text:
So, I left you with the pipers rehearsing outside the Castle. The weather had cleared quite a bit since I set off, and the landscape was beautiful. The tower on the left of this picture is the Wallace Monument; I believe that means the University is just the other side of the wooded hill (but never trust me on anything geographical)...
The castle is a strange, eclectic mix of styles, and I didn't seem to take many photos. The audio guide was good, but maybe a little ponderous, in the style of Imagine this courtyard in the year 1756... followed by a lot of reproduction sounds of bulls lowing, carriages clopping, people throwing barrels from carts, etc. etc. I'm not a great fan of audio guides in general but had been round Buckingham Palace, where the guide was pretty superb, the week before so gave it a go.
Anyway; this is the Chapel Royal, built for the baptism of Prince Henry, son of James VI, in 1594. The wall paintings were restored in the 20th century after the Chapel had been used to garrison soldiers for many years.
There's also a tapestry project going on, with a fascinating studio in the castle buildings - some of the completed tapestries are shown in the next two photos.
And then once I'd been round the castle, there were those Rob Roy people again; this time in full dress with hats etc. They had a large and enthusiastic audience on the various balconies and around the walls.
And there were dancers, 13 of them in this case (note the dancer racing up the middle!)
It was all rather marvellous. And just as I thought the fun was over and they'd taken their bow, the pipes got louder again, and they marched out of the castle in formation.
Fabulous. (Preparing this post over the last couple of days reminded me to go over to their website and say thanks - got a lovely reply back, with the news they'd come 6th in the world pipe band competition on August 16th, so all that practice evidently paid off...)
And just at that point I bumped into Julia (aka Sulkycat, maker of wonderful knitting project bags, etc.); and she'd bumped into some other people, and in the end we had 7 knitters squeezed around the table at the pub at lunchtime with a very entertaining waiter. I think we were from 5 different countries and almost as many nationalities... And that was definitely one of the best things about the week - so many people from different places with different experiences.
We all scattered in different directions afterwards, and I went to look at a very interesting graveyard monument I'd noticed on the way up the hill. I've never seen one quite like this before!
Or an inscription like this:
Thankfully there was an information plaque next to it which read Statues of heroes of the Scottish Presbyterian Reformation, set up when the cemetery was opened, were part of the educational and 'improving' atmosphere of Victorian Stirling... These enclosed figures represent the traditional story of Margaret Wilson who, aged 18, was executed by drowning in the Solway Firth for refusing to renounce her Protestant faith. She had no connection with Stirling. The monument avoids the horror of her death and presents a more sentimental Victorian idealisation of women.
So now you know. Strange, the sort of things the Victorians found edifying, really.
And a quick picture from the end of the visit, from a bar which used to be the old Post Office: amazing beer-glass light fitting...
Next up: outings to New Lanark and Loch Katrine...
Monday, August 30, 2010
Knit Camp 4: More Skirling in Stirling
Posted by Liz at 10:00 am 1 comment:
2010 books, #56-60
A river in the sky, by Elizabeth Peters. London: Robinson, 2010.
I've read all the books in this series, the last few shortly after they came out, and although they're always well-written and funny, the last couple have been somewhat... staid, as the characters become older and more sensible. So I was absolutely delighted to find that this new one is set in the pre-war period of irresponsibility and derring-do. I think this is the narrative of an event which is mentioned in the subsequent The falcon at the portal. Set in Palestine in 1910, this is absolutely classic Peabody, but also has a very healthy proportion of extracts from "Manuscript H", the Ramses-centric narrative. Lots of captures and rescues, disguises, mysterious strangers and German spies; both Peabody's little pistol and parasol/sword-stick come into play. A wonderful return to form.
Whistling for the elephants, by Sandi Toksvig. London: Sphere, 2002.
This was a de-acquisitioned library book I acquired last summer but hadn't got round to reading; it was my Stirling book. Eleven year old Dorothy Kane moves to upstate New York with her upper-class English parents, and moves from childhood to adolescence in the company of an extraordinary band of people and animals living in a dilapidated zoo. It's almost Swallows and Amazons as written by Isabel Allende, but with Toksvig's absurdist sense of humour thrown in. And it's wonderfully moving; I made a bit of an idiot of myself by weeping while reading the final couple of chapters over a glass of wine in St Pancras Station before the last leg of my journey home. This is one I'll remember for a long time.
Dead cert, by Dick Francis [audiobook]. Read by Tony Britton. Bath, BBC Audiobooks, 2010.
A re-release of the audiobook - I first read this one as a teenager and heard Tony Britton's wonderfully spare reading of it about 15 years ago. One of my favourite Francis books even though by now I know what's going to happen. It's weird that the racing element of it hasn't dated at all, but social attitudes in 1962, when this was written, have obviously changed a great deal. It turns out this was his first book - I now have an urge to go through and listen to the others again in order...
Trust me, I'm a (junior) doctor, by Max Pemberton. London: Hodder, 2008.
Based on the author's own experience as a brand-new doctor completing his junior year. It veers between the hilarious, the tragic, the completely absurd, the absurdly moving and conveys the sheer bone-crushing exhaustion of the hundred-hour week. Pemberton is always compassionate in his descriptions of patients, even when they're being completely unreasonable, and there are some wonderful touching moments alongside some genuinely ridiculous ones. Probably not one to read while in, or preparing to go into, hospital...
Awakening, by S. J. Bolton [audiobook]. Read by Alison Reid. Bath: Chivers/BBC Audiobooks, 2010.
Another one well up to the standard Bolton set herself in Sacrifice, this time set in Dorset and featuring a vet as the main character. Someone is terrorising the local village with venomous snakes, and the story behind them goes back into history... The main protagonist Clara Benning is a strange character; we find out towards the beginning of the book that she has a facial disfigurement which has turned her into a virtual recluse, but we don't find out the circumstances until very near the end. The title is apt; things are awakened from the past life of the village, but it's also a transformative time for Clara. Not one to read if you have an instinctive dislike or fear of snakes, though!
(And because I can't help myself, I'm going to have a quick whinge about Chivers/BBC Audiobooks and their newly non-removable inlay sheets on the covers; wherever you put the date label and barcode on a CD, it's going to obscure something or other, and being able to manoeuvre the information sheet gingerly out of the top of the box used to really help! In this case all the publishing and copyright information were obscured...)
Posted by Liz at 8:00 am 1 comment:
Labels: books
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Knit Camp 3: If it's Tuesday, this must be Stirling
Making heavy weather of this - another photo-heavy post which makes Blogger/Flickr unhappy...
So, on the Tuesday morning, after an emergency meeting of camp participants at the somewhat unearthly hour of 07:35, supposedly in the (closed) dining hall and then upstairs in the atrium, I queued to make another change to my class schedule (the seventh, I think!), grabbed some breakfast, found the office for a computer password and the computer lab to check e-mail, and decided to head out to Stirling for my day's sightseeing, as I didn't have a class because my tutor was still in California... I'd originally planned to go on Saturday, but needs must and all that! Flexibility was definitely required for the entire week.
It was absolutely horrible weather as I set off - torrential rain - but by the time I got to the city centre it was merely drizzly and overcast. It seemed that the way to the Sights was uphill, so up I went.
Don't know what this building was, (shops now, but I can't work out whether it was a civic building or a church) although it has the first of several memorials to William Wallace. (I've never seen Braveheart; my main interest in Wallace is that he's someone whose trial, and condemnation to death, in Westminster Hall is recorded by a plaque on the floor I walk past a couple of times a week!)
I was walking this way with a purpose though - two lovely local ladies who came to the first-night party and dinner had pointed me towards... yup; a yarn shop. Not just any yarn shop, either...
McAree Brothers' mail order is something I've used often, but I hadn't realised that their main shop was in Stirling. It was brilliant to go in there. The range is fabulous, and they were really looking forward to carrying Debbie Stoller's range of new yarns. One of the people working there was being really enthusiastic about Camp and was talking about it to the customers and advertising the weekend marketplace. It turns out that this was Carol Meldrum, author of the wonderful Knitted Icons book among others; but I didn't realise that at the time! Lace yarn was bought, along with some bonus acrylic for Helen for a class we'd both transferred onto at short notice...
And this, believe it or not, just down the hill from the Castle, is Stirling Youth Hostel. (Follow the link for a nice slideshow of pictures of the area.)
And I thought the one at Haworth was fancy...
Another nice sign - joint cadets and Scout headquarters...
Next up the hill was the Church of the Holy Rude... Beautiful, rather austere church with a fabulous history. Remarkable both for the number of volunteers helping tourists, and the number of languages their information sheets were in (probably 40 or so!)
