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I do a lot of online shopping and, once in a while an item is either not available in Canada or A LOT cheaper in the U.S. — even Canadian goods! At first I thought I couldn't benefit from those deals because I did not have a U.S. shipping address to send it to. But then a colleague told me about this place called "The Letter Carrier": it's like a little warehouse where you can have your stuff sent to for a very small fee at this address (check the website for fees and restrictions):
[YOUR NAME] [YOUR PHONE NUMBER] 145 Tyee Drive Point Roberts, Wa 98281
It's conveniently located walking distance across the border on the U.S. side. Even me who doesn't own a car can get there easily enough with transit, albeit more slowly. I live downtown and it takes me about 1.5 hours to get there (it's just past Tsawwassen). The best part of going there by transit is that I can just step off the bus about a 10 minute walk from the border and walk across almost instantly (my reward for getting the slow ride there ;) ). But even with a car, the wait time can't be that long as Point Roberts is a tiny community surrounded by water and, if you have no business there, you shouldn't be at that border crossing to begin with.
I have now used this service a couple of times and it's great! You can register your email on their website so you'll get notified right away when your package arrives. You can also send your mail from there too, of course. There are probably other similar places around other border crossings, but this is the most convenient one for me. If you don't have family, friends or an existing postal box near the U.S. border, try it! You're gonna love it. :)


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I decided to jump on the giveaway bandwagon that is so contagious :)
One of the first blogs I started to follow was Jodi's blog (before it was Pleasant Home.) Well she had a brilliant idea to host a scrappy quilt along... Yeah, like I need another UFO but hey, life's too short to not have UFO's! So head on over to Jodi's if you want to join in the Scrap Along goodness:
Leave me a comment on this post. Make it interesting for my benefit :) Tell me what your favorite Thanksgiving dish is. Is it the deep fried turkey? The pecan pie? The stuffing? Do tell and you will be entered to win an a large envelope or box (depends on which I have at home!) stuffed with scraps from my scrappy stash! Sorry but this one is for Continental US residents only. I'll pick a winner 11/15 sometime noon-ish
oooh what do you see?
I keep my scraps in 8 different canvas bins ($2 on clearance at Walmart) sorted by "like colors." Just earlier today I ran off to Target to buy one of these cube organizers. I asked Mr. PD to build me one of these and he thought the cost would be about the same soooo... since I wanted it NOW! I ran off to Target with his blessing! :)
...and since you're here make sure you go and check out my other blog:
for all things Quilty Giveaway-ish. Don't forget to click the "follow" button over there!
~ Norma

subset: commoncrawl


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Here's a curious one... years ago I remember doing a painting for a Fiji tape magazine ad. I've long since lost the printed art, lost track of the original art too. All I had was the layout with four different color choices. The idea was a venus fly trap snapping a butterfly:
After ten years of looking I gave up looking for it. Yesterday, poking around some old moldy bristol board, I came across a copy of the printed ad too! So here's what was printed, just for the hell of it. I bet few people even caught this one:
I've got a new accomplice in prod me into post once a week. The words are all mine, but anyone who can motivate my ass into a post is a friend indeed! Thanks HG.
Been scanning The Art Of Sam Kieth book this month and last, finally will have all the files to IDW by end of the year.... published sometime in early 2011. In case you missed it, here's the 'Three Stage of Sketchbooks'...
Amazing how much crap I've piled up over the years. We'll probably have to add a whole new chapter at the end, just to cover what's piled up SINCE we first announced! Blame my perfectionism for the delay, not IDW, okay?
Here's some more photos of the mess of pages on my studio floor. Okay, look for FUTURE updates Tuesday morning.


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new building in Barendrecht
|NES Vastgoed BV
|Gert Jan Knevel
|project team:
|Rob Dekker, Bas van Berkum, Wieshant Manna
|Knevel Architecten BV
|Riga 10, Barendrecht
|plot size:
|7.400 m²
|floor area:
|6.200 m²
|start design:
|September 2013
|start construction:
|February 2015
|January 2016
Knevel Architecten has designed a new office building with warehouse space for Nedelko and CTS Netherlands in a prominent location in Barendrecht. The project has a gross floor area of more than 6000 m².
The proposed building is constructed from a combination of two volumes: the warehouse section is on the Riga access road while the office section is orientated towards the motorway.
The entrance to the office is at a height of approximately 2.8 m and is level with a raised forecourt that reconnects with the surrounding ground level via the slightly sloping parking area. The spatial development of the forecourt continues via the entrance into the showroom. The showroom runs parallel to the motorway and consists of a series of platforms that increase in height and lead to meeting rooms on the first floor.
All the functional facilities such as stairs and lifts, toilets, pantries and cupboards have been grouped together in the so-called programme-based core. These form the backbone of the building both on the floor plans and on the sectional drawing. Movement across the floors takes place around the core. The office spaces and the showroom will allow a flexible layout.
Above the showroom, there are three floors of offices with boardrooms on the top floor. All functional facilities - vertical orientation, toilets, pantries en storage - are designed together in a programmatic core. This core is the backbone of the building, around which the horizontal movement will occur. This creates the opportunity for multiple layouts of the office floors and showroom.
NES Vastgoed asked Knevel Architecten to design an office with a showroom and warehouse along the A29 in Barendrecht.


