign on to the vision. One of our other deliverables is basically increasing bus service, and by that we mean increasing routes and service times by 20 percent. The last part is a health impact assessment, which the health department is taking the lead on.
Stacia Reilly: The health impact assessment (HIA) portion of the Roadmaps grant is run by the Columbia/Boone County Department of Public Health and Human Services, and we are using some of this funding to start piloting HIAs within our community. This is something that the health department has been interested in, and this particular funding source was an opportunity for us to start doing that work. Using the Roadmaps grant, we plan to pilot probably two to three different HIAs, with the first HIA on the proposed expansion of the transit system.
We will also do a community-wide HIA workshop specifically targeting stakeholders that we feel would be important to furthering the work of HIAs within our community. We'll be inviting people such as city council members, county commissioners, various department heads, probably folks from our smart growth coalition—individuals who are related to those different groups who could see the benefit of making health impact assessments a permanent part of the work that we do here at the health department. And another deliverable related to that is social marketing around HIAs to those various stakeholders as well.
NPH: How are you envisioning social marketing around the HIAs?
Stacia Reilly: I think that we will be kind of breaking some ground here. Right now, what we're doing is developing a list of stakeholders and we're going to start just getting some information out to them. Our initial step will be through a postcard, which will have some general information on HIAs and what we're doing with this grant.
NPH: And what's the idea behind that? To better acquaint all stakeholders with HIAs?
Stacia Reilly: Absolutely. HIAs are so new within the public health arena as well as here in Columbia. These will be the first health impact assessments that are done in our community. So, there's a lot of awareness building and education that needs to happen with these stakeholders. We'll do that through print materials, through discussions, through email—a wide variety of ways.
NPH: Stephanie Browning, director of the Columbia/Boone County Department of Health and Human Services, I have a question for you. How will the grant help your county raise some of the Rankings you view as needing a bump up?
Stephanie Browning: For us, the health impact assessment piece and actually developing that capacity here I think is going to be critical for the health and wellbeing of our community and improving our ranking itself. If you look at how we stack up against the rest of Missouri, we look like we're relatively healthy comparatively. But we know that there are certainly lots of challenges, disparities, things that we have to address, and in that environment, sometimes it's hard to get policymakers to really understand the implications of various policies on certain sections of our community.
So, we adopted the "health in all policies" approach, and at every turn we're trying to point out in city and county government when policy can have an impact. This is going to give us a better tool, a more systematic and structured way to begin to approach that and share that.
NPH: How do you stack up in the Rankings?
Stephanie Browning: Well, when you look at access to care, for example, we have a really excellent health care system here. Our ratio of providers to citizens is good. We have a highly educated population because of the colleges in the area. We have a strong school system. So, in a lot of those areas, we come out much better than other counties. But we certainly have lots of other challenges. For example, being a college town, alcohol use is a perpetual challenge, and a health impact assessment on that issue is very important.
It's hard to get people to realize that there are people in this community that are not enjoying the good health that others are. There is a disparity and a gap between them. For example, with transit, if we can't continue to serve the people who rely on it to get to work, that has a definite health impact. They can't get to the grocery store. They can't get to a farmer's market. Public health has long been behind the scenes, and it's time that we step out there.
This commentary originally appeared on the RWJF New Public Health blog.


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Here a country was born
Docked near Congress Street bridge is the Boston Tea Party Ship, a replica of the merchant vessel that was the stage for a rebellion in 1773 — the famous "Tea Party" that would later lead to the independence of the United States of America. This is just a small example of how the city's history is present on its streets, through many monuments and locations that evoke the past and express the local identity. On Boston Common and at King's Chapel we see signs of the presence of the first settlers that arrived here during the 17th Century. The old building of the Boston Latin School — the United States' first public school — is proof of Boston's enduring intimate relationship with education, science and knowledge. Right at the city centre, amidst crowded streets and modern skyscrapers, we find one of the country's most important historical buildings: the Old State House, a former courthouse where the independence of the United States was proclaimed in 1776. All of these places are part of the Freedom Trail — an official walking tour through the places and monuments that tell us the history of this city.