Beautiful 19th century stained glass...
And equally beautiful 20th century glass. This is the Guildry Window . The river running through the lower panels is the Forth
On up to Stirling Castle. On the lawns in front was the first sight of the Rob Roy Pipe Band and Highland Dancers from Kingston, Ontario.
I'm not normally a great fan of the Highland pipes, because I'm usually coming across a lone piper in a shopping centre or other confined space, out of context. But these guys were amazing...
Turns out they were rehearsing for a concert in the Castle Gardens a little later, after their appearance at the Bridge of Allan Highland Games.
Stirling continued in the next post - I had too many photos! As you can tell, though, the weather (and my mood) gradually improved as I headed up the hill...
Posted by Liz at 3:18 pm No comments:
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Knit Camp 2: the Classes
A little bit of description of the classes I took, as I've finally got down to the bottom of my suitcase, and disentangled this mass of little samples etc. Each tutor had a slightly different approach to teaching and the available technology, and it was really interesting to observe.
(I'm trying a different way of uploading photos today as Flickr's new interface is driving me berserk! You should be able to click on the pictures and then choose a different size when you get to Flickr if you want to view more detail...)
ETA OK, it's really ugly for landscape photos. Back to the drawing board but I'm leaving this post the way it is...
Wednesday morning: Double knitting in the round with Lucy Neatby
This was one I'd swapped onto at the last minute (on Tuesday morning) because rearrangement meant I was double-booked on Thursday afternoon with both Nancy Bush and Annie Modesitt. There was an irony in this as they were the last two of my original choices, but by this point... Anyway, scanning the list, it turned out that Lucy Neatby was also teaching double knitting, this time in the round; and it was a wonderful class. (I suspect this could also have been called "double knitting, backwards in high heels")
Here are the little samples - the two-coloured one is a mixture of techniques. We covered "simple" double-knitting in the round - the sort where you have two tubes, one inside the other - and then patterned double-knitting - the sort which is a single, double-thickness fabric in different colours (so you could make lined mittens or socks). The smaller sample at the top is a marvel - a way of knitting in the round but also making a pocket as you go. I'm going to start this again in sock-weight to make an iPod sock with a full-length pocket for the headphones...
Lucy had loads of samples of her own double knitting work, including some wonderful socks with padded soles, and the Bubbles scarf. Most of her teaching was done by demonstrating in front of the class but she also used judicious clips from her DVD on the subject, with the sound turned down and her own commentary over the top, which gave a very good guide to holding the yarns in different ways. She also just flung millions of ideas of how you could use a particular bit of the technique which I was scribbling down as fast as I could - such an amazingly inventive mind.
I've been downloading and printing double knitting patterns ever since I got home; definitely something I'm going to be doing in future.
Thursday morning: Planning your Aran with Jared Flood
Unlike the previous day's class (which had a bit of homework so we'd brought our own yarn), this time the yarn was meant to be provided by the organisers; which sort-of-inevitably meant that there was uncertainty for the first 20 minutes until the "classroom assistant"(a fellow student) fetched enough for everyone. As Jared explained, the tutors were "going with the flow", presumably to save their own sanity! He was certainly very well-organised and we started as soon as we could on a simple cabled sample, with the idea of steeking and cutting it by the end of the class. We learned cabling without a cable needle (the same method I learned from Gwen last year, so that was nice confirmation that I was still doing it properly).
The second section was much more about design; lots of very helpful stuff about how cabled fabric behaves in relation to stockinette/stocking-stitch and how much more ease is required; and some good percentages in terms of yardage and no. of stitches to cast on. We had a look at allocating the different stitches and what sort of "breaks" you might put between them as design features. Jared drew lots of diagrams on the whiteboard to help illustrate the sort of calculation you might make. He also talked about swatching proportionally and showed some of his own swatches as well as a finished cardigan I remember seeing on his blog a couple of years back.
In the third bit, we looked at steeking; in this case a crocheted (double crochet (UK)/single crochet (US)) steek right up against the edge we were going to cut. My crocheting is.... well; let's say less than stellar; but I did manage it, and I was fairly chuffed with myself. And there's no sign of the steek falling apart.
I'm slightly dubious about the idea of steeking Arans - I like the fact that there's a wrong side and a right side for counting rows between cables and quite often go wrong on cabled socks, and I think you possibly need seams because of the weight of the garment. But having said that, Jared's sample garment was absolutely beautiful, and more lightweight than a lot of Arans I've made, so I might well try it. And learning this method of reinforcing steeks, as opposed to Alice Starmore's "cut now, and tidy up later" method, was really interesting. We also got some very good advice on how many stitches to pick up for button bands in rib/garter stitch etc.
Another great class, with a tutor with a lovely sense of humour - I suspect that was much required during the week...
Thursday afternoon: Nordic Color with Nancy Bush
The technique we were using is called Roositud, which is an Estonian inlay technique where you carry colours across the face of the work without having to carry them all the way round the circumference (there's a really clever trick for even rows). The yarns I'd brought were a bit eye-poppingly bright, but happily so were a couple of the samples Nancy had brought. She'd designed a little sachet pattern for us - I'm about a third of the way through it at the moment.
We started with a double-stranded long-tail cast-on. Anyone reading this who has heard me whining about this in real life knows that long-tail cast-on is about the only thing in knitting which regularly defeats me, and I was actually feeling very flustered as she demonstrated this one, which had not only the usual manoeuvre I find very difficult but also a reverse version for alternate stitches. I had genuine visions of attempting to cast on for the entire 3 hours. (It did take me 4 hours to cast on 64 stitches for a sock once).
However, something miraculous happened and it just clicked in this class; I got the 42 stitches onto my needles and I wasn't even last to finish! I'll have to try it again and see whether something in my head has now finally got it.
Once we'd got the technique (there are two or three things a couple of us couldn't work out to start with, which were blindingly obvious when explained) it was a matter of practice; so while we were knitting away Nancy told us all about knitting in Estonia, and her experiences of travelling in that country. She also talked a bit about her involvement as the editor of the English version of the Haapsalu shawl book we've been raving about at I Knit recently. Fascinating.
My sample is a bit clumsy but I will finish it (not only because I'm stubborn and tenacious, but also because I can say that I have 6 stitches in it which were knitted by Nancy Bush - she used my piece to demonstrate but had to pick most of it out so I could try it myself) - I could see this working much better on the scale the Estonians use it at, on socks and gloves. Disappointingly, as it's the first time I've worked with it, the Biggam yarn (yellow) felt more like an acrylic than the pure merino it actually is. Maybe it's just the colour association...
Friday morning: Triangular Shawl Workshop with Elizabeth Lovick
This was a changed class, originally to be with Miriam Felton who has a pretty modern take on shawls I love; but nonetheless I really enjoyed it because again, it was a real expert teaching us about traditional Shetland shawls. Liz talked us through all sorts of triangles, tesselating them and showing on a PowerPoint presentation how different knitted samples fit together, before talking us through a number of differently shaped shawls she'd designed and made, all based on triangles. In the second part of the class we could either start to design our own based on a template she handed out, or for those who were less experienced with lace, start to knit one according to a pattern. I opted for the first possibility, and now have a chart produced for a shawl.
(I think, however, I've made a mistake on the left-hand side so am about to rip back and possibly start again on slightly smaller needles).
One excellent thing I hadn't seen/heard of before was that Liz had made a CD of her presentation, the notes and templates for us to take away; I'm sure that'll see a lot of use and it was a great idea.
Saturday: Whip Your Knits into Shape with Joan McGowan Michael
This was a class I was particularly looking forward to due to my rather hard-to-fit figure; it was meant to be happening on the Tuesday but Joan very sensibly stayed in California until the whole paperwork situation was resolved, and agreed to teach it on Saturday instead. And it was excellent.
We started off by measuring each other in pairs. And I'm not talking about just doing a quick bust, waist and hip measurement here. All told, we took something like 27 measurements. The slightly hilarious thing was that to get the measurements accurately placed, we wrapped each other in masking tape at the appropriate points. (Joan had brought a full-sized polystyrene torso, pre-taped, in her suitcase. I have no idea what that looks like on an airport X-ray. Apparently she keeps her shoes in it, in transit...) There's a modicum of embarrassment in probing a relative stranger's chest to see where the top of her breasts are, but we got over that quite quickly! Joan was circulating to check that we were putting tape in the appropriate places, and then we got onto doing stuff with tape measures...
At the end of the morning and in the afternoon, we then plotted all the figures onto brown paper (which was, miraculously, provided as promised- it wasn't there at the beginning of the class but had arrived before it was needed) to make a dressmaker's type paper pattern of our measurements. This isn't a good photo but gives you an idea. The template for the back is on top, with the one for the front underneath.
