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Jeroen van der Veer, former CEO of Royal Dutch Shell, retired on June 30 of this year, bringing to a close his 38 years with the company. In this video, the latest in our interview series McKinsey conversations with global leaders, van der Veer shares his thoughts on the future of oil, prospects for alternative energies, and challenges the industry faces in tackling the problems of climate change. Ivo Bozon, a director in McKinsey's Amsterdam office, conducted this interview in The Hague in June 2009.
Watch the conversation in our video interactive, or read the transcript below.
In the industry: The future of oil
Jeroen van der Veer: Even if you are in the middle of a short-term economic crisis, I think it is very good to keep your eyes on the long term. So if I think about the long term in the energy industry, we take the year 2050—40 years from now—as a reference year in our mind and then we see three things. Energy demand will double, because we go from 6 [billion] to 9 billion people, and all people like to transport themselves and they like to have electricity at their home. So, even taking energy saving into account, that still works out as doubling of energy demand. Secondly, the classic oil and gas industry—what we normally refer to in our jargon as easy oil, easy gas—is not enough to supply all that demand. And thirdly, CO2, carbon dioxide, is already a problem now. And the solutions to what you can do about CO2? There are no easy solutions.
That's the long-term business environment for where to position your company. Now short term is quite interesting. You have the economic recession that drives, at this moment, lower demand. So here you see, basically, you have a kind of long-term trend of energy demand going up. But now we have a dent in the short term. If the economy comes out of the economic recession—and that will happen, I don't know when—you will see energy demand goes again up and it was only a small blip or a small dent.
And then we expect quite a robust pricing environment for energy because there are not any longer cheap solutions left to easy oil, left to easy gas. Or, if you take it to the alternative energies: alternative energies will come. We are absolutely convinced. But they will not be very cheap for the consumers.
Ivo Bozon: What's your expectation around all the alternative energy policies? How far will they go, and will they dramatically influence the ultimate demand for oil and gas?
Jeroen van der Veer: The majority at this moment is fossil fuels. Then you have this huge growing energy demand in the long term. We think that in 2050, still a very large part will be fossil fuels but, relatively, alternative energies will have gained in market share and the total pie will be bigger.
How will this go? I think at this moment, if you take subsidies out, most alternative energies are still too expensive for consumers. So the first priority is with technology and scale, of course. Can you make alternative energies lower cost? If you have achieved and you know how to do that, then consumers are likely to buy it. The second phase is that, because the costs are now more acceptable for the alternative energy, then you can build a lot of capacity. So first technology development, lower costs, building the capacity; then the people have to deploy it; and then you make an impact on the CO2 problem.
That's one part. The second part is that in fossil fuels—think about coal or oil, and to a lesser extent natural gas because that's relatively clean—you can try to work on CO2 solutions. So can you do carbon capture and storage? If you do that, then you take the disadvantage of fossil fuels away. And that is the parallel path. And, between that, you may see competition and maybe they accelerate each other. That's the good news for the people.
Ivo Bozon: In that world you see reasonable, stable growth still—even to doubling, you say—of the fundamentals of oil and gas demand?
Jeroen van der Veer: Depends which scenario. But if you say that, at this moment, fossil fuels are about 90 percent of total energy supply, and 10 percent is nuclear, and then water power and wind are still very small, then suppose that in the year 2050, 70 percent is still fossil fuels—or even if you take 60 percent, doesn't matter, because 60 percent of a market that is double by 2050 people can calculate. That means that, in fact, in 2050 you sell more fossil fuels than today. And renewables have become quite big because the size of the cake is twice what it is now.
The downturn: A faster cycle
Jeroen van der Veer: Especially between Lehman's and January of this year, we had a much faster cycle. Basically we took a daily view with my CFO: a review of the markets, what was happening internally with our cash, any news about customers. And then we asked ourselves every evening, "Do we need additional decisions or additional directions?" Now since January, I'm glad to say that we could stop the daily cycle. But in fact, you are still very much on top of day by day or week by week to see whether [something is going on]. You don't wait for the monthly reports at all. So that is the whole "steering." I call using your feedback "steering" because of the quick cycle.
The second one is communication. Not only internal communication—people feel uncertain, so they like to understand how the bosses think about it—but external: with politicians, ministers. And nearly every discussion you start in the first two minutes with not necessarily the subject you have to discuss, but [instead with]: "What do you think? How long will it last?" And people, they expect an answer. You better think about that. So you have to think a lot about communication. Externally and internally, what are your key messages?
On leadership: From A to B
Jeroen van der Veer: I think the most simple is, I say, from A to B. And I can explain that. A is very simple: you take stock of where you are today. I did this when I was refinery manager a long time ago. So, know the pluses and minuses of this refinery. Then you should be able to explain that in one or two minutes to all the operators and workers of the refinery. And why is it so important that you have honest judgment? Because if you are too optimistic or too pessimistic, then you don't get credibility from your own workers. So a good assessment provides you: you think, "Yeah, my boss knows what he's talking about. Yeah. Don't like it but, yeah, maybe that's how it is."
That's position A. Now, okay, that's fine. But that's not leadership. Then you have to work out, what is position B? If I take the example of the refinery, where should the refinery be in three or four years from now? Again, if you dare come with a 50-page PowerPoint presentation, you are nowhere. The art is to explain that in the same one to two minutes in very credible terms and you give some key arguments why position B is a good place. Okay. So that's the picture of where the refinery has to go and the key arguments, and people say, "Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'd like to be there. Yeah, I see that." But again, that's not leadership. That's just defining A, defining B.
The third task, which is usually where it goes wrong, is when you have to say: "You have to do this on Monday morning, and you have to do that on Monday morning. And today, it is Friday." And so you need a way really to organize and set clear accountabilities and milestones, especially the ones which have to happen in the very short term on the path from A to B. This is basically a concept that I fostered over the years that has always helped me. And, I say this with a smile, this is about enough.
Ivo Bozon: You're known to be a very strong leader. How do you think people would describe your style?
Jeroen van der Veer: I leave that to those people. What you hear back are words like "quite people oriented," "ability to listen"—no, I think that's enough.
If the company is in difficulties, people have a tendency—especially senior people have a tendency—to walk with their head down. And in the operations, they say, "Okay, the difficulties are somewhere else. It's not us." But in the end, what needed to be done for the reputation: we had to make certain changes in Shell, which basically affects all people. So in that phase, it is quite clear what you expect from the different parts of the company and the communication around that—and that all the communication is then about simplicity and consistency as well. That's how you stabilize the firm. And after the firm is stabilized and you move it forward, you do that with an organizational stability. And then people think, "Hey, that's nice. That's fine."
We keep on doing that. But life is not that easy, because, in the meantime, the external business environment changes, insight on energy demand changes, insight into CO2 and international politics changes. So you have to make sure that, in the stabilization phase, people don't get too slow or too . . . the word complacency is a bit negative . . . but that you again get a mismatched environment. So then you have to be on time to bring those new external aspects into the management; and not just because you are in a crisis. And what at the end of the day counts is, of course, not so much whether you bring those new things into it, but whether you have, as leaders, organized enough speed to make the next adaptation. And that story continues itself all the time.
Business in society: Playing by the rules
Jeroen van der Veer: I have a philosophy for myself, and I'd like first to share that and then to add how I look back at the last ten years. In my view, the role of the chief executive or the first lead of a company is that, if you go for long-term success of the company or long-term shareholder value—because that is then the reward—then the only way you can do that is for the chief executive, with his people, to balance the interests of various stakeholders. As stakeholders go, that's not only shareholders and employees or customers: they're people who live near your operations, they're the governments or the countries where you work, and maybe the NGOs.1
So you have to think that there are many stakeholders around the company. The job of the top team is to balance that. If you are successful in that, then I'm convinced that you create long-term shareholder value, you create happy customers, you create happy employees, happy neighbors, and you have a good reputation. It goes in that sequence. I think that if I look back at the last ten years, it may be that the [traditional] shareholder-value model at least was perceived [negatively] by society. But I think the society was correct in thinking that. Sometimes the interests of shareholders were very dominant compared to all other stakeholders' interests. And then of course you create, over time, criticism. And I think we are in such a phase now.
Ivo Bozon: Do you think the expectations of society of the role that large, international, global companies play will change? Do you believe that society may ask bigger roles of companies in society? Or different roles?
Jeroen van der Veer: Well, at least I've experienced that in companies like Shell—involved in energy—that it is quite, quite often that you are in a situation that people have demands for Shell that we should do certain things. I understand why people ask that, but my answer's been basically, "Hang on. We are not the government of this country. This has to do with your government. Basically, a government sets the conditions and the rules, the laws and the regulations of the land. And within those rules we have to play the game."
Or, if you take soccer terms or football terms, the government has said, "This is the field. These are the rules. There is the referee. And then we can start the game." And then, of course, as a player in the game we may have comments on the size of the field, or the condition of the field, or the referee. But the roles are really different.
I think that will continue. Sometimes the criticism of Shell is in fact criticism of governments. Having said that, in this world we have to step up in our communication. It was already ten years ago when one of my predecessors said it very well. He said, "If you work in a big company, forget that society will think, 'Trust me as a big company.' The automatic trust is not there." Society says, "Show me," "Be transparent," and, "Why should I believe you?" The world is much more critical. And if you go from this "trust me" to this "show me" world, then it is very important that the senior leaders are very good communicators. I started as an engineer, so we all have to learn that over the years.
Ivo Bozon: After the Brent Spar affair,2 you've spent a lot of time on the license to operate. You've innovated in the way you report societal performance of Shell; you've innovated in the way you discuss with different stakeholders around new projects. Is your sense that that actually gives you a competitive edge?
Jeroen van der Veer: Let me give you an example. We have certain projects in Shell, which were from a technical point of view—my technical and economic point of view—good projects. But you run into either the perception that they were environmental problems or the people where the projects had to be built didn't like it. If you then go to the base roots of what went wrong, if anything went wrong, and how could you have done it better, [the problem] is usually in the very early stages of project preparation where we're making the choices between various concepts.
It is not so much the engineering side of it, but it is: How did we read the local population? What was the real interest there? How could we help find jobs? Were there environmental aspects? How did we deal with that? So sensitivity to the many other stakeholders, or their perceptions about that, can help you to get projects better off the ground and with more harmony. If you are better at that, then you are more successful in developing those large-scale projects; and you realize every time that you develop or start up a complex project that it is [essentially your] best business card for the next project.
So in a way the answer is yes: sensitivity on the soft aspects or the many other aspects, which have nothing to do with technology, you can get out of that a competitive advantage. And then the last thing I'd like to say is that now we have a very disciplined approach for large projects—how we start them—just to make sure that people don't ignore all those aspects I just mentioned.
The big picture: Climate change
Jeroen van der Veer: The opportunity for the industry is to provide more energy for lower CO2. That's how I say it for Shell. Our job? Very simple. More energy, lower CO2. But how can we do that? Now we can say to the governments, more energy is, for instance, more oil and gas; lower CO2 is successful next-generation biofuels. And then we can say: okay, more oil and gas but can we get, for instance, carbon capture and storage off the ground? It costs money to build it. It costs money to do it. And it costs, after that, money to monitor it. If we would do that and other companies would not do that, then you don't have a level playing field. We would go out of business, and then the society doesn't get more energy for lower CO2.
So you can say the role of the industry is to show what you can do as a company. Then we have to make a business model, but you need governments to help you to make the business model. They can say, "We make cap and trade. We make sure that, with CO2, if you store it in the ground, you get a revenue prize for that." And then you build business models and, if you are successful in that, it can become big. So here you see a classic example that, in the whole climate change debate, companies have to indicate what they can do about CO2, and when it will work, and what this costs them to go very fast in it. And then the governments have to set regulations around it. That's one.
The problem for governments is not that easy, because the whole CO2 problem is a global problem. And if we have a set of regulations in country A, and in a neighboring country we have a complete other set of regulations, then probably you have not only an unlevel playing field for the energy industry but you may have an unlevel playing field for every energy-intensive industry—think about the cement industry or the chemicals industry. So that's why conferences like Copenhagen, and more to come that have to build international frameworks, are so important because otherwise, if you get too many unlevel playing fields in the world, then it will hamper economic growth and it will slow down the lowering of CO2 in the atmosphere. So it is double bad news.
Management lessons: Looking back on a long career
Ivo Bozon: What is different in that leadership role? What is different about being the true global center point of such a large company?
Jeroen van der Veer: Different compared to 20 years ago or 30 years ago?
Ivo Bozon: Compared to roles in smaller companies—being a leader of a smaller unit, either a country unit or a division. Often you see a break point in the capabilities that people have to have to be able to fill the next-level role as a global leader.
Jeroen van der Veer: I think two come to mind. Even if you are a refinery manager, which is one of my anchor points, and you do something at the top of the refinery—and it was one of the largest refineries in the world—but I can still, in the Netherlands, I can go on my bicycle to the shop floor to see that a message arrived. If you are a global CEO, you can take spot checks. We still try to do that. We have all kinds of feedback mechanisms. You can measure it. But there is always the danger that—and it is an old cliché but it is there—you lose contact between the top floor and the shop floor. So you have to organize for yourself a way that that does not happen.
And if it happens, people will feel it quickly. I say always keep your feet on the ground—keep on listening. And when I say feet on the ground, [I mean] size 12 in the States, [size] 46 here. So a big foot helps. That's one. The other problem, the other big difference of a chief executive is that you have to really to think, "Suppose I don't do anything. What would go wrong?" There is no point to spend my energy if basically the organization would already take care of that itself. So you have to ask yourself—I have to ask myself—all the time, "Suppose I wouldn't do anything here? I simply let it go. Will it solve itself? Or may it solve itself too slowly? Do I interfere? And if I interfere, what do I try to achieve by that?"
And, okay, that's the easy part. But the other part of this story is many of the things I do now are not even for my successor but for the successor of my successor. I think about that. We are setting up now already research and development for how we can get oil out of the ground that is much more difficult with oil sands. This is years of research, development. But we have already looked into where we can buy or get access to the acreage now.
So you have to think really about the 10- or 20-year [effects of] what you do today. And if you don't do that as the senior leader, the chances that you get the organization motivated about that over such long time horizons is pretty low. So you have to drive not only what would happen if I don't interfere, but at the same time you have to force yourself to think, "Well, which steps do I take for myself today? What do I promote?" And maybe somebody in 2025 will say, "Thank you very much." But that is not the normal nature, because the normal nature is that people like to be busy with the very short term and not with the long term.
It gives me more inspiration to think about the regrets than about the achievements. Because at the regret side, it is much better if you think about it because then in driving the company forward you don't create new regrets. And if I think about not only the last 5 years but the last 20 years, it is quite often that I say to myself, "Hang on. You had, already, the direction of the thinking. Maybe you had not all the proof, but the gut feeling, the intuition, was there. You could have made more speed. But then sometimes you were not sure, or you felt that a lot of other people were thinking differently." There were always excuses. And sometimes we made good speed; we'll say that as well. But I'm relatively impatient. And if I look back sometimes I think, hang on, we should have made even more speed. Usually my regrets are those kinds of things.