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Transportation affects the economic outlook for Minnesota and both the economic well-being and quality of life for the state's workers and residents. Economic growth and development are influenced and shaped by smart, cost-effective public-sector investments in a transportation system that makes places accessible and allows for the efficient movement of goods and people. A well-designed, quality transportation system connects Minnesotans to jobs and other key destinations and offers strong links among Minnesota's communities and its businesses. Read More
Transportation issues for low-income Minnesotans and those with limited transportation options rank high in importance because of their magnitude and impacts. Transportation costs consume a very large share of the budgets of low-income residents across Minnesota. Often low-income travelers face the problematic choice of high-cost car ownership or dependence upon transit service that may be very limited or not available at all. Low-income workers in the state's urban areas face a trend toward job growth in outlying areas at scattered locations hard to reach by transit. Minnesotans with disabilities need access to key destinations, including jobs and health care facilities. Read More
A well-functioning freight transportation system is essential for a strong, growing state economy. The timely and efficient movement of goods, equipment, crops, ore and other freight is important to Minnesota's corporations, smaller businesses, farmers, workers and consumers. Freight's importance will only grow, with freight loads in Minnesota expected to double from their 2002 level by the year 2035 or thereabouts. Read More
The cars and light-duty trucks we drive make travel fast and convenient, but the greenhouse gases (GHG) that these vehicles emit contribute greatly to the broadest environmental challenge of our time: climate change. Minnesota in 2007 enacted the Next Generation Energy Initiative, setting in place state goals for a reduction in GHG emissions of 30% from 2005 to 2025 and a reduction of 80% from 2005 to 2050. With the transportation sector accounting for one-fourth of all greenhouse gas emissions in Minnesota, strategies to reduce vehicle-related emissions will be critical to achieving these goals. Read More
Minnesota is shifting gears in its approach to Twin Cities traffic congestion. With the region already home to more highway miles per capita than most comparable metro areas, the recent statewide transportation policy plan from the Minnesota Department of Transportation moves the Twin Cities further away from "attempting to build its way out of congestion by adding more highway lanes." And the Metropolitan Council's recent transportation plan states flat out that, because of constraints, highway system expansion will not eliminate congestion in the Twin Cities area or even significantly reduce it. The shift is a smart one. Read More
Intercity personal travel is of vital interest, particularly to residents of Greater Minnesota. In Greater Minnesota – especially the more rural areas – trip destinations are far less concentrated than in the Twin Cities metro region, meaning that the residents are more likely to make frequent trips in between urbanized areas and between smaller cities. It is important that the government in Minnesota both preserve and enhance the ease of intercity travel in Greater Minnesota. Read More


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Fully armed and fully operational, the death star in Star Wars was an awesome creation.
Yet in what must be seen as an anti-defense move, there won't be one in our country's future.
No, the Obama administration won't fund a death star, which could generate giant beams capable of blasting planets to bits or hitting starships.
In a response to a petition at the White House website, the Obama administration posted its anti-death star response, with the following reasons:
- The construction of the Death Star has been estimated to cost more than $850,000,000,000,000,000. We're working hard to reduce the deficit, not expand it.
- The Administration does not support blowing up planets.Why would we spend countless taxpayer dollars on a Death Star with a fundamental flaw that can be exploited by a one-man starship?
The White House then describes current U.S. space projects and notes:
We don't have a Death Star, but we do have floating robot assistants on the Space Station, a President who knows his way around a light saber and advanced (marshmallow) cannon, and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, which is supporting research on building Luke's arm, floating droids, and quadruped walkers.
We are living in the future! Enjoy it. Or better yet, help build it by pursuing a career in a science, technology, engineering or math-related field. The President has held the first-ever White House science fairs and Astronomy Night on the South Lawn because he knows these domains are critical to our country's future, and to ensuring the United States continues leading the world in doing big things.
In what can only be seen as a pro-Jedi position, the response concludes:
If you do pursue a career in a science, technology, engineering or math-related field, the Force will be with us! Remember, the Death Star's power to destroy a planet, or even a whole star system, is insignificant next to the power of the Force.
Now, this is pretty amusing.
But one thing this brings to mind is that the U.S. does indeed spend quite a lot on the military.
As the below graph shows, U.S. military spending is more than the next thirteen countries combined.
This sector likely will be cut in the next few years, but it's unlikely that these ratios will move in any significant way — even without building a death star.


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The Texas Republican Party is taking very seriously the possibility of Hillary Clinton running for president in 2016 — and the idea that the red state juggernaut could actually become a battleground.
In an interview with Real Clear Politics, state GOP Chairman Steve Munisteri said they're not dismissing the idea that Texas could go blue come next election.
"If she's the nominee, I would say that this is a 'lean Republican' state but not a 'solid Republican' state," Munisteri said. "I don't know anyone nationally who's scoffing at this. The national party leadership is aware and tells me they're taking it seriously."
Texas Democrats are even more optimistic. Tanene Allison, the state party communications director, said Texas could "absolutely" be a swing state, just four years after former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney beat President Barack Obama by nearly 16 whole points.
"I think that in 2016 it will absolutely be considered a swing state in the sense that presidential candidates will have to campaign here, which they haven't been doing for a long time," Allison told Real Clear Politics. "If Hillary Clinton does run, she does really well in Texas."
Such confidence is bolstered by a survey last month by the Democratic-leaning Public Policy Polling that showed Clinton coming out on top in hypothetical 2016 match-ups against Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and Texas' own governor, Rick Perry.
San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro, who delivered the keynote address at the Democratic National Convention in September, was similarly optimistic about his state's future first as a "purple" and then as a blue state in an interview with CBS News' "Face the Nation" last month.
"In a couple of presidential cycles, you'll be on election night, you'll be announcing we're calling the 38 electoral votes of Texas for the Democratic nominee for president," Castro said.


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Car Diagnostic Tool
www.obd2inthebox.com online supply high quality Car Diagnostic Tool, Obd2 Scanner, Obd2 Bluetooth, Launch X431 Tools. We also offer auto key programmer, ecu tunning, vag diagnostic cable, mileage correction tool, airbag reset tool, car key chip, car key replacement, car locksmith lock pick tool, etc. All are best price and worldwide shipping.