Some of the results were fascinating compared to what I'd have expected - I knew my front was an awful lot bigger than my back, but hadn't really fully considered what that meant for armhole shaping, for instance; and I've now got a good idea where I'd start short-rowing to create more fulness to get the 5" extra I need so the hemline of a garment is in the same place all the way round! Really excellent class.
Aware that Marketplace was also going on on Saturday, and one or two participants hadn't had a chance to get over there yet due to rearranged classes on Friday, we sat down at the beginning and ran through the content of the class; there weren't too many of us for Joan to check measurements, and we were all happy to halve the the lunchbreak, and everyone was happy with the knitting aspects of short rowing which was meant to be the practical part, and really just wanted to do the design elements, so in the end we finished mid-afternoon and were able to do a little more light shopping too.
General impressions
Overall; I loved the degree of flexibility the tutors were able to show (and their grace under pressure); all the ones I had were supremely well-organised and extraordinarily well-versed in their subjects. And they were also happy to answer random questions at the end or in quiet moments about other topics they were knowledgeable about, aware that not everyone could take every class. (Somewhere I got the tip that you pick up as many stitches around an armhole when steeking as feels comfortable at the time, and then decrease down to the stated number in the next row; I'm not sure which tutor that came from though!)
I'm not someone who thinks of herself as a fangirl when it comes to knitting; I picked the tutors whose work I liked, and who were known for good technical or design skills. But having taken classes, yes, I am pretty fangirlish about all of them, and will be following their future work with much more interest in future.
My fellow students were also a really knowledgeable, friendly, attentive, good-natured bunch. I didn't have a single person in any of my classes who wanted to prove that they knew more than the tutor or the others in the class, or engaged in side-conversations when the tutor was doing a whole-class part of the instruction. I haven't been to many knitting classes (my formal class experience is more with experimental textiles in general), but I've usually found that I'm pretty quick and waiting for the next set of instructions (unless I'm being taught long-tail cast-on!); in Tour de France terms though, I was definitely in there with the peloton this week, which was just excellent.
Quite aside from the classes, there was also a lot of "informal learning" going on. I was making a shawlette with crochet-hook beading and showed at least a dozen people how to do this over breakfast or in the bar in the evening, and I was shown at least one new cast-off and watched lots of variants of knitting style. It seemed perfectly fine just to wander over to someone doing something you hadn't seen before and just stare at their hands for a while - well, everyone I asked if that was OK was perfectly fine with it and really friendly, anyway!
(Oh, and in general "informal learning", the Brits in the Saturday class were complimented on the effectiveness of their undergarments, and chanted "Bravissimo", more or less en masse... According to one of Joan's Ravelry posts, Shopping Was Done before she returned home...)
Posted by Liz at 6:45 pm 5 comments:
Labels: knit camp
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Knit Camp 1: the Knitters
So - after a huge hiatus with only book reviews on the blog, I'm back from Knit Camp in Stirling, with photos. Not as many photos as a really conscientious blogger would take, but actually there was sort of a convention that taking pictures in classes was probably not that sociable, so I didn't have my camera with me at all times.
Lots has been said on Ravelry about Knit Camp; and while there's been a lot of wild speculation in some corners, a lot of the tales of chaos were undoubtedly true, most obviously and spectacularly the failure to obtain work permits for the non-EU tutors before they arrived, which led to one tutor being returned unceremoniously to the States and one speaker/author spending an unscheduled few days with family in the Netherlands.
Having had many changes and cancellations before I set off, on the Monday I found myself travelling up to Stirling with no notion of whether I'd have any classes at all before Friday when I had my one UK tutor. I was not, let's say, in the best frame of mind, and my packing suffered as a result! However, when we got there we found that although the seven affected tutors wouldn't be able to teach on Tuesday, things should be straight again on Wednesday, and total disaster was averted...
There was a lot of disorganisation; things were definitely skin-of-the-teeth close in terms of yarn arriving half an hour into classes in the nick of time for being used, tutors not having enough copies of handouts because of last-minute rearrangements, some participants (including me) never getting hold of a copy of the revised running order, etc.
The tutors themselves, however, whether they'd been affected by the immigration situation or not, squared their shoulders, picked up their needles and just got on with it, despite on very many occasions not being sure how many students they should have in their class even at start time.
And really: I had a very, very good week. It wasn't at all the week I expected when I booked, but I did uniformly superb classes with some very professional tutors at the top of their game, and enjoyed the outings, trips, knitting and nattering, and the marketplace. I'll do some posts on Stirling, Loch Katrine, New Lanark and the campus later.
Here though, just some general pictures of the best thing about the event: the Knitters. Like the tutors, the Knitters just picked up their pointy sticks and got on with it. There were two alternative slogans I'd heard for this - the first was Elizabeth Zimmermann's "Knit on, with confidence and hope, through all crises"; the second was a Rav post just before I left on Monday morning, the more prosaic "If it all goes tits up, we'll be down the pub". Either could have made T-shirts for the week, honestly. Maybe you could have had one slogan on the front and one on the back.
So: I present to you (click to embiggen)...
There were knitters in Clapotis. Many, many knitters in Clapotis. About 150, at a rough estimate and based on the numbers for the event. Never have so many Clapotis been seen in one place... There was also a yarn swap...
There were knitters in pub quiz teams. We (the Sinisters) came second, and won a costume prize for Kath's wonderful T-shirts (we were, needless to say, the left-handers' team). Left to right (Ravelry names in brackets afterwards):
Gretchen (gretchenroth), Rosie (MrsMaddog), Lucy (cardifflucy), Jane (JaneKAL), Kath (Kathj), Ann (AnnKingstone) and me (greensideknits).
There were knitters at World Heritage Sites....
Lots has been said on Ravelry about Knit Camp; and while there's been a lot of wild speculation in some corners, a lot of the tales of chaos were undoubtedly true, most obviously and spectacularly the failure to obtain work permits for the non-EU tutors before they arrived, which led to one tutor being returned unceremoniously to the States and one speaker/author spending an unscheduled few days with family in the Netherlands.
Having had many changes and cancellations before I set off, on the Monday I found myself travelling up to Stirling with no notion of whether I'd have any classes at all before Friday when I had my one UK tutor. I was not, let's say, in the best frame of mind, and my packing suffered as a result! However, when we got there we found that although the seven affected tutors wouldn't be able to teach on Tuesday, things should be straight again on Wednesday, and total disaster was averted...
There was a lot of disorganisation; things were definitely skin-of-the-teeth close in terms of yarn arriving half an hour into classes in the nick of time for being used, tutors not having enough copies of handouts because of last-minute rearrangements, some participants (including me) never getting hold of a copy of the revised running order, etc.
The tutors themselves, however, whether they'd been affected by the immigration situation or not, squared their shoulders, picked up their needles and just got on with it, despite on very many occasions not being sure how many students they should have in their class even at start time.
And really: I had a very, very good week. It wasn't at all the week I expected when I booked, but I did uniformly superb classes with some very professional tutors at the top of their game, and enjoyed the outings, trips, knitting and nattering, and the marketplace. I'll do some posts on Stirling, Loch Katrine, New Lanark and the campus later.
Here though, just some general pictures of the best thing about the event: the Knitters. Like the tutors, the Knitters just picked up their pointy sticks and got on with it. There were two alternative slogans I'd heard for this - the first was Elizabeth Zimmermann's "Knit on, with confidence and hope, through all crises"; the second was a Rav post just before I left on Monday morning, the more prosaic "If it all goes tits up, we'll be down the pub". Either could have made T-shirts for the week, honestly. Maybe you could have had one slogan on the front and one on the back.
So: I present to you (click to embiggen)...
There were knitters in Clapotis. Many, many knitters in Clapotis. About 150, at a rough estimate and based on the numbers for the event. Never have so many Clapotis been seen in one place... There was also a yarn swap...
There were knitters in pub quiz teams. We (the Sinisters) came second, and won a costume prize for Kath's wonderful T-shirts (we were, needless to say, the left-handers' team). Left to right (Ravelry names in brackets afterwards):
Gretchen (gretchenroth), Rosie (MrsMaddog), Lucy (cardifflucy), Jane (JaneKAL), Kath (Kathj), Ann (AnnKingstone) and me (greensideknits).
There were knitters at World Heritage Sites....
... knitters messing about on or near boats (yes, that's Norah Gaughan in the foreground)...
... knitters at breakfast...
... knitters at breakfast...
... and more knitters at breakfast... the number of handmade garments, shawls etc. was inspiring!
