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Ana Silva-Vision Sink
At Design Interviews
Interview with Ana Silva : Frank Scott: What is the main principle, idea and inspiration behind your design?. Ana Silva : It is characterized by its minimalist and geometric lines "less is more", inspired by modern architecture with exquisite simplicity and an obsessive / extreme attention to detail. Its geometry is symmetrical, making of Vision a versatile and functional sink. Inspired by the modern kitchens, the daily day-to-day, to make the kitchen a clean space. .Frank Scott: What has been your main focus in designing this work? Especially what did you want to achieve?. Ana Silva : The main focus of my work was to create a versatile, multifunctional and ergonomic sink, and at the same time, to create a product that adapts to most kitchen styles. .Frank Scott: What are your future plans for this award winning design?. Ana Silva : The plan is to divulge threw as many social media platform as possible. .Frank Scott: How long did it take you to design this particular concept?. Ana Silva : One year, the project started in January 2015 and finished in December 2015. .Frank Scott: Why did you design this particular concept? Was this design commissioned or did you decide to pursuit an inspiration?. Ana Silva : Create a new idea and a new concept. .Frank Scott: Is your design being produced or used by another company, or do you plan to sell or lease the production rights or do you intent to produce your work yourself?. Ana Silva : This project will be produce by our company, being that it's already in production. .Frank Scott: What made you design this particular type of work?. Ana Silva : I'm a passionate by simple and functional design, and in this project I wanted to reflect exactly that. .Frank Scott: Where there any other designs and/or designers that helped the influence the design of your work?. Ana Silva : My work is influenced by those who I consider to be the references when it comes to design, architecture and art, such as Dieter Rams, Mies van der Rohe and Le Corbusier, Frank Lloyd Wright. .Frank Scott: Who is the target customer for his design?. Ana Silva : Everyone is a potential clients, it's a very versatile sink, that can be used in any modern kitchen! .Frank Scott: What sets this design apart from other similar or resembling concepts?. Ana Silva : This particular sink, distinguishes itself from others by its versatility and polyvalence, having a special location to conceal the tap, a glass cutting board that can be fitted on the side of the bowl hiding the bowl and tap, allowing it to be sued as a cutting board or even as a drainer. .Frank Scott: How did you come up with the name for this design? What does it mean?. Ana Silva : Vision symbolizes a new vision for the kitchen, that adapts to any style and place. A new design for a new vision of the future. .Frank Scott: Which design tools did you use when you were working on this project?. Ana Silva : The development started with a small sketch, followed by some additional drawings until the final concept was reached, and from then on, we developed the 3D drawing and the render. .Frank Scott: What is the most unique aspect of your design?. Ana Silva : Its design, the combination of different depths, the contrast between the straight lines and its round corners. .Frank Scott: Who did you collaborate with for this design? Did you work with people with technical / specialized skills?. Ana Silva : We worked together with our engineering team, focusing on the stamping and welding, in order to be able to produce this sink with his unique design. .Frank Scott: What is the role of technology in this particular design?. Ana Silva : The technology has a critical part in the production of this sink, from the stamping of the sink to the laser cutting and welding. .Frank Scott: Is your design influenced by data or analytical research in any way? What kind of research did you conduct for making this design?. Ana Silva : No, for this project only a market study was made, focusing on the research of the existing solutions in the market , and what would be the future trends. .Frank Scott: What are some of the challenges you faced during the design/realization of your concept?. Ana Silva : The technical challenges, had basically to do with the stamping in 1mm tick stainless steel sheet to a depth of 60mm, with small radius. .Frank Scott: How did you decide to submit your design to an international design competition?. Ana Silva : We feel that the design contests are one of the best ways to challenge us, and to show what we are able to do. .Frank Scott: What did you learn or how did you improve yourself during the designing of this work?. Ana Silva : Both the designers and our engineering team, pushed to the limit the stamping possibilities of the material considering the small radius and depths. .Frank Scott: Any other things you would like to cover that have not been covered in these questions?. Ana Silva : I believe all questions were quite relevant, and anyone can understand our project and be fond of it. .
Ana Silva-Vision Sink Images:
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COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (April 1, 2008) – The U.S. Women's National Training Team had its four-match win streak snapped with a 25-20, 28-26, 25-23, 25-20 loss to Jiangsu, a professional Chinese club team, Tuesday at Nanjing, China.
"Our team fought hard and never gave up," U.S. Women's National Team Head Coach 'Jenny' Lang Ping said. "We came back from a 0-7 deficit in the second set to win and we made several good defensive plays, but were unable to convert. We are learning and will review the video before tomorrow's game and try to make some adjustments."
Team USA falls to 4-3 on its eight-match exhibition tour of China. The Americans conclude their tour with a rematch with Jiangsu at Nanjing on April 2. Jiangsu won a recent league tournament and defeated the China Army team in one of the preliminary rounds. Team USA defeated the China Army twice on the current tour of China.
Team USA's three-week training tour of China was designed to allow the coaches to evaluate a younger group of players in preparation for Olympic Games roster selections. The U.S. qualified for the 2008 Olympic Games, held Aug. 8-24 in Beijing, by finishing with a bronze medal at the 2007 FIVB World Cup.
Team USA started middle blockers Tracy Stalls (Denver) and Foluke Akinradewo (Plantation, Fla.), outside hitters Alix Klineman (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) and Destinee Hooker (San Antonio), opposite Heather Hughes (Fallbrook, Calif.) and setter Angie McGinnis (Fraser, Mich.) versus Jiangsu. Team captain Nicole Davis (Stockton, Calif.) served as the libero for the match. Angie Pressey (Lake Mary, Fla.) subbed into the first three sets, while Cassie Busse (Prior Lake, Minn.) subbed into the second set and started the fourth set in place of Hughes.
Klineman and Akinradewo, both Stanford University collegiate players, tied for team-high points with 14 apiece. Klineman scored 11 kills and three blocks, while Akinradewo collected nine kills on 19 swings to go with three blocks and two aces. Stalls contributed nine kills with only two errors on 18 attacks to go with three blocks and an ace for 13 points. Hooker provided 11 kills and two blocks for 13 points in the loss. Hughes charted seven kills and an ace for eight points. Busse tacked on five points with four kills and a block in limited action on the court. McGinnis tallied four setter dumps on seven attempts to round out the scoring. Davis recorded 18 digs and provided reception percents of 85 positive and 62 excellent.
The U.S. held a 12-7 block advantage over Jiangsu. The host enjoyed a 7-4 margin in aces and took advantage of 21 Team USA hitting errors (eight blocked, 13 other errors). Jiangsu converted 39 percent of its attacks into kills and limited the U.S. to a 36 percent.
"Jiangsu is a very good team and well coached with players who have played together for several years," Lang Ping said. "Because they know each other so well, they can run very, very fast combinations. They prepared well for us, studying our earlier matches that were televised in China. Their opposite, #2, is a key player for them and they use her a lot in transition - tonight she scored 23 points against us.
Hughes scored on consecutive points with a kill and ace to give the U.S. an early 4-2 lead in the first set. Jiangsu reached the first technical timeout on a 3-0 run and 8-7 margin. Team USA returned to the lead a 10-9 after an Akinradewo kill. After falling behind 14-12, Akinradewo scored a kill and ace to knot the score at 14-all. Jiangsu used a 5-0 run that included back-to-back aces to net a 20-15 advantage. Hughes hammered consecutive kills to cut the gap to four at 22-18. Akinradewo put up a block followed by a Jiangsu miscue to close the deficit to three at 23-20. However, Jiangsu scored the final two points on a Team USA service error and attack error at 25-20.
Jiangsu bolted to a 9-1 lead in the second set, but Team USA answered right back with a 5-0 run that included four blocks to put the score at 9-6. Stalls picked up two blocks in the run, while Busse and Klineman added a block apiece. Klineman provided the other point in the run with a kill. After Jiangsu broke the scoring run, Team USA rattled off a 6-1 spurt to assume a 12-11 advantage as Stalls put down two kills, while Busse, McGinnis and Hooker all added a kill apiece. After trading points through 15-all, Busse and Stalls scored back-to-back kills to give the U.S. a two-point edge at 17-15. However, Jiangsu used a 3-0 run to regain the lead at 19-18. Klineman and Hooker tacked on consecutive kills to move the advantage over to the U.S. at 20-19. Jiangsu scored three unanswered points for a 22-20 advantage, only to have Hooker put up a block followed by a Busse kill to tie the set at 22-all. Jiangsu reached set point at 24-22 with an ace, but the U.S. saved both opportunities with a Klineman back-row kill and Hooker block. Team USA gained its first set point at 25-24 with a Jiangsu error. With the score tied 26-all after trading points, the U.S. gained third set point on a Jiangsu service error and put away the set at 28-26 with an Akinradewo ace. The U.S. out-blocked Jiangsu 7-2 in the second set.
The U.S. built a 3-0 lead to begin the third set with kills from Hughes and Klineman. However, Jiangsu got back into the set with a 4-1 run to knot the score and went into the lead at 7-6. The teams traded points until Jiangsu opened up a two-point cushion at 12-10, then stretched the gap to three points at 15-12. The Americans answered with three consecutive kills from Hooker to tie the score at 15-all. Team USA regained the lead at 17-16 with a Stalls block. However, the lead was short-lived as Jiangsu scored four of the next five points to take a 20-18 lead. Jiangsu gained four set-point opportunities at 24-20 and the U.S. saved three with kills from Akinradewo and McGinnis around a Klineman block at 24-23. Jiangsu closed the set at 25-23.
Jiangsu moved out to an early 4-0 lead to begin the fourth set, but Team USA rallied to knot the score at 6-all with two kills from Klineman and single scores from Busse, Stalls and Akinradewo. Jiangsu took an 8-6 lead into the first technical timeout. Leading 12-11, Jiangsu took a commanding seven-point lead at 18-11 with six unanswered points en route to a 25-20 victory.
For additional information on the U.S. Women's National Team, check the team's home page at http://www.usavolleyball.org/National/wnthome.asp. To follow the China Tour with all recaps, photo galleries and multimedia pages, view the China Tour page at http://www.usavolleyball.org/National/08ChinaTourHome.asp.
Team USA Tour of China Match Information
March 21: Team USA lost to Tianjin club at Tianjin (25-22, 25-21, 25-21)
March 22: Team USA lost to Tianjin club at WuQing (23-25, 21-25, 25-16, 25-21, 15-9)
March 24: Team USA def. Chinese Army Club at YiYang (21-25, 25-21, 25-19, 26-24)
March 26: Team USA def. Chinese Army Club at ChangShu (23-25, 25-17, 26-24, 21-25, 15-13)
March 28: Team USA def. ZheJiang in Hangzhou (19-25, 25-17, 27-25, 25-21 with 11-15 added fifth set)
March 29: Team USA def. ZheJiang in FuYang (15-25, 25-16, 25-22, 23-25, 15-10)
April 1: Team USA lost to Jiangsu in Nanjing (25-20, 26-28, 25-23, 25-20)
April 2: Team USA vs. Jiangsu in Nanjing, 7:30 p.m.
U.S. Women's National Training Team Roster on China Tour
# - Name (Position, Height, Hometown, College)
1 - Juliann Faucette (OH, 6-2, San Diego, Calif., Texas)
2 - Destinee Hooker (OH, 6-4, San Antonio, Texas, Texas)
3 - Therese Crawford (OH, 5-11, Kalamazoo, Mich., Hawai'i)
4 - Alix Klineman (OH, 6-4, Manhattan Beach, Calif., Stanford)
5 - Angie Pressey (OH, 5-8, Lake Mary, Fla., California)
6 - Foluke Akinradewo (MB, 6-3, Plantation, Fla., Stanford)
7 - Tracy Stalls (MB, 6-4, Denver, Colo., Nebraska)
9 - Lauren Paolini (MB, 6-5, Ann Arbor, Mich., Texas)
11 - Heather Hughes (OPP, 6-2, Fallbrook, Calif., Loyola Marymount)
13 - Nellie Spicer (S, 5-9, Barrington, Ill., UCLA)
15 - Nicole Davis (L, 5-6, Stockton, Calif., Southern California)
16 - Lindsey Hunter (S, 5-10, Papillion, Neb., Missouri)
17 - Angie McGinnis (S, 5-11, Fraser, Mich., Florida)
18 - Cassie Busse (OPP, 6-1, Prior Lake, Minn., Minnesota)
Head Coach: "Jenny" Lang Ping
Assistant Coaches: Sue Woodstra, Li Yong, Tom Hogan
Technical Coordinator: Diane French