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Colorado theater shooting
Prospective jurors in the Colorado theater shooting case were being questioned Wednesday about their views on the death penalty and mental illness as the second phase of jury selection began.
In the months ahead, the judge and lawyers on both sides are expected to question hundreds of people who were not excused after filling out lengthy questionnaires.
The first person questioned — a woman who appeared to be in her 20s — expressed some reservations about the death penalty but said she could keep an open mind. She was asked to return for the next round of selection.
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Matsuzaka versus Ichiro: Prediction! More people will watch this game in
Rutgers Women's Hoops vs. Don Imus: Media is so full of phonies, frauds and caricatures that it is arresting to see the kind of authenticity and sincerity and realness that the
(It's not that I think Imus should be terminated, per se, but I mostly can't understand why anyone would listen to him – and I am even more incredulous why news-media "guests" would suckle at Imus' teat. So-called journalists who pander to him are the ones with the bigger problem. How can any self-respecting media type appear on his show now?)
PacMan Jones vs. Roger Goodell: The punishment seems pretty harsh, but Pac-Man has been such a complete ass (not to mention an embarrassment to the league), that I'm glad to see Goodell taking a stand. It's an assertion of power by an NFL Commish that is so aggressively novel. As Stephen Colbert might say, "NFL Players (and Employees): You're on Notice."
Bonus! Chris Henry vs. Roger Goodell: Henry was suspended 8 games, and the severity had to be a product of the NFL's overall frustration with the entire Bengals organization.
Kevin Durant vs. the NBA: See yesterday's "Lead Item" post for my full take on Durant in the NBA. Needless to say, I don't know what's going to be more fun -- the NBA Draft Lottery or actually seeing him play once he's on a team.
(Arron Afflalo vs. the NBA: Here's hoping he doesn't see defenders like Corey Brewer every night. I've read he's late-first at best, but 6-foot-5 shooting guards are a dime-a-dozen in the NBA. Welcome to the D-League. Here's the thing: Another year of college won't help his NBA stock. Kind of like Tyler Hansbrough. Except Afflalo wants to cash in; Hansbrough figures he might as well stay and continue racking up the college accolades before NBA oblivion.)
Hank Aaron vs. Barry Bonds: Aaron won't be attending when Bonds breaks his record. He seems to be sick of all the hype, but I think he's doing a disservice to baseball by not being there.
Brendan Donnelly vs. Jose Guillen: Nice to see that old feuds stay warm over multiple seasons.
NBA Regular Season Ending vs. Integrity: I always get in trouble for suggesting that teams "tank" for various reasons (draft order, playoff seeding, avoiding injuries), and yet, where's the outrage that the Pistons (among others) are basically going to phone it in (it's being called an "exhibition-season rotation") until the playoffs. How is that not the same as tanking games, just without using the word "tank." There IS no outrage: Because tanking is perfectly acceptable under the right circumstances.
Billy Gillispie vs. Billy Donovan: Give Gillispie the edge for recruiting in the High School Class of 2009. He got his first commitment from a Top 20-ranked 16-year-old soph PG from...
Michael Irvin vs. Shawn Vandergrift: After being sued by the disabled contractor, Irvin has counter-sued. Of COURSE he has. (Vandergrift: a Dickensian name for a contractor if ever there was one, agreed?)
The Webbys vs. Sports Bloggers: No offense to any of the Webby nominees in the "Best Sports Site" category, but WTF?! No "DanShanoff.com," I can certainly understand. But no Deadspin? No Kissing Suzy Kolber? No Fanhouse? No Dugout? (I could go on. I'll refrain.) Well, at least Colin Cowherd's Webcast wasn't on the list. Success.
Kissing Suzy Kolber vs. the Ladies...: This one has already been won. There's nothing like a good guest-post, so be sure to stop by KSK today for a taste of the Ladies... Crew, running their site today, off of an NCAA Tournament bracket-picking bet.
Finally: NFL Regular-Season Schedule revealed today at 1 p.m. Expect to see a lot of mainstream and blog analysis of the best, worst, easiest, hardest, coolest, lamest, etc. -- and that's by TEAM.


