text:
Usually when computer glitches hit me, someone else will experience them also. Ergo this post. I couldn't find some other thread on a similar topic.
Issue: All day I've been suddenly having problems pasting BW text into MS Word; the latter suddenly keeps crashing. It's probably related to some Windows update, since I've been pasting BW text into Word 2002 or 2003 for years, yet this problem never happened before.
It happens now in Windows 7 with BW5 or BW9, in MS Word 2003 or 2002. It happens when using XP instead of Win7 (both 32-bit, I don't have 64-bit). It happens whether Windows updates are current, or about a month behind. It happens whether you use the old BW5 fonts, or the new BW9 fonts; even if in Bibleworks you'd disable Unicode for export and specified BW5 font names instead, only Unicode is exported. The Export Options Flags don't have any effect, either. So none of those things resolve the problem in any configuration I could find.
Changing any of the above variables alters when and how the crash occurs, but it still crashes. The crash is slower to occur if using XP in Word 2003, if XP wasn't updated for the Word 2003 packet changes, and the Windows updates are several weeks in arrears. So definitely something related to Windows updates, helps cause this glitch.
After five hours' troubleshooting, I've now learned the primary cause is due to EMBEDDING FONTS. That's an option in the MS Word 'Save' tab (Tools Options). So it was handy, if you'd be working on the same document on multiple machines. However, it greatly increases document size. So long as the BibleWorks copyright is provided, it's not a problem with Bibleworks fonts, which one can also download for free; so helps to sell the software. At least, that's been my experience. But now, it makes MS Word 2002 or 2003, crash.
So if you suddenly find you have the same problem, turn off the EMBED option in MS Word. The document will not be damaged; but of course, the fonts won't be embedded, either.


text: On Monday 3 of us left from Maine, Gob-ler, 1manteam and myself. We met up with kayakerinme in Bellingham Mass. and headed south to Rhode Island. We grabbed our first cache around 9:30am, in North Smithfield, just across the border. We spent the next 8 hours crossing the state, and it's beautiful bay, to grab the remaining caches needed to log the Challenge. It ended up in Providence at the Paw Sox stadium, at 5:37pm. We visited the oldest cache in Rhode Island along the way and logged about 250 miles. We quickly celebrated and had to head home. We heard today that we had been successful, and now only need to make the return trip to log the final cache. I'm ready to go almost anytime. Congrats to kayakerinme on finishing his 4th New England Challenge, Gob-ler on his 2nd, my 3rd and 1manteam's 1st. Troy may be the youngest to successfully complete a New England Challenge. The state was beautiful and in places, alot like Maine. Just not as big. Thanks guys for the fabulous day. I almost had to seperate Gob-ler and 1manteam more than once. They shared the backseat. Hope we can get together in April and log Vermont's Challenge.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
I participated as a judge for Packt Publishing's open source JavaScript libraries award. Today, they've announced the winner: jQuery. Open source JavaScript is stronger than ever, and all of the entrants in the award have made great strides in the past year. Runners-up Raphaël and Mootools deserve great praise for the work they've put into both their products and community.
Packt's press release is below and includes a quote from this blogger.
jQuery wins the 2010 Open Source JavaScript Libraries Award
Birmingham, UK. 18 November 2010
Packt Publishing is pleased to announce that jQuery has won the inaugural Open Source JavaScript Libraries Award category in the 2010 Open Source Awards. The Award is a new category introduced to the Open Source Awards this year, featuring libraries of pre-written JavaScript controls which allow for easier development of RIAs (Rich Internet Applications), visually enhanced applications or smoother server-side JavaScript functionalities.
"On behalf of the entire jQuery Team, let me first say thanks to Packt Publishing for this award.
I'd also like to give a huge thanks to the community of designers and developers that use jQuery daily and felt the urge to vote for jQuery as their favorite JavaScript library. We'll use this prize to further the development of the jQuery Project." Said Ralph Whitbeck, jQuery core team member.
"While jQuery hasn't undergone any radical change in the past year, the project has continued to evolve at the same frenetic pace and the 1.4 release included a wide range of small but important improvements." Added Michael Mahemoff, Google developer advocate, HTML5/JavaScript specialist and one of the judges for the 2010 Open Source JavaScript Libraries category. "jQuery covers all bases as its performance is high priority, it is easy to use, has a huge community, great documentation, and an excellent plugin ecosystem."
While jQuery occupied the top spot in the 2010 Open Source JavaScript Libraries category, the other two extremely popular finalists Raphaël and Mootools tied and both projects will be awarded the first runner up position.
With this announcement, the 2010 Open Source Awards has two more categories left, including the Open Source CMS category, for which results will be announced November 19th.


text:
This luxurious belt set features the stunning statement RR belt buckle plated in precious Palladium and polished to a mirror finish shine. The belt buckle comes with not one but two separate beautifully stitched full-grain vegetable-tanned Italian leather belts in smooth black and crocodile embossed textures.
Made in the UNITED KINGDOM
The belts can be worn as a hip or waist belt. Please refer to our Size Guide, the size will differ depending on where the belt is worn. If you would like any assistance in choosing the correct size, please Contact Us and we will gladly assist
The RR belt collection is our labour of love made with pride, in the United Kingdom. A unique belt set that includes the featured precious metal plated RR belt buckle and two separate leather designer belts.
The Belt set includes:
- Mirror polished Palladium plated RR belt buckle (Dimensions Height 49mm x Width 75mm / Height 2″ x Width 3″)
- Black, vegetable tanned full-grain Italian leather belt
- Black Croc embossed vegetable tanned full-grain Italian leather belt with red calf suede lining
- Belt is 3.8cm / 1.5 inches wide
- 2 x belt keepers required when wearing as waist belts
- Presented in a forever gift and storage box
- Black velvet travel pouch
- Microfiber cleaning cloth for buckle maintenance
- Made in the UNITED KINGDOM
To ensure we get the right size first time, please take a look at our size guide HERE
Additional information
|Product Care
Retro Red products are made with carefully chosen materials. Please handle with care for longer product life.
– Protect from direct light, heat and rain. If it gets wet, please wipe dry immediately using a soft cloth.
All Retro Red belt orders come with Free Express Worldwide shipping. Please note that a signature will be required upon delivery of your parcel.
Retro Red will refund the purchase price of merchandise that is returned in its original condition and accompanied by the original invoice. Bespoke sized products cannot be returned.
You must inform Retro Red via our Contact page of your intention to return the merchandise within 14 days of the date of delivery. Retro Red will then send you a prepaid returns shipping label via email, which you will need to print and attached to return parcel.
NB. All refunds will be issued in the same method the item was paid for.
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text:
Facilitating the spread of knowledge and innovation in professional software development
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In the previous two articles in this series, we explored some of the improvements introduced in PHP 7. To set the background for this article on PHP's type system, PHP is a weakly typed language, which implies the data type of variables does not need to be declared.
In this article we explore new type-related features available in PHP 7.x.
Adi Foulger provides insights into the Redis Enterprise architecture and demos active/active Redis clusters across two geo-distributed Pivotal Platform foundations.
Vincent Warmerdam talks about cautionary tales of mistakes that might happen when we let data scientists on a goose chase for accuracy. It may surprise us, but highly accurate models are more damaging than the inaccurate ones. He shares some work that his team is doing to make sure that chatbots don't fall into this trap.
In this podcast Shane Hastie, Lead Editor for Culture & Methods, spoke to Quinn Slack, CEO of Sourcegraph, about becoming a fully remote company, ways to improve communication and collaboration and the value of Zoomcations
Danyel Fisher and Liz Fong Jones discuss how they brought the theory of SLOs to practice, and what they learned that they hadn't expected in the process.
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text:
In this tutorial series, we will be exploring the basic concepts of singly-linked lists through the implementation of key methods from the List interface including add(elem), add(index, elem), set(index, elem), get(index), get(elem), remove(index), remove(elem), and indexOf(elem), as well as hitting on certain points for doubly and circularly-linked lists.
Let's start out by examining a basic Linked Node. It looks simple enough, and in reality, the individual nodes aren't that complex. When dealing with singly-linked list, the Node previous doesn't come into play. It becomes more important however, when working with doubly and circularly-linked lists.
public class Node<E>{ E elem; Node<E> next, previous; }
So let's start defining our LinkedList class. So far, we see only 3 Nodes and a constructor. As we covered earlier, the head node is the first element in the list and the tail node is the last. The temp node, however, will come in handy when we have to iterate through our list. Lastly, we use the counter field to store the number of elements contained in the list so as to make the size() method more efficient, with an O(1) vs. an O(n) if the counter field wasn't used.
public class LinkedList<E>{ private Node<E> head = null; private Node<E> tail = null; private Node<E> temp = null; private int counter = 0; public LinkedList(){} public int size(){return counter;} }
The add(elem) method
When dealing with the individual methods() of LinkedLists, it is helpful to think of them in relation to only two or
three Nodes- the one being affected, the one before it (applicable only to doubly and circularly linked lists) and
the one after it.
As we can see, the add() method, which simply appends an element to the end of the list, is pretty
straight-forwardfor a singly-linked list. We simply add the element and update the tail node so that the new node is at the end of the list.
public void add(E elem){ //if we don't have any elems in our LinkedList if(head == null){ head = tail = new Node<E>(); head.elem = elem; head.next = tail; tail = head; } else{ tail.next = new Node<E>(); //add a new node to the end of the list tail = tail.next; //set the tail pointer to that node tail.elem = elem; //set elem to be stored to the end node } counter++; }
Consider this- In a doubly-linked list, you would have to also deal with making sure the impacted Nodes are adjusted for not only pointing to the next element in the list, but the previous element as well. How would you accomplish this, and how might it impact runtime?
The add(index, elem) methodThis method is designed to add the specified element at a given position in the list. When working with arrays, this is pretty straight-forward. However, with LinkedLists this becomes more complicated. Due to the nature of LinkedLists, there is no efficient indexing system. Instead, you have to iterate the collection to find the position for which to add the element. From there, it becomes the same concept as the add(elem) above though you have to deal with the new element being sandwiched between two other nodes instead of at the end. Let's try it:
public void add(int index, E elem){ /*If the user wants to add it to the end of the list call the other add() method, which is more efficient and then end this method*/ if(index == size()){ add(elem); return; } else if(index == 0){ Node<E> temp = new Node<E>(); temp.elem = elem; temp.next = head; head.previous = temp; head = temp; counter++; return; } /*Here, we start to see the temp node come into play. We use it to track the current node without modifying the head node. */ temp = head; for(int i = 0; i < index-1; i++) temp = temp.next; //move to the next node Node<E> myNode = new Node<E>(); //create a new node myNode.elem = elem; //and set the elem myNode.next = temp.next; //set it to point to the next elem temp.next = myNode; //set the previous elem to point to it counter++; //increment the count; }
Consider this- In a singly-linked list, we must start at the beginning and work forward. However, this becomes a problem if the index is closer to the end of the list, then why do we need to start at the beginning of the list? Wouldn't be more efficient to start at the end? With doubly-linked lists, we keep track of the previous as well as the next Nodes, so we can start at the tail of the list and work backwards.
The get(index) method
This method is similar to the add(index, elem) method in the sense that we have to iterate through the LinkedList to return the proper element. Unlike arrays, LinkedLists do not allow for an easy method of indexing. So let's give it a try:
public E get(int index){ //forces the index to be valid assert (index >= 0 && index < size()); temp = head; //start at the head of the list //iterate to the correct node for(int i = 0; i < index; i++) temp = temp.next; return temp.elem; //and return the corresponding element }
The get(elem) and indexOf(elem) methods
This method works identically to the indexOf(elem) method, which we will cover in this section as well. In fact, we will make a call to indexOf(elem) when the get(elem) method is called. In a nutshell, the indexOf(elem) method uses the same process of iteration throughout the list as do the above methods.
So let's start off with these methods
//returns first index of the given elem //returns -1 if elem not found public int get(E elem){ return indexOf(elem); } public int indexOf(E elem){ temp = head; //start at the beginning of the list int i = 0; //create a counter field that isn't local to a loop //while we haven't found the elem we are looking for, keep looking for(; !(temp.element).equals(elem) && temp != null; i++) temp = temp.next; if(i == size()) return -1; //if the elem wasn't found, return -1 return i; //otherwise, return the index }
The remove(index) and remove(elem) methods
If you look back to the add(index, elem) methods, then you will see that when we added elements to the list, we had to make sure we adjusted the pointer of the previous Node to point to the new element, and we had to make the new element point to the next Node. The remove() methods work in the exact opposite manner. Instead of correcting the pointers to account for an extra Node, we want the pointers to act as though it didn't exist.
So let's get started with the remove methods:
public E remove(int index){ assert(index >= 0 && index < size()); //force valid index temp = head; //start at the beginning of the list if(index == 0){ E elem = head.elem; head = head.next; counter--; return elem; } else if(index == size()){ E elem = tail.elem; tail = tail.previous; counter--; return elem; } //iterate to the position before the index for(int i = 0; i < index-1; i++) temp = temp.next; Node<E> two = temp.next; //set temp.next to point to the Node next to the Node to be removed temp.next = two.next; E elem = two.elem; //store the element to return two = null; //remove the node counter--; //decrement size return elem; //return the element at that position } public E remove(E elem){ temp = head; //start at the beginning of the list Node<E> two = null; if(head.elem.equals(elem)){ head = head.next; head.previous = null; counter--; return elem; } else if(tail.elem.equals(elem)){ tail = tail.previous; tail.next = null; counter--; return elem; } //while the elem hasn't been found but there is another node while(temp != null && !temp.elem.equals(elem)){ two = temp; //have a reference to the element before the one to remove temp = temp.next; //in this method, temp will be the elem to remove } //if the element wasn't found, return null if(temp == null) return null; two.next = temp.next; E spare = temp.elem; //return element temp = null; counter--; //decrement size return spare; }
Consider this- How could we improve the efficiency by using a doubly-linked list? For the remove(index) method, we could start at the end of the list and iterate backwards. This would improve the average-case efficiency of the remove(index) method to O(n/4) instead of O(n/2).
Consider this- How would the remove() methods be affected when implementing a circularly-linked list? What would we have to factor in when removing the head or tail elements? We would actually be able to use basically the same process as removing an non-end element in a singly or doubly-linked list.