subset: commoncrawl


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Top Songs
- Walzer für dich
- Ich denk an dich
- Was ist passiert?
- Party Mix I (Kurze Version - Von uns für Euch / Medley)
- Letzte ausfahrt
- Mehr als dein Verstand
- Duett
Singles & EPs
About Pur
Pur is a German pop band that rose to chart-topping success in the mid-'90s and remained popular for many years thereafter, topping the albums chart and scoring Top Ten hit singles with remarkable regularity. Founded in 1975 in Bietigheim-Bissingen, Germany, not far from Stuttgart, the band is comprised of Hartmut Engler (vocals), Rudi Buttas (guitar), Joe Crawford (bass), Roland Bless (drums), and Ingo Riedl (keyboards). Originally named "Crusade" and then "Opus", the band was founded by Engler, Bless, and Riedl; Crawford joined in 1979 and Buttas in 1980. In 1985 they changed their name from "Opus" to Pur after an Austrian band with the same name scored a hit on the German charts. The band had already released two albums as "Opus", the full-length debut Opus 1 (1983) and the follow-up effort, Vorsicht Zerbrechlich (1985). After changing its name, the band released the eponymous album, Pur, in 1987. After a few more album releases, Wie im Film (1988), Unendlich Mehr (1990), and Nichts Ohne Grund (1991), Pur scored their first major hit single with "Lena" in 1991. In the wake of this breakout hit, the stopgap album Pur Live (1992) was a Top Ten hit while the subsequent studio album, Seiltänzertraum (1993), went all the way to number two. With their next album, Abenteuerland (1995), Pur topped the German charts for seven straight weeks and scored a Top Ten hit single with "Ich Lieb' Dich (Egal Wie das Klingt)." Pur continued to hit number one on the German charts with each of their subsequent album releases, including Pur Live: Die Zweite (1996), Mächtig Viel Theater (1998), Mittendrin (2000), Was Ist Passiert? (2003), Es Ist Wie Es Ist (2006), and Wünsche (2009). There were more Top Ten hit singles as well, among them "Wenn Du Da Bist" (1998), "Adler Sollen Fliegen" (2000), "Herzbeben" (2000), "Ich Denk an Dich" (2003), and "Halt Dich Fest" (2004). Beginning with the greatest-hits compilation, Hits Pur: 20 Jahre Eine Band (2001), much of the band's back catalog was reissued in a series of remastered albums with bonus material. The German outfit then released Schein & Sein (2012) illustrating the bands full range of talent, from piano ballads to guitar driven pop tracks. ~ Jason Birchmeier