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There's a well-known saying in New England that if you don't like the weather here, wait a minute. When it comes to independent voters, those weather changes can just as quickly shift beliefs about climate change.
New research from the University of New Hampshire finds that the climate change beliefs of independent voters are dramatically swayed by short-term weather conditions. The research was conducted by Lawrence Hamilton, professor of sociology and senior fellow at the Carsey Institute, and Mary Stampone, assistant professor of geography and the New Hampshire state climatologist. The research is presented in the article "Blowin' in the Wind: Short-Term Weather and Belief in Anthropogenic Climate Change" in the American Meteorological Society journal Weather, Climate, and Society.
"We find that over 10 surveys, Republicans and Democrats remain far apart and firm in their beliefs about climate change. Independents fall in between these extremes, but their beliefs appear weakly held — literally blowing in the wind. Interviewed on unseasonably warm days, independents tend to agree with the scientific consensus on human-caused climate change. On unseasonably cool days, they tend not to," Hamilton and Stampone say.
Hamilton and Stampone used statewide data from about 5,000 random-sample telephone interviews conducted on 99 days over two and a half years (2010 to 2012) by the Granite State Poll. They combined the survey data with temperature and precipitation indicators derived from New Hampshire's U.S. Historical Climatology Network (USHCN) station records. Survey respondents were asked whether they thought climate change is happening now, caused mainly by human activities. Alternatively, respondents could state that climate change is not happening, or that it is happening but mainly for natural reasons.
Unseasonably warm or cool temperatures on the interview day and previous day seemed to shift the odds of respondents believing that humans are changing the climate. However, when researchers broke these responses down by political affiliation (Democrat, Republican or independent), they found that temperature had a substantial effect on climate change views mainly among independent voters.
"Independent voters were less likely to believe that climate change was caused by humans on unseasonably cool days and more likely to believe that climate change was caused by humans on unseasonably warm days. The shift was dramatic. On the coolest days, belief in human-caused climate change dropped below 40 percent among independents. On the hottest days, it increased above 70 percent," Hamilton says.
New Hampshire's self-identified independents generally resemble their counterparts on a nationwide survey that asked the same questions, according to the researchers. Independents comprise 18 percent of the New Hampshire estimation sample, compared with 17 percent nationally. They are similar with respect to education, but slightly older, and more balanced with respect to gender.
In conducting their analysis, the researchers took into account other factors such as education, age, and sex. They also made adjustments for the seasons, and for random variation between surveys that might be caused by nontemperature events.


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The Shaw Prize Foundation will hold a press conference in Hong Kong on Tuesday, 7 June 2011 to announce the Shaw Laureates for 2011.
The information about the Laureates will also be posted on our website https://www.shawprize.org at Hong Kong time 1530 (GMT 0730) on that date. Highlights of the press conference will be released worldwide via satellite between Hong Kong time 1930 − 2000 (GMT 1130 − 1200).
The Shaw Laureates 2011 will receive their Awards in Hong Kong at the ceremonial prize-giving on Wednesday, 28 September 2011. The Shaw Prize, which was launched in November 2002, consists of three annual prizes: Astronomy, Life Science and Medicine, and Mathematical Sciences. Each prize carries a monetary award of US$1 million.
Established under the auspices of Mr Run Run Shaw, the Prize honours individuals, regardless of race, nationality and religious belief, who have achieved significant breakthrough in academic and scientific research or application and whose work has resulted in a positive and profound impact on mankind.
The Shaw Prize is an international award managed and administered by The Shaw Prize Foundation based in Hong Kong. Mr Shaw also founded The Sir Run Run Shaw Charitable Trust and The Shaw Foundation Hong Kong, both dedicated to the promotion of education, scientific and technological research, medical and welfare services, and culture and the arts.
Jeannie Lee | Joanne Yik |
The Shaw Prize Secretariat | Link-Work Communications (HK) Ltd |
Email: email@example.com | Email: email@example.com |
Tel No: (852) 2994 4888 / 2335 5683 | Tel No: (852) 2918 0901 |
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24 May 2011 Hong Kong


