text:
Fighting What You Eat: The Diet Cong
I have a client, a wealthy woman in her 60s, who has celiac disease. This means gluten – a primary protein in anything involving wheat flour as well as a few other foods – makes her ill by disrupting her intestine's ability to process not just gluten but anything she eats. It's a serious disease although its effects are mild in some people. I cater three or four dinner parties for her every summer and those meals must not only be gluten-free but indistinguishably gluten free. In other words, it should never occur to anyone eating it – even a nutritionist – that the meal specifically avoids bread, pasta, couscous (a form of pasta), cakes, and similar dishes. She has good cause for being suspicious of food.
At one time I had another client who claimed she was allergic to MSG, but she relished dishes including tomatoes, parmesan cheese, steaks, and mushrooms – all of which have relatively-high levels of mono-sodium glutamate (MSG). She was clearly mistaken about her "allergy," but she avoided Chinese restaurants.
I've had many clients who were on weight-loss diets such as South Beach, Ornish, and Mediterranean. I've done high protein/low-carb, carb-intensive/low fat, and mostly veggies with lots of olive oil. As a rule I charge clients more for cooking to a diet book because of the extra effort involved in adhering to an essentially arbitrary set of rules. I've never been asked to do a bacon or butter diet, but that's my dream – I might offer a discount in that case.
I've been on several diets myself including some of the famous ones and lost 50 pounds once and 80 pounds twice. My conclusion is that most of them are either hog-wash or they're thinly disguised versions of the standard advice: eat less and exercise more. If you want pasta, eat pasta, but less of it. If you want bacon, eat bacon, but don't eat it often. Think of your body as a machine and adapt your energy input to your energy output. This is basic science, verified over 100s of years. But the current funky diet "theory" isn't even "theory" in the scientific sense – it's a guess based on hopeful correlations, if that.
Matching caloric input to output always works and it's generally healthy if you're careful to eat a balanced diet. But it requires discipline – not only while you're losing weight but after you've lost it. It's that last bit that's the real kicker.
After striving for six months or a year to lose weight and succeeding you're naturally going to begin eating more – after all, you don't want to keep losing weight. But to relax the discipline just some is incredibly hard. That first brownie in six months tastes even better than you remembered and stopping at Burger King this once won't hurt. Which is why the standard advice is best: don't try to lose weight, change your fundamental eating habits.
Yeah. Right. But we eat the way we do because it gives us pleasure and it does so because we've evolved to derive pleasure from eating: all animals have. We have taste buds so we can distinguish good food from bad food. Specifically we have chemical receptors on our tongues that detect sweet, salty, bitter, sour, and savory flavors (the savory taste, by the way is – literally – MSG). Tastes combined with our sense of smell provide us with a highly nuanced means of finding calories and nutrients while avoiding poisons. This evolution continues. At one time most humans lost the ability to digest lactose by the time they were two or three years old and, today, most Asians still lack this ability. But beginning about 10,000 years ago some groups of humans began evolving the ability to digest lactose on into adulthood so most Caucasians like milk – and cheese! – and most Asians don't.
Then there's the whole issue of socialization, some of which is cultural and some of which is individual. For example, at one time the Japanese referred to Koreans as "garlic-eaters," a term of opprobriation because the Japanese didn't think civilized people ate garlic. On a personal level, some people think I'm nuts for liking Humboldt Fog, a butt-ugly but fairly mild cheese. However, my parents taught me there are 1,000s of excellent cheeses all worth trying while others never offered their kids anything more complex than Kraft Singles.
That's why most diet ideas are at best nonsense and at worst harmful; we've evolved biologically, culturally, and personally to like food and particularly to like those foods with the highest number of calories so for many of us, losing weight is hard and keeping it off is far harder. We're fighting a guerilla war against our own bodies and if our bodies win the war our bodies lose the war.