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Federal Law Protection on pre-1972 Recorded Music Masters in the United States?
I have read that the US Copyright Office is asking for opinions on the subject of Federal Law protection for recorded music masters. While this may just result in copyright owners lobbying trying to just a way for further copyright extensions, I thought to express some ideas about it.
I am a copyright owner myself, both of musical compositions and recorded masters.
First of all, I will never fully understand why in the American system it is allowed that for a banal mistake (forgetting to write "©" and the correct year in the credits, or similar issues) a 1968 or even 1998 can fall entirely out of copyright protection, while according to the results of the Capitol v. Naxos case, some pre-1972 recorded masters that originated outside USA, despite entirely public domain in the country of origin, may have a "common law" protection in the US and hence be protected eternally. Technically, under this presumed "common law" protection, even Edison Records's early audio recordings (the oldest dating back to 1888) would still be protected (no other work made in 1888 is protected in the US: actually anything pre-1923 already fell into the Public Domain). Edison, luckily, falls out of this because the masters were acquired by a state agency: being the property of the US Government, they entered the Public Domain, just like the NASA picture of an astronaut or a photo taken by a soldier while in service.
Again, many movies have fallen into the Public Domain because of not being properly registered with the Copyright Office and issued before 1976. Since this applies to extremely popular works such as horror movie "Night of the Living Dead" and adult movie "Deep Throat", I don't see what would be so scandalous if it also applied to a Beatles album from the 1960s.
I have just read that the Copyright Office is accepting proposals about the introduction of Federal Law for pre-1972 music recordings. In the US law there has been a gap for a long time: since Federal Law protection never existed until 1972 for recorded music masters, you can easily see how many musical milestones (which are also the basis of some music majors' businesses) would have gone entirely unprotected in America – namely the whole discography of the Beatles and a large chunk of discographies by the Rolling Stones, to make the most evident examples.
The infamous "Sonny Bono Copyright Extension" law of 1998 was basically drawn more by the movie industry than by other sectors of copyright owners.
Mostly, Disney needed protection on Mickey Mouse (it is still debated anyway what was the first published output incorporating Mickey Mouse; and since some of those were released without Copyright notice, Mickey Mouse itself – as a character – might still already be in the public domain, whatever Sonny Bono and friends did to the US legal system to save Disney properties).
In 2006, United Kingdom decided to confirm 50 years as a term for sound recordings to enter public domain: early Beatles recordings will start expiring January 1, 2012. This seems fair.
There are three points in the American copyright law that could be attacked relatively easily in my opinion:
1) it is unfair for someone who produced a recording prior to 1972 to enjoy a longer term of protection just because this "exception" set up the 2067 date without regard to the year in which the recording was made. This could mean that something recorded in 1930 would last 137 years, more than 40 years longer than something recorded in 2000 (95
years of protection).
2) the exception applies to foreign recordings too: an italian recording made in 1955 is now in the public domain in Italy or UK and I think all of Europe. The same identical recording could be claimed as "copyrighted" in the US since in the american territories the 95 year term applies and in this case the year 2067 term (!) since we are talking of a pre-1972 recording.
3) how do you consider a remastered 50+ years old recording that originated in the US and was remastered in Europe after the 50 years term expired, and then rereleased on cd and even exported to America?
– If you just consider the European term, the master is public domain and anyone can reprint or remaster that without licensing the sound recording (but probably licensing the compositions and paying for mechanical rights)
– If you consider the Sonny Bono exception, shouldn't this be considered as a foreign product that of course has to be "protected" for 95 years, but it happens that the new copyright is controlled by the European company who produced the remaster?
The 2005 Capitol v. Naxos case has enough ground for a Supreme Court case. First of all, can "common law" be applied to Intellectual Property at all?
A song, a book, a poem, and so on are not like a material good. You can pass on a house to your heirs through the centuries. It is physical. In Europe, some ancient buildings, castles, palaces and so on have been in the hands of the same families for several centuries.
But we are not paying royalties to the (how many?) descendants of Dante Alighieri for his "Inferno". Nor anyone is paying royalties to the eventual descendants of those who wrote sacred texts included in the Bible. If you apply that "common law" principle to Intellectual Property, be prepared to pay some person in Israel next time you print a Bible.
Second, let's admit "common law" covers Capitol's rights on recordings that are in the Public Domain elsewhere. Naxos is not based in US. In another country, in which the original masters are now in the Public Domain, Naxos created their own remaster. A remaster requires work: recovering a copy of the original (from tapes, 78 RPM vinyls or other media), cleaning, restoration, and so on.
Remasters are generally new copyrights. Record labels and movie producers often remaster and edit their materials; sometimes to create a better, cleaner version of some artist's discography; some other time, for simple copyright purposes. Otherwise, certain operations conducted by Disney (adding new dubbing and soundtrack to some movies, even drawing new material into a classic movie like Pinocchio) would really have no "artistic" justification.
But if a remaster is copyrighted – even if just outside the USA – if the US don't enforce these new copyrights coming from abroad, aren't they in open violation of GATT/WTO principles and particularly the TRIPS (Trade-Related Aspects of Intellecual Property Rights) Agreement of 1994?
In other words, by saving the (weak) rights of the owners of old master recordings by means of "Common Law" of dubious application, the USA – after Capitol v. Naxos – is openly not respecting foreign copyrights on remasters.
Third, Capitol never owned those recordings in the first place, but just a license to release them in the US; they originated in UK on the Gramophone label which is part of EMI UK. If the original copyright doesn't exist anymore, how can I still be the licensee for it?
I don't know in which direction the Copyright Office might be working now, and I imagine many other suggestions and proposals will be coming in at the moment. I can imagine a lot of RIAA action and pressure also and in very creative ways. I remember Jack Valenti's crazy idea from some years ago about copyright lasting "Forever minus one day" (since "forever" was not usable in the American law wording). I expect such type of display of creativity in this case too.
The request to extend terms to send opinions to the Copyright Office, also means their lawyers are at work (and they are late as usual).
But whatever the intention is, I think the US law should be reworked to get rid of elements of confusion such as the outcome of Capitol v. Naxos. If Federal Law has to be brought in for recorded masters made before 1972, this has has to result in shorter terms compared to those in use now not in further extensions that are negative both for creativity and for the business. In Europe, the very same label group that brought Capitol v. Naxos (EMI) through the subsidiary Disky released Elvis Presley and other 50+ years old recorded masters they never owned, because master recording copyrights have expired in Europe. They also sell these in the USA as imports in places like Amazon.
Basically, if Sonny Bono's purpose ended being "you cannot do to Disney what Disney did to Collodi, Andersen and the Brothers Grimm", the message of Capitol v. Naxos is "don't do to EMI in USA what EMI is already doing to everyone else in Europe".
In other words, with regard to Recorded Music Masters, Federal Law pre-emption will only be a good thing if:
– pre-1972 works not registered with the Copyright Office or published before 1989 but released without a (P) notice fall automatically in the public domain as recorded masters. After all, none of them could be copyrighted in the old system and certainly they could not be renewed on time before 1972, too.
– Common Law is kept out of scope.
– GATT/TRIPS principles are enforced and foreign Copyright on remasters too, hence removing the injustice perpetrated through Capitol v. Naxos.
The Founding Fathers never wanted an eternal copyright. In a world in which the request for a new vision in this area, more rights for the consumers and also more creative freedom for the artists (in regards to incorporating/rearranging elements of old works, orphan works and similar) are so high, a further extension of copyrights to a Federal level, without serious limitations, would basically result in just protecting the interests of a dying industry: the major beneficiary of such an extension – just like the major beneficiary of Capitol v. Naxos – would be the EMI group, through their control on Beatles' masters. And – without any changes in their property and financial assets – EMI is a company that will be probably bankrupt within the first months of the current year.
Nicola Battista, journalist, music producer, author, Intellectual Property Consultant
Pescara, Italy, January 13, 2011.
(Document submitted electronically to the US Copyright Office in response to the "Notice of Inquiry requesting public input on the desirability and means of bringing sound recordings fixed before February 15, 1972 under Federal jurisdiction"; partially based on a message posted in 2006 onto the Rumori Mailing List)


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Love this quote:
I honestly believe Mozilla is committed to freedom and privacy on the web. Google is committed to making money and knowing everything I do. Firefox greets me with a page explaining my rights as a user of open source software. Chrome greets me with… sigh… Chrome greets me with a fucking advertisement for a Chromebook.
Cameron Paul on Why I'm Switching (Back) to Firefox
If you're running Windows, Mac, Linux and haven't used Firefox for a while, it's time to switch back. And if you have an Android-powered phone, you definitely should check out the best mobile browser, bar none: Firefox for Android.