text:
On the Fourth of July, 2005, on the occasion of the World Congress of IHEU at Paris, a World Congress took place at the
initiative of the French Libre Pensée in which 250 participants from 29
countries debated of the necessary action of the Free Thought.
Coming from all the continents, the participants decided that we should collectively put an end to the dispersal of associations which claim to belong to the Free Thought or Atheism across the world.
Indeed, the indispensable struggle for the separation of religions and the states, although its form is always national, obviously takes on
an international character through the political and philosophical
principles that are raised.
The struggle for the triumph of the absolute freedom of conscience can only be fought through the institutional demand of the complete and
uncompromising separation between the public sphere and religions. This
philosophical movement has its source in the Enlightenment which has
enlightened the world.
In more than two centuries, starting from the United States of America, the Separation was spread to Mexico, France, former USSR,
Turkey and many other countries such as Spain in 1931. Far from
weakening, in spite of many ups and downs, this historical movement of
emancipation of peoples and conscience has been steadily continuing.
Recently, it was Nepal and Bolivia's turns to achieve this liberating
Inspired by this concern, the 250 participants in the 2005 World Congress of the Free Thought promoted the building of the International
Liaison Committee of Atheists and Free Thinkers (ILCAFT / Comité
International de Liaison des Athées et des Libres Penseurs - CILALP).
Since 2005, the ILCAFT has started to work. Exchange of views has taken place, notably through the Internat. On two occasions, the ILCAFT met, on June 4, 2008 at Washington-DC, then at London on June 7, 2009.
On both occasions, the participants in those meetings confirmed their agreement to lay the foundations of a new International Association of
the Free Thought. They felt that the right moment and the right place
for that foundation could be undoubtedly the next World Congress of the
International Humanist and Ethical Union (IHEU) at Oslo in Norway on
August 2011.
That is why, in conformity with this renewed mandate, the signatories of this appeal call upon all sister associations across the world to resolutely move toward this new step.
The signatories appeal to them so that they express their views on the following issues :
1- Are you interested in the building of an International Association of the Free Thought ?
2- Are you willing to join in the World Congress of the Free Thought
which is to lay the foundations of its building in Norway in August
2011 ?
3- Would you like to take an active part in the Preparatory Committee of
this World Congress ?
4- Would you like to be regularly informed of the advancement of the
process ?
Views: 22
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text:
Whether it's a lunch date with friends or refreshment during a visit, BALTIC Kitchen is on hand to serve mouth-watering breakfasts, lunches and snacks every day.
From freshly made scones, tantalising gourmet sandwiches to hot lunch options, BALTIC Kitchen is a great place unwind before heading to the shop or galleries. Find a table, order at the bar and we'll bring it to you.
With a fully licensed bar and outdoor seating for those summer nights you may choose to treat yourself to a glass of wine or an ice cold beer as you sit back and watch the world go by.
Open seven days a week
Monday - Friday 10.00-17.30
Saturday – Sunday 10.00-17.30