There were knitters at Marketplace (this is as it was closing down on Friday night, when I could get an unencumbered shot!)...
... including new stallholders Abstract Cat Crafts (who got all that lot to Stirling from Bathgate on public transport)
and The Sulky Cat (ditto, but from Leeds). More from both when I do my stash roundup in a few days' time!
There were old friends. Ellen (Ravelry name unknown) was there - I think we last bumped into each other at an I Knit event a couple of years ago, but we know each other from SkipNorth and its predecessor event in 2004! I also sat next to the lady on the left on the way to Loch Katrine, but have completely forgotten her name. Apologies; you probably won't be reading this but hope you had a good time in Glasgow.
Also from SkipNorth, the lovely Isabella aka spinningfishwife who I see has just blogged the Marketplace - she's local and was here for the day. Sorry it's such a rotten photo - I was wandering around with my camera round my neck and had managed to knock the focus from Auto to Manual and not notice...
There were new friends too - Kel (tootsie2121) and Nic (talesfromthe plain) attempt, and record, Portuguese knitting with a knitting brooch
And for the trifecta, the inimitable Woolly Wormhead, Hat designer extraordinaire and all-round good egg. Here, she's desperately trying to scoff a salad between her morning teaching and her afternoon marketplace duty. A nice person obviously wouldn't have pointed a camera at her at that point, but I'm me, and it had to be done...
... and here she is somewhate later, trying on an amazing mediaeval hat/scarf/cowl/headwear thing belonging to the couple from The Mulberry Dyer.
There were new friends too - Kel (tootsie2121) and Nic (talesfromthe plain) attempt, and record, Portuguese knitting with a knitting brooch
Barbara (babalor) reads while waiting for her coach onward to Shetland. Barbara and I had an International Snack Exchange going which turned, as these things do, into an International Yarn Exchange as well.
Here are the snacks - I've been wondering about Triscuits since they turned up on the 5th episode of The West Wing and they are very delicious, it turns out - halfway between cream crackers and salty Shredded Wheat... Underneath my room key there are also two little boxes of chocolate sprinkles from the Netherlands...
Because of my room number and the Triscuits, I mentally named this picture Triscuitdekaphobia. (Sorry).
More Shetland knitters - on the left is Jude (meherbie) and on the right Lydia (lydiajensen), and I know the lady to the left of Lydia is her sister Trudy, but after that I get a bit lost...
Posted by Liz at 4:39 pm 5 comments:
Friday, August 06, 2010
2010 books, #51-55
Trouble, by Jesse Kellerman. London: Sphere, 2008.
When medical student Jonah Stem goes to the rescue of a young woman who is being stabbed and causes the death of her assailant, he thinks his worst problem is avoiding a murder charge; until the victim, Eve Gones, visits him and they begin a sexual relationship. Gradually Jonah realises that Eve is not what she seems, and the depth of the trouble he's now in. This is a genuinely terrifying read at times, tightly plotted and unputdownable; and very different from the excellent books written by both Kellerman's parents.
The girl who kicked the hornets' nest, by Stieg Larsson [audiobook]. Read by Saul Reichlin. Rearsby, Leics.: Clipper, 2009.
A brilliant finish to an excellent trilogy; these books really do deserve the hype they've had over the last couple of years. The characters of Salander and Blomqvist (spelling? Having listened to all of them on audio, I'm a bit shaky on how everything's spelled) continue to be absolutely consistent and it's the audio equivalent of a page-turner - the 21 cassettes only took about 5 days and I was carrying a cassette player around with me throughout!
A blow to the heart, by Marcel Theroux. London: Faber and Faber, 2006.
I found this remaindered recently, which presumably implies it didn't sell very well; which is a shame because it's a cracking book, despite having a huge amount of boxing content, which would normally put me off. 32-year old Daisy's husband is murdered by a stranger in the street and a young man convicted; three years later she meets the killer again after his release and finds herself haunted by a need for revenge. Parts of this book are quite shocking because Daisy transgresses so many of the norms of acceptable behaviour, but she never completely loses her humanity or capacity for empathy. The supporting characters are interesting (and in one case genuinely frightening) and well-written and it's a real page-turner. The other reason I picked this up was because I was an exact contemporary of Marcel's at college, and I'd read one of his other books, A stranger in the earth, a few years ago and enjoyed it.
The arms maker of Berlin, by Dan Fesperman [audiobook]. Read by Jeff Harding. Oxford: Isis, 2009.
I suspect that if this hadn't been read by Jeff Harding, I mightn't have carried on with it - it's pretty slow to get going, and I'm not really that much of a fan of spy thrillers. I think I'll probably crib some of the blurb from the box...
At 1am in a deserted Pennsylvania library, Nat Turnbull's cell phone rings. His former mentor Professor Gordon Wolfe has been arrested by the FBI for stealing top secret archive documents dating back to the Second World War.
Coerced by the FBI into examining the archives for them, Nat finds intriguing references both to Wolfe's curious activities in an Allied intelligence office in Switzerland during the war and to a mysterious student resistance group in Berlin known as the White Rose.
Following Wolfe's cryptic clues to Europe, Nat uncovers a wartime story of love and betrayal which is reaching out from the past to destroy the present. Now Nat is in a desperate race to unlock the truth before those who will kill to stop the secret getting out.
Despite this exciting summary, it does lag at several points and there are a couple of apparent holes in the plot; but it was an interesting enough listen during the Tour de Fleece.
Death, destruction and a packet of peanuts: a rollicking pub crawl through four years of the English Civil War, by Chris Pascoe. London: Portico, 2009.
Another remaindered one... One man's year-long quest to visit the battlefields of the English Civil War, and also all the nearby major battlefield pubs. Accompanied by his friend-cum-worst-enemy, the perpetually inebriated or hung-over Pete, call-centre employee Chris visits the Civil War sites chronologically, frequently disappointed by the lack of signage, monuments and real ales. Half John-O'Farrell-style history, half Tony-Hawks-style insane-challenge narrative; extremely funny and I know a lot more about the Civil War having read it... Pascoe is obviously a total Civil War nerd of long-standing, but able to laugh at himself for his own obsession.
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Carrie Contey, PhD is the co-founder of Slow Family Living, not to mention a super dear friend of mine. She has wise things to say about babies and children and parents too and I feel lucky to get to have her visit our "lab" of 4 children and 2 parents. It helps immensely!
Recently we were kind of struggling to understand the resident 6 year old as he made his way through the world with some big, giant emotions. Woosh! It was sometimes hard to take.
And then, something busted through. He is learning to read. And the other day? He started dancing like a madman. Truly could. Not. Stop. Himself. Tap shoes were flying and everywhere he went he was like an animated cartoon moving fast and furiously.
Today Carrie writes these wise words…
You know when your child is acting in ways that are hard to handle?
I'm talking about the times when that little growing person is doing the things that push your buttons and make you want to SCREAM (and sometimes you do)?
Well, it very often means SOMETHING'S COMING. Read more….
Our little guy is literally TAPPING his way into a bigger, brand new human experience. And I'm going to try to remember that.
Thank you Carrie Contey! You are a dream.


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On June 26th, 2013 at XVI Rooftop Lounge, Social Exposure will produce a 300 person lingerie pillow fight party with cocktails sponsored by Hammer + Sickle Vodka, featuring lingerie by Rouge Seduire and in collaboration with The Lingerie Alliance.
A sexy yet playful event meant to bring out our childlike humor; sprinkled with a tinge of naughtiness.
Invited guests MUST attend in lingerie or sleepwear to keep the theme (and photos, of course) consistent. Men and women are encouraged to bring their own pillows and at the height of the night, the pillow bashing begins with an unexpected explosion of feathers, glitter and absolute (tasteful) mayhem!
The purpose of this event is not only to fulfill every mans dream (LOL), but to encourage creative, outside-the-box interaction by forcing active networking and activity that you don't normally get to participate in. Yes, these events have a seductive side, but the main purpose is to spread a positive message of body awareness and sensuality where oftentimes in a metropolis such as New York, social pressures can take a toll on the healthy mind.
The Rooftop Lingerie Pillow Fight party will feature specialty-sponsored cocktails by Hammer+Sickle Vodka, an exceptional product, six times distilled and six times filtered. Made of 100% winter wheat, H+S Vodka is blended smoothly for refreshing summer cocktails.
Fittingly so, The Lingerie Alliance will collaborate with Social Exposure to put an official insider industry stamp on the evening. Founded by Moira Nelson and Luis Paredes, the mission of The Lingerie Alliance is to unite lingerie professionals from all aspects of the industry to elevate the industry as a whole. Alliance members range from retailers and buyers to bloggers, press, designers and even marketing professionals.