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Module Tutors (Blended Learning) in Healthcare Management - London, Birmingham and Manchester
Health and Medical,Medicine and Dentistry,Nursing,Social Sciences and Social Care,Social Policy,Other Social Sciences,Politics and Government
Short info about job
Salary: Competitive
Hours: Part Time
Contract type: Fixed-Term/Contract
Type / Role: Academic or Research
Phone: +44-28 6787872
Fax: +44-1462 2554565
E-mail: N\A
Site: N\A
Detail information about job Module Tutors (Blended Learning) in Healthcare Management - London, Birmingham and Manchester. Terms and conditions vacancy
About Arden University
At Arden University, our vision is to make education more accessible, engaging and beneficial to people everywhere. Arden University is undergoing an exciting phase rapid expansion and significant transformation, developing new programmes, driving an industry-leading learner experience and rolling out our innovative 'compressed-blended' full time degrees at several new campus locations across the UK and internationally.
One of our core brand values is 'Innovation' and we pride ourselves on the high quality, innovative learning materials and leading pedagogy. We recognise that the pressures of a hectic, modern life often means our students are constrained - by location, cost, and family/caring commitments or simply time. By delivering our degrees, masters and MBAs using a variety of online, classroom and leading edge learning content, we have been able to support a wide range of students to achieve their ambitions and benefit from Higher Education in pursuit of new employment opportunities and career progression.
Post Title: Blended Learning Tutors (part-time, self-employed)
Programme of Study: Foundation & Undergraduate
Post Responsible to: Director of Programmes
Vacancy: Module Tutors (Blended Learning) in Healthcare ManagementDelivering at our London or Birmingham or Manchester campus, you will be tutoring Arden University blended learning students by utilising a range of innovative learning materials and resources. Arden currently has tutoring opportunities in Healthcare Management from levels 0 through to level 6.
Essential criteria
Potential tutors should ideally have a PhD or working towards one, experience of teaching and assessing at Level 4 and above within the UK HE sector, experience of delivering distance learning products e.g. Blackboard, WebCT, Moodle, Google sites and be able to demonstrate proven teaching excellence.
Desirable criteria
Experience of developing learning materials for an online environment and the ability to attend occasional staff training events
This is an exciting time to join a University that represents the future of Higher Education.
For more information on our programmes of study or on Arden University, please visit www.arden.ac.uk. To arrange an informal call about the role please contact Academic Vacancies on [email protected]
Please note that because of the high volume of applications that Arden University receives, we regret that we are unable to contact applicants who have been unsuccessful.Show all jobs for Arden University … Tweet


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Relationships with
Photo Credit: Keith Urban's picture is courtesy of NNDB. Photographic illustrations of Keith Urban are copyright © by their respective holders. The images are published with permission or as allowed by the copyright law's fair use or quotation provisions. If any copyright holder objects to an image being included, please notify us and it will be removed immediately.
Disclaimer: This information about Keith Urban is derived from astrological interpretation of Keith Urban's date, time, and place of birth.


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Once upon a Time
Once upon a Time is a poem consisting of three stanzas, written by J.R.R. Tolkien. The poem tells a story about Goldberry, Tom Bombadil, and the lintips.[1]
It was first published in October 1965 within Winter's Tales for Children 1 (pp. 44-5). In 1969 it was published in the collection The Young Magicians (p. 255-6). In 2013, the poem was published in Tolkien Studies: Volume 10 together with an introduction and comments by Kris Swank.
[edit] See also
- ↑ Wayne G. Hammond and Christina Scull (2006), The J.R.R. Tolkien Companion and Guide: II. Reader's Guide, p. 689


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Elinor Carucci
- Yield
- Makes 4 servings
- Goat's-milk béchamel:
- 1 1/2 teaspoons butter
- 1 1/2 teaspoons all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup goat's milk
- Pinch of ground nutmeg
- Caramelized onions:
- 1 tablespoon chicken fat or olive oil
- 1 1/2 pounds sweet onions (such as Vidalia or Maui), halved, thinly sliced
- 2 bay leaves (preferably fresh)
- 1 large fresh thyme sprig
- 1 1/2 teaspoons butter
- Potato crust:
- 1 1-pound russet potato, peeled, sliced into 1/8-inch-thick rounds
- Vegetable oil (for deep-frying)
- Melted butter
- Chopped fresh thyme
- 4 ounces coarsely crumbled semiaged goat cheese (such as Midnight Moon from Cypress Grove or Onetik Chabrin; about 1/2 cup), divided
- Heirloom Tomato Salad
- Special Equipment
- 4 4-inch-diameter tart pans with removable bottoms
- For goat's-milk béchamel:
- Melt butter in small saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in flour. Cook 30 seconds, whisking constantly. Whisk in milk and nutmeg. Simmer until sauce thickens and comes to boil, 1 to 2 minutes. Season to taste with salt. DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead. Press plastic wrap onto surface and chill.
- For caramelized onions:
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Heat chicken fat in large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions; sprinkle with salt. Sauté until onions are light golden, about 14 minutes. Stir in bay leaves and thyme sprig; dot with butter. Place skillet in oven; bake until onions are dark golden, stirring often, about 30 minutes. Transfer onions to bowl; discard bay leaves and thyme sprig. DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover; chill.
- For potato crust:
- Preheat oven to 375°F. Line large baking sheet with parchment paper. Soak potato slices in large bowl of cold water 15 minutes. Drain well; pat dry.
- Add enough oil to heavy medium skillet to reach depth of 3/4 inch. Place over medium heat; attach deep-fry thermometer and heat oil to 325°F. Working in batches, add potato slices to oil and cook just until softened but not brown, about 2 minutes per batch. Using slotted spoon, transfer potato slices to prepared baking sheet in single layer and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
- Brush inside of four 4-inch-diameter tart pans with melted butter. Line each pan with overlapping potato slices. Cover bottom of each potato crust with 1/4 of onions; sprinkle with chopped thyme. Spread 1 generous tablespoon béchamel over. Sprinkle each with 1 tablespoon goat cheese.
- Place tarts on small baking sheet. Bake until filling is heated through and potato crust browns, 18 to 20 minutes. Sprinkle each with remaining goat cheese.
- Push up pan bottoms, releasing tarts. Arrange tarts on plates. Spoon Heirloom Tomato Salad alongside and serve.
Shopping tip:
Fresh bay leaves are available with other fresh herbs in the produce section of most supermarkets. Goat's milk is sold at many supermarkets and at natural foods stores.