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Little Sis aka LS is a funny creature. She is the kind you would like to have at the other table at the fancy restaurant. The kind who will stick her tongue out at you, climb up and down the high chair, throw forks around, throw folks around and make you silently gloat on your own parenting skills. When she starts yelling you can pay your tip and leave.
I cannot leave however. I am the Mother. I have to grab her by the nape while I shovel Pad Thai down mine. I have to constantly remind her that throwing a plate(thankfully it was a copper or some metallic kind) around is not acceptable behavior, that she cannot pull tablecloths or poke ac vents.
People@Home think I am too soft with her. But trust me I am not. Ok, maybe I have lost the steam to discipline since Big Sis aka BS but even then I am not soft. It is just that LS is like that, naughty and funny and always on her toes.
Now BS is the quieter one, she doesn't scold her little sis when LS shouts "My Turn" ever so often, doesn't utter a word when LS takes away her crayons, lets her lick her ice cream and only sometimes complains that LS scratched her arms.
LS never complains. If needed she throws herself on the floor albeit carefully and expresses her anger. She plays mostly with BS's friends and uses her limited English editions of "Hello", "How are You Doing", "No, don't" and "My Turn". After that she just continues in Bengali. She figures her way around them, relying totally on BS for help and ignoring any grown up interference.
A couple months back when we were at Orlando, she shook hands with Mickey and told him a lot of stuff including "Hello", "How are you doing". Unfortunately Mickey did not understand a word. Since then she has a Mickey fixation. So she is the kid you can hear yelling "Mickey", "Mickey" at the library or the mall or anywhere the familiar mouse is visible.
She is the one with parents sporting an embarrassed look.
Next time when you hear a kid in the flight protesting to wear the sea belt, when you see a kid who is practicing target with forks and peas at the restaurant, when you hear a kid whose excited voice drowns the silence in the library please, please DO NOT blame the parents.
Think of LS. Some kids are "like that wonly".
Now to the Dal cooked with a bunch of beet greens. This again is my Ma's dish. Since we usually get a bunch of beet for LS, Ma uses the greens in this Dal and it has become a family favorite. You can work around with the spices and the type of Dal. I have always, always cooked this with only Masoor--Red Lentils but I have a hunch that this will go beautifully with Toor too.
Read more...
Dal with Beet Greens
Wash and cook Masoor Dal(Red Lentils) with enough water and little turmeric. I usually do it in the pressure cooker. I had about 4 cups of Cooked Dal. My dal was cooked rather thick, usually it should be more liquid.
Chop the Beet Greens. I had one bunch of it.
Heat 3-4 tsp of Oil in a heavy bottomed pan. Temper the oil with 1 small Bay Leaf, 4 cardamom, 4 clove and 1" thin stick of cinnamon
Add 2 cloves of garlic finely minced, followed soon by almost 1 &1/2 -- 2 cups of chopped onion. Fry the onion till it is soft and translucent.
Add the chopped Beet Greens. Fry the greens till there is no raw smell of the greens. If they tend to stick to the bottom of the pan, sprinkle water and scrape and fry.
Add about 1/4 tsp of Garam Masala powder if you wish and 1 more tsp of oil. Fry for couple more minutes
Now add the cooked dal. Do this gradually, sauteing the dal along with the greens so that they mix thoroughly
Now add water about 3-4 cups of it. Add salt and sugar to taste. Add chili powder to taste. Let the Dal simmer till it comes to a boil. Mix thoroughly. Switch off and squeeze a quarter lime juice into the Dal. Serve with rice or Roti or just by itself.


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Doug and Pam Sterner don't want the notoriety that comes with exposing people posing as military heroes, but with the Supreme Court weighing the Stolen Valor Act's constitutionality, the national spotlight seems inescapable.
Reporters from across the country have converged on the local husband and wife, who have a larger stake than most in the now controversial Congressional act, which outlaws lying about a military honor. A college paper Pam authored served as the 2006 law's blueprint; Doug spends his days compiling service award recipients for a Military Times database.
The couple admits the legislation had an inauspicious beginning. Before Stolen Valor became law, people posing as military award recipients were only prosecutable if caught falsely wearing medals.
"We had people holding up medals, having newspaper articles done and they were smart enough not to put [the medals] on their person," Pam said. "My idea was to take the existing legislation and close a loophole."
She never saw the law leading to the prosecution of a grandparent for an embellished war account or making those trading exaggerated war stories over a beer criminals. The pair hoped it would deter — or at least punish — the "phonies" who claim fake military medals for personal gain or recognition at the expense of real veterans.
But concerns the law infringes on free speech by essentially banning lying, propelled the law to the Supreme Court. Justices hypothesized upholding the legislation could lead to laws against lying about affairs, diplomas and degrees — or even trying to impress the opposite sex — during a February 22 hearing.
A California elected official, Xavier Alvarez, is at the center of the case. One of the first prosecuted under the law, Alvarez had claimed receiving the Medal of Honor. Though he passed himself off as a wounded veteran, Alvarez never served in the military.
Doug, a Vietnam War veteran, acknowledges the "slippery slope" arguments critics make about the law's effect on free speech. While veterans' organizations back the act, civil liberties groups and media outlets, including the Associated Press, oppose Stolen Valor.
Putting aside the free speech issue, the problem of falsified military records and decorations is widespread and undermines the achievements of real veterans, he said. Doug has come across about 2,000 cases in a decade and works with law enforcement to track down the worst offenders.
Still, he'd prefer working on completing his database of military award recipients (something the Defense Department has repeatedly declined to do) instead of debunking fake heroes. Though often portrayed as a passionate hunter of liars, Doug makes clear his frustration with his unofficial side job.
"I do this because I have to, because my work is [creating] a database of these heroes, but when I run into and encounter these phonies, you have to deal with them," he said. "I am annoyed because I want to spend all my time writing the history of these heroes."
Discussing the families he's helped by confirming past military achievements, Doug brightens. That's what he takes joy in, not debunking posers. He estimates spending about 3 percent of his time tracking down liars and the rest on the database and a personal website, Home of Heroes, devoted to the real deal.
And while the couple stands steadfast behind Stolen Valor as constitutional and necessary, they admit reservations. Both worry the intensifying spotlight on embellished military achievements casts doubt on real veterans — a seemingly unavoidable consequence of the issue.
"To me, more than anything it places suspicion on real veterans and heroes," Doug said. "If every other dollar in circulation is counterfeit, you start looking at all bills more closely. When you do meet somebody wounded in Iraq or Afghanistan, [we worry] the first thing you think of is: Is he a phony?"


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Two dead in Miami airport charter bus crash
| Miami
At Miami International Airport, two large signs warn drivers of large vehicles not to pass beneath the 8-foot-6 inch concrete overpass. Authorities say two passengers are dead and others have been critically injured after a too-tall charter bus smashed into the overpass, crumpling metal.
One of the signs attached to the top of the concrete barrier reads: "High Vehicle STOP Turn Left." The other, placed to the left of the driveway and several feet in front of the barrier, says all vehicles higher than the 8-foot-6 threshold must turn left.
Authorities said the large, white bus carrying 32 members of a church group hit the overpass after the driver got lost Saturday, killing two male passengers and leaving three other passengers critically injured.
Airport spokesman Greg Chin said the bus was too tall for the entrance to the arrivals area and that buses are supposed to go through the departures area because of its higher clearance.
The bus was going about 20 mph when it struck the overpass Saturday morning, Chin added. News photographs showed the front of the vehicle's rooftop crumpled beneath the overpass.
Osvaldo Lopez, an officer with the Miami-Dade Aviation Department, said he heard a loud noise Saturday morning and rushed to help. He said he went inside the bus and found several passengers tossed into the center aisle. He said the passengers, many of whom were elderly, remained calm.
"It was just very bloody," he added.
Police said that one man, Serafin Castillo, 86, of Miami, died at the scene. A second man identified by authorities as Francisco Urana, 56, also of Miami, died later at a hospital.
Chin said passengers told him they were part of a group of Jehovah's Witnesses headed to West Palm Beach. Police said in a news release that the group had chartered the bus to take them to a church convention there.
The group was made up of congregation members of Sweetwater's Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses, said Sweetwater Mayor Manny Maroño.
"This is a tragic accident that has affected many families, as well as, our Sweetwater family," Maroño said in a statement.
A phone number listed for the center in Sweetwater went unanswered in the hours after the crash.
Three people were at hospitals in critical condition. The other 27 surviving passengers were hurt, but their injuries were less extensive, authorities said.
Eight of the 14 patients initially taken to Ryder Trauma Center at Jackson Memorial Hospital were in stable condition while two others were in critical, said hospital spokeswoman Lidia Amoretti. Local reports said three people with lesser injuries were later released.
A majority of the injuries were facial due to the frontal impact, said Miami-Dade Police spokesman Det. Alvaro Zabaleta.
He said the driver was not familiar with the airport area and it was too early to say if charges would be filed. Investigators said they had conducted interviews Saturday with the driver, who suffered minor injuries.
"The preliminary info tells us that he wasn't too familiar with the area surrounding the airport, and that's what led him to take perhaps the wrong ramp that led him onto the property of the airport, and because of not being familiar with the airport, did not know or really see the height requirement in order for that bus to clear the overpass," Zabaleta said.
The bus was privately owned and typically used for tours, authorities said.
Markings on the bus show it was owned by Miami Bus Service Corp.
The company owns three motor coaches, according to the records. Miami Bus Service Corp. officials did not immediately respond to a phone message Saturday.
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration records found online show the company has had no violations for unsafe driving or controlled substances and alcohol. It also had not reported any crashes in the two years before Oct. 26, 2012.
The records show it did receive three citations related to driver fatigue in April 2011.
Associated Press reporter Jackie Quinn in Washington contributed to this report.