"We are thrilled to be collaborating with Social Exposure Media to bring you this year's edition of the sexy and steamy Rooftop Lingerie Pillow Fight party. We share Social Exposure's passion for uniting New Yorkers in unique ways," says Moira Nelson, co-founder of The Lingerie Alliance.
Social Exposure will also feature young and talented local designer Sharon Fan of Rouge Seduire! "My line is inspired by New York Architecture and Old Hollywood," describes Sharon. Rouge Seduire is a new line that will preview a collection with samples and models at the event.
WHAT: The Rooftop Lingerie Pillow Fight Party – in collaboration with The Lingerie Alliance
WHERE: XVI Rooftop Lounge
WHEN: June 26th, 2013
TIME: 8:00pm – 1:00 am
COST: $30 at the door
RSVP: email@example.com
COCKTAILS: 8 – 9 pm Hammer+Sickle Vodka
FB EVENT PAGE: https://www.facebook.com/events/469089753174387/?ref=22


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Thursday, June 19, 2008
The Lucifer Effect
Some readers will probably derive an analogy about the Stanford prison experiment. I'm more interested in Zimbardo's observations about the fundamental attribution error and how they relate to Wikipedia site organization. Faulty policies and processes contribute to onsite problems. Then particular disputes where those flaws play out get labeled as drama. Some Wikipedians get sucked into the minutiae of personalities and diffs while others regard it as an ethical responsibility to avoid all drama.
You may have seen the mantra. Get back to writing an encyclopedia.
Well yeah, that has its place. But when the policies themselves are flawed that doesn't do anything to fix them. We've had Wikipedians toddle along generating encyclopedic content until they encountered something or other that absolutely needed a policy level solution, and then thwack a bad policy hit the well-meaning editor upside the head like a week-old trout. From that point onward (wikisoap being in short supply) the whole situation stinks.
This ain't good. Too many of the people who have the capacity to fix policy and procedural level issues either get sucked into dramas and squeezed dry once they're there, or avoid the process side altogether.
I've got a bunch of ideas in this regard, but in order to keep things focused I'll work on one at a time.
Today's solution: a path back to good standing for sitebanned editors.
One real shortcoming in Wikipedia policies is what to do after somebody gets sitebanned. We handle returns in a piecemeal fashion, without clear guidance or guidelines. I've got a proposal for something to help straighten that out. And after floating it with a few people on various sides of the fence, it looks like a win-win situation.
1. One of the reasons English Wikipedia is such a wild and wooly place is that there isn't any clear route back to good standing after a community siteban. So some of the people who've been banned linger around the margins of the project.
2. Other Wikimedia projects complain about winding up with English Wikipedia's problem children. Actually Commons gets such people from all over, but demographics being what they are, English Wikipedia predominates.
3. Occasionally, editors who've been sitebanned from English Wikipedia can demonstrate positive reasons to have their siteban lifted if they do good work on a sister project.
Let's set up a formal cross-project mentorship system where editors in good standing on multiple projects can take an individual under their wing, as it were. Rather than wandering over to Commons with no help at all (or Simple English or Wikibooks or Wikinews, etc.), an editor who's on the outs with one project can go and seek a contact point for some other WMF project where he or she wants to contribute. The mentor would help introduce that person to the second site's policies and standards of conduct, and help guide contributions. If there are problems the mentor would be the primary point of contact (and hopefully would manage the matter himself or herself--at least providing background and helping to address the matter if the community needs to become involved). If all goes well, then after a sufficient time the mentor would open a new discussion at the original project demonstrating a good history at the second place as a reason to ease sanctions. So a siteban might become a topic ban with mentorship--something like that.
The advantage to the smaller projects of a formal program is that this would give a location where cross-project mentorships are known, and provide a reputable contact point in case concerns arise. The advantage to the larger projects is that this would offer a clear and productive route back to good standing for people who are potentially okay but just haven't worked out so far.
Obviously a few caveats are necessary: the kind of banned editor who makes violent threats is somebody I just wouldn't want anywhere. This solution is for square-pegs-in-round-holes situations and acceptance would be at the discretion of the potential mentor. Opening an unban discussion would also be at the mentor's discretion, normally in the neighborhood of 3 months if there's been good progress.
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8 comments:
- Sam Blacketer said...
I for one would welcome a more established structure by which banned editors can make their peace and return. It would lift a burden from arbcom which often finds itself deluged by appeals (some from long-time banned users, some from those who have only just been declared community banned and want to chance their arm).
At present we often find we have no way of judging whether someone will be disruptive and it seems unfair on other projects to force the potentially disruptive banned-from-Wikipedia editors on them as a test. Of course you are quite right that it benefits us to have a path to redemption for banned editors; it makes them less likely to start up a vendetta.
- Gregory Kohs said...
This all presupposes that being sitebanned is a "bad" thing for the editor in question, and that return to the forum where once banned is a "desired" thing in that editor's heart.
Some banned users are more interested in reform of the rotten governance than in "getting back to work".
Let me put it in other terms. In late 2001, Enron laid off or put on temporary leave (I believe) about 7,000 employees. How many of those still working at Enron do you think felt it was a top priority to get those workers back into the office and on the payroll again? How many of those laid off felt that returning to Enron's employ was the thing they most desired?
I'm not trying to be a troll -- just thinking you're not looking at this particular situation from the proper vantage point. Yes, the governance of the Wikimedia Foundation is as bad as it was at Enron in 2001. Why would anyone crave participation in that structure, if they knew how bad it was at the core?
- Lise Broer said...
Mr. Kohs, thank you for your comments regarding institutional corruption. I notice that your message was sent at 3:31 p.m. in your time zone. Did you take a half day's vacation and devote the middle of it to reading my blog? If so that's very flattering.
Regarding corporate decision-making, here's a question very much within your expertise. What is your opinion of the Federal Communications Commission investigation into your employer's practice of singling out peer-to-peer file-sharing traffic for slower service?
According to c|net news.com from June 4, Comcast is testing a new system to slow down service during congested time periods for certain users. The initial tests will be conducted in Pennsylvania and Virginia with plans to expand testing to Colorado. This sounds right up your alley, since you happen to be the director of marketing research for Comcast.
- Anthony said...
I think I'd go so far as to say that a break from all projects is definitely a good thing for anyone who finds themselves banned.
Of course, this requires rejecting utilitarian ethics.
- Evan said...
I think this proposal merits some consideration. A couple of comments: (1) Mr. Kohs points out that some who are unable to edit productively on English Wikipedia do not want to edit productively, but only want to reform things. In my experience, wanting to "reform" a system that an editor does not understand very well is probably not likely to result in anything useful. Also, if an editor is so confused, disruptive, or otherwise functionally-impaired that they cannot operate within the existing rules, the editor is not likely to be able to produce rational practical suggestions for improvement. (2) I have wondered about the creation of a "training wiki" that disruptive users can be sent to for mentoring, to see if they can operate in a wiki environment and produce useful content. This would eliminate the problem of "dumping" English Wikipedia problem users on the smaller projects, and allow the disruptive users to show that they have something to contribute. (3) Many problem users are not really interested in writing an encyclopedia at all, as Mr. Kohs suggests. Some are interested in projects which are more amenable to "original research", or writing material with a distinct "nonneutral point of view", and therefore Wikinews or Wikibooks or some of the other projects which have different requirements might be more suitable.
- Moulton said...
Durova writes:
"Some Wikipedians get sucked into the minutiae of personalities and diffs while others regard it as an ethical responsibility to avoid all drama."
This is an interesting and insightful observation about the extremes of a continuous axis of possible responses ranging from those who habitually engage in scandal-mongering to those who habitually engage in peace-making practices. Of course, as Durova's reference to the Fundamental Attribution Error points out, most people are generally not well-modeled by pegging them at either extremity of any given behavioral axis.
For an example of scandal-mongering (albeit not necessarily habitual), see this fascinating page from the Static Wikipedia.
For an example of an analytical model that suggests a better peace-making practice that avoids WikiDrama, see this adaptation of Girard's Model of Competiton, Conflict, and Violence. In this case, it might be necessary to migrate to the Mirth Model. Sometimes levity is the best medicine. This is probably one of those times.
Regarding the issue about finding a way for outcasts from the English Wikipedia to return to an editing role within the English Wikipedia Community, I've taken a middle ground position. I've stated that I am not interested in editing mainspace articles on the English Wikipedia unless and until the site can see its way clear to establish a more collegial and congenial operating environment, more hospitable to academics like myself and Ottava Rima.