text:
At the beginning of the season, Fulton suffered an ugly loss at Riverdale. Longtime Steamers coach Stacy Germann verbally let her team have it afterward.
"That was probably our worst game of the season," said Germann, who just completed her 19th season at Fulton. "We were not even a team that I had seen before. I laid into them pretty hard."
The next time Fulton saw Riverdale, the Steamers rolled to victory.
"It was just what they needed," Germann said.
The win over Riverdale came shortly before the Mendota tournament, when Germann finally saw her squad becoming the team she expected all along: the team that went on to go further than any other in the Sauk Valley, reaching the 2A supersectional before being derailed.
The Mendota tournament came with about 3 weeks left in the regular season.
"It was like a light went on," Germann said. "We played consistently for the longest amount of time that we could. That's all it took for them to see. They were hooked then.
"I could see it in their eyes. I could see it in their energy. They realized what they could do."
Fulton's Elite Eight finish was far from expected after a bumpy regular season that saw the Steamers finish 11-17-3. They went 7-7 and tied for fourth in the Three Rivers North.
The Steamers entered the five-team Riverdale Regional as the No. 3 seed. With four postseason wins, they went from there to one of the final eight teams in the state, despite finishing 15-18-3.
"We all had higher hopes than we were producing at the beginning," Germann said. "We just had to put the puzzle together. With the addition of a couple underclassmen, it made our puzzle whole.
"We knew we had the talent. We just had to get them to gel together, and it was a lot later than we all wanted it to be. But, it was when it counted."
Sophomore Camerin Huizenga was added to the roster about seven matches into the season. She seemed to be the missing ingredient, but it was not an overnight fix.
"I knew it would take time," Germann said. "You move somebody up new to the scene. You have to change all your rotations. After that, I didn't have any doubts. I just was doubting when it was going to happen."
Germann's first love was basketball while growing up on a farm in Clifton. Volleyball began to "click" her last few years of high school.
She went on to play basketball (2 years) and volleyball (4 years) at Eureka College, where she met her husband Derek, who is also a coach and teacher in Fulton.
She got her first taste of coaching her senior year at Eureka, when she coached eighth-grade volleyball at St. Patrick's School in Washington.
After that, she spent a very busy school year at Leland Middle School, where she coached sixth-, seventh- and eighth-grade basketball, volleyball and track. In basketball and volleyball, that meant coaching three different teams.
"I'd have one practice at 6 in the morning, then two practices after school," Germann said.
A first-grade teacher at River Bend Elementary School in Fulton, Germann's career has turned out just about as planned.
"I always knew I wanted to teach," she said. "My oldest sister [Glenda] went into teaching. I followed her footsteps."
Germann has always tried to throw herself into teaching and coaching. That feeling has been amplified since becoming a parent. Germann has three young daughters.
"We were always invested, but since we've had kids, it's even more," she said. "Now, this is our home."
Germann has been teaching and coaching long enough that she's seeing multiple generations.
"I don't feel that old," she said. "I still feel like I have that energy. But, I'm teaching the children of kids I've coached. It makes you take a step back and realize how old you are."
Like many coaches who are also parents, Germann has had to weigh if coaching is the best thing for her family.
"There were times when my daughters were younger that I thought maybe I needed to get out of coaching," she said. "But, the older that my kids have gotten, and I see my older two coming to camps, it's important to me to stay in it for them."
Germann, who said she could be retired from teaching when her youngest, who is soon to be 3, is still in high school, plans to coach her daughters as varsity Steamers.
"I think that's going to be a good bonding time for us," Germann said. "That somewhat keeps me going."
Germann file
School: Fulton
Coaching resume: St. Patrick's School (Washington), eighth-grade volleyball, 1994; Leland Middle School, grades 6-8 basketball, track and volleyball, 1994-1995; River Bend Middle School (Fulton) eighth-grade basketball, 1995-2001; Fulton High School, varsity volleyball, 1995-present
High school attended: Clifton Central (1990 graduate)
College: Eureka College (1994 graduate)
Family: Husband, Derek; Daughters, Teegan (9), Resse (6), Kerby (3 in January)


text:
Hilary Duff Shares Photo From Set of New Music Video
Hilary Duff shared with her fans on her Instagram account a beautiful photo of her on a beach, looking out towards the ocean. The photo is taken from the set of her new music video for the first single off her upcoming album.
The Daily Mail reports that Duff has been shooting her new video on a Malibu beach, and has captured some photos of Duff in a bikini on the set, which you can see here.
Details about Duff's first single are unknown, but the 26-year-old former 'Lizzie McGuire' star has teased plenty about her first album since 2007's 'Dignity.' We know that Ed Sheeran co-wrote a track for Duff, which is rumored to be Duff's first single. She also shared a snippet of a song that she has been working on with songwriter Toby Gad.
The fact that she is shooting a new video means that we can probably expect the new song from Duff any day now.


text:
by Wesley Ratko
At its Nov.18 meeting, the board of the Chestnut Hill Community Association continued a contentious discussion over who should operate a proposed local Internet portal that began at the board's October session.
Rob Remus, chair of the special committee set up to explore the portal proposal, updated the board by noting that AOL Patch had already opened a hyperlocal website for Chestnut Hill (chestnuthill.patc- h.com) and introduced its editor, Jon Campisi, who was present to cover the meeting.
But disagreement over who should operate the proposed community associaton's portal remained the focus of the debate, with two camps squaring off: those who feel the Chestnut Hill Local is the best candidate for the job and others who prefer to see it handled by an outside party.
Remus referred the board to the article "Your Patch Isn't Big Enough" by James Albrecht, published in the Local on Nov. 18, disputing the five claims the author made. Chief among these is the concern by Albrecht that the same revenue issues that affect the business district will also, in turn, affect ad revenue generated by the Web portal.
"AOL is spending money to develop this hyperlocal," Remus said. "They must know something that we don't."
Board member Stephanie Chomentowski said the Local's website was the obvious place to feature the kind of local content proposed for the portal. Remus responded by claiming that every paper that ever attempted a conversion to a 24-hour portal has "failed miserably."
"The Local can't possibly compete," he told her. "It's two different skill sets."
Gerald Tracy, business development manager for Phillyburbs.com, spoke from the gallery and explained that online ad revenue in the last quarter showed significant growth, while revenue in print ad sources continues to go into decline. While he acknowledged that the Local's content had significant value, he said that in the case of an online portal, "architecture may trump content."
The special committee is scheduled to meet again on Tuesday, Nov. 23.
Retail recruiter
Retail recruiter Eileen Reilly, hired this past year by the Chestnut Hill Business Association, gave the board an update on her efforts to find new tenants for vacant properties on Germantown Avenue.
She recounted her experience working with an unnamed family-friendly restaurant that is looking to expand. She said that over the last six months she has shown the proprietors four properties along the Hill, narrowed these down to two, and focused in on one that has "perfect square footage and zoning." To date, however, they have yet to sign a lease agreement.
"This takes a long time," she told the board.
Reilly said it would probably take another six months before the restaurant deal is closed, predicting that there could be an opening sometime in the fall of 2011.
"I'm still amazingly optimistic," she added.
Board member Kristine Sullivan asked whether getting a tenant to sign a lease agreement was supposed to take as long as she described. Reilly referred to a nationwide retail consulting firm called Downtown Works who, she assured the board, agrees that a significant time investment is needed to land a tenant.
Reilly explained that the demand for space in the retail world leans toward conglomeration – in places like "lifestyle centers" and shopping malls. Main Street environments like Germantown Avenue require more work to attract potential tenants. She explained that for Chestnut Hill, the ideal tenant is a smaller, independent business with three existing locations.
Reilly closed by announcing that she'd had four showings in the last week.
"It's been a banner week," she told the board, explaining that in a given week there are usually no more than one or two showings. "When a prospective tenant does show interest in the community, it's the Avenue that sells it."
Spa Elysium request from DRC
Community Manager Phillip LeCalsey introduced Wendy Feldman from Spa Elysium, located at 55 Bethlehem Pike. Having appeared before the Development Review Committee on Tuesday, Nov. 16, Feldman told the board that she was seeking support for a use variance to allow for massage services on the premises.
"We've been at our current location for 12 years," she said, "and provide hair, skin, and nail treatments."
For the last eight years, she's operated a Yoga studio on the premises.
Feldman explained that the spa is hoping to expand its business to provide massage services. To do so, however, it will need a use variance.
Because massage services are considered to be a "regulated use," Philadelphia zoning code prohibits massage from being practiced within 500 feet of residentially-related uses like schools or churches. According to Feldman, Spa Elysium is located 444 feet from St. Paul's Episcopal Church.
Board member Richard Snowden moved to approve the application for a use variance, which the board did by unanimous vote.
Zoning change impact on CHCA
Board president Walter Sullivan began the discussion of the proposed changes to the Philadelphia Zoning Code and the effect they could have on the Community Association's procedures by saying outright that the matter was not a dispute with Eva Gladstein, executive director of the Philadelphia Zoning Code Commission. Instead, he specified that the sole item of concern was the issue of the new code's requirement that only one meeting be held between neighborhood groups and developers to discuss new land development projects.
Board member Mark Keintz asked whether Gladstein would appear before the board to explain the proposed changes to better understand what it all means and make an informed decision as to how to proceed. Sullivan explained that she had already appeared before both the LUPZ and the DRC, but saw no reason she couldn't come address the board as well.
Sullivan said that the purpose behind the changes was to foster agreement and that sometimes it takes more time than a single meeting to do so.
Board member Richard Snowden told the board that he understood this to be a contentious issue in City Council and described the changes as "what happens when a lot of well-meaning people do something about zoning law, about which they know nothing."
Sullivan left the issue by saying the board would simply "watch it as it proceeds."