We would like to think that simply exercising our will is sufficient just as our government thought that simply bringing greater resources to bear against the Viet Cong was sufficient and would win that war. But just as the Viet Cong owned and understood the territory in Vietnam, our biology owns and understands our bodies – our willpower is a Johnny-come-lately in this contest. Which is why I'm not sure the diet war is any more winnable than that more traditional conflict 60 years ago was.
Posted by Kevin Weeks at 5:00 AM | Permalink
Outside the Food-Shed
I'm a great fan and promoter of eating food produced locally: something called eating in the "food-shed." A food-shed isn't one of the wooden buildings that I helped my father build while growing up on a farm, it's more akin to a watershed, which refers water flowing through a specific geographic area to on its way to the ocean. "Food-shed" is a bit more arbitrary in that it's usually defined as a set of geographical coordinates (say, everything within a 100- or 200-mile radius of a given home) as opposed to a natural topographic feature.
The concept of a food-shed was created to promote the idea of eating locally, and as I said, I think this is a good idea. Local food is usually fresher and so it tastes better. Growers don't have the incentive to pick under-ripe fruit or veggies to give them more leeway in shipping and so time-to-market is minimized. The ultimate in local eating at this time of year visiting a pick-your-own strawberry or asparagus farm, coming home, and eating the fruits (or stalks) of your harvest for supper that night. The difference in flavor between asparagus picked and cooked immediately and asparagus cooked a day later is an order of magnitude.
Then there's the industrialization issue. Producing animals and vegetables on an industrial scale requires some use of petroleum-based herbicides, pesticides, and fertilizers. Probably not to the degree Big-Ag uses them, but some. Small, local production requires much less external input because harvesting is hands-on – the farmer inspects each fruit or vegetable to at least some degree. It's less demanding of soil nutrients because crop/animal rotation is feasible.
For lack of a better work, I really have a "belief" in the importance of agriculture as a personal instead of an industrial endeavor. I like the idea of rewarding people who's names I know by buying from them and by telling them what I did with those Cherokee Purple tomatoes or that Maine Musk canteloupe. We both, buyer and seller, benefit from that genuinely personal exchange of value for value. Commerce can and often should involve far more than handing over greenbacks for green beans.
However, in planning my Easter dinner this year I called MarxFoods in New Jersey and asked them to send me an evaluation package of their Wild Produce Sampler that is harvested in the rain forests of Oregon and Washington. Not exactly local. But, I've had contacts with MarxFoods before and I think they are believers in offering something special to their customers – I went outside my food-shed to get something special. It's not unlike me buying shrimp here in land-locked Knoxville.
Frankly, the idea occurred to me because I had a hankering for some fiddlehead ferns. I've had fiddleheads before when I lived near their native habitat and almost liked them, I wanted to try a new approach to flavoring them. The sampler includes stinging nettles and miner's lettuce so it offered an opportunity to try some new things as well as revisiting an old one.
The wild veggies were shipped overnight and arrived absolutely fresh. The next day I fixed them as a feature of my Spring/Easter dinner. One of my guests had eaten fiddleheads and nettles before but the other four guests were eating something brand new. When I cleaned up on Monday morning there were a few leaves of miner's lettuce on a couple of plates – a true complement. If the people you're feeding say the food is good it's one thing but when the plates look like they were licked clean, you know they meant it.
The Kenny Rogers song goes, "Know when to hold them, know when to fold them." When it comes to cooking, know when to stay close to home, and when to step outside of your food shed and munch on the wild side.
Posted by Kevin Weeks at 5:03 AM | Permalink
DIY – Making Lard That Lasts
My stomach is rumbling. Well, not really rumbling so much as gurgling, burbling, growling, and I could swear it just made a barking kind of noise. (Frankly, the barking has me a bit worried.) You see, my house is innundated with the smell of porcine protein and fat – and has been since 9:00 this morning, five hours ago. It's got about two hours to go.
I'm rendering lard.
Once or twice a year I get some pork fat, render it down, and freeze it. Then come fall I can make an apple pie crust worthy of the effort of making the crust from scratch, or fry to-die-for chicken for a summer picnic, or roast some fresh green beans that will make your mouth sing.