If that Age of Comity is not soon forthcoming, then I ask for something less. I ask first of all for the English Wikipedia to give me back my good name. If it is the custom of the English Wikipedia to take away editing privileges from members of the established academic community and culture, I can accept that as a defining feature of the prevailing culture and practices of the English Wikipedia. But there is no need to take away the good name of distinguished academics like Carl Hewitt (or considerably less distinguished academics like Jon Awbrey or myself). I secondly ask the English Wikipedia to give me back the longstanding GFDL content which Toddst1 hastily and summarily deleted without just cause from my userspace subpages.
- B.C. Folloah said...
Firstly, let me just state for the record that I'm self-employed, am not affiliated with any company that opposes net-neutrality, and am not billing the time I'm using to write this commend to any of my customers...
There are, very generally speaking, three kinds of people who get "sitebanned" from WP: Spammers, haters, and people who simply believe they're right about something (or that someone else is wrong) and are unwilling to simply accept defeat. The first group (spammers) are usually banned fairly readily and should stay that way; the second (haters) are often not banned at all, though they usually should be. The third group is where most of the unfair/unjust bans come from.
The secret to winning Wikipedia: The Game is to convince others (especially admins) that someone who disagrees with you, but is otherwise relatively harmless, is actually either a spammer or hater.
These things have little to do with someone's "failure to understand the rules." They have everything to do with politics, personal alliances, refusal to compromise, wearing down opponents with ceaseless bickering, and so on.
Wikipedia can do nothing about this, at least not without external governance or professional peer review. It's endemic to the system, and this talk of "mentorship" and "contrition" is really just a waste of bandwidth, not to mention insulting to people who have clearly been wronged - at least as long as the current conditions are in place.
- Chris Watkins said...
Good proposals.


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SAN JOSE, Calif. — With Alan Gordon and Steven Lenhart back, the San Jose Earthquakes attack suddenly has a much sharper edge, which could be bad news for the Portland Timbers.
With Gordon earning his first start of 2013 and Lenhart debuting after November knee surgery, the Quakes were arguably more dangerous than they've been at any point this year in drawing 1-1 against the Vancouver Whitecaps this past Saturday.
Between Gordon's slick passing — yes, you read that right — and Lenhart's aerial work, the Quakes could have easily beaten the Whitecaps 3-1. And that's something that should concern a Portland team which will face San Jose on successive Sundays, beginning this weekend, having just lost veteran center back David Horst to injury.
WATCH: The Hangout: Week 7 Preview
Having both Gordon and Lenhart at his disposal means Quakes coach Frank Yallop doesn't have to let up against opponents. He can deploy one in the starting lineup and hold the other in reserve, or even contemplate using both at once. Last year, the Quakes averaged 2.25 goals per match in games where both men played, vs. 2.00 in other games.
Although Yallop has shown enthusiasm for playing both Gordon — who started against the Whitecaps and assisted on Chris Wondolowski's 18th-minute goal — and Lenhart together, the fact that it's artificial turf at JELD-WEN Field might give pause to using too much of Lenhart, who has battled swelling in his knee, post-surgery.
"We've got to make sure that we're managing our guys, but I think Lenny's proved that he's ready to go," Yallop said Tuesday at training. "Whether he starts or not, we'll look at all our opportunities to get these guys on the pitch and go from there."
READ: Gordon prevented from return to field: "I've never heard of that"
Where they hope to go is back to their goal-binging ways of last year. One could start to see the outline of that old team coming back into focus Saturday, when Gordon set up Wondolowski's goal with a one-touch pass, and made another delivery that could have been a goal had Wondolowski gotten a better strike on the ball.
"People just think [Gordon] is a big target guy that just bashes guys, but his ball to Wondo [in the fifth minute] was unbelievable," Yallop said. "If [Real Salt Lake playmaker Javier] Morales was doing that, we're talking about what a great ball it is. ... That's a great pass by Alan."
Lenhart, who missed San Jose's first five matches as he recovered from offseason arthroscopic surgery to repair a meniscus tear in his right knee, came on in the 69th minute against Vancouver, replacing Ramiro Corrales.
It was Lenhart's work in the air led to a shot for Mike Fucito in the 93rd minute, and his flick set up Sam Cronin for a 94th-minute, 14-yard shot that pinged the post. Lenhart also was in the mix for several of San Jose's flurry of a half-dozen corner kicks in the final 10 minutes, drawing the rapt attention of Vancouver's defense.
READ: What's next with Gordon and Lenhart back?
"Having Lenhart on the field was good for everyone involved," Yallop said. "Not just the fans, but the club, because we like Lenny. We like what he brings to the team. He brings a ton of energy. And his type of play, we feed off. He played well, too. He gave us that late surge."
With the man who coined the "Goonies" nickname for last year's Quakes team on hand, it was almost a shock that the Quakes didn't come up with another goal in second-half stoppage time — something they did nine times last year and once already this season.
"I thought we were pushing," Lenhart said. "We looked good, man. I thought we looked good, but sometimes it just doesn't happen. So we've got to keep preparing and show up next week a little tougher and a little sharper."


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Out-Law Analysis
Options for securing audit rights in financial services sub-outsourcing
Out-Law News
UK tribunal rejects application for interim rights under Electronic Communications Code
Out-Law News | 17 Oct 2011 | 1:03 pm | 3 min. read
The Court rejected claims made by US online dating company Plentyoffish Media that it was entitled to assert rights over UK-registered trade marks because it had high UK visitor numbers to its website.
Mr Justice Birss QC said that because Plentyoffish Media did not have any customers in the UK it did not own any 'goodwill' rights over UK marks owned by rival Plenty More LLP. The judge dismissed the US firms' claims that Plenty More was 'passing off' its dating service website, 'plentymorefish,com', as its belonging to it. The judge rejected Plentyoffish's claims that the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) had failed to apply UK trade mark law correctly when assessing the company's case.
"A reputation in the UK is not sufficient, customers in the UK are required and that is so whether the business provides products or services," the judge said in his ruling.
"Deciding who constitutes a UK customer from the point of view of a services business may involve tricky questions in some cases but as a matter of law in my judgment customers of some kind are required. Thus [the IPO] applied the right test when [it] sought customers (or a business) within this jurisdiction," he said.
In the UK if you can prove that your use of a trade mark has established 'goodwill' in the business associated with that trade mark, then this goodwill is protectable. Goodwill is essentially a reputation in the mark.
If another trader 'passes off' their services as being yours and appears to claim that their services are yours or that you are in some way connected or have endorsed the services, then you can take action. You can claim damages or seek an injunction to prevent that use, so long as you can show that you have or are likely to suffer damage as a result of the use.
Trade marks can be also be protected by registering the trade mark at the UK Trade Marks Registry.
A trade mark can be revoked if it is used in a way that might mislead the public "particularly as to the nature, quality or geographical origin of those goods or services", according to the Trade Marks Act.
Plentyoffish operated its own online dating service at 'plentyoffish.com' and claimed that it was the second most viewed online dating website in the UK and one of the 150 most visited sites in the country in total. This, it claimed, entitled it to 'goodwill' over its signs, according to the ruling.
The site was free to use, but the company asked visitors to sign-up as members. The company claimed that Plenty More had infringed its rights by using the trade marked sign 'plentymorefish' in a website domain for its subscription-based online dating service, which had been registered in the UK in April 2007.
Plenty More's website was confusing and caused some visitors to register with the subscription service in the mistaken belief that it was Plentyoffish's free service instead, the US company had argued, according to the ruling. Plenty More's use of 'plentymorefish' "would cause a misrepresentation and ... damage would be suffered or would be likely to arise," Plentyoffish had claimed.
Plentyoffish claimed that the visitor numbers alone meant it was entitled to goodwill rights to the sign. It said that visitors of the site could be treated as "customers" because they were "exposed" to the site's advertising and even though the dating service it provided was free. Mr Justice Birss rejected the argument and said that only members of the site could be considered as Plentyoffish's customers.
"The only class of people who could be customers of the [Plentyoffish's] business in the relevant sense were the members, the people who joined the site and used the dating services," Mr Justice Birss QC said in his ruling.
"There was no evidence that any such people existed in the UK in April 2007. [The IPO's] decision was right. The appeal will be dismissed," the judge said.
Helyn Mensah, trade mark law expert at Pinsent Masons, the law firm behind Out-Law.com, said that the ruling showed that building a UK reputation alone is not enough for foreign businesses to be able to assert trade mark rights in the country.
"The advent of the internet and the phenomenon of social media have resulted in many foreign businesses and brands achieving notoriety in this country without any actual market presence," Mensah said.