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Book a flight to Glasgow with Qatar Airways
Book a flight to Glasgow with Qatar Airways and visit one of the most friendliest cities in the world.
Culturally, Glasgow is rich and vibrant, with artistic displays and exhibitions almost everywhere you turn, along with beautiful architecture that offers a glimpse into the city's Victorian past. It's this positive attitude that earned the city the title of European City of Culture in 1990 and made it the host of the Commonwealth Games in 2014.
With world-class shopping and internationally-acclaimed restaurants, a trip to Glasgow will bring you one step closer to enjoying an exceptional holiday.
When you book a flight to Glasgow with Qatar Airways you will travel on a Qatar Airways operated flight to London Heathrow and connect to Glasgow with our partner airlines.
Glasgow highlights
Because Glasgow is a compact city it makes it remarkably easy to get around, giving you the opportunity to explore all the attractions that you want to on foot.
Tourist attractions
Because Glasgow is a compact city it makes it remarkably easy to get around, giving you the opportunity to explore all the attractions that you want to on foot. For a peek into Glasgow's history, pay a visit to the Tall Ship. Built as a cargo vessel, it has sailed around the world four times, before coming to rest as an interactive exhibit that even has a cinema in the cargo hold.
If you've got a sports fan in your party then your trip to Glasgow ought to incorporate a day at the Hampden Experience. Here, you can explore Scottish footballing history and take a tour of the legendary football stadium. If you're feeling energetic, you can even have the speed of your scoring shot measured, using the latest in footballing technology.
While Glasgow might be a beautiful, thriving city, it does have a much humbler past. To see how life was for its citizens in the early 20th century, hunt out the Tenement House and get a taste of the ancient way of life in this historical city.
Leisure activities
With the arts at the forefront of its culture, travelling to Glasgow is a great way to immerse yourself in the city's identity. While entertainment takes many forms today, you can see just how the Glaswegians of the past spent their leisure time, with a visit to the Britannia Panopticon – the UK's oldest surviving music hall. Among its many claims to fame, this stunning building is where Stan Laurel made his début.
If you'd like to see theatre in action, then book tickets for a show at the Tron Theatre. Set in an imperious building, the theatre stages some of the city's most exciting productions, reworking old classics and putting shows written by new and emerging writers.
Those travelling to Glasgow with children should take the time to visit the Glasgow Science Centre. Engaging and educational, younger visitors can enjoy a number of hands-on activities, such as building their own inventions or popping into the past in one of the world's best planetariums.
If you've decided to travel to Glasgow with food in mind, then you'll be visiting one of the UK's most creative culinary scenes. There are plenty of places to eat, from fast food outlets to fine dining experiences set in sumptuous surroundings. Scotland is well known for its superb seafood and you can enjoy fresh prawns, langoustines, crab and shellfish in most restaurants.
However, for a true taste of Scotland, seek out restaurants serving the national dish of haggis. Haggis looks like a large, round sausage and has an excellent nutty texture and a delicious flavor. Haggis is usually served with "tatties and neeps" (potatoes and turnips). It's an immensely savoury dish, but one that wins more fans than it loses.
A shopping trip to Glasgow is a must for anyone who enjoys a spot of retail therapy. There are over 1500 shops to explore, ranging from high-end, designer stores to flea markets and stalls.
If you're looking for some additions to your wardrobe, head for the area between Argyle Street to Sauchiehall Street. Known as 'the style mile', the area is packed with shops, featuring some of the best known designer labels.
For a more eclectic experience, the city's West End is where you'll find independent and craft shops, with plenty of vintage clothing stores.
Essential facts about GlasgowEnjoy a hassle-free journey with all the information you need to know before your trip
Visa information
Check visa and passport requirements before you fly.


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Tower Bridge on Red (Signed)
Price: £42.00
Additional information
Reproduced on 280gsm premium media. The black frame is made of wood & glass. Print, Mount & Frame are proudly made in the UK.
Framed prints are sent with corner protectors & celo-wrapped, as shown in the image.
Featuring a view of: Tower Bridge, London (on Red).
Personally signed by Hartwig.
Mounted & framed size: 26 x 26 cm (approx.)
Mount only size: 23 x 23 cm (approx.)
Other Single Square Art Prints Available


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- Parent Category: News
Indiana Motorcyclist killed in Washington, D. C. Accident
A Newton County, Indiana motorcyclist was killed in a weekend accident in Washington, D. C.
66-year-old George "Sam" Hillis of Lake Village was riding his bike in the Rolling Thunder Memorial Day event to honor veterans when he was hit at a busy intersection.
Arrangements are being handled by the Steinke Funeral Home of Morocco.
Sam Hillis was a lifelong Newton County resident. A graduate of Kentland High School, he served in the U-S Navy during the Vietnam War.


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Absolutely stunning.
That will likely be everyone's reaction as they witness Angelina Jolie and her family grace the cover of People magazine's upcoming issue.
The cover, titled "Dream Day," features the first official photos of the bride's stunning wedding gown that incorporates her children's original artwork.
Luigi Massi, the master tailor at Atelier Versace, was able to sew dozens of designs created by the children into the dress and veil.
U.S. & World
The day's top national and international news.
"Luigi is like family to me and I couldn't imagine anyone else making this dress," Jolie tells the magazine. "He knows and cares for the children and it was great fun putting it together."
In Europe, the images first appear in Hello magazine.
A source exclusively told E! News last week that the bride's dress was "very Angie. It was comfortable but plain white floor-length antique lace and silk."
And when Pitt lifted his wife's veil, he "gasped because she looked so stunning."
VIDEO: Surprise! Pitt & Jolie are married
Although Jolie deserves plenty of praise for her look, we can't help but also recognize Pitt and the kids' great taste in fashion.
The boys all wore matching suits, which were just like Pitt's. In addition, the girls each chose a dress to match their own individual style.
The A-list couple pulled off a stunning (and very private) wedding Aug. 23 at their estate in France. Around 20 people were able to attend including Pitt's mom, dad and siblings.
The couple's children were also all in attendance and shared a major role during the magical moment.
PHOTOS: Even more secret celeb weddings
"Angie was given away by Maddox and Pax and Knox helped with the rings, which were designed by their good friend Robert Procop," a source told E! News exclusively. "Zahara and Vivienne had baskets of rose petals and other flowers they'd picked in the garden that morning and threw them in front of their mom and dad as they walked up the aisle." People reports Shiloh also served as a ring bearer.
More photos of the bride, groom and their family will be featured in People magazine's latest issue out Wednesday.


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NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – A multicenter center study has shown that adding cetuximab to neoadjuvant chemotherapy and preoperative radiotherapy improves overall survival after excision of high-risk rectal cancer. However, it does not improve complete response rates, according to a report in the April 2nd online issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
While the results confirmed the efficacy of neoadjuvant chemotherapy in the treatment of high-risk localized rectal cancer, the authors say "we do not currently recommend the routine use of cetuximab in this patient population."
Dr. David Cunningham, with the Royal Marsden Hospital in Sutton, Surrey, UK, and colleague note that cetuximab is a potent radiosensitizer, and they explain that they previously conducted a phase II trial that demonstrated the feasibility of administering neoadjuvant oxaliplatin and capecitabine (CAPOX) before chemoradiotherapy and total mesorectal excision in patients with poor-prognosis rectal cancer.
In the current study they therefore examined the benefit of adding weekly cetuximab to the CAPOX course in that protocol. Their analysis focused on 90 patients with KRAS/BRAF wild-type rectal tumors, which are likely to be susceptible to anti-EGFR therapy.
The primary endpoint of a complete response was not significantly different without cetuximab added to CAPOX (9%) compared to that with the addition of cetuximab (11%; p=1.0), the investigators report. Also, progression-free survival was similar in the two groups (hazard ratio 0.65; p=0.363).
However, cetuximab did improve some secondary measures. The radiologic response rate in the two arms was 51% vs 71% (p=0.038) after the neoadjuvant chemotherapy course and 75% vs 93% (p=0.028) after preoperative chemoradiation.
Furthermore, cetuximab was associated with better overall survival, with a mortality hazard ratio of 0.27 (p=0.034), Dr. Cunningham and colleagues report.
They conclude, "On the basis of these results, there are sufficient data to indicate that cetuximab has some biologic activity in this setting, and further evaluation in combination with alternative chemotherapy backbones may yield more promising results."
Multicenter Randomized Phase II Clinical Trial Comparing Neoadjuvant Oxaliplatin, Capecitabine, and Preoperative Radiotherapy With or Without Cetuximab Followed by Total Mesorectal Excision in Patients With High-Risk Rectal Cancer (EXPERT-C)


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I just thought I'd give you a quick update on a major change in my life.
Why am I doing this? Well, after my training is over today, I'm just going to be working part-time. And the reason I'm working is for the benefits. My whole family can fly anywhere in the United States for free and internationally for a very low price. Like it's $120 round-trip to Italy, just to give you an example. And....if we really want to do it up right, it's $20 to upgrade to first-class within the states (including Canada and Mexico) and $100 internationally. But wait, there's more.....My parents get to fly on my benefits for approximately 10% of the ticketed price. It's just a tiny way I can reward them for being the best parents in the whole wide WORLD.
Let me tell you..... I will never get onto another plane again in my life without being so thankful for the people who are making it all happen! You have NO idea what goes on in order to get a plane off the ground, on time. (or the pressure to make it happen!) It has truly been an eye opening experience and I'm actually really grateful for the opportunity it has given me to learn some new skills and meet some amazing people.
Meet "New Crew" Unless you can say it with some hip-hop flair, don't even try.
I'm only working down on "the ramp" through April, and then I will be starting a five week training course to become a Gate Agent, which is where I really want to be. I will get to be inside, wearing a cute dress and talking into the microphone when it's time to have the passengers board the aircraft. Trust me when I tell you it's better than roasting on the tar-mac and trying to stack 50+ pound bags inside a bin that you have to crouch inside of as they are speeding towards you on a conveyer belt at the speed of light. Oh, and while you stack them (neatly, tags out) you must also count them (keeping the "heavy" bags separate) and write an accurate number with your accompanying signature to give to the pilot so he knows how much the baggage on his plane weighs. It's just slightly stressful. And when I say slightly, I mean I almost have a heart attack every time I have to do it.
And don't even get me started on "pushing the plane out". Did you know that planes don't have reverse? So you have to hook these machines up to the plane and push them back from the gate onto the runway.
Do you KNOW how big a plane is? Well.... when Alan (gently) forced me to pushback, I put the headset on and told the pilot (in my sweetest, most girliest voice) that I was brand new and to please be patient. All the pilots were super cool and told me I did a great job. Obviously, pilots are excellent liars, but I'm pretty sure they enjoyed the fishtailing I subjected them to. Who doesn't like to have a little fun on the job?
And so, here's to another adventure in my life. Pray for me! I seriously need all the help I can get!