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Read the full story here Web Link posted Wednesday, October 7, 2009, 11:58 AM
Town Square
Las Lomitas trustee resigns
Original post made on Oct 7, 2009
Read the full story here Web Link posted Wednesday, October 7, 2009, 11:58 AM
Comments (25)
a resident of Menlo Park: Sharon Heights
on Oct 7, 2009 at 4:53 pm
In a statement read today, it became clear that Mr. Bailard resigned as a result of a letter writing campaign executed by the teachers of the Las Lomitas School District. In the letter campaign, each of the School Board members received letters sent to their homes from teachers who want the School Board to approve their pay contract. Evidently some of the content of the letters was both personal enough and inappropriate enough, that Mr. Bailard resigned immediately.
I am deeply saddened that he and his family have had to go through this. David has been a thoughtful, deliberate and tireless volunteer in the Las Lomitas School District for years. The same can be said of the other volunteers on the School Board.
As a taxpayer, parent and school volunteer, these divisive and mean tactics do not endear me to the cause of the LLESD teachers.
Evidently these same teachers are seeking salary increases in a year when our small district faces the loss of funds due to the Lehman Brothers crash, paying over $700,000 in "fair share" monies back to the state, and increasing district enrollment. It appears that any raises will have to be funded from reserves - in other words, - the district will need to deficit spend.
Along with many other parents, I am surprised and disgusted by the actions our teachers have chosen to take in our small community.
a resident of Menlo Park: University Heights
on Oct 7, 2009 at 11:25 pm
I agree with "anonymous" and want to add that Dave AND his wife have tirelessly volunteered their time and energy to our schools for many years.
I considered Dave to be one of the leaders on the board and who was the only board member who really understood the school budget and could simplify complex concepts that, quite frankly, very few of the other board members understand. Although we appreciate the other volunteers on the board, Dave is a real loss.
As for the teachers, as a parent, I believe they do a great job educating our children. However, much of what makes our teachers successful is the incredible support the entire parent community provides. Very few school districts receive discretionary funds from their foundations, but ours does. Fortunately, we have very generous parents, who have contributed funds totaling between $1-$1.5 million per year the last few years. Raising these much-needed funds is difficult, especially in this economic climate. The parents deserve a huge amount of gratitude from the teachers and the staff.
Our PTAs have supported the individual campuses and raised funds to provide the extra perks, such as field trips for our kids. Our classrooms have not really felt the pinch because the PTAs and Foundation have worked very nicely together to give our teachers and students the best.
One other perk that our teachers receive, if they have children, is that their children have the opportunity to attend the two schools in one of California's best school districts-- ours. There are about 18 children who fall under this category. That means taxpayers in the Las Lomitas school district are paying about $250,000 for kids who do not live in our school district to attend Las Lomitas and La Entrada. This perk is one that our parents are more than happy to provide our teachers, along with compensating them at one of the highest salary levels in the area and in California. However, this all seems to be overlooked by the teachers right now, especially in light of a recent letter to the editor by a district parent, who does not live in the district, is the husband of a Las Lomitas teacher, and has three children attending Las Lomitas and La Entrada.
I hope the teachers realize that there really aren't too many other school districts in the state like Las Lomitas. Our district has an ideal work environment and provides the volunteer and financial support that help students succeed. If the teachers are not happy in our district, then perhaps, they should look for greener pastures.
a resident of La Entrada School
on Oct 8, 2009 at 10:30 am
Just look at the Las Lomitas School District. It has weathered many recent crises like the Lehman Brothers loss, the reduction in state funding, increased enrollment, lower growth in property tax funding, among others. Students have not seen class sizes increase, nor have they lost elective choices or programs like music and art, especially in the higher grades. The commitment of parents to the success of the district is evident in the huge number of volunteer hours, the well-over 80% participation on the Foundation's annual fundraising campaign in 2008/9 resulting, along with the auction, in a $1.4 million gift to the district. There are also the countless donations made to classrooms because of teacher "wish lists". The teachers are amongst the best paid in the area and have done a stellar job in educating the students evidenced by the outstanding recent API achievements.
The school board has been instrumental in helping the district be so fortunate. Dave Bailard can be singled out as a key figure in managing the district's financial stability which has allowed for such smooth sailing. If teacher salary increases need to come out of reserves and place the district in deficit spending mode, it could jeopardize the long-term stability of the schools.
There are many uncertainties on the horizon such as whether or not the state will come after basic aid schools again like they did a few years ago, whether or not basic aid schools will need to share more of the pain suffered by decreased spending in revenue limit schools, whether or not property tax revenue will level off or even decline, whether or not enrollment increases to the point where properties currently generating rental income will need to be used instead to house district students, or even if, with increased enrollment, whether or not the district can hire more teachers to keep low class sizes and electives. To manage these eventualities, the trustees have opted to make sure the district has reserves that can help cushion some of these effects. The goal is to make sure that all students in the district continue to receive a stellar education. It would not be good to expose the district to a bust scenario where hurtful cuts would need to be made to school programs and activities because reserves were used to pay for salary increases in times of economic recession.
Perhaps if the teachers took the time to review the district finances (instead of walking out of district board meetings whenever financial matters are discussed), an understanding of the district's offer could ensue. Surely, it is an offer based on the prudent management of the district's finances, not out of disrespect for the teachers. It would be more disrespectful to teachers and to the entire community, including students and parents, to expose the district to deficit spending and its consequences (let the state of California be your best example!)
Please stop the negative campaign tactics that have resulted in the resignation from the school board of a pillar of our community. Dave Bailard and his wife have been tremendous assets to the district, serving countless hours for zero pay and zero perks. How unfortunate it is that teachers think it OK to send letters that were both personal and inappropriate to board members.
Parents should support the school board's prudent management of the district and urge teachers to stop this damaging campaign.
a resident of Menlo Park: Sharon Heights
on Oct 8, 2009 at 12:20 pm
Teachers are generally underpaid. Las Lomitas spent money not too long ago on new building construction that was not needed. The expenditures should focus on the classroom and on the teachers. The myth of excellence of the district covers and obscures real problems in financial management. People can quit in a huff of discouragement but those who fight on in tough times are the ones to admire most.
a resident of Menlo Park: Sharon Heights
on Oct 8, 2009 at 12:57 pm
I have known Dave and his wife for many, many years. Both are tireless advocates for our children and schools. This is a sad, dark day for the district, and a disappointing reflection on our teachers. These "educators" are suppose to be role models for our children? How disappointing.
a resident of La Entrada School
on Oct 8, 2009 at 4:50 pm
It is quite likely that we, the Las Lomitas community is to blame for this era of teacher entitlement. Look at what our volunteer parent community has contributed in the past ten years:
- State grab for money from Basic Aid? We mobilized and shot it down.
- Parcel tax increase? We campaigned and got it passed so we could afford smaller class sizes. We also worked to renew the increased tax.
- Bond acts for new classrooms, science labs, gym? We worked long hours to pass them and pay for them yearly through our property taxes. (Yet we have to fight our PE teachers and administrators for access to the gym that was paid for by OUR tax dollars!)
- Budget shortfalls? We filled them with ever increasing donations to our Foundation. (Over $1M per year for at least the last 6 years that I can remember.)
- Laptop carts, computers, smart boards, playground equipment needed? We raised the money and bought what was needed.
- PTA insurance no longer covering after school activities? We started the all volunteer Las Lomitas League to run all sports and classes.
- State funding decreased for libraries? Both PTAs started programs to directly benefit our libraries.
- No money for field trips? Again, the PTA stepped up to fill the gap with parent donations.
Are you getting the picture? In short, whenever our schools have asked, this community has risen to the occasion.
Well this is one instance where I can truly say this donor is tired. Tired of giving without thanks, tired of teachers not meeting us halfway, tired of the lack of recognition that is takes a community to make these programs happen for our kids. Through our generosity, we have created a group of spoiled teachers. That they would then turn and implement the type of campaign that they have against our school board (who are also unpaid volunteers!) hurts more than they know.
This recession has hit our family much more than it has hit our teachers and administrators. I cannot remember when they last got a salary cut, or even a lack of a raise. There have been threats, but based on the luxury cars I see in our teacher parking lots, they appear to have weathered this storm just fine. During the deepest recession in recent history we have not cut a single teaching job - not one. I am offended at their asking for more under these circumstances. Therefore this family will be shutting our thin wallets and devoting our valuable volunteer time elsewhere until a dose of reality can been seen from the LLESD teachers and their union.
a resident of La Entrada School
on Oct 8, 2009 at 7:18 pm
It's a very sad day for public education when someone as wise, rational, dedicated and intelligent as Dave Bailard is targeted by a teachers' misguided letter campaign, resulting in his resignation. The number of unpaid hours Dave has put in during the last decade for the schools is unbelievable. He started with the Foundation, creating its first database and providing great business analysis that set it off on its path to success in funding so much of what makes the Las Lomitas schools stellar. He has guided the School Board with patient and analytical business sense through many, many years of economic ups and downs. Again, all unpaid hours just trying to make education better for our children and to give education in this District a solid financial basis.
I understand that our teachers, all of whom I admire greatly for their teaching ability, but not for their understanding of some real financial basics here, make at least 20% more, on average, than teachers at other similar school districts in our area, including the Menlo Park School District. I admire the fact that our School Board has not agreed to a teacher contract that would give the teachers raises out of District reserves in these difficult economic times for many parents, and with such severe uncertainty in the future about State budget cuts.
Having volunteered, donated and supported our schools and teachers for years, this whole situation makes me incredibly sad.
a resident of Las Lomitas School
on Oct 8, 2009 at 11:30 pm
I also want to extend my gratitude to Dave and his wife for their incredibly generous donations of time and money to our school district. It is so incredibly sad that the Union chose a mass letter writing program -- a harsh campaign tactic perhaps suited to huge metropolitan districts where there is chronic tension between school boards, teachers, and administrators, but completely inappropriate for our little district. This is my first experience of significant discord between the different parties that work together to make our district the great place it is, and it's a shock.
The other board members received similar letters, and I offer them support as well. They may not be appreciated by the teachers, but they are appreciated by the parents! They've been doing an excellent job guiding our district through these hard times, and they know how foolish it would be to commit to higher salaries, to be paid out of reserves, when the near future of the economy (and the state) is so uncertain.
I hope that the teachers' actions don't cause a decline in parent generosity. Perhaps they've forgotten that it's the additional funding donated by parents that has kept the schools in such good shape. They may think they're asking the Board for a raise, but that money would come from funds donated by parents to make up for what state and local revenues don't supply. If the pay raise goes through, I'm sure parents would be asked (again) to increase their donations to LLEF. If LLEF fundraising is less successful, the school district would probably have to lay off teachers and cut programs. How many teachers are selfish enough to chose a bigger salary at the cost of some of their peers losing their jobs?
Parents often discuss how insulated our children are from "real life". Now I'm wondering if the teachers are suffering from that insulation as well. Don't they know what it's like for most teachers across the state? They're not in a power position: with all the advantages of the Las Lomitas district, including the current higher than average salaries, it would be no problem to replace teachers who are foolish enough to quit because they didn't get another raise -- during a recession! A number of the peninsula's laid off teachers are looking for work on local nanny job boards. Certainly there aren't many equivalent spots available at other schools, no matter how good a resume looks with Las Lomitas experience on it.
In the 5 years we've had kids in the district, our family has donated tens of thousands of dollars, to LLEF and directly to the schools to fund class projects, field trip fees and bus expenses, classroom books and supplies, library improvements, and other teacher requests. We're not likely to maintain our giving if we know we're supporting teacher raises instead of school programs. Just like the little neighborhood off the Alameda wanting to move into our district, the teachers are asking for too much at the wrong time. I think it's great that the district is already able to pay higher salaries to our wonderful teachers, and I think teachers are undervalued in our economy. But it's stupid to push for more money in the current economy. Talk about killing the goose who lays the golden eggs!
a resident of La Entrada School
on Oct 9, 2009 at 12:27 pm
I am also deeply saddened to hear of Dave Bailard's resignation from the LLESD Board. Over the years, I have seen Dave at many school events, not only as a school board representative but also as a caring and dedicated volunteer and parent. I have only seen a small portion of the countless and tireless hours Dave has dedicated to our schools but even that small amount is a staggering number. I feel terrible that these letters, whatever their content, left him with no alternative than resign from the Board. His fiscal knowledge and sound judgement will be sorely missed in these financially trying times.
Our small district has much to celebrate. We have hard working, dedicated teachers, involved and generous parents, and a group of children who thrive on challenges and actually want to learn. We also have a hard working school board and administration who is rightfully holding strong to their fiscal responsibilities. Protecting our reserves in these uncertain times is a must if we care about preserving the excellent educational experience for our kids and future generations. Hopefully the teachers will come to realize that keeping LLESD fiscally sound is to their benefit as well.
a resident of La Entrada School
on Oct 11, 2009 at 6:27 pm
I have a few issues with the teacher's letter writing campaign.
1. Where do the teachers come off sending letters to homes? Would they like to have parents sending mail campaigns to their homes?
What kind of strategy is the union giving them to cross the line of personal vs. business. Stupid.
2. I spend lots of time volunteering for the school district. I see the teachers not willing to help outside their own classrooms, not appreciate that the community has to pick up the slack financially and then come back in the middle of a recession and ask for more. Whoever is giving them union advice ought to resign, not school board members.
3. As a show of support for parent's rights and to show teachers what it is like to 'want' to work for a community and not a contract: I will NOT be giving any money this year to the foundation. It is not the foundation's fault but its time the teachers have to deal with REAL financial problems and let that put risk into their jobs. NO ONE is so good they aren't replaceable. I am sure we can find good, hungry, willing teachers willing to work for current salaries provided by our district. In fact, I KNOW we can.
4. The teachers have surfaced the real problem here in the district. The fabulous parent support over the past decade has created a monster of sorts. The spoiled teachers, the endless programs to help teachers in the school have created an environment of 'out of this world perspective'. Let the teachers realize what real life is like when their jobs are at risk (like so many other teachers in the state) and they don't have the option for a RAISE, much less a job.
5. The teachers should send an immediate apology to the board members for going over the line. They should fire whoever is advising them from the union and they should be happy with what they have.
I want to hear from the teacher's at this point. I am going to make my opinions known to the school board.
a resident of Las Lomitas School
on Oct 11, 2009 at 8:58 pm
Las Lomitas District teachers are among the best paid teachers in CA and CA teachers salaries are usually the highest in the nation. EdSource regularly publishes comparisons of school districts throughout the state. Check out the information with that publication.
Las Lomitas School District consistently ranks as one of the districts with the very highest paid teachers in California - sometimes showing up as the district with the highest salary for teachers. Typically, districts with a high school top the salary schedules as they hire teachers for AP math and science classes who also have a very high number of student contacts each day, teaching up to 6 sections of a subject with an average of 30 students in each section.
Las Lomitas salaries even top private school salaries - and private schools have dramatically raised those salaries over the past decade.
Salaries in most professions are dictated by the market. Teaching is not any different. Las Lomitas salaries are at the top. The Las Lomitas teachers should be aware of the support they have received from the administrators, School Board and parent community for decades. Many parents would be delighted to have the job security and benefits of the district teachers.
Dave Bailard has shared his talents and professional skills to help the district have solid financial footing - especially important in these uncertain financial times. If the district's finances falter, teachers can find other jobs. The community still is responsible for their schools.
a resident of Las Lomitas School
on Oct 11, 2009 at 10:56 pm
Upset at Teachers intends not to make a donation this year. At first, I was worried about the damage to the schools if this is a general response. On second thought, lay-off notices have to be sent by the middle of March. So holding back donations until April will leave the district uncertain of its finances [sorry about that, board members], meaning more teachers will get lay off notices. It's unfortunate that due to union rules, the first to be laid off will be the most recently hired, instead of some horrible old alligator who's just waiting for retirement benefits and has stopped putting any effort into teaching. Even so, perhaps it's just what the teachers need: a bit more exposure to risk so they will be more aware of (and grateful for) how good they have it.
Intending to make their pay-raise appeals more effective, the teachers worked to make them "personal", including sending them to board members' homes. That was invasive and intimidating. What if a few hundred dedicated parents tracked down the teachers' home addresses and mailed each teacher 200-300 personal letters? I hope contemplating that scenario helps the teachers understand how far they trespassed. Those letters are probably in the public record, since they relate to District business issues. I've heard a few of them were rude or offensive -- bet those particular teachers are feeling stupid (and worried) now. If I had the time, I'd love to read them and send them back with corrections. I've been shocked at how sloppy some teachers are with grammar, punctuation and spelling. Some of the newer, particularly young teachers haven't learned some of the very basic rules of English and continue making common pop-culture errors. It's "its", not "it's", when you're using the possessive. And go back and review that whole thing about when to use I versus me, e.g. "Sue is giving Mary and I a ride to the mall." Wrong!
a resident of Menlo Park: University Heights
on Oct 13, 2009 at 5:24 pm
I am surprised by the actions of the teachers at Las Lomitas and La Entrada.Given the worse financial crisis in the country's history since the Great Depression , how dare they ask for a raise? Most parents of Las Lomitas and La Entrada students did not get a raise last year.
The problem at the District starts with Eric Hartwig and goes through both schools. Eric lives a life of entitlement as the Head of Las Lomitas School District. His lack of direction, focus and leadership sets the tone for the Teacher's Union to believe they could have written the letters to the Board.
How dare the LE and LL teachers think they deserve a raise? Have they read the newspapers lately?
If anything, the Board, PTA and Volunteers should scale back the amount of money they give. This might wake up the whole gang at The Los Lomitas School District.
a resident of La Entrada School
on Oct 14, 2009 at 1:41 pm
I don't know Dave Bailard personally but but all accounts he was a dedicated school board member, who should be thanks for his many years of service. It the teachers wrote him a lot of letters, well, that's part of what comes with being a public servant, people will try to influence your vote. If there was anything illegal or inappropriate Bailard should bring it up with the state department of education or, if the letter was threatening, local law enforcement officials. We live in a civil society, there are rules to be followed.
I think the first thing we should do is dial back on the outrage and see if we can work things out. Yes, we pay our teachers well, and are justifiably proud of our district's test scores. We're always happy to note our high salaries when trying to lure top educators from other districts, notably Redwood City. But I think it's disingenuous to be shocked -- shocked -- that the teachers would try to negotiate more money for themselves when a contract is up for renewal. When those of us who work in the private sector and have a good year, or several years in a row, we appreciate a few extra dollars in our paycheck as tangible recognition of our good performance. The teachers who were drawn to Las Lomitas by the smart kids, high octane parents and good salaries are exactly the kind of performers we want educating our kids, and yes, they have bills to pay too.
To be sure, the economic times are not good, and the teachers would do well to not kill the goose that lays the golden egg. If the district is going to open its books so teachers can see the financial situation, they should pay attention, take good notes, and be reasonable. The Foundation money has been a wonderful way to keep class sizes small and pay for extras, but the district shouldn't count on that money every year, nor should the teachers.
I sincerely hope that cooler heads can prevail on both sides. Given that the teachers' union was a strong supporter of President Obama, and he carried the district by something north of 75% in the Presidential election, it's safe to assume that on most matters, teachers, parents and administrators share similar political views. Instead of lobbing outrage and insults back and forth, the sides should take a deep breath and negotiate a deal that gives the teachers due credit for delivering those top test scores, but also recognizes that we're two years into the worst recession in over 50 years, so maybe now isn't the time to go for the jugular when it comes to seeking a raise. Can we all calm down and work this out peacefully, and set a good example for all those bright and shining La Entrada renaissance kids?
a resident of Las Lomitas School
on Oct 14, 2009 at 4:56 pm
It's been a week since we got the news of the letter-writing campaign. I have yet to hear that the teachers or their union have in any way acknowledged their faux pas. To the commentor above, school business mail for board members is directed to the District office. It's an invasion of privacy, and a violation of the directory's terms of use, for teachers to use the school directories to look up parents' address FOR POLITICAL PURPOSES. An analagous situation would be for parents to contact a teacher at his/her own home to lobby for a better grade for their student. You also say "if the district is going to open its financial books for the teachers" -- that budget information is public information and is discussed at every board meeting. It's also available upon request at the district office.
You ask that cooler heads prevail, and go into a meaningless comparison of voting patterns from the Presidential election. Who voted for what is utterly irrelevant to the teachers' demand for a raise. No information has been released to indicate they have dropped their demand. Parents are using this forum, appropriately, to share their positions on the letter campaign and the demand for a raise. Most people are aligned in saying that this is not an appropriate year for a raise and we don't want the board to grant one. The teachers chose to up the pressure by violating the public/private boundaries of the elected school board members. The board has been holding steady that the district doesn't have the cash flow for the raises. Instead of looking at the situation realistically, the union decided to light a fire under the board members. Guess what. It touched off a firestorm and the teachers are getting some blow back.
The teachers need to acknowledge their major error and accept accountabity for the damage they've already done to the schools, meaning the loss of Dave Bailard from the board. They should apologize to parents for being so arrogant and demanding, as they were counting on taking that money right out of our pockets. And each family will have to make their own decision whether or not to give LLEF any donation this year.
a resident of Menlo Park: Sharon Heights
on Oct 14, 2009 at 7:50 pm
The teachers in the district, as most if not all of CA, do receive regular raises, even if the union-district negotiations don't provide a publicised raise.
Salary schedules have a step and column matrix - meaning teachers receive raises for each year of experience in addition to credit for their course work. When this is added to the increased cost of benefits, teachers always receive an increase in salary.
In this economic environment, raises are not the norm in professions other than teaching.
a resident of La Entrada School
on Oct 15, 2009 at 12:33 pm
Being Annoyed is probably not the most productive way to negotiate with a strong union, nor are calls for public apologies for being "arrogant." Some teachers pushed it too far but if we want creative and passionate educators teaching our kids, sometimes they'll push the edge of the envelope and make a mistake, especially about high stakes issues like raises. Instead of emotional criticism about the teachers being ingrates, we should invite them back to the negotiating table, and maybe engage a mediator if talks are breaking down. Talks break down between unions and management all the time, so why all the name calling? It's just dollars and cents, let's get outside help if necessary and not lose our composure.
a resident of Las Lomitas School
on Oct 15, 2009 at 2:32 pm
The "Las Lomitas Parent" (or perhaps a teacher/parent?) who posted above seems not to know much about the tenor of the union's on-going negotiation. The teachers' union is so intractable that they will no longer negotiate. They have called in a state mediator to break the "impasse" (further bleeding money out of the district via legal expenses); meanwhile, they whine about the demoralization of working without a contract for a year.
The facts: there is an underlying contract that is in effect year after year -- they are NOT working without a contract. At each negotiating period, either side can open up terms of the contract for re-negotiation. Last year the union demanded raises which the school board deemed excessive. The school board has done an excellent job of managing finances through a dismal and chaotic economy. The union wants pay increases over fiscal responsibility, and they feel entitled to take that money from the reserves. They are stonewalling, thinking that raising the stakes will get them what they want. The union could reconsider their stand and conclude the negotiations at any time. They are the ones who have taken this issue from behind closed doors into the public, so they have bought themselves the public's reactions.
Many teachers stood up at the school board meeting last night to assert their right to send letters to the school board. They say they're demoralized because they work so hard for our kids and they aren't supported by the district or parents (in spite of evidence to the contrary). It's sad to see how they are sublimating their own experiences to the rhetoric of the California Teachers Association. If they instead followed the advice often given to people experiencing downsizing, to focus on the good things they have and appreciate them, instead of getting suckered into the CTA's larger political motives (as mentioned above, pushing LLESD's salaries higher in order to push the ceiling for salaries statewide higher), they might be a bit happier.
Is there another school district where they can get jobs as sweet? Of course not, especially as pay is closely linked to the number of years in a district. Are they improving their own lives by fighting for a raise during a recession? No, but they are putting at risk the special relationships between the parent community, the schools, and the school board which have provided great benefits to all over the years. Our little district hasn't needed union strong-arm tactics before, we've worked together cooperatively. Bringing big-league union politics into play has created a division that hurts everyone. They believe the union has the power to force what they want, but here's one thing they can't force: how much money is donated by parents each year.
The volunteer board of the LLEF, which works very hard to maximize parent donations and other sources of revenue, provides the discretionary funds that are used (among other things) for high teacher salaries and small class sizes. Their fundraising pitch depends on parents being happy with the school and valuing the "extras" enough to continue paying for them. I have little sympathy for the teachers saying they are not appreciated, in the face of the 1.4 million dollars donated last year: direct support from parents for the teachers and the programs they run. Rather, the evidence indicates the teachers don't appreciate their jobs and their benefits and the support of the community. They have so much -- to be unthankful for?
The teachers are indeed killing the golden-egg laying goose. They have already cost the school district a phenomenal board member and the generous volunteer commitments of himself and his wonderful wife. The teachers are aggressively defending their right to send letters to board members, but they are not acknowledging what a bad choice it was, or accepting responsibility for losing the district a board member. (More waste of public money: holding a special election to replace Mr. Bailard). They are choosing to interpret the state-wide economic collapse as a lack of support for themselves. And they are deeply offending the parents who have made a special effort for years to fund the things that have made LLESD special. In the end, that is where they will get their pay-back: donations via the LLEF will plummet and the district will have no choice but to cut programs and send out pink slips. You might lose your job, and the kids would have a less beneficial environment for a year or more. But it's not that complicated to resurrect programs and hire new teachers, if parents chose to increase their donations again. Rebuilding the beneficial relationships between all the players is what may be hardest.
The union president has made more than one strategic error. It's a mistake to encourage your union members to be dissatisfied when they have one of the best deals in the state. It's a mistake to think you can force extra money out of a system that depends on discretionary donations. And it's a big mistake to forget where those donations come from.
We have no obligation to volunteer or give the schools additional funding. Don't mislead yourselves that we're going to support this spoiled demand. You have plenty to be thankful for and you should make do for a year or two, as so many other Californians are having to do. And you are always free to find a better job.
a resident of Menlo Park: other
on Oct 16, 2009 at 7:04 am
Every union, by its nature, is entitlement oriented. That the LL teacher's association moves in a manner that appears disconnected with the economic reality of the State or the district should not be a huge surprise.
The issue before the teachers is how they should recover from this obvious gaffe. As a member of a different union, I offer my perspective and advice.
The Association developed a strategy for this negotiation. They may have done so in concert with the CTA. That strategy has failed. It is now time to regroup and recover. They should:
* Replace their leadership (I am sure they have by-laws which will let them do so).
* Elect moderate voices who can repair the relationships between the Board, and perhaps more importantly, the parents who donate to the Foundation.
* Reassess their contract demands, perhaps asking for an MOU with a shorter term (2 year?) which improves other areas of interest: medical, retirement, vacation, holiday, sick time, etc.
* Go after salary increases in a future MOU when, hopefully, the economy has the District in a situation where they can afford to responsibly provide them.
The Association's leadership and negotiating team has damaged their ability to reach a new agreement. It's time to start over. New team. New strategy.
To those parents who are willing to throw the baby out with the bath water, I believe it's time for some perspective. Unions seek salary increases. The issue is not that the Teachers Association wanted a salary increase, it's how they went about seeking their demand.
Withholding our generous donations and volunteer time stands to hurt our children more than the Teacher's Association.
A Los Lomitas public school education, supplemented with Foundation donations, is more cost effective than the private school alternative. The district's reputation also serves to keep our property values high.
Sending a message that we are incensed over this breach of trust is appropriate. They screwed up and they need to understand that their tactic not only failed, but caused damage.
It's time, however, to take the high road and find another way to make our feelings known. Cutting funding and volunteer time targets the wrong group.
a resident of Las Lomitas School
on Oct 21, 2009 at 10:44 pm
Union Parent, thanks for your input on unions and our teachers' recent flub. I am still angry and withholding my donation because I have yet to see any acknowledgement from the teachers that they made a mistake which has damaged relations with parents.
Hearing the teachers defend their right to send letters to board members was really disheartening. They were in defensive mode, standing strong behind a principle instead of assessing the damage done. They feel justified in making their demands, and I truly think we have spoiled them too much in recent years. When kids whine and demand in the face of the materially-rich lives they live around here, it's clearly time to cut back and focus on the basics. It works: when you set a firm boundary about what they can and cannot have, they move on from the endless want/demand cycle and learn a bit more about reality and being grateful for what they have. It's time for the teachers to face reality, too: we appreciate their dedication in teaching our kids, and we try to reward them with generous salaries, class room gifts (Apples for the Teacher, etc.) and volunteer work. They're indulging in the luxury of feeling dissatisfied with the excellent salary and benefits they receive. Maybe an in-service day at a school in RWC or EPA might help them appreciate what they have and stop them whining for more.
I'm not bothered by the idea of belt-tightening for a year or so. The specter of budget cuts, more crowded classrooms, fewer enrichment programs, etc. has been raised every year. It's ok with me for our schools to experience that: we will all be more appreciative if/when the budget can be restored to what it's been for the past few years.
a resident of Portola Valley: Ladera
on Oct 22, 2009 at 5:58 pm
I'm feeling disappointed in the teacher community that we have strived to never disappoint. Like other parents I wonder why we try so hard... and I also feel great appreciation and empathy for the Board families that have taken the heat in the face of personal sacrifice. Thank yopu for your time and talent.
I hope this can be resolved in a way that gives everyone closure. In the meantime, I too wothold my donation.
a resident of Atherton: other
on Oct 31, 2009 at 4:13 am
Our family has had the privilege of being associated with the Las Lomitas School District for nearly twenty years. During that time, we served in a number of volunteer capacities. We believe in the intrinsic value of public education and the Los Lomitas District, in particular.
I am deeply offended and disappointed by the actions of the teachers who participated in the letter writing campaign to district board members' homes. Being a board member is a particularly daunting and time consuming task. Stepping up to the position is a true labor of love and service to the school district, students and parents. The weight of ensuring sound fiscal management, quality education and prudent oversight of personnel requires intelligent, thoughtful analysis and patience. While board membership surely brings satisfaction, it is also thankless in many respects. We have lost a true servant in David Bailard and have seen a complete lack of appreciation for his service and that of his wife, Laurie. The other board members' services have been disregarded as well.
The teachers' letter writing campaign was intimidating, thoughtless and exhibits poor professional judgment. I can only imagine how shocking it would be to receive demanding, scripted letters from teachers which also contained personal references to my children, their students.
In addition to the teachers' failure to negotiate in good faith, they have failed in one of their core responsibilities to serve as role models for their students. The teachers' actions have not been lost on parents, students and the community-at-large. It is truly unfortunate that a few "ring leaders" and the union have drawn their colleagues into a misguided and dead-end tactic.
I strongly support the district's school board in taking the responsible position to protect the district's reserves. It is clear that we don't yet know the extent to which budget and economic pressures will strain the district's fiscal well-being. It could be years. We need responsible teachers who will take the time to educate themselves about current fiscal realities. We need teachers who will recognize that we are all in this together. It has taken a "village" to create a stellar school district. Unfortunately, by their actions, the teachers have broken trust and become the weak link in the Las Lomitas community.
a resident of Atherton: West Atherton
on Feb 15, 2010 at 8:27 pm
I onced wanted my kids to go to your schools; no thanks after learning more. You can have your good api scores and all your union teachers fancy suv's and creative budget analysis.
a resident of Las Lomitas School
on Feb 15, 2010 at 8:32 pm
I am sure all this union teacher bashing is doing alot of good.
You got a rich school district with good performance (one of the best everyone brags (real estate agents, superintendents, admins, parents, etc.)) and with the average home on the peninsula over a million, what do you expect your teachers to be treated? Paid like a average teachers? At least the teachers are doing something good for your spoiled rotten kids.
a resident of another community
on Feb 17, 2010 at 12:46 am
I am researching schools for my kids and found your school. On the surface the numbers look good. Good community and lots of giving and good test scores. But as I got more informed and talked to many parents and educators, no thanks. Besides your lots are too small.
You folks in LLSD Menlo Park seem way too out of touch with the real world.
First of all there is a reason why there's a teacher's union. It's to protect their interests, not yours or your kids. This model is conflicting when it comes to rewarding the teachers with limited budgets. In good (bubble) times, when property values are skyrocketing over night this model works great. No one cares, plenty of tax dollars to go around. Stock options are worth alot, people (with their corporate gifts) showing off their success in fundraisers and donations.
In bad or flat times, guess what? This model breaks down. You have your "programmed" system cranking out great test scores with a powerful union labor workforce that is teaching your kids. I feel for the teachers actually since they have worked hard to get this school to where it is; a great number cranking machine. But in bad times, the kids pay. Imagine coming to work to teach after reading this thread. Hmmm, no thanks I want my kids in a private school where the model truly works. There is no conflict in good or bad times. Yes, they are strapped too with budgets but it truly is a team effort and everyone gives; include the people at the top. I see the teachers at these private schools extremely happy yet way underpaid for their qualifications and experience. Yes, I would be proud to donate my money and volunteer there as there is no doubt on their commitment; my kids. Ask any business owner or executive dealing with union work force. Draeger's in your city has union labor force, ask the owners and mgt. I have nothing against unions building my cars or packing my groceries, but I hate to negotiate wages hard if my kids are at stake.
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text:
GENEVA – Kane County could pay 9 percent more to provide county workers with health insurance next year, thanks in no small part to the Affordable Care Act.
But Kane's insurance consultants say the county could save hundreds of thousands of dollars over the next few years, if not in 2014, if it changes how it insures its workers.
Representatives of Libertyville-based employee benefits consulting firm Global Benefits Group on Tuesday presented the Kane County Board with a breakdown of what the county should expect to pay in 2014 to insure its more than 1,200 employees.
Global president Laurence Marx told the board that the county should expect to pay about $15.5 million next year, or about $1.3 million more for employee health insurance benefits through Blue Cross/Blue Shield.
Marx said the increase was driven by several factors, including more claims. In 2013, he said, the county government will pay $13 million in claims, or about 4.3 percent more than last year when compared to premiums.
The increase ends a string of years in which Kane County government paid less in claims than the year before.
But Marx said market-driven increases accounted for only about 60 percent of the $1.3 million increase. The remaining 40 percent of the increase can be ascribed to fees and other charges associated with the federal Affordable Care Act.
With that in mind, Marx said the county could consider transitioning the county's insurance coverage model from fully insured through Blue Cross to a self-insurance model, in which Blue Cross administers the plan, but the county government pays the claims.
Marx said such a model could save the county significant money, if the Kane board is willing to assume a certain level of risk.
Based on past claims activity, Global estimated the county could pay about $14.9 million in 2014, a savings of $600,000 vs. what the county had negotiated with Blue Cross for full insurance.
Should claims spike, however, the county could pay up to $16.6 million next year, or about $1.1 million more, Global estimated.
But Marx said switching to self-insurance would carry a long-term payoff.
He estimated the county would have saved a total of $1.75 million over the last four years if it had been self-insured.
Additionally, he noted, if the county switches to self insurance, the county would be exempt from a 3 percent to 4.5 percent tax levied on fully insured health plans by the federal government under Obamacare.
Kane County Board Chairman Chris Lauzen said the presentation on switching the county's health insurance model was more than just idle talk.
He said the County Board will need to decide next month whether it wants to take that step, as the county's budget will need to be completed in October and approved in early November.
Lauzen invited county residents to contact him to share their thoughts on the matter.