text:
Pic by MiralKhan on Devian Art
P.S. This post is too long, sorry for that. Keep in mind my observations happened in 3-4 days & I only saw 1% of Egypt so forgive my narrow perspective and enjoy.
Gaza, October 29, I will start this blog post about Egypt by a tweet I replied with to a question that was directed to me about Egypt. "Egypt was a million explosive things hidden underneath a weaved blanket of so many overwhelming emotions. It was like leaving the love of your life to go meet a long lost lover."
"(Egypt) is a great place for contrasts: splendid things gleam in the dust."
― Gustave Flaubert, Flaubert in Egypt: A Sensibility on Tour
It was like an out-of-body experience. Leaving Gaza was pretty easy, yes I had to wait for 4-5 hours but I actually crossed the Palestinian and Egyptian border and was ready to jump onto the cab ride to Cairo that usually takes 4-5 hours, unlike many guys whom I witnessed being asked to head back to Gaza for different reasons. The mission-impossible is a mission-accomplished now.
At first we passed through Egyptian Rafah, an identical twin to the Palestinian Rafah. The houses, the shops, the people and the sand. Everything is alike. I felt like we were still in Gaza. Then, we passed through Al Arish, it has the Gaza vibe until you start witnessing the very tall, fancy, schmancy and huge hotels and sports clubs. Then comes Sinai desert. Miles and miles of endless luscious silky sand that you feel like diving in or covering your body with. Then you pass through different areas until you reach "Ismailia". It immediately brought back flashbacks of "Deir El Balah" in Gaza. Tall and arrogant palm trees. Allot of planted lands. A few pedestrians walking by.
I was captivated and taken aback with everything my eyes are trying to absorb and fathom to the extent that I decided not to take pictures. I wanted to take photographic memories with my eyes instead, and then come here and describe what I saw and felt instead of sharing pictures.
Then, reality starts kicking in. "I am out of Gaza", I murmured to myself. I was overwhelmed with so many feelings. I felt triumph for making it to Egypt after defying all the odds and realities that were telling me how impossible reaching Egypt or NYC will be. But at the same time something weird was happening, I felt like a drug addict, like Gaza was slowly withdrawing from my system. I instantly got sad and felt like air is abandoning my body. Then I felt like a fish, a fish that was taken out of water, it was nice sneak-peaking outside the tank, but I wanted to return to Gaza right there and then.
"Omar, you are on a mission, remember?! Hang in there. You are doing this for yourself and for numerous other Gazan girls and guys who will be in your shoes one day", I tried desperately to inject some sense into myself. I calmed down.
We passed through streets of an area that had only huge factories. Huge companies, huge factories and huge smokestacks gushing thick grey pieces of smoke that looks like a staying-still pieces of fluffy cotton candy. I got sad. I remembered the area in Gaza that is filled with factories, factories that no longer work because of the Israeli bombardment and\or siege. It hit me right there and then, an indubitable fact: Egypt is a country, a huge country, Gaza isn't a country and its very tiny in comparison to Egypt.
More time was passing and I never wasted a minute. I observed and absorbed everything in the scope of my human abilities. I then reached a point of observing things while my mind is wandering on a black horse.
We started reaching Cairo and I felt a tingle in my throat and a jingle in my heart. It was getting dark. My dear "SUN" was accompanying me all the way until she got tired and decided to go sleep; she was wearing such a recherché orange glowing dress. Sunset in Egypt was beautiful, I know sunsets everywhere are alike, but I have to admit that the sunset in Gaza is much more beautiful, tender, rich, and the colors are more harmonious.
Darkness didn't stop Cairo from preserving its assiduousness. Big banners, flashy lights everywhere, wide streets and vibrant colorful vibes that penetrates the darkness of the night. The only difference between day and night in Egypt is the sun. The atmosphere doesn't change much. Oh, and the weather becomes amazing at night. The Nile was very flirtatious, sexy and arrogant. Many loud vessels (of different shapes and sizes) were cruising around in the Nile but the most beautiful scene was how the surrounding lights were reflecting on the Nile's surface creating a 3rd dimensional painting.
A new day has come. Sun started slowly pouring light and pumping it into Cairo. I was in awe. Cairo turns into a beehive in the morning, traffic in a constant rush-hour, people riding cars or walking to work\school\university, you can just feel how energetic the atmosphere around you is.
Cairo has many bridges; it's a clever way to connect different roads and areas. Bridges is a new experience for me; it just goes to show how big of a city Cairo is.
Have you ever been spoken to by buildings? I am not peddling minutiae here, I am serious. I don't know if people notice that, but the buildings in Cairo are so corpulent and they ooze a freedom that is crowned by independence. Buildings in Egypt asseverate a very obvious fact: Egypt is an independent, strong and solid country. Governmental buildings are colossal. Museums are huge. Malls are huge. Companies are huge. Shops are huge. Streets are huge. Supermarkets are huge. Everything is just humongous. In a way, I wish we had this confidence in Gaza, but I wouldn't deny that this made me miss how cozy and warm Gaza is, with its small streets and small buildings.
I passed through "Abdeen", its very Egyptian and vivid. Shops, people walking, cars and busy streets. I stayed at "Zamalek", I have to say that its one of Egypt's most charming and classy neighborhoods, and its so quiet. The streets are beautiful, trees are everywhere. You can easily find shops, bakeries, restaurants, pharmacies, hotels and every other thing you are looking for. Zamalek has a special vibe of its own. My only problem with Zamalek was how similar its streets are.
I also passed through "Al-Ma'adi", a very upscale Egyptian neighborhood that is very classy and charming also. Although its very similar to Zamalek, it still has its own vibe.
Cairo's downtown is unbelievable and impeccable. It's the perfect marriage of local stores and international brands. You will find everything you are looking for. The famous "Madbooli" bookstore is located in the heart of Cairo's downtown, it's a great place for people who likes to treasure-hunt Arabic books. Streets and streets of all kinds of shops, boutiques, restaurants, banks, bakeries, pharmacies, shoes stores and much much much more. It reminded me of Beirut's downtown and Gaza's downtown too. People were walking in every direction you can think of. An aspiring artist was displaying his work on the street, they were truly impressive.
You would think that the weather in Cairo would be atrocious, on the contrary, it wasn't very different from Gaza, very hot in the day and easy breezy in the night. I didn't notice a difference and I wasn't bothered at all.
The most interesting street was the street that homed "The Cultural Wheel" or "Sa2yet El Sawi". When we passed next to it my heart jumped out of my chest and I flashed a huge smile. I turned into a 5-year old who was approaching a candy store. It looked so big from the outside, and so sexy. I didn't have time to get in there but passing next to it alone flew me to cloud nine. I was high on ecstasy. But I wasn't even prepared to what was about to happen.
Have you heard of "Diwan" bookstore in Egypt? I am sure many of you know it. I knew it too but I forgot all about it until the awesome cab driver blurted, "I heard you were looking for English books and got disappointed when you didn't find any at Madbooli's. Would you like to check Diwan bookstore?". I was electrocuted with emotions. At first, I was disappointed with myself for forgetting about Diwan bookstore but then I remembered that everything was happening too fast. Then, I was jumping with excitement. I found myself saying to the cab drive: "YES, YES, YES". I proved to the world that just like Herbal Essence Shampoo can give you an orgasmic shower (per to their advertisement), bookstores can make you sound like you were having an orgasm. I would have turned to a red tomato of embarrassment but I was nonchalant, I was too excited for "Diwan" bookstore.
"OMG, I died and was sent to heaven", "No wait, its like a candy store", "hallelujah", " I am in love", I kept murmuring things to myself. My only regret was that I had not much time to look around and boy I wanted to spend half of my life there. I started sifting through the aisles and bookshelves while I overwhelm the poor employee there with a thousand question about a thousand books at the same time. It was an unforgettable hour.
I found so many books, some I read and others were on my wishlist. I discovered many new authors and amazing new books. I tried to process everything I was seeing. I bought a few books and exited leaving my heart there. I will definitely be visiting them the next time I am in Cairo.
If you are planning to visit Cairo soon and you are a reading geek like me, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE check Diwan bookstore, here is their website: http://www.diwanegypt.com/
We passed through a cozy restaurant called "Maison Thomas" which basically specializes in Pizza. The name might sound British but the ambiance was definitely Italian. Its like you were strolling through Venice.
I happened to pass through Tahrir Sq. so many times and every time it happens I turn into a superman. I become happy, and confident and free. It looks and feels so familiar and it illustrates hard work. I became friends with Tahrir Sq. but I definitely need to spend some time there next time. "El Midan" and "El Tahrir" people call it there and I found myself talking about it like an Egyptian, I even was bragging about it giving the sense that my father owned it (LOL).
I met two cab drivers during this short trip. Abo yousef, such a gentleman, he was very respectful and very well awared of everything in Egypt. He was the perfect blend of a modern man yet he was very keen on holding onto his roots. He even became more amazing when he knew I was Palestinian. He liked how I spoke the Egyptian dialect so well but he said I don't look like an Egyptian (the story of my life, people think I am a foreigner when I am in Gaza, even in Egypt I can't fake being an Arab). Abo yousef was very spontaneous and he feared god in a very respectful way, he was very funny and entertaining. But he kinda lost me when he wanted to impress me but putting on some new trendy cheap music that everyone is listening to in the streets, especially youngsters.
Abu Gooda, he was great, but I didn't get to spend as much time as I did with Abo Yousef. But Abu Gooda was also very respectful and kind and helpful and he was the one who suggested Diwan bookstores and immediately became my favorite (I know I am biased).
Egyptians. Ah, I don't know how to express my love and respect to Egyptians. I didn't meet a single rude Egyptian (aside from the window 6 girl at the US Embassy in Cairo). Everyone was sweet, kind, respectful, helpful, smiley, considerate and caring. They even took their sweetness up a notch whenever they knew I was Palestinian. They truly love Palestine and Palestinians with all their heart. I admit, Cairo intimidated me with how big it is but I never felt like I was a stranger because people were so warm there.
Egyptians walked with confidence, like a nation that ignited a revolution, a revolution that changed the whole Arab world. I loved watching how confident and free Egyptians are. They speak freely –whether pro or against Mubarak or Morsi or any other political party or politicians-, they walk freely and they express themselves in an amazingly emancipated way that left me in awe.
I love watching graffiti but I have to say that Egyptians took graffiti into a whole new level. I saw endless kinds of graffiti holding so many different and sometimes contrasting messages. Most of the graffiti was against Mubarak's toppled regime and the new Ikhwan regime. Graffiti work was so bold and brave. Some Graffiti work was against the police and was placed on the walls of the military police headquarters. Some Graffiti work was hilarious with the painted characters and funny messages, this left me cachinnating heartily. Also many Graffiti had some heartfelt messages about the martyrs of the Egyptian revolution.
Poverty is an epidemic that is eroding Egypt's lowest class and its very visible even in Egypt's upscale and upper class areas and neighborhoods. But, in contrary to what we hear on TV, I noticed all three classes in Egypt: Upper, middle and lower. Unlike Gaza, which is slowly becoming a two-classed impoverished coastal enclave with only the upper and lower classes being obviously visible recently.
I haven't had local Egyptian food this time but I did before and I have to say I am addicted to the Egyptian Kushari. It's a very simple yet delicious meal that leaves you very full, satisfied and pleasured.
I also noticed how modernized and westernized Cairo is becoming but I am not worried because I believe Egyptians are very glued to their roots, or so I would like to believe. I think the revolution played a role in bringing Egyptians closer to Egypt.
After living the Egyptian revolution through TV and Twitter, I considered myself half Egyptian and I felt like I was a part o the revolution. I wasn't at tahrir sq. but my soul was definitely there. I was glued to the TV, I didn't sleep, I tweeted like a mad person and I genuinely cared. I mourned the Egyptian martyrs, I rejoiced the victories and I even thought of Egypt as an Egyptian. But in Egypt I became more Palestinian. I envied Egypt and I wished that one day I get to have an independent free country that is strong as Egypt. Egyptians' love for Palestine also kept the flame of Palestine very well lit inside of me. I felt a responsibility because I was representing my people.
Egypt had many things in common with Gaza but perhaps one of them was the huge number of foreigners who are living in or visiting the country. The only difference is that Egypt even had allot of Arab nationalities either vacationing or studying or staying there because of journalism. I was impressed to see how easy everyone was acting, they were acting like they were at home and I am not surprised because I had the same feeling.
We hear allot about how unsafe Egypt, Cairo, Sinai and El Arish are but I found the contrary. Egypt was so very safe and peaceful that helps you be at peace. The country is very safe and the people are so warm, friendly, kind and helpful that you rarely feel alarmed.
I fell in love with Egypt, and it helped me love Palestine even more.
I saw so many international and Arabic cities in Cairo. It had the dynamicity of New York, the vivid nightlife of Lebanon, the charming and cozy atmosphere of Venice, the shopping splurge of Paris and much more. Cairo has many sides to it, which basically suites everyone no matter what his\her taste is.
I didn't experience any power outages during my stay in Cairo but what I witnessed is the fuel crisis that was majorly affecting everyone. I saw endless lines of cars waiting anxiously infront of fuel stations dreaming of a chance to fill their tanks, a scene that isn't strange to me since I see it allot here in Gaza.
Egypt isn't perfect. I think of it as a paragon of beauty. Yes, there is many downsides but I think the positives over power the negatives of Egypt, or so I would like to believe. Perhaps a few of the observed negatives are:
1- How expensive Egypt has became. I mean the prices are skyrocketing. Everything is very overly priced to an extent that left me in mere shock.
2- How cab drivers and some shop owners tend to exaggerate or increase the price of stuff just because you are a foreigner.
3- The smothering traffic that leaves you tired and angry.
4- The widely spread beggars across Egypt. They will stay after you till a miracle shows up and rescues you.
5- Some streets are dirty, which is a shame because most of the streets are clean and awesome.
And one of Cairo's biggest advantage or upside is how they master customer service. If you are paying money then they will make sure you are highly respected and you will get the best service out there no matter what they have to do to achieve that. I was jealous of that. I wished Gaza could learn a bit from them when it comes to customer service. They master public relations also, something that Gaza doesn't master at all.
Every Palestinian will tell you: "we don't live in Palestine, Palestine lives in us". Palestine is inherent. But Egypt is inherent too in a way. It leaves things inside you when you leave it, a residue of pure passion and nostalgia. Palestine is my homeland that lives inside me, Egypt too left a print or an impression inside me.
Hate it or love it, hate to love it or love to hate it, you can't deny that Egypt is a country that has a large magnitude. The oldest and biggest civilization and the most interesting history. If you don't feel a positive eeriness when you are in Egypt, I feel like you would be disrespecting the greatness of Egypt.
I miss Egypt so much. I can't wait to head back to Cairo this week, and I will do everything in my power to return to Zamalek neighborhood because I truly miss it. I hope I get to meet my friends there this time because last time I had no time to do that which left me depressed and left them sad.
"Egypt is the mother of the world", an expression that is very correct. If you happened to be puzzled about why that might be, here is a few reasons: Egypt is the first country to use alphabets to write. Long texts were written in Egypt since the first intermediate period that is between the old and middle Kingdoms. In Egypt the first building using stones was built, that is the step pyramid in Sakara. The famous Pythagoras theory of a right angled triangle was used by the architect of Cheops at the ceilings of the funerary chamber at the Cheops pyramid more than 2 thousand years before Pythagoras was born. Astronomy, chemistry, fine architecture, art, religion, jewelry, carpentry, mathematics, perfumes, needles for sewing, carving stones, first folding bed for camping - it belongs to Tut Ankh Amun-, first folding chair for the beach of the same King, first condom of him too, first paper to write that is the papyrus paper, first eye makeup, shaving tools, beds and chairs like modern ones, all these and more are Egyptian inventions.
I was asking myself If I was perplexed by a paradox of falling in love with Egypt while breathing Palestine. The answer was: NO. Palestine is my love and passion but Egypt is a country that I love and respect too. Nothing is wrong with that.
Dear Egypt, I am coming back soon. I hope you missed me as much as I missed you and your piquant taste.
Omar from Gaza