"As desirable as such fame and recognition may be it does not necessarily follow that such brands will be protected in this jurisdiction as a matter of course and it should not be assumed that this is the case," she said.
"What this High Court ruling confirms is that passing off protects custom and not trading names in general. There is a key distinction between reputation on the one hand and goodwill on the other. The key message for UK businesses is that they will not be displaced by foreign rivals laying claim to identical or similar brands unless those businesses have a prior customer base or have had the foresight to formally register relevant trade marks," Mensah said.
Out-Law Analysis
Options for securing audit rights in financial services sub-outsourcing
Out-Law News
UK tribunal rejects application for interim rights under Electronic Communications Code


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Discussion Area for Enthusiasts who practice the Ancient Art of Paperfolding
Sunburst wrote: I think that videos diagrams work well. Some people won't wan't to try something new by themselves. Rather, if they see someone doing it, they'll notice that it's not as difficult as it seems.
NeverCeaseToCrease wrote:
Also, it appears that Mariano Zavala has added the names of the models' artists to his/her videos.
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Main Content
Indiana Secretary of State Charlie White Releases Rokita ReportMove comes after Inspector General gives final 'OK' to White on report previously protected by former Secretary of State Todd Rokita.
INDIANAPOLIS (May 5, 2011) - Indiana Secretary of State Charlie White's office today released a report compiled by then Indiana Secretary of State Todd Rokita at the request of the Indiana State Democratic Party. Rokita had petitioned to have the report exempt from public record requests, and the move by White comes after final approval from the Indiana Inspector General regarding its release.
Earlier today, the Indiana Inspector General issued a report clearing Indiana Secretary of State Charlie White of any wrongdoing regarding access to the report prepared by his predecessor. Prosecutors had alleged Secretary White had wrongfully accessed the report, yet the report indicates nothing improper.
Furthermore, the Inspector General cleared the way to release the Rokita report per the request of Secretary White almost two months ago. Rokita had previously made the report inaccessible by public records request. In pushing transparency within the office, White's administration had promised to release the report pending approval from the Indiana Attorney General, the Indiana Public Access Counselor and the Indiana Inspector General. With the Inspector General being the last to sign off as of this morning, the report is being prepared for public access.
"As promised almost two months ago, we are providing the report in its entirety to allow Hoosiers an opportunity to see the facts for what they are," White spokesman AJ Feeney-Ruiz said. "We continue to push for transparency and we applaud the Inspector General for allowing us to do so."
Despite the fact that the Indiana Secretary of State does not have any formal authority to investigate or enforce vote fraud or voting laws – a role delegated to the Indiana Election Commission, county election boards and county prosecutors - the Rokita Report was conducted with no investigation beyond looking at public documents. No interviews were conducted, and then candidate Charlie White was not asked any questions or given the opportunity to respond to the allegations made by state Democrats. The report itself was prepared in a matter of weeks, did not attempt to make any determinations as to whether White violated any laws, and is inconclusive.
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Appendix 1 Documents Appendix 2 Indiana Code Statutes
Appendix 3 Cases
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- Forms.IN.gov
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Ask Marilyn: Doesn't Marijuana Smoke Harm Your Lungs, Too?
Mac Burnett of Fredericksburg, Texas, writes:
Marilyn: After years of making headway toward stamping out cigarette smoking, there now seems to be a strong movement to legalize the smoking of marijuana. Intoxicating properties aside, do any studies show that marijuana smoke is less harmful than tobacco smoke? I mean, isn't one smoke just as bad as another?
Marilyn responds:
No long-term studies answer this question because tobacco-users smoke so many more cigarettes than people who smoke marijuana. Even habitual users don't smoke the equivalent of a pack of cigarettes every day. Regardless, smoking anything is lousy for your physical health, one way or another. And with marijuana, it's even worse for your mental health.


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Graduate Council Meeting
November 10, 2011
I. The meeting was called to order at 2:00 p.m.
Voting members and alternates present were: J. Allen, G. Alter, A. Chamberlain, C. Ciampaglio, D. Cool, S. Franco, R. Grandhi, B. Gray, M. Gruys, J. Jean, M. Kaylor, M. Miller, B. Milligan, R. Ramsey, M. Raymer, L. Ream, J. Runkle, M. Schultz, E. Self, L. VandeCreek, S. Watamaniuk.
Non-voting members, alternates and other attendees were: B. Ayres, L. Caron, D. Cipollini, D. Curry,
S. Foster, E. Gilles (scribe), A. Goshtasby, C. Harris, L. Hofmeyer, M. Holland, L. Hong, A. Hsu (chair),
L. James, M. Kadakia, D. Krane, C. Loranger, V. Sethi, D. Voss, J. Warfield.
II. Approval of Minutes
It was moved and seconded that the minutes of the October 13, 2011 meeting be approved as written. Motion carried unanimously.
III. Report of the Dean (A. Hsu)
a. Graduate Open House – The Fall Open House was held last night, Nov. 9, 2011. We had 310 in attendance and received 255 applications. The attendance numbers are nearly the same as last fall, which is good since the numbers have been declining during the last few years. The number of applications increased by 34%. The Graduate School is thankful for all of the support from the graduate programs.
b. Retention Scholarships – One Graduate School initiative is to set aside a small amount of the tuition scholarship (GTS) fund for retention scholarships. Initial reviews of retention show that approximately 25-30% of students drop-out after one year. Financial difficulties are one often cited cause. In response, the Graduate School is asking graduate programs to identify students who have completed 50% of the program and who may be in danger of leaving due to financial reasons.
c. Recruitment Grants – A second initiative is an offer to help fund recruitment activities within the individual graduate programs. Faculty are the most effective recruiters for their programs. The Graduate School is offering $500 grants for recruitment activities on a first come, first serve basis. The funding source for these grants comes from a Graduate Council approved graduate admission application fee increase from $25 to $40 that went into effect July 1, 2011.
d. Marketing Plan – In addition to local radio, internet, and press, the Graduate School is conducting Search Engine Marketing (SEM). Through the Graduate School's SEM, individual graduate programs could pay for a "phrase."
IV. Report of the Assistant Dean (B. Ayres)
a. Domestic and International Partnerships – Framework agreements have been established by the Graduate School with two area universities: Wilmington College and Indiana University East. For WSU's part, these are feeder schools. For the partner universities, this is an opportunity to give their students an advantage, i.e. pre-approval of transfer credits, savings in time and money. The Graduate School is looking for WSU programs that are interested in these partnerships at a program to program level and will help schedule these meetings between the two universities.
V. Committee Reports
a. Policies Committee (G. Alter)
1. Tuition Remission - The Policies Committee reviewed the Graduate School policy 2.23 – tuition remission. There was a question about the policy's flexibility in regard to assistantships; with additional information, the committee agreed that the policy does provide flexibility and does not need revision.
2. Approval procedure for major & minor changes in course modifications – The Policies Committee reviewed the Graduate Council policy 3.20 – Procedures for Course Changes – to define major and minor changes. At the previous Graduate Council meeting, an amendment to this policy regarding temporary authority for minor changes was approved. After consultation with both curriculum committees, a list of major changes and a list of minor changes were drafted. Approval of minor changes would by-pass the curriculum committees and would be approved by the Dean of the Graduate School; approval of major changes would be handled by the appropriate curriculum committee. With this decision made, the committee now felt that the previously approved amendment on temporary authority was redundant and suggested that it be deleted. On behalf of the Policies Committee, G. Alter moved to delete the previously approved amendment regarding temporary authority for minor changes and to approve the amendment to policy 3.23 regarding the approval procedure for major and minor course changes. After discussion, M. Raymer moved to make an amendment to the original motion to include "credit hours" as a major change. The motion was seconded. Discussion continued. A. Hsu called for a vote. All in favor. Motion passed. The discussion returned to the original motion from the Policies Committee. It was suggested that the language "major" and "minor" changes might be confusing and "substantive" and "administrative" changes might be better. L. VandeCreek moved for an amendment to the policy language to change from major/minor to substantive/administrative. The motion was seconded. A.Hsu called for a vote. All in favor but one. Motion passed. Again, the discussion returned to the original motion made by the Policies Committee. With no further discussion, A. Hsu called for a vote to approve the amendments and the deletion to policy 3.23. All in favor. The policy was approved as amended.
3. Plagiarism – The Policies Committee also discussed the issue of plagiarism. The members felt that it is probably better handled at the program level than at the Graduate School level. The university currently offers courses and workshops about plagiarism. It was also noted that there are several policies in place already: Graduate School Policies and Procedures Manual 6.39 and 6.84, Thesis/dissertation handbook (section 2), and the Student Code of Conduct (section 10). The Policies Committee did not reach a decision about the need for an additional policy and recommended that the Graduate Council have another discussion.