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I had several questions at the recent GigaOm conference in London regarding the OpenStack environments at CERN. This blog explains the different instances and their distinct teams of evaluation and administration.
The CERN IT department provides services for around 11,000 physicists from around the world. Our central services provide the basic IT infrastructure that any organisation needs from e-mail, web services, databases and desktop support.
The CERN IT department provides services for around 11,000 physicists from around the world. Our central services provide the basic IT infrastructure that any organisation needs from e-mail, web services, databases and desktop support.
In addition, we provide computing resources for the physics analysis of the 35PB/year that comes from the Large Hadron Collider. The collider is currently being upgraded until 2015 in order to double the energy of the beams and enhance the detectors which are situated around the ring.
During this period, we have a window for significant change to the central IT services. While the analysis of the data from the first run of the LHC continues during this upgrade, the computing infrastructure in CERN IT is moving towards a cloud model based on popular open source technologies used outside of CERN such as Puppet and OpenStack.
As we started working with these communities through mailing lists and conferences, we encountered other people from High Energy Physics organisations around the world who were going through the same transition, such as IN2P3, Nectar, IHEP and Brookhaven. What was most surprising is when we found out that others on the CERN site were working on OpenStack and Puppet and that the CERN IT cloud was actually the smallest one!
The two largest experiments, ATLAS and CMS, both have large scale farms close to filter the 1PB/s of data from each detector before sending it to the CERN computer centre for recording and analysis.
These High Level Trigger farms are over 1000 servers, each typically 12 core systems. During the upgrade of the LHC, these servers would be idle as there are no collisions. However, the servers are attached to CERN's technical network, which is isolated from the rest of CERN's network as this network is used for systems which are closely associated with the accelerator and other online systems. Thus, they could not easily be used for running physics programs since the data is not accessible from the technical network.
In view of this, the approach taken was to use a cloud with the virtual machines not being able to access the technical network. This allows strong isolation and makes it very easy to start/stop large numbers of programs at a time. During CMS's tests, they were starting/stopping 250VMs in a 5 minute period.
For the software selection, each experiment makes its own choices independent of the CERN IT department. However, both teams selected OpenStack as their cloud software. The ATLAS cloud was set up with the help of Brookhaven National Laboratories who are also running OpenStack in their centre. The CMS cloud was set up and run by two CMS engineers .
For configuration management, ATLAS online teams were already using Puppet and CMS migrated from Quattor to Puppet during the course of the project. This allowed them to use the Stackforge Puppet modules, as we do in the CERN IT department.
Both the experiment clouds are now in production, running physics simulation and some data analysis programs that can fit within the constraints of limited local storage and network I/O to the computer centre.
Thus, the current CERN cloud capacities are as follows.
|ATLAS Sim@P1
|CMS OOOO cloud
|CERN IT Ibex and Grizzly clouds
This makes over 60,000 cores in total managed by OpenStack and Puppet at CERN. With hyper-thread cores on both AMD and Intel CPUs, it is always difficult to judge exactly how much extra performance is achieved, thus my estimate of an effective delivery of 50,000 cores in total.
While the CERN IT cloud is currently only 20,000 cores, we are currently installing around 100 hypervisors a week in the two data centres in Geneva and Budapest so we would expect the cores in this area to significantly grow in the next 18 months as we are aiming for 300,000 cores in 2015.