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Who should attend: staff from Northern8 libraries migrating to PrairieCatThis class is designed to provide staff of PrairieCat libraries with a basic understanding of the capabilities of the Cataloging module. Topics include creating, editing, and removing item records, creating, linking to, editing volume records. Basic matching of bibliographic records will also be covered.Prerequisite: Sierra Essentials. This class is the first step towards barcode certification for PrairieCat. Once this class is completed, a temporary named login will be assigned to the staff member which is valid for six months. Once the Barcode Certification test is passed, the named login will be made permanent.
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If any more indication was needed that next week's ABC figures are going to be brutally bad. it can be found in the news that the PPA are going to release combined print and digital figures on the same day as the official returns.
Of course this will be entirely unbiased, objective and beyond reproach. How could a set of figures produced by a body funded by the industry and designed to prop up advertising revenues for titles that are struggling to survive fail to be otherwise?
Prepare yourselves for the good news PR onslaught as every single UK publisher trumpets their great success.
Oh, the joy of being in an industry that is doing so, so well!


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In machines, installations and mobile machinery software is indispensable. Therefore it is necessary for the user to have compatible and easy-to-use programs for operation, parameter setting and remote maintenance.
The ifm product range comprises operating and parameter setting software, OPC server software and programming tools conforming to IEC 61131-3 for control systems used in mobile machinery.
The ifm LINERECORDER software consists of a variety of standardised function modules and enables optimisation and quality assurance of the entire production and process chain - from goods receipt through to goods issue. The range includes modules for product traceability, process traceability and machine data acquisition.
ifm also offers apps for parameter setting and set-up of IO-Link sensors, 1D/2D code readers, 3D cameras and RFID read/write heads and for collecting and saving process data.