Discussion: Grad Council members made the following suggestions and asked that the Policies Committee re-visit the issue at their next meeting: (1) request that language be added to the Student Code of Conduct that is specific to graduate students and include a range of sanctions for plagiarism, (2) programs that recognize plagiarism should report findings to the judicial department, (3) review Ohio University's situation with plagiarism, and (4) invite Gary Dickstein, Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs and Director of Community Standards and Student Conduct, to the next Policies meeting.
b. Membership Committee (B. Gray)
The Graduate School Dean approved 5 new graduate faculty members. The Membership Committee is currently reviewing three of the seven "tabled" membership nominations from their previous meeting and will report at next GC meeting.
c. Curriculum Committee A (L. Ream)
The Curriculum Committee A reviewed the following item:
1. Program Proposal for Post-Masters Certificate Programs, College of Nursing and Health - This proposal would add the post masters certificate option for the following concentrations: Pediatric Clinical Nurse Specialist, Primary Care Pediatric Nurse Practitioner, Adult Clinical Nurse Specialist, Acute Care Nurse Practitioner, and Community Health Clinical Nurse Specialist. The committee noted that the program falls within the acceptable number of credit hours for a certificate program. On behalf of the Curriculum Committee A, L.Ream moved to approve the post-masters certificate programs in the College of Nursing and Health. Discussion: None. A.Hsu called for a vote. All in favor. Motion passed.
d. Curriculum Committee B (C. Loranger)
1. Course Modifications – The Curriculum Committee B reviewed the following course modifications: URS 6970, URS 7010, URS 7020, URS 7040, URS 7050, URS 7060, URS 7090, and MPA Academic Program Semester Program Modification. On behalf of the Curriculum Committee B, C. Loranger moved to approve the course modifications as written (with one small change in the student record title for URS 6970). Discussion: none. A. Hsu called for a vote. All in favor. Motion passed.
e. Joint Curriculum Committees (A. Hsu)
1. Cyber Security Program Development Plan (PDP) – A similar PDP was considered a couple of years ago and then re-considered last year. An updated version was reviewed in a special meeting of both curriculum committees earlier this week. Both members of CECS and SOPP attested that there is significant need and interest in the community for this program. CECS stated that they have faculty who are specialized in this area and that there are local jobs available for the future graduates. Even with AFIT offering similar programs, there is enough demand and interest to support a program at WSU. On behalf of Curriculum Committees A and B, L.Ream moved to approve the Cyber Security PDP. Discussion: None. A.Hsu called for a vote. All in favor. Motion passed.
f. Student Affairs Committee (M. Kadakia for C. Brun)
1. Graduate Council Scholars - As requested at the October Grad Council meeting, the Student Affairs Committee re-visited the application deadlines for the second call for the Graduate Council Scholars and recommends the following: The second call for nominations will have a March 15 deadline. The committee will select two Scholars by April 1. (The first call for nominations will go out in December with a Jan. 15, 2012 deadline. The committee will select two Scholars from this pool by Feb. 1.)
2. Graduate Student Dialogue – Just a reminder to consider being a sponsor.
3. Alumni Graduate Awards – Nominations are due to the Graduate School by Nov. 14.
VI. Research (E. Reinsch-Friese)
(No State Share of Instructional (SSI) distribution is included because these funds have disappeared)
Slide 1 - WSU Cumulative Grant and Contract Awards - comparison with previous three fiscal years shows positive trend.
Slide 2 – Awards by Major Funding Source FY11 vs. FY10– most of our funding comes from federal agencies ($52 million)
Slide 3 – Awards by Major Funding Source FY11 – pie chart shows 60.8% from federal agencies
Slide 4 – Awards by Campus Area FY11 vs. FY 10 – Student Services has the most awards (this includes financial aid, Ohio Link, and WSRI)
Slide 5 – Awards by Campus Area – pie chart shows 36.2% from Student Services
Slide 6 – Awards by Type of Activity FY11 vs. FY10 – Research award amount decreased
Slide 7 – 10 Years of Funding (2001-2011) – In 2001-02, 537 awards at $41 million; in 2010-11, 600 awards at $86 million.
Slide 8 – WSU Cumulative Grant and Contract Awards – graph that shows where we are so far in FY12 (above $50 million which is better than FY09, FY10, and FY11 at this same point in time – Oct. 31)
Slide 9 – RSP Website Updates – New guidance for (1) Data Retention and Ownership Policy,
(2) Principal Investigator Eligibility, and (3) Principal Investigator-Project Director Responsibilities
Slide 10 – Upcoming Workshops – (1) Introduction to Responsible Conduct of Research 1/10/12, noon, (2) Research Misconduct, 1/12/12, noon and (3) Proposal Writing Workshop 4/4/12, presenter: Dr. Robert Lucas, limited to 25 attendees.
Slide 11 – RSP Software Implementation – InfoEd replacing FileMaker database. Will start using electronic routing (no more red routing folders)
VII. Graduate Student Assembly (L. Hofmeyer)
Lindsey Hofmeyer introduced herself as the new Student Government representative for the Graduate School. Representing the Graduate Student Assembly (GSA), she announced that the request for proposals for the 2011-2012 Graduate Student Assembly Grant programs was emailed on Monday. The first application deadline is January 3, 2012. There have been 530 hits on the GSA website already.
Any graduate student, or professional student enrolled in the Boonshoft School of Medicine or the School of Professional Psychology, who is registered for at least one credit hour, is eligible to apply for one or both grants. GSA supports two grants: an Original Work Grant and a Professional Development Grant. The Original Work Grant is intended to support research conducted by WSU graduate students. The Professional Development Grant is intended to help students enhance their graduate-level education through participation in conferences, seminars, and workshops as well as other activities related to furthering the students' careers.
At the request of Graduate Council, the request for proposals will be emailed to all members after the meeting.
VIII. Unfinished Business
IX. New Business
X. Discussion
XI. The meeting was adjourned at 3:30 p.m.


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You should look out for:
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The average cost to replace a water heater is around $800, but you could end up paying more if the water heater leaks or bursts.
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text:
Another big thing in my life is the arrival of my 3rd baby! Eeh em, I am thrilled to announce the arrival of my 3rd baby - first cookbook: Japanese Home Cooks, will hit the bookstores in April 2012. It is a bilingual (Chinese and English) cookbook with 65 healthy and easy Japanese home-cook recipes, worth to mention is that all ingredients called for are available outside Japan.
It took me over two years from the conceived of idea to finalising the proof for printing. I must say it was not easy for me having had to juggle cookbook (cooking, photo shooting and writing up recipes), house chores and looking after two demanding children - an infant (he is now 2y5m) and a toddler (he is now 4y1m). Many times, my model or prop went missing in the middle of shooting or extra hands appeared in the frame. No matter how, I thank my family members for being supportive in their own and unique way.
Y3K Cookbook Volume No.33
Title: Japanese Home Cooks (65 recipes, 138 pages)
Author: Lydia Fujikawa
First published in April, 2012
Retail price:
RM22 (West Malaysia)
RM25 (Sabah/ Sarawak)
$15 (S'pore/ Brunei)
Mail order:
RM26 (Malaysia)
$21 (Singapore/ Brunei)


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It's a new twist on the River Phoenix classic "Running on Empty"!
Robert Redford and Shia LaBeouf will co-star in an adaptation of Neil Gordon's "The Company You Keep," about a '60s radical with the Weather Underground who starts a new life for himself after one of his adventures accidentally kills man. When his true identity is uncovered, he must once again go on the run.
"This is an edge-of-your-seat thriller about real Americans who stood for their beliefs, thinking they were patriots and defending their country's ideals against their government." said Voltage producer Nicolas Chartier in a press release announcing the film. "It is absolutely amazing to have Shia LaBeouf, arguably the brightest young star in Hollywood today paired with the global icon Robert Redford."
U.S. & World
Redford will also direct, working with a script by Lem Dobbs, who most famously wrote "The Limey," and recently re-teamed with Steven Soderbergh for for the black-ops revenge epic "Haywire."
If you were one of the unlucky few who sat through Redford's last directorial effort, "The Conspirator," this has to make you nervous, as Redford's earnest super-lefty streak can often bring out the worst in him as an artists. But Dobbs wrote one of our favorite films of the '90, so they've got our attention.


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Moderator: Tournament Directors
lackattack wrote:Random Map is back online!
It will no longer select maps when there are more players than what the map allows.
If you have a game that got screwed up from that bug please contact Tech Support via the Help page.
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