text:
When voters go to the polls Nov. 6 to elect our next president, the questions they should ask are these:
Which candidate will best be able to lead the U.S out of the economic funk it has been in the past 5 years?
Who can better help the private sector grow jobs?
Who has the ideas and the will to reduce our massive debt and eliminate annual budget deficits?
Who will best be able to get the country's economic engines turning again?
President Barack Obama has a record on those issues.
Under his leadership, the unemployment rate has hovered at or above 8 percent almost his entire presidency. Far too many unemployed Americans have been unable to find decent work.
Median household income has fallen by more than $4,000 since 2009, when President Obama, a Democrat, took office.
About 30 million Americans received food stamps in 2008. Today, about 46 million do.
With budget deficits of more than $1 trillion a year, the national debt has ballooned by $5.4 trillion during Obama's presidency. The country now owes its creditors more than $16 trillion.
While the economy has grown under President Obama, it has done so at a snail's pace, not nearly enough to make up for the damage caused by the Great Recession and the housing crisis.
Frankly, we can't say we are better off today than we were 4 years ago.
And we see nothing in Obama's policies that leads us to believe we will be better off with 4 more years of President Obama in the White House.
As when he first was elected, President Obama still stands for bigger government (see the Affordable Care Act, aka Obamacare) and a bigger hindrance to private business (see his tax policies).
We fear another 4 years would look exactly like the past 4, or worse.
The Republicans' nominee for president, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, represents a return to America's founding principles: Personal responsibility, smaller government, more people contributing to the overall good of the nation.
His record as governor of Massachusetts is better than Obama's as president.
Gov. Romney became governor in 2003, during a recession and with a large majority of Democrats controlling the state's Legislature. His state faced a $1.5 billion budget deficit.
Through effective cost-cutting, user fee increases, and a restructuring of state government, Gov. Romney balanced the state's budget in his first year. He also fought to reduce the state's income tax, arguing that it would help create private-sector jobs and increase state revenue, but the Democratic Legislature wouldn't let him do it.
Before he was elected governor, Romney was a hugely successful businessman. He co-founded Bain Capital and built it into the giant investment firm it is today.
While his opponents paint Gov. Romney and Bain as greedy corporate raiders out to squeeze struggling companies out of every penny, the fact is that Bain invested in many startup companies that today successfully employ tens of thousands of Americans. Gov. Romney and Bain also invested in financially struggling businesses, turning them around and saving thousands more jobs.
Before becoming governor, Romney took over the financially troubled committee organizing the 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City, Utah. As CEO, he cut costs and increased fundraising, and the 2002 Games ended with a $100 million surplus.
Gov. Romney is a proven leader in both the private and public sectors.
His policy proposals have the best chance to improve the U.S. economy, grow jobs, control the budget deficit and, eventually, reduce our national debt.
We recommend Gov. Romney.