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The amount of evidence stacking up that hedge funds, mutual funds and even private equity do not provide value for their investors is just staggering.
The latest figures reported in the FT showed that 70% of the profits of private equity had been gobbled up by the managers rather than the investors. While there are certainly signs that the public's tolerance of excessive fees and executive pay is falling, the likelihood of significant structural change in the finance industry is still remote.
Given such a backdrop the probability remains that investors in funds will on average continue to underperform their benchmarks. So what is an investor to do?
We still believe that individuals who have the time and discipline to do their own research and think outside the box should look to invest the equity portion of their own funds directly in the stock market. We appreciate that not every investor has the interest or inclination to do this but a few more might be likely to if they seriously considered how compromised the alternative is.
Here follows a rundown of ten key reasons why investing in managed funds is such a losers game and then we propose a few alternatives:
- Underperformance. It has been shown that 75% of investment funds under-perform the stock market averages over the long term, not least due to the compounding impact of high fees and trading commissions.
- Hidden Costs. The real cost of owning a fund is not published - it is hidden away as reduced performance. Once transaction costs, tax costs, cash drag, soft dollar arrangements and advisory fees are added to the published expense ratios the total annual cost of owning a fund can be over 4%!
- Agency Issues. Most fund managers typically get rich on fees rather than from making good investments skewing their incentives towards asset gathering and retention rather than investment performance. As Fred Schwed wrote back in the 1940s,quot;**Where are the Customers' Yachts**quot;?
- Size Bias. Due to the above, institutions often get too big to invest meaningfully in smaller companies which much research has shown offer the best opportunity for outperformance.
- Career Risk. Fund Managers' careers may be at risk if they don't report consistent quarterly results. This bias promotes short termism, over-trading, 'herd' behaviour and the chasing of momentum stocks which can often end catastrophically.
- The 'Star' Issue. Evidence is growing that traditional 'star' stock picking fund managers like Bill Miller and Anthony Bolton are struggling to adapt to the evolving 'risk on, risk off' market structure. Many have been registering significant underperformance in recent years.
- Time Weighting of Performance. The average dollar invested in a fund radically underperforms the reported return. This is primarily due to the fact that funds report their returns in a time weighted rather than dollar weighted fashion - a statistical trick chosen to inflate apparent returns to potential investors.
- Mean Reversion. Attracted to a fund with strong historic returns? Don't be returns have a tendency to mean revert and underperform in future. A recent study showed that quot;when managers were compelled to invest extra cash from investor inflows in stocks, they were unable to beat the market.quot;
- Redemption Delay. It can often take days or even weeks to sell a fund. As many investors found out to their great cost in the credit crunch, in times of poor liquidity the possibility of getting your money out of less liquid funds at all can be significantly reduced!
- Lack of Transparency. While some funds do publish their 'top holdings' many funds are clothed in secrecy begging the question of what is it that you actually own? The Bernie Madoff saga clearly showed how such a lack of transparency can end disastrously.
As we've discussed elsewhere, the reason fund managers can't beat the market is NOT because the market is unbeatable. Essentially, as John Bogle has always explained, the fund management industry shows evidence of institutionally bad decision making, herd behaviour and excessive compensation. If investors are looking for long term security, then they should take matters into their own hands by learning to invest their portfolio themselves.
If you can't find the time and discipline to dedicate to stock market investment (which is probably likely!), we still recommend investing in the stock market, but you should focus on the very lowest cost passively managed funds. ETFs and Index funds are the best bet and have been shown to beat 75% of actively managed funds. Warren Buffett has been quoted as saying quot;If you have 2% a year of your funds being eaten up by fees you're going to have a hard time matching an index fund in my view.quot; In fact, Warren Buffett believes so strongly that index funds will beat hedge funds over the long run that he's even put a $1m bet on the Samp;P500 beating a fund of funds over a 10 year basis.
The good news is that the growing social clamour over high fees and excessive pay is leading to an increasing number of low cost ETFs and quantitatively managed funds hitting the market for investors. The future certainly is looking a lot brighter for investors in funds, but stay vigilant, always think of the costs and think before you act!
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Hawaii chosen for higher education and workforce projectUniversity of Hawaiʻi
University of Hawaii
Cheryl Blanco, (303) 541-0221
Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education
BOULDER, Colorado — Hawaii has just been named to participate in a project that examines the nexus between higher education and the state's workforce and economic needs. Escalating Engagement: State Policy to Protect Access to Higher Education, a project of the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE), will focus on how Hawaii's colleges and universities can educate and train students in ways that promote the state's workforce and economic development goals. The project, funded by The Ford Foundation, has two goals: to assist states in preparing a competitive workforce for the high-skill, high-wage global economy of the future; and to assure that populations that have been disenfranchised in the past have access, through education, to high-skill jobs. Hawaii is one of only two states invited to participate in the project (South Dakota is the other).
"Selection for this project comes at a fitting time for the state of Hawaii and the University of Hawaii system," says David McClain, UH system interim president. "All ten campuses in the University of Hawaii system play a vital role in addressing Hawaii's skilled worker shortage and the need for economic development initiatives. This support from WICHE and its partners will assist the university in better aligning our resources with state needs to maximize opportunities for all of Hawaii's citizens."
Today, states are facing a very different policy environment than they have in the past, thanks to the "jobless recovery" and the disconnect between the skills they want to see developed for the future and those that are in fact being developed. Not only must states now assess how to attract and retain the high-skill/high-wage jobs needed to sustain a solid quality of life for their citizens, they must also educate all their citizens well, particularly those who come from disadvantaged backgrounds, so they can secure those jobs. And they must do it all with more limited resources than were previously available.
Hawaii, like many other states, is undergoing a sea change when it comes to workforce education and training issues, says David Longanecker, WICHE's executive director. "In the past, most states assumed their low-income population only needed training for low-skill occupations, just to get basic employment. But those low-skill occupations are disappearing, and economic viability in the future will require bringing a much greater share of the population — including low-income students and students from communities of color — into high-skill sectors of employment. For them to participate successfully, we need to do a much better job of educating them."
Hawaii plans to use the Escalating Engagement project to develop the broader vision and political consensus that will be essential as the university system and other key agencies work to meet the state's economic and workforce development goals. Hawaii will receive technical assistance from WICHE and its partners — the National Center for Higher Education Management
Systems and the Council on Adult and Experiential Learning — which will help the state assess its capacity to capitalize on its postsecondary education sector in support of both current
and projected needs. WICHE will also help state decision makers to brainstorm new strategies that more closely link postsecondary education to near-term and future economic and workforce development goals.
The Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE) and its 15 member states work collaboratively to expand educational access and excellence for all citizens of the West. By promoting innovation, cooperation, resource sharing, and sound public policy among states and institutions, WICHE strengthens higher education's contributions to the region's social, economic, and civic life. Our programs — Student Exchange, Policy Analysis and Research, WCET (the Western Cooperative for Educational Telecommunications), and Mental Health — are working to find answers to some of the most critical questions facing higher education today, investigating
issues such as access to higher ed for low-income students, the financing of higher education and student financial aid, higher education's role in workforce and economic development, articulation between K-12 and higher education, and distance education. WICHE's 15 member states include Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New
Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. The organization is governed by a 45-member gubernatorially appointed body.
For more information, visit: http://www.wiche.edu


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This video shows a "fire devil", a mini tornado made of flames. It was shot in the drought stricken Sao Paolo region of Brazil.
The images remind me of some of the horrific wildfires we've experienced here in Southern California. Heat waves like the one we're in now also make me nervous..
So I blog to relax. And drink this raspberry limeade slushie.
How do you beat the heat?


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Archive for the 'proliferation studies' Category
Nuclear power and terrorist proliferation of nuclear weapons
Is the plutonium that is potentially formed within certain types of fuels in nuclear fission power reactors really suitable for the construction of nuclear weapons? How accessible and usable is such plutonium for such a purpose? How hard would it be to construct a nuclear weapon employing such material? Could terrorists steal nuclear fuel from a nuclear power reactor and construct a working nuclear explosive device, practice?
What characteristics would such a device have? Given the terrible power of nuclear weapons, and the very real threat of terrorists who would love nothing more than to wield such power, these are perhaps important questions to consider.
I assert that, no, there is no real threat here that is anywhere near as plausible in the real world as it is sometimes beaten up to be. Can terrorists steal nuclear fuel, and build a nuclear weapon? No. I don't think so.
I mainly just wrote this because (i) I just wanted to get this off my chest, and it's good to have a go at the unrealistic nonsense that gets bandied about without any real factual evidence to back it up, and (ii) because I found the Kessler paper interesting.
This little piece of writing of mine owes a lot to the always entertaining and scientifically interesting posts of NNadir, especially this one, and this one, where I was pointed to the interesting publications of Kessler and colleagues. Love your work, NNadir 🙂
My little essay is here (PDF format).
Pointing out of typos, peer review, comments, grammatical suggestions and other interesting discussion and feedback is appreciated.
(I know the sentence is too long in the last paragraph on page 5, and there's a typo on the first line of page 13. Those are fixed in the CVS. 🙂 )
I hope you find it enjoyable, interesting and/or useful.


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Jacques Mesrine was among France's greatest criminals of the 20th Century, the kind of man about whom two-part gangster epics are made. Born in 1936, Mesrine (played in the film by Vincent Cassel) was old enough to remember the Nazis, and young enough to have felt helpless against them. And not long after his homeland was rid of them, he was shipped off to Algeria to take part in one of the great failures of colonization, where his "hand developed a taste for guns."
"Mesrine: Killer Instinct," the first installment in his story, is loaded with nods, lifts and homage to vintage Scorsese, from "Mean Streets" through to "Casino." But to the credit of writer-director Jean-François Richet, it's done with enough respect and craftsmanship that it succeeds.
Upon returning from Algeria, Mesrine is visited by his old friend Paul (Gilles Lellouce), who picks him up in a convertible, evidence of a fruitful, if dubious profession. Disgusted by the prospect of working with his father in the lace industry, Mesrine asks Paul for a "job." The film follows Mesrine as he skips from country to country, chasing opportunities and women or fleeing the law, or sometimes both.
As far as American audiences know, Cassel is a career criminal, having played François "The Night Fox" Toulour in the "Ocean's Eleven" movies and Kiril in "Eastern Promises." Both are appropriately showy performances, but here Cassel reins himself in. Mesrine has a volatile temper and taste for violence, but in a story running north of four hours, the effect would be lost if he were thrashing about the whole time. Instead, he is calm and deliberate in his manner--but when his anger does rise, it's explosive.
Because the story spans a decade of bank robberies, women, jailbreaks, kidnappings, car chases, mob hits and the like, Richet deftly cuts corners in his storytelling, but it's at times to the detriment of properly developing Mesrine's character, occasionally forcing the viewer to reverse engineer his motivations. But that doesn't keep the film from being an engrossing story about a man with massive ego, appetite and rage, who brings an uncommon level of passion and determination to his life of crime.
Considering that Mesrine was a real-life criminal, the lack of extras on the home video version is both strange and disappointing. You'd think that there' be a treasure trove of newsreels and the like about such a larger-than-life figure.
Probably the best compliment that can be paid to "Mesrine: Killer Instinct" is the frustration felt at the film's conclusion, coupled with the realization that the second half, "Mesrine: Public Enemy #1," doesn't come out on home video for another five weeks.
U.S. & World
The day's top national and international news.
"Mesrine: Killer Instinct" is in French with English subtitles