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Managing Director & Senior Partner
Michele Brocca is the global topic leader for medtech operations and a core member of the Operations, Health Care, and Industrial Goods practices at The Boston Consulting Group.
Since joining BCG in 2000, Michele has worked with clients across a range of industries, including industrial goods, health care, consumer goods, and retail.
Michele believes that in large-scale programs such as postmerger integrations, supply chain transformations, or productivity and profitability improvement, who and how are at least as crucial as what. He believes that it is imperative to define not only the solution and the target end state but also the path to get there and the organizational model needed.
One must ask, "Who is engaged? How and when? At what stages of the program? How to ensure the ability to leverage the organization's full knowledge and expertise? How to build new capabilities? How to ensure buy-in and advocacy for the chance?"
Michele's work is based on the concept that programs that do not address these dimensions adequately will fail to fully capture the opportunity and create sustainable change.
Michele joined BCG upon finishing his doctoral studies.


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Some Quick Facts:
- Millions of Americans practice some form of kink or nonmonogamy in their loving and caring relationships.
- These consenting adults have created over 1,000 nonprofit educational and social groups, and hundreds of businesses across the country.
- People from all walks of life, including professionals, parents, teachers and police officers, practice kinky sex.
- In the 2008 and 1998 Violence & Discrimination Surveys conducted by NCSF, 37% of the 3,000 people surveyed said they had been discriminated against or suffered from harassment or violence
Additional Information:
BDSM vs. Abuse
Guidelines for distinguishing between safe, sane & consensual SM & abuse
What is Polyamory?
Overview of demographics of polyamory, benefits and types of relationships.
What is the Lifestyle?
Overview of demographics of swingers, and social and sexual attitudes


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Letters to the Editor - June 3, 2013
Letter sent to Woodinville City Councilmember Liz Aspen
I am sorry to hear that the Woodinville City Council voted to approve cameras in downtown Woodinville.
According to the polls, the majority of people polled disapproved of the cameras and the money could be better spent on other things. It sounds as if the council has another agenda that does not involve listening to the people they represent.
I will have to take my business in downtown Woodinville elsewhere to a city that doesn't spy on their community "in the name of safety." Cameras do not stop crime. We need to find other ways to deter crime. This is just the lazy way to do it.
I will be contacting Massage Envy, TJ Maxx, Top Foods, Office Max, Jamba Juice, InSpa, Starbucks, Petsmart, the post office, Aaron Bros, BECU, Albertsons, Target, Regis, AMC Loews, Molbak's and McLendon and let them know I will be taking my business elsewhere with the decision the council made. These are all establishments that my family and I frequent almost daily.
And when the election comes up again it is way past time for a change in Woodinville.
Susan Milke, Woodinville
Armed with antibiotics, throat lozenges and tissues, I left my sick room to attend the May 21 Woodinville City Council meeting as they were discussing an issue of vital importance: the government use of video cameras in public spaces. Woodinville's online survey resulted in a rejection of this idea by 56 percent of Woodinville respondents yet five of the six members present voted to move forward with implementation.
Regretfully, we know from the current IRS scandal what happens when personal or private information gets into government hands. Several council members shared personal stories about the use of cameras on private property.
I wholeheartedly support the right of homeowners or business owners to use surveillance cameras or other legal means to protect their private property. That is not what we are talking about here. We are talking about a branch of government that will have a video archive of what its citizens did, where they did it, when they did it and who they did it with. Of course, this information will not be limited to only the current government and public safety officials, but those that may come after. As a matter of fact, with a simple Public Information Request, anyone can have access to these videos. That includes felons that may like to see a pattern of traffic into a business, pedophiles that want to watch young teens hang out in front of the ice cream shop or a disgruntled boyfriend that wants to find out when his "ex" visits her favorite coffee shop. One member that avowed principled objection was Mayor Bernie Talmas. He didn't waffle or equivocate. He stood clearly against government intrusion into personal privacy. As I watched the other members of the council each say in their own turn: "I believe in privacy but …", I was reminded of the saying engraved in the stairwell of the Statue of Liberty: "They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." I hope the citizens of Woodinville let the council know that they are not willing to give up their liberty.
Ann Streit, Woodinville
The following statement from NSD communications staff Leanna Albrecht in the article "NSD Considering Schedule Changes" on May 21 is incorrect: "Albrecht said parent representatives met with school staff to discuss starting high school later, but mutually agreed to stop discussions once the proposed cost of transportation for the later start exceeded $200,000 to $300,000."
Representatives from PALS (Parent Advocates for a Later Start) met with the superintendent and NSD Board members last June to discuss later start times, as well as NSD transportation staff last July to run later start scenarios. The representatives DID NOT mutually agree to stop discussions once the proposed cost of transportation for the later start exceeded $200,000 to $300,000 as Albrecht stated.
Rather, the mutual agreement was as follows:
Transportation staff would run a scenario in their software program for a 20 minute later high school start, a 15 minute later junior high start, with minimal adjustments to the elementary start times. It was also mutually agreed between NSD staff and the PALS representatives that documentation (printouts from the software, cost analysis, etc.) would be provided for all scenarios. To date, PALS have not received this documentation despite the fact they have requested it several times. Rather, they have only received an email stating that the above scenarios would exceed $300,000 to implement (with no actual documentation attached). Before this, in a March 2012 meeting between NSD staff and PALS representatives, a cost of $45,000 was quoted for a scenario to shift all secondary and elementary start times ahead 15 minutes. A year later a very similar scenario will "exceed $300,000."
PALS is printing this correction so that the 1600 + Later Start supporters (from an online petition:
http://www.change.org/petitions/northshore-school-board-start-high-school-later?share_id=kqhGNQKOEM&pe=d2e) will not be misled by the miscommunication from NSD. There has never been a mutual agreement to stop discussions; in fact the Later Start campaign is growing each and every day and discussions are continuing. PALS representatives have documentation of the above agreement.
If you support a Later Start time, please sign the above petition, and email the superintendent and the school board:
PALS - Parents Advocates for a Later Start
Once again the school district is trying to make changes to our children's schedule that will adversely affect our kids without including parents and community members in the decision-making process. At issue this time is the district's decision to shorten the school week by turning one day a week into a half day. We, the parents, were NOT consulted. It was rudely presented to us as a fait accompli, or as school board director Quinn so happily announced, "a done deal."
A survey purporting to seek community opinion on which day we would rather have as a half day, (the union wants Friday, so Friday it shall be), was sent to parents, but it is deliberately skewed, and only one response per household is allowed. If you have more than one adult, and only one computer in your home, only one voice will be "heard." If both adults respond from the same computer, Superintendent Francois may decide to throw out both responses, decrying your voice as a "cheat." This is unacceptable.
It isn't simply parents and community members who are upset about the half days: teachers and principals have also voiced disapproval of the decision that the district is forcing upon them. Teachers need our support! I encourage parents to talk to their teachers and encourage them to vote "NO!" on any contract that includes the weekly half-day off for students. Our children deserve MORE educational time, not less. Most teachers understand this, and need your support and encouragement to stand up to the district. Just say "NO!" to half days, and "YES!" to kids!
R.E. Miller, Woodinville
The survey is closed and yet the NSEA is still negotiating!
So, why wasn't the community asked whether we wanted any of these changes, rather than just our opinion on a 2-hour early/late release? I also understand that most of the teachers only knew about this at the same time as the parents! This all seems like it is being rushed; why is that? As the survey asked for comments I hope that the district will provide them to us as well as the costs involved with all these changes.
A Whelan, Woodinville