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Hello, Gyrobot, and welcome to the StarCraft Wiki!
The StarCraft Wiki aims to be the World Wide Web's most comprehensive database on the StarCraft Universe and we're always pleased to have new contributors.
Please be familiar with the StarCraft Wiki's guidelines and policies. All additions to content articles must be appropriately referenced; unreferenced contributions may be removed. If you need further assistance you may post in the forums or send a message to an administrator.
Please remember to sign your posts to talk and forum pages with four tildes (~~~~). This automatically adds your username and the date and makes it easier to see who's saying what!
We look forward to further collaboration with you in the future. Thanks for stopping by and, again, welcome to the StarCraft Wiki!


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Pair up your Guitar and iPhone with Guitar Sidekick
You've undoubtedly heard of the phrase "There's an app for that" by now. But what about "There's a clamp for that!" ? Probably not, but that's what Castiv's recently released contraption does; it serves as a guitar mounting system that will prop up your iDevice (sorry no iPads allowed) while you serenate your hot date. The Guitar Sidekick should also come in handy for players who wish to follow along guitar lessons on YouTube, display tabs and more importantly, be able to more comfortably use the hundreds of App Store apps like  Scale Cards, GuitarToolkit and MySongbook – Lyrics & Chords. Some of its features include:
- Easy to install and use
- Works on acoustic, classical and electric guitars
- Does not effect the acoustics of your
- You can still tune your with the Sidekick on
- Can rotate to accommodate either portrait or landscape view
For guitar players who are still learning the ropes (chords, scales etc), the Sidekick certainly has its appeal. No more trying to set your iDevice at different angles on a table just so you can take a better look at the screen. Â It's been awhile since I had some quality time with my guitar, but I'm quite eager to check this out on my Ovation and make better use of the guitar apps I own. Price? $29.99 on Amazon. Take a look at the brief Youtube slideshow after the gap…
[via Castiv]