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Okay, so this is it. No, really. This is IT. It's here: "This Is It," which is the first-ever posthumous release from Michael Jackson. You can listen, courtesy of TMZ, below.
"This Is It" is the first song taken off the new album, "This Is It," which arrives in stores two weeks from now to support the film, This Is It, which consists of rehearsal footage from Jackson's aborted comeback shows which were also to be titled, "This Is It." In all of these instances, I do believe the word "it" is meant to symbolize corporate synergy.
So, now that IT is here, just how is IT? To be frank, most Michael Jackson enthusiasts will adore this song regardless of how it compares with the rest of Jackson's formidable back catalog. They'll just be happy to hear his voice once more. And that's really the allure of this single.
In fact, the most touching part of the song isn't even the song itself, but rather the sound of Michael's terribly frail and delicate voice counting the beats at the opening: "1, 2, 3, 4…" He sounds innocent and wounded, just as you'd expect Michael Jackson to sound when no one is listening.
After that, the pianos and strings swell, and you're smack dab in the middle of "Heal The World" territory. Jackson's singing voice sounds as strong as ever. It's clean, devoid of many of the overplayed vocal tics that plagued his later recordings. Jackson's brothers sing the background vocals here (presumably they were added to the mix after Jackson died), so the single also serves as a vocal reunion for the family as well.
That's what you're buying into when you listen to "This Is It." You're listening to a piece of music that doesn't need to stand on its own, but rather serves as a welcome chance to hear the voice of Jackson come back to life. For a lot of people, that's well worth the price of admission. Whether that will be true upon the release of Jackson's 20th posthumous album five years from now is anyone's guess.
U.S. & World


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Hello Everyone!
Sorry for being absent or the past few days - all the efforts went into finishing the darkroom and so for your viewing pleasure here are three photos of the various parts of it in the process of being built.
Drying racks and future dry and wet counter spaces.
Print washing sink (custom made by us to fit one 16x20 and one 11x14 archival washers and the big sink for trays (we went with a standard 6ft sink that theoretically can hold trays up to 20x24)
And these are the guts of our enlarging stations (I tried to make as many drawers as I had patience for as there is always a ton of small stuff needed in the darkroom like lenses, negative carriers, etc.)
And here are three images of what the darkroom looks like tonight as we finish up work on it.
There are still a few things to do - safe lights need to be wired and placed, ventilation is waiting to be hooked up to the switches (that's hopefully going to get done right after I press 'publish' on this post) and a couple of faucets need to be placed in the sinks. Otherwise it's ready to be a very cozy creative cave.
In other news the decision was made to launch on our maiden journey much sooner than previously planned. We are going to rough it on this trip and have no bedrooms. We could spend the summer working on the second story (and it would not be out of our realm of capabilities), BUT that would leave Ryan and me in a dire financial situation with no finds to actually go anywhere and start making art and spreading the joy of gelatin silver across the country. So! The launch date has been moved up and is now set to be around June 8th (give or take a day or two). The Photo Palace is taking off from the Bay Area tomorrow and am headed to San Diego for the first time. There the darkroom will be stuffed with all sorts of equipment that makes darkrooms so much fun.
Our route will be announced soon so stay tuned!
I am also completely lagging on posting a huge Thank You Post in which I will pay homage to all the wonderful folks who made the building of The Photo Palace in Bay Area possible. I am not forgetting about You guys - I just want to get a day of breathing and rest so I can put together a less rambling post to honor You in.
It's almost 3am - time for a little more coffee and some more finishing touches.
Sometimes I have dreams that I reach into my camera bag and pull out a camera, but find that it's not the right camera for the occasion (like a Polaroid when I want a Rolleiflex) - very frustrating dreams those are.... I think the best photo-dreams I remember having were the ones then I notice a striking light quality (usually dawn or sunset hour, but sometimes slightly hazy overcast looks beautiful in my dreams) and actually have a camera that can do justice to the moment... A while ago I had one of those dreams, but was slightly sad because I thought to myself: "This would be perfect for Kodachrome but they don't make it many more...."
Hope everyone is having good dreams right now.


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Chocolate. A Girl's Best Friend
Even more her best friend when she realizes she hasn't posted to her dear blog for, well, ages, AND her exam is just a little less than a month away. When she then on top of that realizes she's had just a bit too much fun with chocolate (and other food items) during the past four months for her to have really prepared for any of that - I guess you know how it goes, don't you?
It's That Time Of Year where I try to cram, cram and cram some more and try to get ready for my exam. If I'm lucky, I'll even have some chocolatey friends to help me. Except maybe not the one in the top right corner. We weren't friends, and really, it was all his fault, 'cause he could just have come out of that Bundt pan already, yes he could!
They are, from top to bottom, Classic Sour Cream Chocolate Chip Cake - Heirloom Devil's Food Layer Cake (My Birthday Cake this year) - and Milk Chocolate Chip Coffee Cake, all from Lisa Yockelson's ChocolateChocolate. (Btw., Luisa, you're right - most of it is just a matter of "chocolate chipping" a cake and then miracously it becomes a chocolate cake - good cakes, though:-)) Oh yes, and then there's the block and a half of Valrhona that I'm counting on will last me through the rest of the month. Maybe, if I'm stingy enough.
So forgive me if there's a bit quiet or short-posted around these parts for a while. You know why, now. Oh, and if you have a couple fingers to spare, keep them crossed for me - you might earn some chocolate cake in the process, heh!:-)


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Whether you are a high school student getting ready for prom, or someone planning a special event, if you are going to be hiring a limo, make sure it is licensed by the state.
There are many quality limousine companies to choose from in Washington state. Always check references and make sure the company is licensed before you hire them.
To find out if the limousine service you plan to use is licensed by the state, visit the Department of Licensing website at www.dol.wa.gov/business/limousine/
If you do not see the business listed, or you do not see it listed as a limousine company, please call 360-705-6744 to verify the limousine company is properly licensed.
Ride safely and in style.


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Editors tend to resist publishing articles that provide a "research travelogue" -- "first I looked here, and then that led me to..." but for those of us still struggling to figure out how to do good research, a travelogue or two is most welcome. National Genealogical Society president Jan Alpert provides one involving the Neill families, possibly related, of Peoria and Schuyler counties, Illinois in the January issue of UpFront with NGS. There's no magical revelation or clear conclusion, but I find it interesting to see how someone else goes about a project starting with a clue or two from a Civil War pension file.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Central Illinois research as it happens
Posted by Harold Henderson at 3:13 AM
Labels: Illinois, Jan Alpert, National Genealogical Society, Neill family, Peoria County Illinois, research advice, Schuyler County Illinois, UpFront with NGS
2 comments:
- Jan Alpert said...
From Civil War Pension to census to obituary.
As a follow up I wrote the Schuyler Co. Jail Museum and was given the name of a local researcher whom I hired for some local research. She sent me many obituaries and other family information which ties my uncle's Neill family and the Neill's of Schuyler Co. together. I'm almost done entering the data into my database to send family group charts to my uncle. The obituaries have given me many more 20th Century Neills to research.
Jan Alpert
- March 11, 2009 at 3:33 PM
- Harold Henderson said...
Thanks, Jan. If you go any farther west you may wind up being related to Michael John Neill!
- March 11, 2009 at 5:12 PM


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State lawmaker accused of bringing box cutter into state Capitol
Rep. Brett Hulsey being investigated
A state lawmaker is accused of bringing a box cutter into the Capitol.
Documents obtained by WISN 12 News show a Capitol police officer said state Rep. Brett Hulsey showed him a yellow box cutter he had brought into the building.
The officer said Hulsey told him he was going to use it to defend himself.
That incident has sparked a new debate over weapons inside the Capitol.
Wisconsin lawmakers began their session Wednesday afternoon with a prayer for guidance and safety, but some are worried about weapons others are carrying under their coats.
"That is the level of craziness that we're dealing with," Hulsey said.
Madison Democrat Brett Hulsey is under investigation by the Capitol police, he said, for asking questions about bringing a rifle and a box cutter into the building and encouraging an aide to take self-defense lessons.
"I had a person two years ago, after a protest, walk into my office with a box cutter looking for me," Hulsey said.
Documents obtained by WISN 12 News show Hulsey's aide contacted Capitol police, saying she was "terrified" because Hulsey suggested she get training to protect herself.
Hulsey said he did this because Waukesha Republican Bill Kramer presides over the Assembly while carrying a firearm, and he thinks that's scary.
Milwaukee Democrat Christine Sinicki said no one should be armed.
"It does make me uncomfortable to think that one of my colleagues is carrying because we do have some very heated discussions in there and sometimes emotions do run wild," Sinicki said.
"If it was up to me, I would rather not to have guns in the Assembly chambers or in the gallery," Democratic state Rep. Leon Young said.
"I mean this is concealed carry. Could he be packing? Yes, he could legally be up there with a gun in his holster around his waist, yes," Republican state Rep. Joel Kleefisch said.
"And you don't care?" WISN 12 News reporter Mike Anderson asked.
"No, it doesn't bother me at all," Kleefisch said.
"Back in history, there actually was a shooting in this chamber -- way back. I think it was the late 1800s," Sinicki said.
WISN 12 News tried to get a comment from the Capitol police on the Hulsey investigation, but no one was available.