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Princeton University awarded honorary degrees during Commencement exercises Tuesday, June 5, to six individuals for their contributions to athletics, music, education, the humanities and science.
Princeton President Shirley M. Tilghman awarded degrees to Peter Carril, basketball Hall-of-Famer and former Princeton coach; Aretha Franklin, the singer known as "the Queen of Soul"; Eduardo Padrón, president of Miami Dade College; Joan Wallach Scott, the Harold F. Linder Professor in the School of Social Science at the Institute for Advanced Study; Joseph Taylor Jr., the James McDonnell Distinguished Professor of Physics Emeritus at Princeton; and Karen Uhlenbeck, the Sid W. Richardson Foundation Regents Chair in Mathematics at the University of Texas-Austin.
The following is biographical information on the recipients and the official citations.
Peter Carril, Doctor of Humanities
Hall of Fame college basketball coach Peter "Pete" Carril led the Princeton University men's basketball team for 29 seasons and is known for popularizing a style of play now called "the Princeton offense." After college, the Army and several high school and college coaching positions, Carril came to Princeton in 1967. The teams he coached won 514 games and 13 Ivy League championships, and led the nation in defensive points allowed 14 times. Rather than flashy play, the Princeton offense revolved around the principles of discipline and selflessness, and the strategy of constant motion, passing and cutting.
Carril took Princeton to 11 NCAA tournaments and two National Invitation Tournaments, winning the NIT in 1975. In the first round of the NCAA tournament in 1996, Princeton notched a memorable win by beating the defending champion University of California-Los Angeles team; it was Carril's last victory as the Princeton head coach. At the time that he retired, he was the only Division I coach to earn 500 victories without providing athletic scholarships, which the Ivy League prohibits. Carril then joined the NBA's Sacramento Kings, spending 15 years as an assistant coach and consultant. In 1997, he was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. In 2009, the game floor of Princeton's Jadwin Gymnasium was named Carril Court.
More often than not, his players were shorter, slower and less athletically gifted than their opponents, but he turned their limitations into strengths — teaching them that the greatest attributes were intelligence, discipline, selflessness and commitment. His defense was tenacious and his offense was legendary, where movement was paramount, the pass was as important as the shot, and the back door was often the portal to victory. David once again beat Goliath when he coached Princeton to one of the greatest upsets in NCAA history, but his greatest legacy was his teaching. He once wrote, "I think Princeton kept me because some of my players seemed better for the experience." So is college sport. So are we all.
Aretha Franklin, Doctor of Music
Aretha Franklin, the "Queen of Soul," has a repertoire that spans soul, jazz, rock, blues, pop and gospel. Singing in her father's church marked the beginning of Franklin's musical journey. She recorded her first album at age 18 and has recorded 223 albums in a career spanning more than 50 years. In 1968, she sang at the funeral of Martin Luther King Jr., a close friend of her father. During the civil rights movement, her soul music spoke to a new generation, and her most famous hit, "Respect," a 1967 cover of an Otis Redding track, is considered her greatest triumph and a vocal foreshadowing of the women's movement.
Franklin sang at the inaugural gala for President Jimmy Carter in 1977 and at the 1993 inauguration of President Bill Clinton, who awarded her the 1999 National Medal of Arts. In 2005, she received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President George W. Bush. She also sang at the inauguration of President Barack Obama in 2009. Franklin's honors include 21 Grammy Awards, with the 1991 Living Legend Grammy and the 1994 Lifetime Achievement Grammy. In 1987, she became the first woman to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Franklin earned the United Negro College Fund's Award of Excellence in 2007, and in 2008, Rolling Stone magazine named her No. 1 on its list of "The 100 Greatest Singers of All Time."
The first woman in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the #1 "Greatest Singer of the Rock Era," she earned her legendary status in American culture as a result of her virtuosic vocals that fundamentally and forever transformed the world of popular music. She pioneered an impeccably bold and fearless, affective and affecting style of performance that calls upon listeners to journey to the depths of her soul and, in so doing, discover their own. With her singular "Amazing Grace," she continues to traverse musical bridges "over troubled water," and by reminding us to "think," "do right" and "call" on her, the Queen of Soul will forever command the world's R-E-S-P-E-C-T.
Eduardo Padrón, Doctor of Laws
Eduardo Padrón has served since 1995 as the president of Miami Dade College, the largest institution of higher education in America with more than 170,000 students. Padrón, who trained as an economist, is known for his advocacy on behalf of underserved populations in higher education and is often invited to participate in educational policy forums in the United States and abroad. Miami Dade College enrolls and graduates more minorities, including the largest numbers of Hispanics and African Americans, than any other college in the country. Padrón arrived in America in 1961 at age 15, as part of Operation Pedro Pan, a program during the Cuban revolution that brought Cuban children to the United States.
Padrón has been honored with several presidential appointments; most recently, President Barack Obama appointed him in 2010 as chairman of the White House Commission on Educational Excellence for Hispanic Americans and invited Padrón to represent the United States at the 2009 UNESCO World Conference on Higher Education. A member of the Council on Foreign Relations, Padrón has also received numerous honors including the Reginald Wilson Diversity Leadership Award from the American Council on Education and the 2012 Aspen Institute/Ascend Fellowship, awarded to pioneers from diverse fields who pursue new pathways that break the cycle of intergenerational poverty.
He came to this country at age 15, a refugee from Cuba. He began college at the only school that accepted him, and in 1995 he was named its president. Under his leadership, Miami Dade has become not only this country's largest and one of its most diverse institutions of higher education, but the standard bearer for the transformative role community colleges can play in serving their communities and helping students from all backgrounds fulfill their aspirations. An influential and inspirational advocate for opportunity, access and excellence, he speaks persuasively and persistently not only to his institution but to the entire nation and the world.
Joan Wallach Scott, Doctor of Humane Letters
Joan Wallach Scott is the Harold F. Linder Professor in the School of Social Science at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton. She joined the institute as a professor in 1985 after serving as the founding director of the Pembroke Center for Teaching and Research on Women at Brown University. Previously, she taught at three other U.S. universities. Scott is best known for her pioneering work in feminist history and gender theory. Written more than 25 years ago, her classic article, "Gender: A Useful Category of Historical Analysis," continues to inspire research on women and gender. While the geographical focus of her work is France, her work addresses universal issues. Her most recent books include "The Fantasy of Feminist History"; "The Politics of the Veil"; "Parité: Sexual Equality and the Crisis of French Universalism"; and "Only Paradoxes to Offer: French Feminists and the Rights of Man."
Scott is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Her numerous honors include three from the American Historical Association: the Award for Scholarly Distinction, the Nancy Lyman Roelker Mentorship Award for Graduate Teaching and the Joan Kelly Memorial Prize in Women's History for "Gender and the Politics of History."
A quarter-century ago, she made gender a crucial category for historical scholarship. Understanding gender relations, she showed us, goes beyond studying the status of women. In studies ranging from 19th-century glassworkers of Carmaux to veiled students in current-day Paris, she has illuminated the systems of distinction and legacies of subordination that stand behind the language of equality. By linking the realms of public and private, secular and religious, fantasy and reality, she has extended feminist theory while launching new lines of inquiry in social science, providing new insight into who we are and how we relate to each other.
Joseph Taylor Jr., Doctor of Science
Joseph Taylor Jr. is the James McDonnell Distinguished University Professor of Physics Emeritus at Princeton. He shared the Nobel Prize in physics in 1993 with Russell Hulse for their discovery of a unique twin star system known as a binary pulsar and its use to verify Einstein's general theory of relativity. Taylor joined the Princeton faculty in 1980 and served as dean of the faculty from 1997 to 2002, after which he returned to teaching and transferred to emeritus status in 2006. His career has included faculty positions at the University of Massachusetts and Harvard University. He was a visiting scientist at the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico and at the Australia Telescope National Facility and served as associate director of the Five College Radio Astronomy Observatory in Massachusetts for four years.
Taylor's research continues to explore problems in astrophysics and gravitational physics by means of radio-wavelength studies of pulsars. He is also known for his work in amateur radio, which he started pursuing as a teenager and for which he has written several computer programs. Among his numerous awards, Taylor has received the Dannie Heineman Prize for Astrophysics, a MacArthur Fellowship, the Albert Einstein Medal and the Wolf Prize in Physics. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the American Philosophical Society, and is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Physical Society.
A boyhood fascination with radios led him to scan the skies for signals from across the galaxy. He and his students were rewarded with radio pulses from a pair of spinning bodies whose slightly diminishing dance told a story of the deepest laws of the universe. The world has been rewarded with decades of insights that flowed from that encounter, including confirmation of Einstein's theory of relativity. As a professor and as dean of the faculty, his firm but gentle drive for the highest-quality work advanced his field and this University, bolstering the ranks of students who were inspired by his curiosity and colleagues who shared his passion for seeking and transmitting knowledge.
Karen Uhlenbeck, Doctor of Science
Karen Uhlenbeck has used her renown in mathematics to encourage and mentor younger generations of mathematicians, particularly women. Uhlenbeck flourished as a student, but was attuned to the discouraging attitude toward women in mathematics and science. After receiving her doctorate, she held faculty positions at the University of Illinois-Urbana-Champaign, the University of Illinois-Chicago, the University of Chicago and the University of Texas-Austin, where since 1987 she has served as a professor and the Sid W. Richardson Foundation Regents Chair in Mathematics. Uhlenbeck became recognized for her work in mathematical physics and partial differential equations, particularly gauge theory and global analysis.
Uhlenbeck has received numerous honors, including the National Medal of Science in 2000, for her work as a researcher and educator. In 2007, her colleagues in the American Mathematical Society honored her work in gauge theory with the Leroy P. Steele Prize for published work of lasting and fundamental importance. As a teacher and mentor, Uhlenbeck co-founded, with the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, the IAS/Park City Mathematics Program, which provides intensive instruction for students and educators at the secondary and postsecondary levels. In addition, she co-founded the IAS/Princeton University Program for Women and Mathematics, a summer study program for women at the undergraduate and advanced levels.
A mathematician with a self-avowed "addiction to intellectual excitement," she made foundational contributions to mathematical physics and partial differential equations. Her seminal work on large gauge theory has fundamentally influenced the field of particle dynamics. Her 40-plus years of research and teaching have fundamentally influenced the lives of countless young mathematicians. The programs she founded take students and educators on an inspiring journey deep into the wonders of mathematics, encouraging more young people, and especially women, to enter — and stay — in the field, and providing them with an environment that fosters their own "addiction to intellectual excitement."