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Neighbor prevents murder plot inspired by Johnny Depp movie
Daniel Plevak in Milwaukee County Jail accused of attempted homicide
Prosecutors said that a neighbor's concern about a suspicious truck cruising his street helped catch a would-be killer.
The driver of that truck is in the Milwaukee County Jail, accused of attempted homicide.
Lewis Poberezny was watching the Packers game at home in Wauwatosa on Sunday afternoon when his wife noticed a yellow rental truck trolling his street.
"I saw the truck go by a few more times, a total of eight or nine times," Poberezny said. "It kept stopping at the end of the block. We thought maybe there's some drug stuff going on."
So Poberezny called 911 and then headed outside.
"I got in my truck (and went) around the other way. I just wanted the license plate number, by then two Tosa squads had him pulled over," Poberezny said.
According to court records, police found a loaded .22 Ruger, 20 extra rounds of hollow-point bullets and a fake arm inside the truck.
Officers photographed the driver, 54-year-old Daniel Plevak, who was wearing a disguise -- a safety vest, curly wig, fake mustache and dark glasses.
Prosecutors said papers inside the truck suggest a plot inspired by the 2003 film "Once Upon a Time in Mexico," in which actor Johnny Depp used a fake arm to hide the gun under his jacket.
Police also found detailed information about Plevak's intended target -- a former college buddy Plevak recently accused of molesting children.
That target has no criminal record, and Plevak's brother told police he believes Plevak is dangerous and in need of help.
No one answered the door at the home of the Plevak's alleged target.
"You saved this guys' life," WISN 12 News reporter Colleen Henry said to Poberezny.
"I'm not a hero, I don't feel like I did anything special. I just feel like I want to do to protect any neighbor in my neighborhood," Poberezny said.
But Poberezny said his neighbor was very grateful.
"Him and his wife came over, brought us a bottle of wine, and I (could) tell it looked like he still had the fear of God in his eyes," Poberezny said.
Prosecutors said Plevak was convicted of battery to law enforcement officers in 1980, so they've also charged him with being a felon in possession of a firearm.


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Posts Tagged 'He Writes'
Writers On Writing; Women On Writing; She Writes; He Writes
Tomorrow, Saturday, July 14, 2012, noon to 2:00pm, while I (Coach Teresa LeYung-Ryan) will be on the "Writers on Writing" panel at Oakland Public Library, Rockridge Branch, 5366 College Avenue, Oakland, CA with Kim McMillon, Yolande Barial, Joan Gelfand, Stephanie Dale, and Judith Cody . . .
Margie Yee Webb, author of Cat Mulan's Mindful Musings, will be at California State Fair . . .
and Joanna W. Biggar, author of That Paris Year, will be speaking in Sacramento, CA. While visiting Joanna's blog, I found her post about another colleague – Cara Black! http://joannabiggar.org/2012/03/10/cara-black-and-my-own-paris-noir/
I met Joanna at Book Passage, Ferry Building, San Francisco on July 9, 2012 when I was interviewing Carol Sheldon, author of Mother Lode, who was being honored by Left Coast Writers.
That got me thinking about SheWrites.com and Jodi O'Donnell-Ames, founder of Hope Loves Company and author Judith Marshall.
Q: Who can be a member of SHE WRITES?
A: We welcome individuals who consider themselves writers! You don't need to be a published, professional writer, but most of our members are, or aspire to become so. When you fill out your profile, please use a name rather than a business. We prefer first and last names, but we understand if there's a good reason you need to use a pseudonym.
Businesses: We will not approve businesses as members. We do not allow unapproved vending on SHE WRITES. If you wish to promote your services to the writers on the site, there are a few options: 1) advertise with us 2) pitch our SHE NEEDS HELP team, and we will consider promoting you on a case-by-case basis. See our terms of use for further clarification.
Men: We welcome men. Our reasoning is twofold: 1) legal2) philosophical. We would not want to be excluded from a site called HE WRITES because of our sex or gender.
While looking up Women On Writing, the annual conference held at Skyline College in San Bruno, CA, I came across Wild Writing Women.
Oh how I love being Coach Teresa!
I cheer for writers & readers (women and men, teens and children)!
Coach Teresa LeYung-Ryan
Coach Teresa says: "I love helping writers build their platforms and published authors fortify theirs with individualized coaching."
As coach and author of Build Your Writer's Platform & Fanbase In 22 Days: Attract Agents, Editors, Publishers, Readers, and Media Attention NOW, she advices: "Make your name synonymous with the issues you write about."
Teresa has built her own platform happily; her novel Love Made of Heart and her short play Answer Me Now carry the theme closest to her heart: mother-daughter relationship.
Teresa LeYung-Ryan helps clients identify themes, universal archetypes, front-story and back-story in their manuscripts.