But in the process I get a few puzzled looks. The first time I approached Laurel Creek farms owner Tracy Monday about getting some pork fat was weirder than I expected. I'd been buying from Tracy for awhile and this was right after I'd bought Charcuterie and learned that the best lard, something I'd made once before, is made from what's called "leaf fat," the fat found around the pig's kidneys.
First, the idea that I wanted to buy pork fat was weird to Tracy. This was about five years ago and the concept of making one's own lard or sausage was still unusual here in Knoxville (it probably still is for most people). Also, he had no idea what leaf fat was and given that I'd never seen it I had trouble describing it to him. I eventually ended up with about a pound of fat that, if I remember correctly, rendered down to about a cup of lard.
These days Tracy knows what leaf fat is and his commercial customers get most of it. So I make do with trimmings which make fine lard and are completely suitable for sausage. But the odd looks don't really stop. When I picked this lard up at Tracy's new retail outlet the poor young tattooed clerk was as puzzled as Tracy had been years ago.
Why make lard? I can cruise into the nearest Latin American mercado and buy a pound or a gallon of Armour Manteca. That's what the wife of the guy mowing my condo's lawn does and then she uses it to make gorditas just like her grandmother's and the tamales her husband swears by. But that lard is processed; it's adulterated with preservatives and partially hydrogenated to make it shelf-stable. It's nowhere near as good as lard can be.
Today's rendering will produce about four cups of which I've promised two to friends. The remainder I'll use mostly in the four or five pie crusts I make a year. I'll likely roast potatoes in some of this rendered lard and sauté greens in some more. Try brushing a chicken with lard and then roasting it – beats butter by miles. With potatoes (and anything else you might deep fry) add a quarter cup or lard to the oil for a richer flavor. And spread a bit of melted lard on a grilled cheese sandwich instead of butter for an obscenely good treat.
Making lard isn't hard, but it takes a strong stomach. You begin by cutting the fat up into 3/4-inch square chunks – more or less. This should fill your pot by about two thirds- figure a four quart pot for four pounds of fat. Then add an inch of water and place the pot over a burner on low.
For the first couple of hours, as the fat stews in the water, the odor is funky. It doesn't smell bad, but it doesn't smell good either. This is the easy part. After a couple of hours the water has all evaporated and the fat is melting in fat and it starts smelling good. Crazy good. Mouth-watering good. Chew your arm off good. It's torture. You sit there, trying to ignore that wonderful pork aroma so that some evening you can make a wonderfully flakey, richly flavored shells for Cornish pasties or make Maine Fries that even John Thorne would relish.
And you start thinking, "I should add some salt to that," or, "A few sprigs of rosemary would be perfect," or, "Maybe a few juniper berries would help." In short you start wanting to cook. But you're not cooking, you're producing an ingredient. Anything you do now will come back to haunt you in later pie crusts, french fries, or turnip greens.
The lard isn't a painting, it's the white gesso on a canvas – the foundation the painting relies upon – and if you color to the white the final painting will suffer.
4 pounds pork fat, cut into 1/2 – 3/4-inch pieces
1 1/2 cups water
Pour water into a 4 quart soup/stock pot. Add fat. Place over low heat and cook, stirring occasionally, for 6 hours until fat browns. (Note: Water will evaporate, don't replenish.) Filter through cheese cloth, cool and freeze. Keeps 6 – 9 months in freezer.
Posted by Kevin Weeks at 5:00 AM | Permalink
The Rain in Spain
About this time ten years ago I had little stickers all over my house giving the Spanish word for various things such as lamps, tables, and the toilet. By far, though, the preponderance of stickers were in the kitchen labeling such things as pasta, canned tomatoes, pork chops, and shrimp. Each evening I'd spend some time reading travel books and making notes on places to see. I was going to be in Spain for two weeks, celebrating my parent's 50th anniversary, and I planned to absorb every ounce of the experience – and the food.