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Updated April 19, 2012
Protecting your privacy is very important to us. We do not collect any personally identifiable information (PII) about you during your visit to the NIAMS website unless you choose to provide it to us. We do, however, collect some data about your visit to our website to help us better understand how the public uses the site and how to make it more helpful. We collect information from visitors who read, browse, and/or download information from our website. The NIAMS never collects information for commercial marketing or any purpose unrelated to its mission and goals.
When visitors send e-mail messages containing personal information to the general NIAMS e-mail box email@example.com, the NIAMS staff members, or contractors hired to assist the NIAMS in carrying out its mission, respond to the e-mails and file them. We may forward e-mails to another entity within the NIH or another government agency which may be better able to answer the inquiry. We don't share them with anyone else.
Types of Information Collected
When you browse through any website, certain information about your visit can be collected. We automatically collect and temporarily store the following type of information about your visit:
- Domain from which you access the Internet
- IP address (an IP address is a number that is automatically assigned to a computer when surfing the web)
- Operating system and information about the browser used when visiting the site
- Date and time of your visit
- Pages you visited
- Address of the website that connected you to our website (such as google.com or bing.com)
We use this information to measure the number of visitors to our site and its various sections and to help make our site more useful to visitors.
How NIAMS Collects Information
NIAMS uses Webtrends measurement software and Google Analytics software to collect the information in the bulleted list in the "Types of Information Collected" section above. The software collects information automatically and continuously. No personally identifiable information is collected. The NIAMS staff conducts analyses and reports on the aggregated data. The reports are available only to the NIAMS staff and other designated staff and contractors who require this information to perform their duties.
The NIAMS also uses online surveys to collect opinions and feedback from a random sample of visitors. The NIAMS uses the ForeSee Results' American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) online survey to obtain feedback and data on visitors' satisfaction with the NIAMS website. This survey does not collect personally identifiable information. Although the survey invitation pops up for a random sample of visitors, it is optional. If you decline the survey, you will still have access to the identical information and resources at the NIAMS site as those who take the survey. The reports are available only to the NIAMS staff and other designated staff and contractors who require this information to perform their duties.
The NIAMS retains the data from Webtrends, Google Analytics, and ACSI survey results as long as needed to support the mission of the NIAMS website.
How NIAMS Uses Cookies
The Office of Management and Budget Memo M-10-22, Guidance for Online Use of Web Measurement and Customization Technologies allows Federal agencies to use session and persistent cookies.
When you visit any website, its server may generate a piece of text known as a "cookie" to place on your computer. The cookie allows the server to "remember" specific information about your visit while you are connected.
The cookie makes it easier for you to use the dynamic features of web pages. Cookies from the NIAMS web pages only collect information about your browser's visit to the site; they do not collect personal information about you.
There are two types of cookies, single session (temporary) and multi-session (persistent). Session cookies last only as long as your web browser is open. Once you close your browser, the cookie disappears. Persistent cookies are stored on your computer for longer periods.
Session Cookies: We use session cookies for technical purposes such as to enable better navigation through our site. These cookies let our server know that you are continuing a visit to our site. The OMB Memo M-10-22 Guidance defines our use of session cookies as "Usage Tier 1—Single Session." The policy says, "This tier encompasses any use of single session web measurement and customization technologies."
Persistent Cookies: We may use persistent cookies to enable our measurement software to differentiate between new and returning NIAMS visitors. Persistent cookies remain on your computer between visits to the NIAMS website until they expire. We use persistent cookies to block repeated invitations to take the ACSI survey. The persistent cookies that block repeated survey invitations expire in 30 days. The OMB Memo M-10-22 Guidance defines our use of persistent cookies as "Usage Tier 2 — Multi-session without Personally Identifiable Information (PII)." The policy says, "This tier encompasses any use of multi-session web measurement and customization technologies when no PII is collected."
How to Opt Out or Disable Cookies
If you do not wish to have session or persistent cookies placed on your computer, you can disable them using your web browser. If you opt out of cookies, you will still have access to all information and resources at the NIAMS website, but you will not be invited to take our online survey. Instructions for disabling or opting out of cookies in the most popular browsers are located at http://www.usa.gov/optout_instructions.shtml. Please note that by following the instructions to opt-out of cookies, you will disable cookies from all sources, not just those from the NIAMS.
How Personal Information Is Protected
You do not have to give us personal information to visit the NIAMS website. However, if you choose to subscribe to one of our e-mail updates, we collect your e-mail address to complete the subscription process (see the section on "Constant Contact Subscription Management" below).
If you choose to provide us with personally identifiable information, that is, information that is personal in nature and which may be used to identify you (for example, through an e-mail message, request for information, paper or electronic form, questionnaire, customer satisfaction survey, epidemiology research study, etc.), we will maintain the information you provide only as long as needed to respond to your question or to fulfill the stated purpose of the communication. If we store your personal information in a record system designed to retrieve information about you by personal identifier (name, personal e-mail address, home mailing address, personal or mobile phone number, etc.), so that we may contact you, we will safeguard the information you provide to us in accordance with the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended (5 U.S.C. Section 552a).
If NIAMS operates a record system designed to retrieve information about you in order to accomplish its mission, a Privacy Act Notification Statement should be prominently and conspicuously displayed on the public-facing website or form which asks you to provide personally identifiable information. The notice must address the following five criteria:
- NIH legal authorization to collect information about you
- Purpose of the information collection
- Routine uses for disclosure of information outside of NIH
- Whether the request made of you is voluntary or mandatory under law
- Effects of non-disclosure if you choose to not provide the requested information.
For further information about the NIAMS privacy policy concerning this website, please contact the NIAMS Web Manager at 301-496-8190.
How the NIAMS uses third-party websites and applications