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Tuesday, November 27, 2012 - No comments
The Great London Macaron Crawl: Part One
Paris may be the macaron capital of the world, but as the backdrop for my first ever macaron crawl, London far exceeded my expectations.
In case you didn't read my previous post about the macaron crawl or have no idea what crawling has to do with little French cookies, let me enlighten you. You've probably heard of a pub crawl - an event (sometimes organized, but more often spontaneous) during which participants move progressively from one drinking establishment to another, partaking at each stop along the way. A food crawl is simply the edible version. Urbandictionary.com defines a food crawl as "a multi-stop investigation of the best restaurants, meals, or specific items on the menu. As in, 'Bro, let's do a taco crawl next week and find the best carnitas in town.'"
My dear friend Jessica was my taste-testing partner for the Great London Macaron Crawl. Jess and I have this fun, global sort of a friendship. We went to the same elementary school in Canada at the same time but never met each other until we shared a bunk bed at school in Tennessee. Following our years down south, we both moved overseas, but layovers, visa runs and plain old "it-would-be-fun-to-see-you" trips have allowed us to meet up several times in our second homes of Turkey, Germany, and England.
This time around, I was on my way to Scotland for a retreat, but since flying into London was much cheaper than flying straight to Glasgow, I decided to stop in and see Jess, who lives in Harpenden, England. We had a whole Friday to spend exploring London, and I decided it would be fun to experience the city through a macaron crawl, sampling as many macarons as we could find in between checking out world-famous landmarks and royal residences. Not that there was ever any doubt, but Jessica's willingness to bring herself to the edge of a sugar coma for the sake of the Crawl proved to me that she is a true friend indeed.
The plan was to try macarons from several different sellers and then do a proper taste-test, with ratings and comments. I'd scouted out three spots for us to purchase our "specimens" and we were delighted to accidentally run across two others I hadn't found online. We bought all-day train/tube passes and plotted our course based on which iconic sites one should see on a first visit and which tube stations were closest to our macaron locations, leaving most of those for after dark when we would be done with posing for photos in front of monuments and ready to sit down with a cup of coffee and plate of pastries.
We decided on a rating scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being "knock-your-socks-off amazing", and 1 being "what were they thinking?" Our ratings took into account the texture, freshness and colour of both the macaron's outer shell and the cookie itself, the flavour, thickness and "oomph" of the middle ganache layer, as well as the balance and overall taste experience of the whole package.
We started our morning with the Tower of London and a stroll over the Thames on the Tower Bridge, then headed down to the destination I was most excited about: the Borough Market. Tucked under one end of London Bridge, this collection of stalls was, as promised, a foodie's paradise. We sampled our way through the market, nibbling everything from strawberry balsamic truffles to garlic venison chorizo to mango ginger chutney, making sure to save a little room for a falafel wrap and some seriously frothy cappuccino from Monmouth Coffee.
At the Comptoir Gourmand stand, nestled among the buttery croissants and the most massive meringues I've ever laid eyes on, we happened upon our first unplanned macarons of the day. That inaugural raspberry macaron, followed by a coffee one, was the first macaron ever to pass across Jessica's lips, marking not only the commencement of our Macaron Crawl, but of Jess' newfound side-career as a macaron connoisseur. While she didn't feel qualified yet to make an educated judgment on it, she was pleasantly surprised by the softness of the cookie (she'd been expecting something drier) and the amount of flavour packed into its jam-filled centre and declared herself officially excited about the macarons to come.
|Jessica's first macaron
As a (slightly) more experienced macaron sampler, I was pretty impressed by the texture of the ones from Comptoir Gourmand - a slightly crisp outer shell leading into a chewy cookie and pretty decent layers of jam and ganache, respectively. I was disappointed by how little coffee flavour there was in the latter - it needed more of an espresso kick to really get my attention.
Jess didn't rate her first macarons, but my ratings were as follows:
Raspberry: 3
Coffee: 2
It took some careful maneuvering to protect our delicate treasures amidst the crush of bodies on the subway, but they survived more or less unscathed. We dove into the package on the sidewalk in front of Parliament, just across from Westminster Abbey. Although I am more a fan of a macaron with some substance to it, these ones, while thin, were admittedly bang on in texture as well as shape. I've read that proper macarons are supposed to be perfectly flat - rounded tops are a no-no. These ones were smooth with a nice crispy shell. The "feet" (that bit of airy frill on the inner surface of the cookie) were well formed, although there wasn't nearly enough filling for our liking.
The strawberry one, when compared to the raspberry we'd bought at the Market, had much more of a "real fruit" taste to it. The inside tasted just like strawberry preserves. The colour of the blueberry cookie was a little unnerving - that sort of bluish gray that results from mixing too many colours of paint together. It didn't taste very blueberry-ish at all and was rather a let-down. The peppermint one was a bright, unnatural blue and while the flavour of the filling was closer to peppermint patty than it was to toothpaste, it was still a bit overpowering even for a mint lover like me. (Maybe if the outside had been chocolate....)
Now that Jess had two macaron experiences to compare, she jumped in on the ratings. (Hers are first, mine second.)
Strawberry: 4 / 4
Mint: 3 / 2.5
Blueberry: 2 / 2
We needed some time to walk off the Borough Market samples and the cookies we'd consumed, so it was perfect timing for the "royal stroll" bit of our tour. We made our way from Westminster Abbey up past Churchill's "War Rooms" and the Royal Mews from which Will and Kate emerged in their wedding day carriage. St. James Park was alive with fall colour (and hopping with hungry squirrels!) and the walk up to Buckingham Palace was a stretch of leaf-kicking bliss. The queen wasn't home (according to the absence of "her majesty's flag" on the roof) so we didn't pop in for tea. (I imagine she would've enjoyed a macaron with her Earl Grey, though!) Instead we headed through the autumnal beauty of Green Park and down to the Underground to make our way to the first of our scheduled macaron destinations: La Maison du Chocolat at Selfridges on Oxford Street.
Oxford, one of London's poshest high streets, was crowded and alive with early Christmas cheer and the buzz of brand name bag-swinging pedestrians. Selfridges was a whole department store's worth of sensory overload. We stuck to the main floor, weaving our way through the massive cosmetics hall and "edible novelties" section to La Maison du Chocolat's counter.
We were greeted by a refined gentleman in a suit named Barnabas. He spoke softly and oh-so-politely, making us feel like we were wealthy, Selfridges-worthy customers and not simply chocolate-craving tourists. His crisp British accent had the slightest hint of something foreign underneath, and Jess pegged him for a German in disguise.
Our personal chocolatier patiently explained to us the various chocolate-themed macarons behind the glass. They all had exotic names like Maracuja (dark chocolate and passionfruit) and Rigoletto (salted butter caramel.) His personal recommendation was the new and as-yet-unnamed coconut one, so we included that in our purchase of a box of four. The truffles in the display case looked amazing, but we stayed focused and stuck to our mission. Goodness knows we didn't need any other sweets!
As we were paying, we explained our Macaron Crawl to Barnabas, detailing the ones we'd already consumed as well as the ones we planned to buy on our next two stops. With a raised eyebrow and a smile, he told us to be sure to eat some real food in between so as not to pass out from the sugar high. Point taken.
Pierre Herme, the second official stop on the agenda, also had a counter in Selfridges, so we headed there next. I had read a lot about Pierre, how he used to work for Laduree (Paris' original and most famous macaron shop) and later struck out on his own, opting for more daring (and sometimes downright bizarre) flavour combinations. Being a fan of unusual flavour juxtapositions myself, his were the macarons I was most eager to try.
Unfortunately, it was a "no photos allowed" situation - I would've loved to have captured the variety of cookie-jewels laid out before us. (Not to mention it would have helped us figure out which macaron was which when we ate them! Thankfully their website could assist us with that.)
Our box of seven macarons was covered with fun little drawings of London landmarks as well as one of Pierre himself. We filled it with a couple variations of caramel and chocolate, a mint one (to compare with that of Patisserielila), an olive oil (risky, but I'd read good reviews online), a Metisse (carrot, orange and Ceylon cinnamon), an Eden (peach, apricot and saffron) and the smooth-sounding Truffe Blanche et Noisette (white truffle and hazelnut.)
From Oxford, we hopped back on the tube and made our way to Knightsbridge, home of the famed Harrods department store. This was one London attraction Jess had yet to visit, so it was fun to be first-timers together. But before we went in, we heeded the wisdom of Barnabas (and the sound of our rumbling stomachs) and grabbed a couple of 3 Pound meal deals at a Sainsbury's grocery store across the street. We sat down on the sidewalk opposite Harrods, admiring the seven storeys of Christmas lights and the "grown-up Disney Princess" jewelry displays in the windows. To passersby, we probably looked a little like homeless people camped out on the pavement, eating our picnic suppers. Though I suppose homeless people don't often eat cranberry and Brie sandwiches. Nor do they usually have Selfridges bags by their sides.
It took us a fair bit of wandering and asking before we located Laduree in Harrods, partly because we were searching amongst the confection counters in the food hall when it actually had its own separate cafe in a back corner. The decor itself was intoxicatingly sweet, like a sophisticated version of Candy Land, all pink and frills. As Laduree is sort of the "mother ship" of the macaron world, we had pretty high expectations of their quality, even if the flavours were a bit lacking in imagination. We chose lemon, chocolate, salted butter caramel, and, the most intriguing one of the bunch, "Cassis et Violette" - blackcurrant and violet.
It would've been fun to sit and sip some tea and take in the ambience while we sampled our macarons, but we didn't think they'd take kindly to us pulling out samples from their competitors, so we decided we'd do our taste-testing at the Starbucks across the street. I stood in line while Jess did some strategic hovering to score us a table in the crowded cafe. Armed with our coffees, a plate and knife (for ease of sampling) and a cup of water (to cleanse the palate between bites) I headed upstairs and joined Jess, who was as eager as I was to dig into the "big guns" of the macaronisphere. (Not to be confused with the macaroni-sphere....)
We started off with the fruity macarons from Laduree and worked our way around the plate, moving through the caramels and finishing with the chocolate ones. Jessica discovered that she much prefers fruity to fudgy, and somewhere towards the end she was uttering phrases like, "I'm going to have nightmares when I hear the word 'caramel' now..." For someone who doesn't even take sugar in her coffee, eight intense cookies in one sitting was a bit much. Like I said, a true friend, sacrificing comfort for the cause.
With the exception of the Caramel a la Fleur de Sel, (which was, in Jess' words, "Just like a melted Mackintosh Toffee....but too much salt, too much butter, too much caramel") we were definitely fans of the Laduree flavours, impressed by how much punch they were able to pack into such a small space. The "citron" was seriously like a mouthful of lemon meringue pie, aided by the fact that the texture of the cookie is pretty close to meringue. It brought back memories of licking the pie filling bowl at the bakery where I worked in high school. :) Jess liked the plain chocolate more than I did, preferring its subtle flavour to the intensity of the ones from La Maison du Chocolat. We both "mmmmm-ed" out loud when we bit into the Blackcurrant and Violet. It was such a full flavour - tangy and sweet, but not too sweet - and we loved the way the jam seeped into the cookie, filling up far more of the internal space than we first guessed. That one was a winner all around.
With relatively few bumps and wiggles here and there on the surface, these macarons were pretty uniform, with the cookie and ganache equally proportioned. They had the feel of being the descendants of a long line of macarons hailing from an old and very precise recipe. Makes sense, as Laduree is celebrating its 150th anniversary this year.
We rated Laduree as follows:
Lemon: 4 / 4
Salted Butter Caramel: 2 / 2.5
Chocolate: 3.5 / 2
Blackcurrant and Violet: 4.5 / 5 (The only 5 of the day!)
It seemed like the Maison du Chocolat macarons all had basically the same filling of chocolate ganache (fitting for a chocolatier), so the main flavour variations came in the cookies themselves. The outer shells sorta fell apart as soon as you took a bite, in contrast to the Laduree ones, which really held together nicely. The middles were thick and dense and seemed to take up a lot of space inside the cookie, which I loved. (I was always the kid who always ate the icing and left the cake.)
The coconut was so-so, leading us to believe that our Barnabas, in true German form, preferred the "safe" flavours. It had a smooth, balanced flavour (translation: boring) and didn't really "wow" us. We both agreed it should have had a chocolate outside and a coconut middle, more like a Bounty Bar, instead of the other way around.
I loved the description of the "Rigoletto" on the store's website: "The sweetness of lightly salted caramel with the milk chocolate ganache gently charms the palate." My palate was certainly charmed, though I would have preferred an even stronger caramel flavour. Jess, on the other hand, found the filling to be a bit too much like pudding and wasn't a fan at all.
The Quito seemed a bit like a brownie disguised as a macaron - it had the feel of a gooey Brazilian chocolate cake that you love but can't take more than two bites of because it's so rich. I liked the slightly bitter aftertaste, with the chocolate decidedly on the darker side. Jess, proving again to have a much more delicate palate than I, just thought it was too much all around. (I don't suppose this being the seventh one in half an hour helped!)
We both chose the Maracuja as our favourite from La Maison. The chocolate flavour hit first, with the sweet tang of the passionfruit building slowly behind it. Not as much "wow" factor as the Blackcurrant and Violet from Laduree, but definitely noteworthy.
Ratings for La Maison du Chocolat:
Coconut: 2.5 / 2
Rigoletto: 2.5 / 3
Quito: 3 / 3.5
Maracuja: 3 / 3.5
By this point in the evening, we'd probably exceeded our sugar limit for the whole week (and I was worried Jess might go into a sugar coma on the train ride home) so we decided to leave Pierre Herme until the next day to give our tastebuds a chance to recover.
Stay tuned the verdict on the best macaron of the Great London Macaron Crawl of 2012 in Part 2, coming soon!