My sister, parents, and I flew over on the same plane, but my sister was in coach, I was in business, and my parents were in first class so we didn't really get together until we reached Madrid. On arrival we picked up a rental van, checked into a hotel, and crashed. We didn't feel like going out for dinner that night, so supper was an impromptu picnic of cheese, bread, sausage, fruit, and wine that we bought at a market and ate sitting on the beds in my parent's room
The next day we drove south to the villa we'd rented on a mountainside overlooking the Costa del Sol on the Mediterranean – arriving some eight hours later in a pouring rain. For supper that night I made a tortilla de patatas (Spanish omelet) and baked some baby artichokes. We ate them in front of a fire in the sitting room. We had set two of the food themes for our visit – picnics and home cooking using brilliantly fresh and flavorful Spanish foods and recipes.
To our great surprise and delight, the kitchen in the villa was adequately equipped with cooking gear. Even better, the villa boasted an herb garden – rosemary, marjoram, mint, chives, sage – and a pair of lemon trees. We all took turns making lunches and dinners on the days we didn't go out exploring. A few days later one of my brothers and his wife joined us, and several friends of my parents came for a few days here and there. Everyone had a chance to cook and we had some amazing, creative meals.
On the days we played tourist we usually had a picnic lunch in an olive or cork grove, or near a ruined castle, or at the base of a coastal watch tower. Dinner (and sometimes lunch) we'd eat at a restaurant. These restaurant meals were almost never fancy, we'd just stop into roadside tavernas when we got hungry, but they were often astoundingly good.
I think the best meal I've ever had was in the touristy town of Rhonda where we had lunch at a café hanging over the gorge. I had slow-roasted piglet that took pork to a level I hadn't even imagined could exist in an equally stunning setting.
The trip wasn't purely about food. We did make that visit to Rhonda. We also drove up to tour the Alhambra palace one day – a stunning piece of architecture – and visited a cave featuring some of the oldest Paleolithic art in Europe. We saw our share of Roman ruins, great cathedrals, castles, and famous art.
But the part of the trip I enjoyed most were the days we spent at the villa between site-seeing forays. We'd begin such days with a bit of bread, cheese, fruit, and coffee on the patio – each according to his or her own schedule. Then a few of us might make a quick trip down the hillside to the city markets or up the hillside to the village market. If it rained (as it often did) we'd read or play games inside and if it was sunny we'd read or play games lounging by the small swimming pool or on the patio under it's arbor of grapes looking out over the Mediterranean Sea. Around four on these days we'd open a couple of bottles of wine and put together a collection of tapas and gather on the patio. Eventually someone would start cooking supper, which we'd eat on the patio.
There was almost never any hurry, and although all families have their frictions, ours only became unpleasant when we were packed in the van. And even then a glass of wine and handful of olives at the end of the day did much assuage hurt feelings and remind us that, at least for now, all was right with the world.
Posted by Kevin Weeks at 5:00 AM | Permalink
The Myth of Sustainability
When foodies use the word "sustainable" they typically mean a system that doesn't require outside inputs – no chemical fertilizer or herbicides, no purchased feed for livestock, and only water that falls from the sky or flows on the surface. In other words everything needed to produce vegetables, fruit, and meat over the long term is either already available (water, for instance) or can be produced (manure fertilizer) on location.
This a wonderfully pleasant, bucolic idea that takes many proponents back to a distant time when farming was less of a business and more of a way of life. But before you write it off as hopelessly romantic and idealistic you should know that a number of studies have found that such operations are capable of at least equaling the calories-per-acre production of state-of-the-art industrial farming operations. There are, however, a couple of caveats.
First, the successful farms are located in areas sporting both plenty of clean water and rich soil. Second, the farmers running these operations devote far more time and effort to their farms than the average mega- or even mid-size farmer does. It takes a lot of data collection, analysis, and planning to achieve such yields without external inputs. Add in the actual physical labor and farmers such as the Salatins, who Michael Pollan describes in The Omnivore's Dilemma, work far harder than almost anyone else in our economy. Only someone who truly loves farming would invest the effort required.