Third-Party Websites and Applications (TPWA) are web-based technologies that are not exclusively operated or controlled by the NIAMS, such as non-.gov hosted applications and those embedded on one of our web pages that could cause personally identifiable information (PII) to become available or accessible to the NIAMS, regardless of whether the NIAMS solicits or collects it.
As part of the Open Government Directive, www.niams.nih.gov uses a variety of new technologies and social media options to communicate and interact with citizens. These sites and applications include popular social networking and media sites, open source software communities, and more. The following list includes the websites and applications we use and their purposes. For any sites or applications that collect PII, this list also includes details on information collected and how the NIAMS protects your private information.
Data Safeguarding and Privacy
All uses of web measurement and customization technologies will comply with existing policies with respect to privacy and data safeguarding standards. Information Systems (IT) systems owned and operated by the NIAMS are assessed using Privacy Impact Assessments posted for public view on the Department of Health and Human Services website (http://www.hhs.gov/pia/nih.html). Groups of records that contain information about an individual and are designed to be retrieved by the name or other personal identifier linked to the individual are covered by the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended (5 U.S.C. Section 552a). For these records, NIH Systems of Record Notices are published in the Federal Register and posted on the NIH Senior Official for Privacy website. For more information, please refer to the NIH Privacy Policy posted on the NIH.gov website. When web measurement and customization technologies are used, the Privacy Policy/Notice must state:
- Purpose of the web measurement and/or customization technology;
- Usage Tier, session type, and technology used;
- Nature of the information collected;
- Purpose and use of the information;
- Whether and to whom the information will be disclosed;
- Privacy safeguards applied to the information;
- Data retention policy for the information;
- Whether the technology is enabled by default or not and why;
- How to opt-out of the web measurement/customization technology;
- Statement that opting-out still permits users to access comparable information or services; and,
- Identities of all third party vendors involved in the measurement and customization process.
Data Retention and Access Limits
The NIAMS will retain data collected using the following technologies long enough to achieve the specified objective for which they were collected. The data generated from these activities falls under the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) General Records Schedule (GRS) 20-item IC "Electronic Records," and will be handled per the requirements of that schedule (http://www.archives.gov/records-mgmt/grs/grs20.html).
The NIAMS uses go.usa.gov to shorten long URLs for use in e-mail messages, Twitter feeds, and on Facebook pages. Go.usa.gov collects and provides data on how often e-mail recipients, Facebook, and Twitter users click on the shortened URLs distributed by the NIAMS staff. Go.usa.gov analytics do not provide any personally identifiable information about visitors who open the shortened links. The go.usa.gov privacy policy is available at: http://go.usa.gov/privacy_statement.
The NIAMS has three Facebook pages:
- National Institute of Arthrits and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS)
- NIAMS Labs
- NIH Rheumatology Fellowship Training Program .
The NIAMS staff posts news and other items of interest to citizens. If you have a Facebook account or "like" these pages, you can post comments on some pages or click on the "like" option for individual entries. If you comment or click on the "like" button, personally identifying information will be visible to the NIAMS staff and other Facebook site visitors. The amount of visible personal information will depend on your own Facebook privacy settings. You can completely avoid displaying any personally identifiable information by not creating an account, not posting comments, and not clicking on the "like" options in Facebook. The NIAMS does not collect, use or disclose any information about visitors who comment or "like" these pages. Facebook collects and reports on non-personally identifiable information about activities on Facebook pages. This information is password protected and only available to the NIAMS designated staff who require this information to perform their duties. The Facebook privacy policy is available at: http://www.facebook.com/policy.php .
Constant Contact Subscription Management
The NIAMS uses Constant Contact to send updates, alerts and other messages to visitors who subscribe. To subscribe to one of these updates, you must provide an e-mail address and indicate your subscription preferences, including the items you want to receive. [Subscribe to one of the NIAMS Updates.] The e-mail subscriber lists are password protected by Constant Contact. Only the NIAMS managers who send the messages via Constant Contact and staff members who monitor the results of e-mail initiatives have access to the subscriber lists. Constant Contact never allows access to the subscriber lists to anyone outside of the NIAMS for any purpose. Constant Contact collects and provides non-identifying information about the number of messages sent, clicks, and open rates. This information is password protected and only available to the NIAMS designated staff who require this information to perform their duties. The Constant Contact privacy policy is available at: http://www.constantcontact.com/privacy_guarantee.jsp.
The NIAMS uses Twitter to send short messages (up to 140 characters) or "Tweets" to share information about the NIH and the NIAMS with visitors and respond to comments and inquiries sent to us via Twitter. While visitors may read the Twitter feeds (@NIH_NIAMS and @nihrheumatology ) without subscribing to them, visitors who want to subscribe to (or follow) these Twitter feeds must create a Twitter account at www.twitter.com. To create an account, you must provide some personal information, such as name, user name, password, and e-mail address. Visitors have the option to provide additional personal information including a short biography, location, or a picture. Most information you provide for a Twitter account is available to the public, but you can modify how much of your information is visible by changing your privacy settings at the Twitter.com website. The NIAMS will monitor the number of subscribers and respond to comments and queries via Twitter, but the staff never takes possession of the personal information belonging to Twitter followers. We do not collect, maintain, disclose, or share any information about people who follow us on Twitter. The Twitter privacy policy is available at: http://twitter.com/privacy .
The NIAMS posts videos on YouTube to make them available to all of our visitors. You do not need to register with either YouTube or Google (YouTube owner) to watch our videos. When visitors watch videos, YouTube may record non-personally identifiable information about its site usage, such as channels used, videos watched, and data transfer details, to improve its services. If you log on to the YouTube site before watching our videos, YouTube may associate information about your site use with your YouTube account. Commenting on a video while you are logged in would allow others to see information about you associated with your comment; however, the NIAMS videos do not allow viewers to comment at this time. The YouTube privacy policy is available at: http://www.youtube.com/t/privacy.