text:
ESP Japan Custom Shop Ultratone as played by Arnold Schwarzenegger
This guitar, as played by Arnie himself whilst campainging for Governor at a rally at the California State Capitol October 5, 2003 in Sacramento, California, is currently up for grabs on Gumtree.
It's an ESP Japan Custom Shop Ultratone in black relic finish with a set maple neck topped off with a rosewood fingerboard inlaid with skull and cross bones position markers and with 22 extra jumbo frets. It is equipped with a single EMG 81 humbucker in the bridge position and a single volume control, and also features Tone Pros hardware, Sperzel tuners, and comes with a ESP Custom Shop case.
Thanks to Bill for this one.
G L Wilson
Guitarz - The Original Guitar Blog - now in its 9th year!
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NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WZTV) - A Tennessee photographer's "Best Friend" sessions have gone viral after the significant others of two of her clients decided to parody the photos.
Photographer Torrie Daniels is based in Tellico Plains, where she operates TRD Photography. On Aug. 21, she posted some of her favorite pictures from her "Best Friend" sessions, which included two young women.
One of the best buds posed in pictures with a Bud Light bottle; the other posed with a Coke bottle since she is underage.
Just days later, the husband and boyfriend of the women decided they would have their own "Best Friend" session to mimic the photos taken by their significant others.
The result has been a viral response to the pictures. Their expert trolling has resulted in more than 39,000 shares of the photo gallery and Daniels is now looking to take more photos of the men based on a reader poll.