The hard work quotient is just the first road block to nationwide sustainable agriculture – the utopia many foodies dream of when they think of the future of farming. There's also the issue of arable land. Large swaths of this country, even those that provide much of our produce, are incapable of self-sufficient agriculture. A significant percentage of the fruits and vegetables in this country come from the Central Valley of California – an area that relies on water piped in from Northern California. Arizona and New Mexico are also major producers and their climate makes Southern California look like rain forest. With irrigation these areas produce almost enough vegetables to feed the nation – and the do so year round.
Obviously the western mountain chains (and large areas of the eastern mountains) are incapable of supporting more than subsistence farming. Additionally the vicinity of major metropolitan areas (think NYC, Chicago, Boston, and so on) means a lot of potential farmland is already in use and what land is available is too expensive for agricultural uses.
Government policies also impede sustainability by encouraging mono-cultural (one crop) agriculture via direct and indirect subsidies and by excluding farms from laws regulating air and water pollution. For instance, any sane policy would prohibit the manure lagoons produced by Confined Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) rather than giving them an exclusion from environmental laws.
Finally, it's worth noting that with the exception of sunlight the Earth is a closed system – meaning we aren't the only ones affected by our decisions and the decisions of others will inevitably affect us. In other words, although thinking about sustainability within the borders of the United States is a valid starting point, sustainability eventually must be considered globally. And, given that the Earth is a closed system, we must think about sustainability.
The initial practical answer probably isn't the farm described in the first paragraph. Instead the answer is semi-sustainability; a reduced reliance on fossil-fuel based fertilizers and herbicides, a greater effort to prevent the loss of topsoil, the development of drought-resistant plants – perhaps even using genetic engineering. And it's livestock breeding and ranching methods that don't require antibiotics to prevent disease.
We need to keep in mind that, however appealing it may be, a system of agriculture that fed 77 million people in 1900 – the model that today's sustainability proponents harken back to – won't feed the 304 million people alive today. Furthermore, the current system can't be scaled up to support even twice the current population.
That brings us to the biggest obstacle to sustainable agriculture – even a modified, more realistic, less pure agriculture – our eating habits. We need eat far less meat than we do now because our meat-eating habits simply aren't sustainable. We need to quit throwing household organic waste into landfills and instead turn it into fertilizer (composting on a grand scale). And lastly, we need to care enough about the issues to express our opinion.
Sure, write your Congress-person. But if you educate yourself on the topics and just talk about it when the subject comes up you'll have as much effect as writing a letter or planting a garden on the White House lawn. And eliminating meat one day a week will reduce your carbon footprint more than almost anything else you can do.
In fact, just giving a damn at all can make a difference eventually.
Posted by Kevin Weeks at 5:00 AM | Permalink
Seriously Good And Simple Food
I recently spent some time in the hospital. I'd forgotten just how bad food can be. Among other things I was served scrambled eggs with the texture of soggy cardboard and flavor of feathers, pork loin cooked until it was barely suitable for making shoes, and frozen vegetables seasoned only with water. I lost ten pounds and if I hadn't persuaded a visitor to smuggle in some salt I would have lost even more.
When you're passionate about some activity, it's sometimes easy to focus so much on the "how" that you lose track of the original "why". These days I choose what I cook to match the needs of catering clients or cooking classes. I also cook to develop article ideas and make decisions based on a dish's photographic potential. And I eat with a critical tongue: Too much rosemary? Too little pepper? Need something to add brightness? Is the texture right? I get so caught up in the details and craft of cooking that I forget why I began cooking: To eat.
A casserole I made the other night is a good example of this. I needed a new recipe for a web site where I write. It needed to be an inexpensive dish, somewhat low-calorie, easy to make, using leftover meat. I spent around an hour planning the dish (including writing out a starting recipe) then another hour making it, adjusting seasonings, and making notes. While it was cooking I planned the photographs and then I plated it and shot it. Finally I sat down and ate it, again making notes. The casserole was good, which I duly noted.