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Fundraiser Event: 40 000 Kilometers African Bike Ride
Mission: raise funds and awareness to support girls' post-secondary education in Madagascar.
Event Goals:
- deliver an open letter to African leaders asking them to promote and protect higher education in Africa.
- raise funds and award scholarships to local students.
- mobilize volunteers.
How You Can Help: Please join forces with Jolandie and support this effort by clicking DONATE. Or, you can go even one step further and help us fundraise for this cause by clicking JOIN THE TEAM and share your own project page with your friends and family.
All donations through this page will go to fund scholarships in Madagascar. To donate to Iduka African Pilot Project, please visit this page.
The Team: $0 TOTAL RAISED SO FARJOIN THE TEAM
Want to help Fundraise or Volunteer for this amazing Fundraiser? Join the Team


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Curb Appeal Roofing and Construction has over 35 years of experience as a roofing company helping residential and commercial building owners and building managers. We are GAF Certified and a Owens Corning Certified Installer. We have developed this blog to help keep business owners and home owners current on the most recent building and roofing technologies. Since we live in Oklahoma, we'll also include some fun places to visit in Oklahoma and Oklahoma weather informational links and articles.
JC and Fred
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Color: Pink (Main color) [Cancel]
Cotoneaster pannosus Franch. - Silverleaf Cotoneaster
* Image is also available in higher resolution: 52999.jpg (2133x1600 - 351 kb).
Author: Forest & Kim Starr [Other photographs by this author]
Determination author: Forest & Kim Starr [Determination history and verification]
Hawaii (United States of America), Polipoli, Maui
31 August 2005
Starr F., Starr K.: Plants of Hawaii [http://www.hear.org/starr/hiplants/index...]
|CC-BY Creative Commons Attribution License 3.0 [Information]
Images created by Forest Starr and Kim Starr are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License, permitting sharing and adaptation with attribution.
You must credit the photographers "Forest & Kim Starr". We would appreciate being contacted (starrimages(at)hear.org) when our images are used, and if possible receiving a copy of or link to the publications they are used in.


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Hayden Panettiere hit the beach in a hot-pink bikini on Easter Sunday in Miami. There were no signs of bling on her ring finger despite earlier reports that she is secretly engaged to Wladimir Klitschko. However, she did spend the weekend with Wladimir and a group of friends in Miami, and even tweeted a photo of herself goofing around with her on-again, off-again love on Saturday. Hayden and Wladimir first started dating in but broke up in due to distance issues. Their relationship appeared to be back on last week when they kissed at a Miami Heat game. Hayden's bikini vacation wasn't all fun; she revealed on Twitter over the weekend that she got a nasty sunburn. She tweeted, "Don't run out of sunscreen.
Katina White #038; Hayden Hawkins In Double Pleasure Nubile Films


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Swingin' at the Kit Kat
Swing Dance Lessons start at 7:00 pm.
Social dance from 8:00 pm to 10:30 pm.
Alamo Legion Post 2
3518 Fredericksburg Road
San Antonio TX, 78201
(In the historic Deco District !)
Come swing at the Kit Kat!
Alamo City Swing Revival --- at the historic Kit Kat (Alamo Legion Post 2) in the Deco District!
Thursdays from 7:00 pm to 10:30 pm.
Adventure Club San Antonio Questions? Contact us at email@example.com


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A Virginia man found dead in his home, surrounded by 24 caged snakes, died of complications from a snakebite, the state's medical examiner's office concluded.
Chesterfield resident Jack Redmond, 70, was found dead with bite marks that appeared to be from a Chinese palm viper on a finger, the Richmond Times-Dispatch reported Friday.
While poisonous, that snake is not typically deadly, but experts said Redmond's age and health -- he was battling prostate cancer and taking medications for that -- might have played a role.
"It's not simply a black-and-white issue, whether you're going to live or you're going to die if you're bit by the snake," J.D. Kleopfer, a state game and fisheries officials, told the Times-Dispatch. "A person's age and their health — those are other factors that kind of come into play, along with the location of the bite."
Redmond probably could have survived had he been treated soon after he was bitten, added Dr. Ruddy Rose, director of the Virginia Poison Center. It was not clear how much time passed before Redmond's wife called for help and first responders reached the home.
Redmond had considered himself an amateur naturalist but was violating an ordinance banning the possession of venomous snakes and wild and exotic animals.
The 24 snakes at his home were all venomous, and most were rattlesnakes, copperheads or vipers. The state game agency hopes to find zoos and nature centers to take the snakes.
Snake-handling preacher dies from rattlesnake bite in West Virginia
Snakebite deaths are very rare in the U.S., said Rose, who could recall only two deaths in the past four decades in Virginia "that were really proven to be the result of a snakebite."
"It's unusual to die from a snakebite in this part of the world," he added. "There are deaths that occur in Asia and South America and Africa, but it's very unusual in North America, if you get medical treatment."
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MONDAY, Feb. 17, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Adults in the general population should not be screened for narrowing of the neck arteries, according to a draft recommendation from the influential U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF).
Narrowing of the neck arteries, formally called "carotid artery stenosis," reduces blood flow to the brain and is a risk factor for stroke.
"The carotid artery is the blood vessel that brings blood to the brain," explained Dr. Peter Faries, chief of vascular surgery at the Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City. "It starts in the chest and travels through the neck until it enters the skull."
Faries, who was not involved in drafting the new recommendations, explained that a buildup of fatty deposits in the carotid artery can lead to "narrowing or blockage of the blood flow to the brain. These carotid narrowings, or stenosis, can lead to a stroke in the patients that have them."
He said, "Often times, the first indication that a stenosis is present in the carotid artery is when the patient suffers a stroke."
Doctors have long wondered then if routinely screening adults for narrowed neck arteries might be a good idea. But the USPSTF panel said that their review of the available evidence does not favor widespread screening.
The recommendation does not apply to adults with any history of stroke, mini-stroke, or signs and symptoms of stroke, however.
Carotid artery narrowing "is uncommon in the general adult population, so screening everyone would lead to many false positive results," panelist Dr. Jessica Herzstein explained in a news release issued by the task force. "This can lead to follow-up tests and surgery that carry risk of serious harms, including stroke, heart attack, and death."
A false positive result occurs when a test indicates that a person has a condition that's not actually there.
"Screening for carotid stenosis can be performed using ultrasound," Faries added. "The carotid screening ultrasound test is safe, simple, quick, effective, completely non-invasive, does not require any exposure to radiation, and inexpensive."
Faries agreed with the USPSTF panel that screening should be reserved for patients at risk for the development of carotid artery blockage and stroke. That includes people over the age of 65 who are at high risk for "hardening of the arteries," with conditions such as high cholesterol, heart disease, a family history of stroke or a history of smoking.
In such cases, "screening can be an effective method of identifying blockages in the carotid artery, allowing them to be treated and thereby preventing a stroke from occurring," Faries explained.
All the experts agreed that preventing vessels from narrowing in the first place is the best option of all.
"The good news is that we have ways to reduce the risk of a stroke: control blood pressure and cholesterol, don't smoke, be physically active, and eat a healthful diet," task force co-vice chair Dr. Michael LeFevre said in the news release.
Faries echoed that notion. "Preventing a stroke before it occurs is obviously preferable to treating the blockage after a patient has suffered a stroke," he said.
The draft recommendation is posted on the task force's website and will be open for public comment until March 17. The task force is an independent advisory group of health experts.
More information
The U.S. National Library of Medicine has more about carotid artery stenosis.