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Life without conflict is impossible. Everywhere we go, we find conflict in some form, be it international wars or hostile conference rooms. Conflict has been part of life since the dawn of humanity, and probably a lot earlier than that, if you can picture single-celled organisms battling it out for the best spot in the primordial ooze. But how we humans manage and move beyond conflict separates the kids from the grown-ups. (Though, in my career, I've witnessed grown men and women whose behavior rivaled a three-year-old, mid-meltdown.)
In design, as with most fields, some conflict is healthy. It ensures that bad ideas are tossed out and that the best and most innovative ideas rise to the top. We've all experienced conflict from various perspectives. Whether presenting and defending an idea, critiquing one you don't agree with, or observing a conflict from afar, we live and work amidst constant conflict.
Interestingly, the word 'conflict' in Chinese consists of two symbols—one means danger and the other, opportunity. This is an elegant way of summing up the natural tension in the way people perceive conflict.
Most of us can tell when conflict isn't managed effectively. Healthy creative banter is a beautiful thing, but it can turn into ugly, counter-productive posturing when opinions become closed, progress gives way to stagnation, and it becomes impossible to move beyond a disagreement. Getting unstuck requires more than rational thinking, it takes soft skills, self-awareness, and lots of practice.
So when does conflict turn the corner from beneficial to detrimental?
When Good Conflict Goes Bad
"I'm right. You're wrong. The end." It's the workplace equivalent of our parents' favorite saying: "Because I said so, that's why!" A few years on the job and you're sure to come in contact with That Person; the one who never gives in, the one who can turn a one-hour review into an unproductive waste of an afternoon, simply by refusing to gracefully give in to the collective wisdom of the group. It's meetings like these that leave you asking yourself, "Is it bring your inner child to work day or what?"
In Bossypants, Tina Fey describes how each week's sketches were selected during her years at Saturday Night Live. Once a week, the writers sat around a conference room table and read their pieces out loud. Then they voted on which were the funniest. In the chapter titled "I Don't Care If You Like It" Fey writes: "It is an impressively arrogant move to conclude that just because you don't like something, it is empirically not good. I don't like Chinese food, but I don't write articles trying to prove it doesn't exist." She is specifically addressing sexism and prejudice in the workplace, but the sentiment can be applied to all forms of conflict.
Around the SNL writer's table, you could argue on behalf of your piece, or someone else's, but in the end, the group decided together. That type of creative collaboration is what we all strive for. For most of us, letting go of our brilliant and groundbreaking ideas isn't easy. For some of us, it's impossible.
Fear of Peaceful Confrontation
With conflict being such an integral part of life, you'd think we'd all be better at dealing with it. Yet people often avoid confrontation. "Go along to get along," we're told. But when resentments build, relationships become strained. Imagined slights fester and become more exaggerated over time—as does one party's animosity toward the other. This is often the case when the angry party is afraid of confronting the issue for some reason. Maybe they're having difficulty with a stakeholder. Or perhaps a coworker is taking credit for their work.
Once an attitude of hostility sets in, however, the other party's actions will always be viewed with suspicion. And in a workplace environment, this dynamic creates a toxic atmosphere that's not conducive to collaboration or creativity.
When I find myself dreading a difficult conversation or a face-off, my self-administered pep talk always starts with: "What is the absolute worst thing that can happen if I say X?" Why lose sleep over the possibility of having an uncomfortable conversation? No matter how awkward the discussion turns out to be, I always feel better afterwards because I've voiced my opinion and shared my perspective. Done correctly, with respect for the other person's experience of the situation, confrontation allows me to release tension or negativity before they build up and I explode.
Nietzsche sums it up in Beyond Good and Evil writing: "He who fights with monsters should look to it that he himself does not become a monster. And when you gaze long into an abyss the abyss also gazes into you." Tyranny and bullying from the top can be effective, but that approach doesn't work for long. Eventually, dictators are overthrown by their disgruntled subjects. Good leaders know great things happen when everyone is on board and committed to a common goal. Great leaders build consensus, work toward compromise, and deal with conflicts before they derail a project.
Ambassadors of Consensus
So, how can we deal with conflict in the workplace?
#1 Avoid it
(No, not by running out of the conference room if someone disagrees with you.) The easiest way to handle conflict is to take steps to prevent it in the first place, through careful planning and setting and resetting expectations. Create a safe, open atmosphere that encourages collaboration and communication.
#2 Embrace it
Stop being afraid of conflict and confrontation. They're not going away any time soon. Sharing your thoughts and opinions is not by definition a hostile act. The sooner you bring the conflict out into the open, the sooner it can be resolved.
#3 Get through it
It's funny what you can learn from children's books. In Helen Oxenbury and Michael Rosen's We're Going on a Bear Hunt, when the family is confronted with a challenge, the theme is repeated "We can't go over it. We can't go under it. Oh, no! We've got to go through it!"
Handled well, a little confrontation can go a long way toward strengthening a relationship. If tensions have built up between you and another person, you can bet that you're not the only one feeling it. Each time you reach out with the intention of resolving an ongoing conflict, you're opening a door to opportunity and inviting the other party to step through it with you. You're laying a foundation for a healthier relationship, which is essential to doing great work.
Advice From the Front Lines
So, how do you tackle a tough conversation when it heats up? First off, just like in high school, it pays to be popular. Meaning, you have the upper hand if people actually like you. You don't have to be homecoming queen (or king), but when people enjoy working with you, they're more likely to be able to handle the occasional disagreement with you, even a heated one. Of course, even if you're the office pariah, you can still manage conflict, I promise.
Rather than view the confrontation as a battle, think of it as a peacekeeping mission. You're there to give both parties a chance to air their opinions—and possibly their grievances. Listen and acknowledge other points of view. Express your own respectfully. Pretend that the success of your mission depends on finding a way to work together; because, actually, it does.
And remember, no matter how skilled you become at managing conflict, there still may be situations that end in an impasse. In these cases, unless forward progress is impeded by continuing disagreement, it's acceptable to agree to disagree, as long as you know you've tried your hardest. The bottom line is that if stakeholders or colleagues are unable or unwilling to participate in open, good-spirited conflict resolution, then you can't afford to keep them around. Sometimes the only thing to do is sever all ties, though clearly, this decision should be a last resort.
Cultivating Soft Skills
Unlike typing speed or spreadsheet prowess, it's not easy to measure soft skills like leadership, self-motivation, and the ability to think critically. But we certainly recognize them when we see them in action, whether it's the colleague who can calm the most anxious stakeholder with just a few words, or the coworker who can win an entire team to his side, seemingly by magic.
If you struggle with any of the skills mentioned above, don't despair. Bookstore shelves are lined with numerous titles to help you fill in the gaps, including bestsellers like How to be Disagree Without Being Disagreeable: Getting Your Point Across with Gentle Art of Self-Defense by Suzette Hadin Elgin and Getting to Yes by Willam Ury and Bruce Patton. In Stephen Covey's Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, he boils it down to this: "If I were to summarize in one sentence the single most important principle I have learned in the field of interpersonal relations, it would be this: Seek first to understand, then to be understood. This principle is the key to effective interpersonal communication."
Better still, if you work with people who regularly display the skills you'd like to acquire, pay attention to how they work.
You can learn to handle conflict more effectively. As I mentioned before, understanding the inevitability of conflict can make it feel a little less distressing. When faced with a difficult situation, take a few steps back and ask yourself if you're disagreeing on principle or because it really matters to the project. (i.e. is your ego getting in the way of a wise business decision?) Once you're sure of your motivations, you can proceed to calmly and respectfully share your opinion with those who disagree.
Fight the Good Fight
Jason Fried, co-founder of 37Signals, says, "Conflict is a lot like water—it spills over; it flows downhill; and, if left unchecked, it erodes whatever it touches. And sometimes it's like red wine, it stains."
But that's only when it's not understood and not managed properly. Rather than fear conflict, we have to understand just how much we can learn from it. It's not easy to think of conflict as a positive force in our lives, but the truth is, it can open the door to creativity, fresh ideas, and forward motion.
Image of bull and matador courtesy Anthon Jackson/Shutterstock.