Too often I eat as a critic. Judging the tastes and smells and textures against existing expectations, prejudices, and history. Too often, my efforts meet these criteria.
I say "too often" because even if a dish – or entire meal – is exceptional in some sort of absolute sense, it's no better than I expected. Occasionally something does turn out better than expected and that's both revelatory and great fun. Such events are one of the reasons I cook and judge my cooking (and other's) so critically. But ironically, the better I get as a cook, the less often I'm pleasantly surprised and these days it often takes such surprises to get my complete attention.
The day after I got home from the hospital I was dying for a good meal. Something quick and simple because I was sore and standing for very long wasn't in the cards. So I made a sandwich, specifically a panini using thin-sliced country ham, raclette cheese, and sourdough bread – all of which I had on hand. It was a meal with no other purpose than tasting good. And boy did it taste good.
But after a week off from the kitchen (a week notable for its lack of decent food) I was ready to eat purely for enjoyment's sake. As I picked up my sandwich I noted the grill marks and delightful golden color of the rest of the bread. Biting into it had a satisfying crunch and there was a light note of carbon from the grill marks. The ham was sweet, salty, and almost meltingly tender while the cheese was pungent and unctious. I resisted my urge to wolf the sandwich down and made a point of enjoying each bite. A great meal needn't be fancy, it only needs to be thoughtful in the choice of ingredients, the preparation, and the dining.
As much as I enjoy developing recipes, preparing them, photographing them, and writing about them, the reason for cooking so is ultimately to eat – and eat well. When I become too caught up in the minutiae, focus too much (and not "just enough") on good technique or choosing the right olive oil, I lose track of why I set out to become a cook in the first place. It is my intellectual centers, not my pleasure centers, that are in charge of such meals. Fortunately, something usually comes along about then to remind me that the more genuine pleasure isn't cooking but eating. Especially if, like my sandwich lunch, the food is seriously good.
Posted by Kevin Weeks at 5:00 AM | Permalink
For Appearances' Sake
My personal cheffing business has pretty much dried up with the economic downturn, but, interestingly, cooking classes continue to hold their own and occasional small parties still offer catering opportunities. Frankly if I could get a bit more catering I'd happily forget about the regular meals I prepared for clients that were my bread (if not butter) a year ago.
Because the catering is for special events, there's more room to stretch and experiment in the menus, which I like. Also, I get to be on hand when the meals are eaten and so get to observe the reactions to the food. It's hard to beat standing in the kitchen and listen to "oohs" and "ahs" from the dining room. But perhaps most enjoyable is that when I cater an anniversary or birthday party I get to do "plating."
Plating is the process of arranging food on a plate to look as appetizing to the eye as it smells to the nose and tastes to the palate. It may seem beside the point to most day-to-day cooks, and it's certainly been carried beyond the bounds of reasonableness in many expensive restaurants that arrange towers of food rivaling the Chrysler Building. And yet appearance matters.
Presentation and plating, is not a task personal chefs do. Everything we cook gets stuffed in a plastic box and frozen for transport and eventual consumption by our clients. There's no opportunity to arrange a plate or to add garnishes and sauces in an appealing way.
I started my blog, Seriously Good, back in 2003 and when I got serious about it – and started comparing what I was doing to other Web food publications – I realized that the most popular food blogs featured photographs – sites like Lucullian Delights, La Tartine Gourmande, and Souvlaki for the Soul. What's more, I realized they featured really good photographs. And not only was the photography technically good, but the food was presented thoughtfully, carefully, artfully, and, yes, tastefully. Meaning you wanted to taste the food just because of how it looked.
So I hauled out my cheap point-n-shoot digital camera and started pointing and shooting. I produced a lot of pictures that could best be described as "table kill." But I kept at it and eventually learned to use the camera effectively. Then I started learning presentation – the art of making the food look good enough to eat. I've always paid attention to presentation, but photography forced me to concentrate on maximizing appearance alone.