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Labor Day typically marks the unofficial end of summer, and the official kickoff to election season.
This year was no different. Since Monday, two Republican candidates for governor have announced their lieutenant governor picks: Sen. Kirk Dillard has chosen state Rep. Jil Tracy, and Treasurer Dan Rutherford selected Chicago attorney Steve Kim.
The two other Republican nominees, venture capitalist Bruce Rauner and state Sen. Bill Brady, and the two Democrats, Gov. Pat Quinn and Bill Daley, have said they're in no rush to announce their picks.
It's the first time gubernatorial candidates get to pick their running mates. State law was changed after the 2010 elections, when Democratic lieutenant governor nominee Scott Lee Cohen dropped out after his past troubles, including domestic battery charges, were revealed after the won the primary.
We're hoping this is the only election cycle where that happens – because if all goes well, in five years the office of lieutenant governor will have been eliminated.
The duties of the lieutenant governor aren't impressive: The state's constitution states the lieutenant governor "shall perform the duties and exercise the powers in the Executive Branch that may be delegated to him by the Governor and that may be prescribed by law."
While the second-highest executive in the state, the lieutenant governor doesn't do much – although he or she is first in line to succeed the governor, and, in this state, there are decent odds that could happen.
We aren't in favor of spending money on an office that has no official duties. Neither is state Rep. David McSweeney, R-Barrington Hills, who has proposed a constitutional amendment that would abolish the lieutenant governor's office beginning with the term of office otherwise commencing in 2019. McSweeney estimates $1.8 million can annually be saved by eliminating the office.
It passed the House this spring; if the Senate approves it, voters would consider it in 2014.
It's an easy way to save the cash-strapped state some money while streamlining state government. We expect to see that on next year's ballot.


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A Hope College student's research centered on a long-lived local resident who was passionate about the Holland community has earned national recognition.
Senior Madalyn Muncy of Warren is one of only 60 undergraduates nationwide chosen to participate in the annual "Posters on the Hill" reception organized by the Council on Undergraduate Research" on Wednesday, April 24. She was chosen for her project "The Holland Historian: Ruth Keppel and Holland, Michigan's Collective Historical Memory."
It is the fourth year in a row that a Hope student's research has been chosen.
The "Posters on the Hill" event will be held on Capitol Hill in the Rayburn Office Building from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., with other activities for the students earlier in the day. Each student will present his or her research, displayed on posters, to the members of Congress, congressional staff members, federal government officials and others in attendance.
Keppel, who lived from 1896 to 1993, spent most of her life in Holland except for a few years away for college. Trained as a violinist and initially a music teacher in the Holland schools, she was extensively involved in the community. Her family had been among Holland's pioneers, and she became an active local historian who wrote on a variety of topics throughout her life, her early work including "From Trees to Tulips," produced for Holland's 1947 centennial celebration.
"She did this incredible amount of work, and she just wanted to sustain the heritage and history of the city that she cared so much for," said Muncy, an English major who is minoring in creative writing and history.
Muncy's research project reflects on Keppel's life and Keppel's goal, as she expressed in a 1981 interview, "to leave my city something worthwhile. And I'm trying to do that with my historical information."
Making extensive use of both the Joint Archives of Holland at Hope and the Holland Museum Archives, Muncy created a multi-media website that discusses not only Ruth Keppel but also the history of Holland and the Keppel family. The site includes a 22-minute documentary that features audio of Keppel herself, recorded for an oral history project. The material is available online at http://hope.edu/academic/mellon/holland-historian/
It is history that even connects directly to Hope. The college's Keppel House at 129 E. 10th St., which houses Hope's Campus Ministries program, was Keppel's longtime home. Built by her parents, Albert and Kate Keppel, in 1914, it was purchased by Hope in 1986.
Muncy's project began as a paper written for the fall 2011 "American Women Writers" class taught by Dr. Natalie Dykstra, associate professor of English. Muncy expanded her initial research into the website during the summer of 2012 through her participation in the college's "Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Scholars Program."
Muncy's activities at Hope include serving as co-editor-in-chief of the "Anchor" weekly student newspaper, as publicity chair this past fall of the Nykerk Cup competition, as communications director for the college's chapter of the Mortar Board honorary society and as the student blogger for the Van Wylen Library. She is a past participant in the college's Washington Honors Semester, through which she interned with both the Office of the Federal Register and the U.S. Department of Education.
She is the daughter of Robert and Mary Anne Muncy of Warren, and a 2009 graduate of Warren Mott High School.
Founded in 1978, CUR is a national organization of individual and institutional members representing more than 900 colleges and universities. CUR and its affiliated colleges, universities, and individuals share a focus on providing undergraduate research opportunities for faculty and students at all institutions serving undergraduate students. CUR believes that faculty members enhance their teaching and contribution to society by remaining active in research and by involving undergraduates in research.
The three-year "Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Scholars Program" at Hope, which students join as sophomores, involves select students in the arts and humanities in coursework and research in areas of scholarly interest with faculty mentors from a variety of academic disciplines, with a particular emphasis on teaching the students how to use new and emerging digital technologies in pursuing and sharing their work. Last year's CUR participant from Hope, senior Katie Callam of Holland, is also a participant in the Mellon Scholars Program.


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Telerik has released beta versions of its WebUI Test Studio, an automated testing solutionv developed in partnership with ArtOfTest, a software quality assurance company. WebUI Test is a tool specialized for automated testing of rich web applications, especially AJAX-based.
Telerik WebUI Test Studio consists of three main parts:
- WebAii Automation Framework. A .NET library for web automation that supports both Firefox and Internet Explorer using one consistent API. WebAii abstracts out browser specifics and uses rich routines to help you locate elements. WebAii comes with an HtmlControls suite. WebAii is built from the ground up to support Rich Internet Applications (RIA) and Ajax applications.
- Automation Design Canvas. An enterprise ready plug-in for Microsoft Visual Studio (Team Suite and Professional) that enables both scriptless and scripted automation recording. It is the Web 2.0 automation recording solution for rich web applications. You can build automation using the recorder. The recorder includes an Automation Overlay Surface and a Sentence Based verification editor. The recorder is built on top of the rich WebAii Automation Framework and allows you to extend your scripts using it.
- RadControls Translators. An extension of Design Canvas which allows you to automate all your testing =for RadControls for ASP.NET AJAX. Telerik has exposed a rich set of verification tasks that will enable you to test the rich web applications built with RadControls. Testing scenarios takes just minutes of recording and playback in both Internet Explorer and Firefox.
You can download the beta here.


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2013 World Series is over. Red Sox outlasted the Cardinals and we celebrate it with Batting Stance Guy's Top 5 moments of the series. Actor Chris Cox dazzles the world with announcing all 5 moments as Sam Elliott, Dennis Rodman, Owen Wilson, Tiger Woods and Vin Scully.
Enjoy the offseason.
twitter: @BattingStanceG