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The introduction of full body scanners at the airport checkpoint has created quite a lot of controversy. Passengers are obviously worried about having to show their naked body to a random stranger, and others worry that images of young children will make their way onto pedophile networks.
Now, a new group has come forward complaining about the scanners – the security screeners themselves. The screening staff at Heathrow airport are furious that people assume they'll get a kick out of seeing blurry images of our genitals.
One airport scanner had the following to say:
"The idea that we are going to get kicks out of seeing a blurry gray image of people's bodies is frankly offensive. It's about as sensible as saying the act of patting down a passenger is perverted. We are here to do a job. We have bombs and knives on our minds and that's it."
Honestly, I had never thought of it that way – but it still doesn't put me at ease. Sooner or later, somewhere in the world, one screener will violate our trust, and naked photos of a celebrity or child will make their way onto the Internet.
In the US, the full body imaging equipment has been set up in a way that the security operator can not see the person standing in the imaging machine – he or she will only see their naked image. The TSA assured travelers that images can not be stored or sent, but CNN already discovered documents that prove otherwise.
Image credit: AFP/Getty Images


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I was sitting at the dentist's last week reading a lifestyle magazine. It was an article about Victoria Beckham and her fashion anguishes. After I put down the magazine I had to smirk! Why go through that hell I thought - just to set a trend and get a few shots in a magazine? After seeing a picture of her feet I shivered!
So, with the article in mind, I found your comments on my high heels yesterday very amusing. To set the record straight - these heels are not my everyday shoes. While I do love high heels, I know that the practicability of wearing such shoes, taming a wild seven year old and managing my day to day chores just does not work.
I remember an episode of Sex and the City, where Carrie is walking her boyfriend's dog - yes in heels as high as these. Well the dog runs off and she literally dashes off after him in those heels - and yes she looked good doing it too. I was bewildered for the whole week. And no, I won't be going jogging in those heels.
Coming back to Vic B. I tip my hat to her for going through all the pain and hassle simply to set a trend. It's incredible she can live through the day wearing the stilts she does and still smile for the cameras. It takes a very disciplined person to go through the daily ritual described in the article. And I guess only Vic can spend half a million dollars in one day on 20 pairs of shoes and other fashion items! Totally out!
But are the pains and troubles she goes through really appreciated?
To what extent would you go to to set a trend? Are you even bothered to be a trend-setter? And what pains would you take to be stylish? Are you a fashion victim?
I think it's not a secret around here that I love shoes and bags. I might not be a trend-setter and I do not follow each trend but still think of my style as chic. It's me. I fee comfortable with it and THAT in my opinion is the factor that needs to be considered. The heels - well they are a part of my collection now and I will wear them on a few special occasions knowing one thing - that for a day I can pretend to be a trend-setter!
These brownies are fully in trend with fruity cranberry and nutty pistachios all wrapped in rich chocolate brownie cake with a slight hint of cardamom.
Cranberry Pistachio Brownies
Printable version of recipe here
300g bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
200g + more butter, cut into cubes
250g muscovado sugar
200g all-purpose flour
4 eggs
4 tablespoons milk
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
80g dried cranberries
120g pistachios
icing sugar, for dusting optional
- Pre-heat oven to 160 degrees C. Butter and line a baking pan approx 20 x 20 cm.
- In a saucepan, gently heat chocolate, sugar, butter and milk stirring frequently until mixture has melted. Allow to cool.
- Beat in the eggs, one at a time, making sure each one has been incorporated well. Then fold in the flour, cardamom and cranberries.
- Spread half of the chocolate mixture into the pan then scatter the pistachios, finally pour the rest of the mixture over the top and smooth.
- Bake in the oven for about 25-30 minutes. Cut into squares while warm. If using dust with icing sugar.
The Food Guide tips:
- Antioxidant powerhouses – cranberries
- Selecting and storing pistachios
- Versatile cardamom
These are wonderfully moist treats, with a tangy tartness from the cranberries and a gorgeous crunch from the pistachios with a comforting glow from the cardamom. To be honest Soeren, Tom and I had to fight for our fair share because they tasted so good. Not too sweet and very much in style!
You might like these brownies ideas from WFLH:
Chocolate Raspberry and Peach Brownies | Chocolate Mocha Brownies | Classic Brownies |
All through January the Spotlight on the Archives is on:
Roasted Pumpkin and Chocolate Bread Pudding
All photographs and written content on What's For Lunch, Honey? © 2006-2010 Meeta Khurana unless otherwise indicated. | All rights reserved | Please Ask First