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A collection of 46 letters published in full for the first time, shedding new light on the life and character of Charles Brown and the most important friendship in the Keats Circle,...
A Chronological Listing of the Letters of Joanna Baillie
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July 2008


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Today marks the 40th anniversary of the Supreme Court's tragic Roe v. Wade decision. It is a time to reflect on St. Paul's statement that "whatever a man sows, that he will also reap" (Gal 6:7).
If we go back to Pope Paul VI's great encyclical, Humanae Vitae, he predicted certain consequences if contraception were to become accepted in society: a decline in marital fidelity and general moral standards, loss of respect for women and an increase in the objectification of women, and the dangers inherent in the possession of such a weapon in the hand of unscrupulous governments.
Everything he foresaw about contraception has come true about abortion, and even more — millions of deaths, the corruption of the medical profession, the distortion and politicization of law, and the suffering of millions of women and men who have participated in abortion and carry the grief and guilt with them still.
"Whatever a man sows, that he will also reap".
And yet, there have been many good seeds sown over the past four decades. We saw them today, on the streets of New York City.
Cardinal Dolan, assisted by two dozen of his brother priests, offered a beautiful Mass at 7 a.m. at St. Patrick's Cathedral for a large crowd of early risers. The Mass was followed by a Rosary procession and prayerful witness at an abortion clinic on Second Avenue and Forty-Second Street.
It was an amazing public witness. Just think of it. Three hundred or more people, processing along the streets of Manhattan at rush hour, praying the Rosary. A man carrying a huge rough wooden cross. Sisters of Life, Friars and Sisters of the Renewal, Missionaries of Charity, diocesan and religious priests. Regular men and women. All giving witness to the power of prayer and the dignity of life, on the cold and windy streets of the big city.
My favorite part came while we were crossing the streets. Manhattan drivers — especially the cabbies — are not known for patience, and we only had one police officer to help us. So we were treated to the amazing sight of rush hour traffic being stopped on Lexington Avenue and Forty-Second Street by a Sister of Life, a Franciscan friar, and a couple of intrepid laymen. Surprisingly little honking, though — they must have realized that this was not your usual traffic snarl.
As we walked, people stopped and stared, and some even joined in prayer. A few asked what was going on and, when it was explained, they paused to add their prayers to ours.
The larger meaning of the event, in a sense, was to reinforce St. Paul's statement — "whatever a man sows, that he will also reap".
Our nation has sown forty years of contraception, abortion, suffering, grief, and death. And we have reaped the dire consequences. But a handful of faithful witnesses continues to sow other seeds — love, compassion, service, courage, and witness.
Those seeds will also be reaped, and they bear fruit, a fruit that brings life and hope and forgiveness.
Tags: Abortion, Discipleship


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There's no denying that ACM Entertainer of the Year nominee Luke Bryan is a "heartthrob" and "dreamy." But as Radio.com's panel of music experts notes, he also "appeals to men and women"–the kind of guy who's "your best friend," yet "who just happens to be a great singer, too." This is thanks to catchy, good-natured hits of his like "All My Friends Say," "Country Girl (Shake It For Me)," and "Drunk On You."
It's no wonder, then, that Luke was tapped this year to cohost the ACM Awards with Blake Shelton.
Hear these and other insights about Luke–and see what led to his ACM Award nomination–in this installment of Inside the Entertainer of the Year.
Our panel of experts included Marci Braun and Drew Walker of Chicago's US99.5; Dr. Don, Rachael Hunter, and Steve Grunwald of Detroit's 99.5 WYCD; The Boot's Beville Dunkerley; Grady Smith of Entertainment Weekly; author Alan Light (The Holy or the Broken: Leonard Cohen, Jeff Buckley, and the Unlikely Ascent of "Hallelujah"); and Radio.com's Annie Reuter, Kurt Wolff, and Courtney Smith.
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I kraft af forringede resultater og indtjening sammenholdt med øgede betalingsforsinkelser og konkurser vil vores standpunkt for underwriting af den polske maskinindustri forblive restriktivt.
- Polish GDP growth is expected to increase above 3% in 2017 and 2018, driven by robust consumer demand, rising business investment and increased investments linked to EU funding. This investment surge should help the Polish machinery sector, after some of the main subsectors suffered severely over the last two years.
- The mining machines segment has been affected by the downturn in the Polish coal mining industry since 2012, leading to a sharp decrease in investments (down 45% in 2015). Additionaly, mining related companies increased average payment terms and often paid late. As a consequence, many mining machinery businesses have shown deteriorated financial results and strained liquidity, leading to more insolvencies in 2015 and 2016. However, a recent increase in coal prices has led to better payment behaviour by mining businesses, while at least larger mining machines producers were able to increase their exports, compensating for declining domestic sales.
- EU subsidies helped to increase demand for agricultural machines until 2015. However, due to political issues affecting the payout of EU subsidies to farmers since the end of 2015, many agricultural businesses postponed purchases of agricultural machines (tractors, trailers), leading to a sharp decrease in machines sales. This triggered growing inventories and an increasing number of non-payment notifications in this segment. Should this sluggish demand continue, some agricultural machines distributors may face serious troubles.
- Due to deteriorated results and margins, as well as increased payment delays and insolvencies our underwriting stance remains restrictive for the machinery sector, especially the mining and agriculture-related segments.We also pay special attention to export-driven businesses dependent on sales to Russia, as demand there remains weak and Russian authorities tend to prefer Russian-made goods in public tenders. It still remains to be seen if Polish machinery will benefit from the projected domestic GDP growth and investment increase in the coming years.