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Big Tentacles - The Big Ten and its influence over college football.
In the hunt for Lunt?
Former Oklahoma State quarterback Wes Lunt is reportedly looking at transferring to Illinois. (The Chicago Tribune)
When Bill met Andrea.
Penn State head football coach Bill O'Brien will be profiled by Andrea Kremer on this Tuesday's edition of HBO's Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel. (The Centre Daily Times)
Weak schedule? What weak schedule?
Louis Bien looks at criticism that Wisconsin's 2014 schedule is weak. (Bucky's 5th Quarter)
The high cost of winning.
Bucky's 5th Quarter's Mike Fiammetta looks at the rising salaries among the Big Ten's assistant coaches, with an natural emphasis on Wisconsin.
Eleven Warriors looks ahead to Ohio State's 2014 season.
I Secondary That Emotion.
Mark Snyder looks at Michigan's secondary. (The Detroit Free Press)
A Few Small Repairs.
Michigan State will be making improvements to it's practice field. (The Detroit Free Press)
That Was the Week That Was.
Minnesota week begins at Off Tackle Empire.


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Provided by: libtext-pdf-perl_0.31-1_all
Text::PDF::Dict - PDF Dictionaries and Streams. Inherits from PDF::Objind
There are various special instance variables which are used to look after, particularly, streams. Each begins with a space: stream Holds the stream contents for output streamfile Holds the stream contents in an external file rather than in memory. This is not the same as a PDF file stream. The data is stored in its unfiltered form. streamloc If both ' stream' and ' streamfile' are empty, this indicates where in the source PDF the stream starts.
$d->outobjdeep($fh) Outputs the contents of the dictionary to a PDF file. This is a recursive call. It also outputs a stream if the dictionary has a stream element. If this occurs then this method will calculate the length of the stream and insert it into the stream's dictionary. $d->read_stream($force_memory) Reads in a stream from a PDF file. If the stream is greater than "PDF::Dict::mincache" (defaults to 32768) bytes to be stored, then the default action is to create a file for it somewhere and to use that file as a data cache. If $force_memory is set, this caching will not occur and the data will all be stored in the $self->{' stream'} variable. $d->val Returns the dictionary, which is itself. $d->copy($inpdf, $res, $unique, $outpdf, %opts) Copies an object. See Text::PDF::Objind::Copy() for details


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With filming on their first joint venture still weeks away, Aziz Ansari and Danny McBride have signed on for a second feature together.
Details on the project are scant -- no title, not plot -- but Deadline Hollywood reports that the film comes from a pitch by Ansari and 30 Rock writer Matt Hubbard, and that Harris Wittels will write the screenplay.
Ansari and Wittles know each other well, having worked together on both "Parks ad Recreation" and the MTV sketch comedy that launched Ansari's career, "Human Giant."
U.S. & World
The day's top national and international news.
McBride will next be seen alongside Natalie Portman, James Franco and Zooey Descahanel in David Gordon Green's medieval stoner epic "Your Highness," while Ansari has a role in "Get Him to the Greek," the "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" spin-off starring Russell Brand and Jonah Hill.
Later this summer, Ansari and McBride will team up with "Zombieland" director Ruben Fleischer for the pizza deliveryman comedy "30 Minutes or Less."


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make (one's) flesh crawl(redirected from make our flesh crawl)
make (one's) flesh crawl
To cause one to feel disgusted, frightened, or unnerved. Having to look all those surgical photos made my flesh crawl. The mere mention of cockroaches makes her flesh crawl.
make someone's flesh crawland make someone's skin crawl
to cause someone's skin to feel funny or get goose pimples through fright. Just to hear the story of the killings made my flesh crawl. The horror movie made our skin crawl.


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Restaurant customer leaves $15K for three waitresses
- Waitresses were discussing bills%2C student loans when woman approached with checks
- Restaurant and waitresses are protecting the mystery donor%27s identity
- Nothing like this has ever happened before at the restaurant%2C owner says
Three waitresses at an Illinois restaurant got a nice surprise over the weekend - $5,000 tips for each of them.
"This very nice lady walked in today at the restaurant and gave $5,000 to each of my waitresses," the Boone County Family Restaurant in Caledonia, Ill., posted on its Facebook page. "What a nice lady."
The restaurant is about 85 miles northwest of Chicago.
Waitresses Amay Sabani, 25, Sarah Seckinger, 23 and Amber Kariolich, 28, were working Saturday morning, organizing silverware and talking about student loans, bills and dreams of finishing school when the blonde-haired woman asked for their names and began writing something down, according to WIFR and the Rockford Register Star.
The restaurant said via Facebook that it would not identify the woman.
When Sabani saw the amount on the check and tried to return it, the woman refused to take it back.
"I want you girls to take these to help with school and everything else in life," the Register Star reports the woman said to the objecting waitresses.
"Yes, you can take it," the news organization reports the woman said. "You put that in your pocket. God sent me here to help you."
Kariolich told WIFR that all three were touched.
"Well, we all want to go back to school," she said.
Sabani said the money would provide opportunities for her.
"I work two jobs and I have a little boy at home, so maybe spend more time with him and do more things with him and just get ahead of myself," she told WIFR. "I hope that one day I have the amount to do the same thing to somebody else."
Owner Matt Nebiu told the Register Star that he had seen the woman in the restaurant before but that she is not a regular. Nebiu's father and uncle opened the restaurant that serves up rib and shrimp combos and baked cod primavera in 1982.
"I've never seen anything like this in 30-something years here," Nebiu told the Register Star.