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Make up: I'm no expert - mascara and lipstick are the only things I wear - but know how much different it makes. Not to mention make up in movies – there are fabulous and talented artists out there. Otherwise it would be impossible to transform the charming Gary Oldman into an old and ugly vampire... Especially after he showed up as a handsome 19th century gentleman (I had the biggest crush on him when that movie was released). :D
As for this cake, the "make up" – a.k.a., the icing - served as a cover up: I unmolded the cake after completely cooled and some of it got stuck in the bottom of the pan. :(
Even though the icing came in handy here, I found this cake so tender and delicious that it should be served with nothing more than a sprinkling of icing sugar on top.
Coconut cake
from Donna Hay magazine
250g butter, softened
275g sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 eggs
300g self-rising flour, sifted
80g unsweetened desiccated coconut
250ml milk
640g icing sugar, sifted
80ml (1/3 cup) boiling water*
Preheat the oven to 160ºC/320ºF; Grease really well a 10-cup capacity bundt or ring pan.
Place the butter, sugar and vanilla in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat until light and creamy. Gradually add the eggs and beat well.
Add the flour, coconut and milk and beat until well combined. Spoon the mixture into prepared pan and bake for 1 hour or until cooked when tested with a skewer. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely – don't let the cake cool completely in the pan or it might stick.
For the icing, place the sugar and water in a bowl and whisk until smooth. Spoon the icing over the cake and allow to set.
* even though I added more water, my icing was a lot thicker than the one in the magazine, but ended up keeping it that way to cover up the bruises on the cake
Serves 8-10 – I halved the recipe and used a 19cm (6-cup capacity) ring pan


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Transient group content is content that is expected to be completed in a single session of play. The group is formed, the group completes the content, and then the group is disbanded. In WoW, group quests, battlegrounds, and 5-man dungeons are transient group content.
Extended group content is content that is expected to be completed over several sessions of play, and where the group is composed (more or less) of the same individuals throughout. In WoW, raids and PvP arena are extended group content.
The MMO community is divided into two factions. Those who are willing to do Extended content, and those who are not willing, who only want to do Transient content.
Please note that this is not about skill, or anything like that. It's about time, and the willingness to follow a schedule, or accept a constraint on your free time. It's about being willing to undertake obligations to other players. Many people simply do not want to be obligated to other players, or for other players to have a duty towards them.
It's also not about the amount of time played. There are Extended players who play once a week for two hours. There are Transient people who play for 40 hours a week. They play so much that it is really hard for Extended players to understand why they will not commit to a schedule. The stumbling block is the existence of the schedule at all, not about the total amount of time played.
In the past, it was assumed that people would move from Transient into Extended. That it was a natural graduation. You joined a guild, and started working with that guild on Extended activities. But I think this was a bad assumption. Rather, the Transient people are simply different from Extended people. You can't change them into Extended people. You can go the other way, however, in that Extended people will do Transient content.
Traditionally in MMOs, Extended players have made the core of the playerbase. The raiders, the high-end PvP players, the stable guilds. But I think the Transient players actually outnumber the Extended players significantly. And the Transient players want the game shaped to meet their needs, not the needs of the Extended players.
As an example of the design choices imposed by this conflict, consider the Guild Perks system that was introduced in Cataclysm. I don't think this system really made any difference to the player base, and to be honest, was probably a waste of developer time. The Extended players already were in guilds. The Transient players simply joined uber-large guilds to get the perks. But it did not change the nature of the players.
The single biggest problem with the endgame of WoW is that it persists in believing that if the incentives are just right, Transient players will transform into Extended players, and everything will work out properly. But this transformation never occurs. The Transient players are unhappy that their needs go unmet or that they are thrown one or two sops while the Extended players get all the goodies. The Extended players are unhappy because those sops for the Transient player often end up distorting the Extended endgame.


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At Tequesta Carpet Cleaning our goal is to offer every one of our customers the best rug cleaning service possible at the most affordable price. Unlike many of our competitors, we only utilize Eco-friendly green steam carpet cleaning solutions. Our technicians are trained and certified in-house, and we never outsource our work to freelance contractors. We're passionate about offering our customers the safest organic oriental cleaning service in Tequesta FL and we're confident you will be satisfied""that's why we offer a 100% service guarantee!
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X Tour Fairway Woods offer superior turf interaction alignment accuracy and more penetrating ball flight.
Temporarily unavailable.
X Tour Fairway Woods offer superior turf interaction, alignment accuracy and more penetrating ball flight. With Callaway Golf's new X-Sole design, the clubhead rests on two distinct, raised areas of the sole, eliminating the tendency of the head to rock back and forth at address. That means a more consistent alignment that will help ensure your shots start off on-line. A lower leading edge allows you to hit down under the ball, especially helpful on tight lies.
The Tour 13° and Tour 15° Fairway Wood models have slightly smaller heads and stronger lofts for a lower, more penetrating ball flight preferred by more skilled players.


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Price of first-class domestic stamp to increase one cent
WASHINGTON (AP) — The cost of mailing a first-class letter will go up by a penny in January.
The Postal Regulatory Commission on Friday approved the proposed rate increase, which raises the price of a first-class domestic stamp to 46 cents.
The price of a postcard will increase from 32 cents to 33 cents, while a new global "forever" stamp will allow customers to mail letters anywhere in the world for one set price of $1.10. Currently, the prices for international letters vary.
The prices go into effect Jan. 27.
The U.S. Postal Service, which posted a record annual loss of $15.9 billion, proposed the rate increase last month.
The rate increase is tied to the rate of overall inflation. It will make only a small dent in the mail agency's financial losses.


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Sold in pairs with foam inserts.


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This first one is one of our favorites:
And check out these adorable close-ups of the robots:
And here's a sweet little topsy-turvy Robots cake:
I don't know anything about this robot. Except that he's made of awesome.
This next one falls into the Sugar Art category (no cake) but I think it took top honors:
Here's an adorable alien:
And the house from UP:
...though I'm not sure how this fits into the sci-fi and fantasy theme. Cute though! Love the balloons.
And lastly, we have a B-movie classic:
Nominate a Sweet or suggest a theme by e-mailing me at Sunday Sweets [at] Cake Wrecks [dot] com.
Similar Sweets: (Dr.) Horrible Sunday Sweets


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I was going through the huge pile of recipe print outs I have at home and was stunned by the amount of paper there. It made me feel really guilty. So I chose some of those recipes to make on the weekend. And will try to cut the pile down a bit before adding more paper to it.
I picked 2 savory recipes and 2 sweet. To kick things off in a great way, I baked this out of this world cake, which I got it from an equally out of this world blog, Ivonne's.
Most of you know I'll pick citrus over any other flavor. Yes, even over chocolate. That's why choosing this cake was not a difficult task. It had been there for over a year – you read it right, Ivonne posted it on January, 2007. I don't know why it took me so long to try it – talk about a waste of time.
The cake rose beautifully and smelled so heavenly that I couldn't wait for it to cool completely. I never thought a burned tongue would make me so glad. :)
Orange and lemon cake
3 cups (420g) all-purpose flour
1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons grated lemon zest
2 tablespoons grated orange zest
juice of 1 lemon
juice of 1 orange
¾ cup (180ml) milk (preferably whole)
1 cup (226g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 ½ cups (300g) granulated sugar
5 large eggs, at room temperature
icing sugar for dusting
Preheat the oven to 175ºC/350ºF; butter and flour a round 25cm (10-in) cake pan or springform pan.
Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Once sifted, add the orange and lemon zests and mix well. Set aside.
In the bowl of an electric stand mixer, using the paddle attachment on medium speed, combine the butter and sugar and mix for 2 to 3 minutes until the butter is light in color and appears fluffy.
Combine the lemon juice, orange juice and milk and stir.
Add the eggs to the butter/sugar mixture, one at a time, on medium speed, making sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl after each addition.
Begin adding the dry ingredients, in three additions, and then alternating with the milk/juice mixture. You should begin with the dry ingredients and end with the dry ingredients.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 50 minutes to an hour. Check the cake after 50 minutes by inserting a toothpick or cake tester into the centre of the cake. If it comes out clean, it's done. If not, continue baking the cake. In my oven the cake took an hour so the baking time may vary based on your oven.
Once done, remove the cake from the oven and set on a wire rack to cool completely. Once cool, unmold the cake and dust with icing sugar before serving.