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MY 2008 RYDER CUP TICKETS arrived in the mail this week. I was excited to get them, especially after my Masters tickets were mistakenly returned to Augusta this past spring. That could have been a disaster.
I'm sitting at my desk leafing through the official 2008 Ryder Cup Spectator Guide in the hopes of providing you some fascinating nuggets. I'm still looking.
The guide is 66 pages, about half is advertising for Louisville and the state of Kentucky. I did peruse the spectator behavior section. Booing and jeering are out. Sportsmanship and respect are in.
The guide also has a more detailed TV schedule than I've seen elsewhere. I'll post it later. (Now posted − see below.)
−The Armchair Golfer
More Ryder Cup coverage:
2008 Ryder Cup TV Schedule
2008 Ryder Cup: Valhalla Golf Club Preview
2008 Ryder Cup Report
Q&A: Daniel Wexler on 2008 Ryder Cup
Friday, August 22
2008 Ryder Cup Tickets Arrive
2 comments:
I'll be at The Ryder Cup as well, only working, not watching. I think the U.S. team's chances are great, despite Tiger's absence, especially if Azinger picks Hunter Mahan as one of his captain's picks.
- The Armchair Golfer said...
Good luck, Ray. Maybe the U.S. will do better since expectations are lower this time around.
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Westerly, officers face federal suit over man's death
The family of a Mystic man who died last year hours after being released from Westerly police custody has filed a federal lawsuit against the town and the arresting officers, alleging excessive force and several violations of the man's civil liberties.
Following a High Street disturbance in the early morning hours of June 9, 2011, Ryan O'Loughlin "was pepper sprayed, beaten with a baton, and also forcibly taken down and arrested," alleges the suit, which was filed last week and includes a police report of the incident.
O'Loughlin's death 16 hours after his arrest was classified by the Connecticut medical examiner as a homicide after he died that afternoon at the Pequot Health Center in Groton. He had suffered a dozen injuries, including a lacerated liver.
The suit alleges the arresting officers violated O'Loughlin's rights under the First, Fourth, Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution.
"All of the above behavior by these defendant police officers is shocking to the conscience because such behavior was an unwarranted exertion of brute force," the suit reads in part.
In February, the Rhode Island Attorney General's Office announced that a grand jury had decided not to indict the three officers who had arrested the 34-year-old Navy veteran. No explanation of the decision was given.
"These assertions and allegations have already been made and thoroughly reviewed by the State Police, the Attorney General, the FBI and the U.S. Attorney's office and each and every time the officers' actions were deemed to be justified," Westerly Town Manager Steve Hartford said in an emailed statement Friday. "I understand that this determination is hard for the O'Loughlin family to accept, but a civil lawsuit is not going to change the facts."
According to reports filed by Westerly police Officer Terence Malaghan and Sgt. David Turano, O'Loughlin swore at them as they questioned him outside Perks & Corks. Another officer, Greg Barna, told O'Loughlin to put his hands behind his back because he was under arrest, but O'Loughlin refused and resisted being handcuffed, according to the reports.
Barna pepper-sprayed O'Loughlin, who, although "visibly affected" by the spray, continued to refuse to comply with officers' orders, the reports state.
The reports also stated that Barna began to deliver strikes to O'Loughlin's legs. The officers took O'Loughlin to the ground and struggled with him for a few minutes before placing him in handcuffs, the reports state.
Later that day, O'Loughlin appeared in Fourth Division District Court in Wakefield, R.I., on charges of disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. He posted bond and returned home. Late that afternoon he began to vomit, and his wife, Lucia Ochalova, took him to the Pequot Health Center, where he died.
Details of the autopsy report released last fall by the Providence attorney representing the O'Loughlin family indicate that O'Loughlin had suffered injuries to his head, chest, abdomen and legs during the arrest, including the lacerated liver that caused him to bleed to death.
All three arresting officers, then-Chief of Police Edward Mello and the Town of Westerly are named as defendants in the suit, as are unnamed officers who presumably oversaw O'Loughlin during his time in the Westerly jail.
Bringing the lawsuit is O'Loughlin's wife and his parents, Kevin and Diane O'Loughlin.
In May, the FBI's Boston office said it received a request to look into the allegation and would review it to see if it had merit. An online petition drive that collected 3,300 signatures had called on the FBI and federal justice officials to investigate O'Loughlin's death.
That review, done to determine whether the incident rose to the level of a violation of federal law, was completed in July. A spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Rhode Island said then that "there will be no further federal involvement in the matter at this time."
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I noticed at Target, the current wave is shipping, all older repacks, but without the secret weapons. So Snow Troopers and Jango Fett and Battle Droid 2-packs with no frills. Just a heads up for packaging variant collectors and those who might be disappointed if they were expecting extra guns.
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The banned video from the "Jonathan Ross Show" Christmas show, due to the producers thinking it was inappropriate for TV broadcast. Read about it here: http:...
Views: 204
Bloody hilarious! :D
I definitely enjoyed this! thanks for posting!
I'll definitely share that with the daughters. The wife, not so much (as the self-preservation gene goes into overdrive......)
To "Hell" with them if they deal with it.


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The Ligonier Statement on Christology in Arabic
from J.D. Bridges Aug 06, 2020 Category: Ministry NewsThe Ligonier Statement on Christology has been translated and released in many languages to serve the church around the world. This statement was formulated to help Christians articulate the Bible's teaching on the person and work of Jesus Christ with accuracy and simplicity. Earlier this week, we released the Arabic... Keep Reading
The Gain of Godliness
from Terry Johnson Sep 28, 2009 Category: ArticlesRich people are materialistic. We all know it. All they care about is their money and things. Or so I thought. My background consists of a blue-collar neighborhood and an inner-city high school in Southern California. My quick judgment of wealthy people, when first I encountered them, was that they were superficial, worldly, and materialistic. They were caught up in things and appearances. They lacked the simplicity of the virtuous poor, the salt of the earth, among whom I numbered myself. Keep Reading
2009 West Coast Conference - Session 8 - R.C. Sproul
from Alex Chediak Sep 26, 2009 Category: EventsDr. Sproul brought the conference to a close with a message entitled He Is Risen! -- The Resurrection and Worship. Dr. Sproul read from Exodus 19, the preamble to the giving of the Decalogue. Imagine that you were there: "On the morning of the third day there were thunders and lightnings and a thick cloud on the mountain and a very loud trumpet blast." And Moses was told to warn the people, "lest they break through to the Lord to look and many of them perish." Keep Reading
2009 West Coast Conference - Session 7 - Alistair Begg
from Alex Chediak Sep 26, 2009 Category: EventsDr. Begg returned to the pulpit to bring a message entitled In the Likeness of His Resurrection -- The Bodily Resurrection of the Believer, taking his text from 2 Corinthians 5. He then read a portion of a message that a pastor might deliver at a funeral. A text that affirms not just the continuity of life, but the resurrection of the physical body. The Christian's view of death and resurrection ought to be a great apologetic in our day. There is a reason why graveyards used to be near churches. It makes sense. We have the anticipation of a new heavens and a new earth to look forward to. Keep Reading
2009 West Coast Conference - Session 6 - Q&A - Begg, Horton, Sproul
from Alex Chediak Sep 26, 2009 Category: Events"What do you think of Barth's view of the resurrection?" HORTON: Barth was considered a fundamentalist among his contemporaries for believing in the bodily resurrection. Others have been more clear. Many in Germany and in Switzerland at the time denied either the virgin birth or the bodily resurrection or both. Keep Reading
2009 West Coast Conference - Session 5 - Michael Horton
from Alex Chediak Sep 26, 2009 Category: EventsMichael Horton began his message reading Paul's Mars Hill sermon from Acts 17. He then cited a recent Newsweek article from Lisa Miller. Ms. Miller opined "we're all Hindus now" and her reasoning was (in part) that we all believe in the continuity of life (into an afterlife stage where we play on harps in the clouds, and that sort of thing). Keep Reading
True Life
from John Petersen Sep 26, 2009 Category: ArticlesAs we look around America today, we see what our forefathers envisioned -- a land of freedom and opportunity. Even households at the "poverty level" in this country today have a much better standard of living than those in third world countries. Yet, the resounding theme throughout America today is to get richer. Because we live in a privileged society, most of us enjoy some degree of wealth. God has entrusted His people with varying degrees of riches. As Christians living in this country, the biggest challenges to managing our money are: How are we going to glorify God with what He has provided? How are we to live up to God's charges through Paul as described in 1 Timothy 6:17-18? Keep Reading
2009 West Coast Conference - Session 4 - R.C. Sproul
from Alex Chediak Sep 25, 2009 Category: EventsIn 1965 we had our first son (our daughter was three years old). My mother was very happy. She had just received the dress she would be wearing to my ordination ceremony (scheduled to occur 10 days later). We talked that night, and then she went to sleep. That night she died in her sleep. I had spoken to her within 8 hours of the moment that I discovered her dead. Keep Reading
2009 West Coast Conference - Session 3 - Q&A - Begg, Horton, Sproul
from Alex Chediak Sep 25, 2009 Category: EventsFor Dr. Horton: "You said that we are not an extension of Christ's kingdom. How does that cohere with our being the body of Christ? Our being the hands and feet of Christ, as it were?" Keep Reading
2009 West Coast Conference - Session 2 - Michael Horton
from Alex Chediak Sep 25, 2009 Category: EventsDr. Horton read from Acts 1 (the sequel to the gospel of Luke), verses 1 through 11. The ascension is actually part of the gospel. It is part and parcel with the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The disciples, even after the resurrection, were confused: "Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?" They were basically thinking, "Now that He's been resurrected, why would he leave?" Keep Reading
2009 West Coast Conference - Session 1 - Alistair Begg
from Alex Chediak Sep 25, 2009 Category: EventsDr. Begg began by noting that he often images people singing songs. The disciples on the road to Emmaus might have thought to themselves "it's all over now." They were speaking about the events of Jesus in the past tense. "But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel." The Old Testament pointed to the coming of a prophetpar excellence. But at this point the disciples were both amazed and confused. Keep Reading