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California is the "worst-run" state in the U.S., says the web site 24-7 Wall Street.
Their reasons?
24-7 Wall Street ranks states on 10 measures of fiscal and budget health, from debt levels to whether it is spending money on health and education programs that produce a higher quality of life.
U.S. & World
News from around the country and around the globe
California, in the web site's view, combines high unemployment (11.9 percent, 2nd among states) and high percentages of uninsured residents (18.5 percent don't have health insurance, 8th highest in the country) and foreclosures (second highest rate) with what it describes as a budget that spends too much and produes the worst debt in the U.S.
But that debt assessment is based on the fact that California has the country's lowest credit rating - S&P's rating of A. That's the lowest ever given to a state.
The funny thing about that credit rating is that California doesn't rank low in debt.
Its state debt per capital, $3,660, puts it 21st among states.
That's puzzling on its face, since the state has plenty of wealth, despite its problems, and is in no danger of defaulting on debt. In fact, credit rating is the only measure by which the state ranks last.
What gives?
California's low credit rating is not merely the product of bad fiscal and economic news.
Other states have worse budgets and a poorer economic outlook. What's different in California is the governing and budget systems.
Credit rating agencies rank us low because it is so difficult to raise taxes under our system. They also rank us low because, in a constitutional quirk approved by voters, the state's bondholders are not the top priority for payments when the state runs short of cash.
They are second here -- to the schools. In every other state, the bondholders are first.
All of this makes the credit rating a very poor marker of how well "managed" or "run" the state is. It's more of an indicator of a state that has a poor structure -- and that structure isn't the product of management, it's the product of elections, interest groups and ballot initiatives.
Yes, California belongs in the lower half of state's in management, and it has profound problems across the board. But California doesn't belong at the bottom.


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D-Shep - Never Be The Same [Conspiracy Music Submitted]
The Miami bread MC is Back with another SMASH record. No one describes the REAL to REAL like Shep!! TURN UP!!!
For booking contact: email@example.com
Twitter: @dshepworld
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/dshepworld
Please click the "Report" button below if the video on this page is not working properly.
Comments will only be displayed by verified emails. No Spamming or Racism.


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To read other interesting comment from speakers at the event, please see blogs from Ian Brinkley, Chief Economist at the Work Foundation, Sally Hunt, the General Secretary at the University and Colleges Union and Colin Angel, Policy Director at the UK Homecare Association. Also, Acas published initial research on evidence gathered about zero hours contracts on our discussion paper page in May.
Gill Dix: Zero Hours Contracts - Acas hosts the debate
Wednesday 30 July 2014Gill Dix, Head of Strategy at Acas, introduces our blog series on atypical contracts in the changing world of work.
Gill Dix
Gill Dix is Head of Strategy at Acas.
As the policy and media debate on zero hours contracts continues, can any lessons be learned along the way about the implications for other forms of contingent work (where managers can vary the number of hours of work offered to workers)? The bigger picture of atypical work was on the agenda at Acas' first breakfast seminar on 22 July.
One issue that has been widely recognised is the lack of clarity some employers and workers experience about these arrangements. Anne Sharp, Acas CEO drew on Acas' analysis of calls to our Helpline ( Give and take? Unravelling the true nature of zero-hours contracts [178kb]) to argue that an incomplete understanding of the terms of work results in difficulties for both parties. Of course, this might well be the case for any type of contractual arrangement, for example if people feel too daunted to read the small print. But where contracts are not specific, or not written down, the chances of confusion and misinformation are heightened.
There was consensus at the breakfast seminar that all efforts should therefore be made to provide clear guidance on zero hours contracts, and other forms of contingent work, so that workers and employers have a better understanding of the employment relationship: that workers know the terms of their work and their rights, and employers are up to speed on their responsibilities.
Beyond that issue, the debate was wide ranging. It touched on the statistics and the importance of understanding the wider labour market context of zero hours contracts; the experience of exclusivity clauses where workers are offered no guarantee of work, but are not permitted to work elsewhere; the fear people have about challenging their rights in case their hours are reduced; and the opportunities that contingent work offers in responding to the need for a flexible supply of labour. Accounts from different sectoral perspectives were especially important in providing a sense of how zero hours contracts are used in practice, and how they are managed in different settings.
Acas wanted to facilitate discussions and hear a range of different, and sometimes competing perspectives. The breakfast meeting was a useful start and it was encouraging to see the participants at this event being prepared to listen, as much as be forthright in their opinions. To hear more about the discussion, see the highlights of Twitter discussion during the event and our new Employment Relations Comment on zero hours contracts.
Or read the guest blogs from the speakers at the breakfast briefing: Colin Angel, Policy Director at the UK Homecare Association; Ian Brinkley, Chief Economist at the Work Foundation; and Sally Hunt, the General Secretary at the University and Colleges Union.
As the focus on zero hours contracts shows little sign of abating, there will be an ongoing need for those with different perspectives to work together to get clarity on the issues and how to tackle them.
Read more blogs from the zero hours contracts series
Ian Brinkley: Developing new policy toward future of zero hours contracts
Sally Hunt: Casualisation of contracts - an equality issue
Colin Angel: Use of zero hours contracts in the homecare sector
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Posted by Jess Litten, Acas | 30 July 2014, 4:57PM


text: 98% poly 2% spandex. Dry clean only. Fully lined. Shirred ruffle hem. Hidden back zipper closure. JAYG-WD351. 96310. New York-based designer Jay Godfrey looks to the effortlessly chic women of his city for inspiration. Known for sleek, sexy and sophisticated clothing, Godfrey's collection mixes classic tailoring techniques with modern silhouettes and luxurious fabrics that accentuate and embody the feminine figure. It is through this skillful combination that Godfrey's designs have reached the pages of Women's Wear Daily and ELLE and become favorites with Hollywood's most fashionable women like Leighton Meester, Eva Longoria Parker and Katherine Heigl.