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Welcome to Creativity Guide
Change Culture Creativity Communication Article
For a permanent link to this article, or to bookmark it for further reading, click here.
Creativity Exercises - The Creative Genius in Youfrom: Jennifer Morton - Guest Writer
The world nowadays is just brimming with the latest forms of technology. Students doing research for instance, would rather surf the World Wide Web than manually flip the pages of an encyclopedia.
Those who want to keep notes of their professor's lectures, would rather just hit the keyboard of their laptops than use the traditional method of pen and paper. Nowadays people do rely so much more on technological advances, than they did in previous generations.
Did you know however, that you actually already possess the finest computer ever made! You might not have known this, but your brain is actually one if not the best, of the greatest computers ever designed. It has everything you seek in a regular computer, with its ability to classify and differentiate pieces of information, and the speed and the size of its "hard disk" are more than you can probably ever comprehend.
It may well be the case that despite this revelation, you can still sometimes notice that you tend to leave that precious brain of yours in an idle mode. You need to exercise your brain to make it more productive again therefore, if necessary, by dragging yourself out of your comfort zones, and exercising and stimulating your brain in order for you to be able to be more creative in your life.
The new connections your brain makes will simultaneously cause neurons to flow, thus increasing your willingness and your capacity to think and act in ways that are deemed to be uncommon.
Stretch exercises for instance, are creativity exercises that are purposely designed to stimulate your brain, challenge you with regard of your habits, and increase your sense of humour to such an extent that you will probably laugh as hard as you have ever done.
These creativity exercises are actually just simple and uncomplicatedtasks that you can perform almost anywhere, from your workplace to your house, and many creativity exercises are exercises which you can do even when you are just sitting down.
At this point you might well be wondering just what kinds of exercises these various creativity exercises are, and therefore it is appropriate that we go in to more detail in the following paragraphs.
To try and give you an example of this, take your watch and try wearing it on your other wrist. After you have done this, you will start to imagine different things, such as thinking that one of your wrists is bigger than the other for example, and after the change over, try and keep it on your other wrist for a whole day.
It is almost a racing certainty, that you would be itching to switch it back to your other wrist. This is a simple example of removing yourself outside of your established comfort routines, and by doing so you have stimulated your brain to be even more creative!
You could do just one creativity exercise daily, or you could also do many if you prefer to, but whichever option you choose, it is guaranteed that you will think in new directions, and therefore see things in a different perspective. These changes that you will have made are sure to make you enjoy life more.
The whole point of engaging yourself in creativity exercises is to be more open and accepting to different possibilities which surround you, and these exercises will also teach you to be less reliant on your old style of working, and your established habits and routines. Having an open and creative mind is always sure to offer you better solutions in your life.
To be able to be creative is a right given to you at birth, because you were brought into this world with all the tools and all the potential to be able to think and develop in an outstanding manner.
Everyone knows that life is a serious business, especially as it develops, but do try and not allow this fact to hinder you from giving yourself that mental freedom to be the creative genius that you were potentially born to be!


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Pelvic exam. A doctor or nurse inserts one or two lubricated, gloved fingers of one hand into the vagina and presses on the lower abdomen with the other hand. This is done to feel the size, shape, and position of the uterus and ovaries. The vagina, cervix, fallopian tubes, and rectum are also checked.
Pap test. A speculum is inserted into the vagina to widen it. Then, a brush is inserted into the vagina to collect cells from the cervix. The cells are checked under a microscope for signs of disease.


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Moderator: Cartographers
MrBenn wrote:Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to create a small image (around 75px wide by 55px high) that represents something festive / wintery / christmassy. Once you have created your design (using the image-editing software of your own choosing), please feel free to post it within this thread, embedded within tags.
Over the next 10(ish) days, I will be monitoring this thread, and may (or may not) use the best of the submitted images to feature as part of a conquerclub celebration. If your image/design is used, you will be awarded an official CC Contest Medal. Each contributor may submit no more than 3 designs; only one medal will be awarded for each designer.
On your marks.... get ready..... DRAW!
greenoaks wrote:are those of us from the southern hemisphere allowed to do something festive / summery / christmassy
MrGlassB wrote:Here are my contributions. Hope you like 'em.
MrBenn wrote:Nice to see some quick entries... I'm hoping that there will continue be a flurry of them coming in - I'm going to need around 20 entries, and am in the mood for dishing out medals to everybody who takes part - MrGlassB and grifftron have got theirs already!!
grifftron wrote:very cool MrBenn, that means they will be used right? for what...?
QoH wrote:Here we go...
MrBenn wrote:QoH wrote:Here we go...
Thanks QoH; although I need the images to be landscape... Feel free to try something else
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Sexual Assault Task Force maintains awareness level and coordinates services to victimsUniversity of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
Project Coordinator
April 2006 is designated as Sexual Assault Awareness Month across the country, and at UH Mānoa the campus security reports show that there have been no reports of sexual assault on campus this calendar year. Figures for 2005 record two reported incidents on campus and four off-campus assaults.
"Maintaining an awareness of sexual assault as a critical safety and security issue remains a high priority for Mānoa's senior administrators," said Chancellor Denise Konan. "I am pleased to acknowledge the work of the UH Mānoa Sexual Assault Task Force (SATF) to maintain awareness and plan and implement assistance programs when the need arises."
Earlier this year, Chancellor Konan officially recognized the SATF as a formal advisory entity to the Mānoa Chancellor's Office. The Task Force was established in 2003 to ensure improved and appropriate victim assistance services and perpetrator accountability for Mānoa students.
Task Force members are the directors/coordinators from Campus Security, the office of the Vice Chancellor for Students, the Counseling Center, Health Center, Student Housing, the Gender Equity Counselor and the Women's Center. Activities have ranged from acting as a crisis response team for urgent incidents to drafting and implementing procedures and protocols within their respective departments. SATF members were also involved in the creation of the new UH systemwide Sexual Assault Policy released by the Office of the President in February.
"We are all campus service providers," said P. Jayne Bopp, Project Coordinator for the Program Against Violence to Women. "Our coordinated response allows Mānoa to provide student victims of sexual assault with crisis counseling, safer housing options, assistance with academic issues and obtaining appropriate medical care, and referrals to other on- and off-campus services as needed."
The SATF has also addressed perpetrator accountability and improved safety on campus in a number of ways — including issuing crime alerts, implementing trespass bans, initiating on-campus investigations and adjudicating conduct code violations.
For more information, visit: http://manoa.hawaii.edu/mco/committees_groups/pdf/committee_satf.pdf


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Ballmer Leaves Microsoft for Hoop Dream
Aug 20, 2014 2:20 PM PT
Steve Ballmer on Tuesday severed the last of his official ties with Microsoft -- he resigned from the board of directors. Ballmer gave up his CEO role in February.
Ballmer's other duties have become too pressing for him to focus on Microsoft, he wrote in a letter addressed to CEO Satya Nadella and posted on Microsoft's website.
"I think it would be impractical for me to continue to serve on the board, and it is best for me to move off," Ballmer said, citing his recent purchase of the Clippers, along with civic work, teaching and other responsibilities.
"The fall will be hectic between teaching a new class and the start of the NBA season so my departure from the board is effective immediately," he wrote.
Nadella thanked Ballmer for his 34 years of service to the company in a response that also is posted on the company website.
Forever Linked
Ballmer almost certainly will be linked to Microsoft forever, no matter how much time passes or how many other endeavors he undertakes. He will continue to participate informally with the company, offering feedback on products, discussing strategy, and acting as an all-around sounding board. As Ballmer himself said in this letter, "I bleed Microsoft."
His departure nonetheless is a fitting end to the old era at Microsoft, when success was defined by the performance of its operating systems and other software products.
They are still important, but the company has realized -- belatedly, many have charged -- that times are different now. In both action and corporate rhetoric, Microsoft increasingly has been doubling down on its mobile and cloud strategies, racing to catch up with the market.
"Under your leadership, we created an incredible foundation that we continue to build on," Nadella wrote in his response to Ballmer's resignation, "and Microsoft will thrive in the mobile-first, cloud-first world."
There is a sizable contingent of shareholders and partners who blame Ballmer for Microsoft missing the mobile ship and are happy to see him walk into the sunset, said Thomas H. Yorke, a Covestor portfolio manager.
When Nadella came on board, Microsoft's stock responded to the "prospect that many of the lumbering missteps and write-downs were behind them," he told the E-Commerce Times.
"To be fair, the move to the cloud and monthly fees for software solutions was clearly in motion under Mr. Ballmer, but has now begun to bear fruit," Yorke said.
"Add his new role as Clippers owner, and you have the perfect recipe for a final farewell," he said. "The torch has been passed."
Makes Sense
Ballmer's exit provides the clean break that is necessary for Microsoft's new start, Laura DiDio, principal of ITIC, told the E-Commerce Times.
"Let's face it -- Ballmer is going out to play," she said, referring to the Clippers. By the same token, the "board has been getting pretty vocal, saying a change is needed. They wanted to see him gone."
Ballmer is hardly a diffident person, DiDio said, and he wouldn't have done well trying to blend into the background. "So he needed to be gone. It was recognized that if Microsoft was to have a completely new start they would need a completely new slate."
Ballmer's departure is also good for Nadella, DiDio continued. "He has Bill Gates as an advisor, and everyone I have talked to says that is not just for show."
Ballmer didn't do a bad job at Microsoft, she remarked, but he is widely perceived to have been the reason why Microsoft stalled so dramatically in the last 10 years.
"It is another reason why Ballmer should be leaving," DiDio said."There is a lot that was done poorly under Ballmer, but also a lot that was done right under him -- but Microsoft isn't getting credit for it."


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Distant vacations are costly – economically and environmentally – but everybody needs an occasional break from the grind in order to maintain their sanity. Thanks to their new, low-cost, minimalist city cottage, the Palva family can take a vacation whenever they want! Although its small footprint ensures a small expenditure of natural resources, it also challenges the family to divvy up space so that everyone is comfortable.
This is achieved by giving the fixed furniture dual purposes – such as the sofas that can also be used as both beds and storage space – and with a kitchen area that is easily converted into homework space for the children. Even in the winter, solar energy provides the entire home with electricity, while the fetching wood-fired stove can crank out plenty of heat to keep this nature-loving family nice and warm during fierce winters.
images © Andreas Meichsner
Via Arch Daily


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