I'd always considered colors when planning menus, but I began devoting a good deal of thought to other presentation elements for catered events and even the classes I taught – even to the extent of making drawings of plates. The effort is fun and challenging, but more so, it actually does make my food seem to taste better. And perception is all.
Even when I cook for myself appearance made a difference. A panini with cross-hatch marks from the grill may not actually taste better than one without them, but the marks make the eating experience more enjoyable by evoking memories of panini I ate in Italy. I avoid garnishes that don't fit the dish -however pretty parsley might be it doesn't belong on a bowl of ice cream. Typically I use garnishes and sauces that feature ingredients already in the dish. I also avoid overly fussy constructions. Food should look like food, not abstract art.
Tomorrow I'll be cooking a birthday dinner for my mother. She loves lamb so I'm grilling lamb steaks, which I'll top with gremolata – a highly flavorful mixture of garlic, parsley, and lemon zest. On the side I'm serving Cauliflower Puree Parmigiano and it will be garnished with celery leaves – a particularly tasty and visually appealing combination – and glazed baby carrots. Dessert will be a simple gingerbread cake dusted with powdered sugar and drizzled with a bourbon/cream sauce. It's a meal driven by flavor, but with some thought given to appearance, after all, she'll only turn 85 once and it should be a special meal. A feast for the palate, nose, and eyes.
Posted by Kevin Weeks at 5:00 AM | Permalink
Cheap Eats
I made fondue a few weeks back. The gruyere and emmentaler cheeses cost $9.00 and $6.00 respectively for a half pound of each. I used a California Sauvignon Blanc at $13.00 a bottle. The bread (a good artisan French loaf from a local bakery) was $4.00. Kirschwasser (cherry brandy) was $8.00 but I only used a bit – call it $2.00. Assorted pickles, olives, and sliced sausages on the side – $5.00. So altogether I spent $39.00 on dinner for a dinner for two. There was a bit of fondue and bread leftover, so let's assume it was more like $35.00 for two. Not so cheap, but cheaper than the $70.00 the Melting Pot charges – and probably better tasting.
And yet, fondue is actually a peasant meal. Herders in the Alps would melt the cheese they made (probably the cheese that wasn't quite up to commercial quality) over a fire in the wine their neighbors made. Then they'd dip the bread their wives made in the cheese and munch on homemade sausages and pickles. Such a meal wasn't exactly free. Making cheese, wine, sausage, pickles, and bread all require a great deal of work and skill. But such meals probably didn't cost the herder a single Swiss centime. Peasant food. Cheap eats.
It strikes me as supremely ironic that some of our most-renowned dishes – dishes you can pay a fortune for in three-star restaurants – are ultimately peasant food. Bouillabaisse, Boeuf Bourguignon, Choucroute and even sushi, like fondue, all began as poor peoples' foods. But here's the kicker: These deservedly famous foods began as peasant food because the ingredients, cooking techniques, and cooking equipment were indeed cheap in their place of origin. Bouillbaise is made from the fish that didn't sell, which is cheap if you're a fisherman in Marseilles but expensive if you're a middle manager in Kansas – same with sushi. When you can trade the cheese or sausage you made from your own cows for a bottle of wine from your neighbor's fields, wine is a cheap ingredient, but not when it has to be shipped in from California or the Rhine Valley.
Cassoulet is another famous French dish that began as peasant food. It includes duck confit, pancetta, and garlic sausage – expensive ingredients where I live. But it's basically just another bean dish and it's essence can be captured with a few deft ingredient choices for a fraction of the cost and effort. And for that matter, Boston Baked Beans (or the Southern Barbequed Beans) are home-grown and absolutely delicious local peasant foods. I adore macaroni and cheese, made from scratch with quality ingredients. I made that fondue because I owed a friend a special meal, and I'm too chintzy to take anyone out to dinner. Or for a fraction of the cost of fondue, try Welsh Rabbit. Same idea, another imported peasant food, but using domestic cheese, beer, and toast makes it cheap eats.
Want to go all-American? Make your own burgers – America's ultimate peasant food. Burgers have moved into upscale restaurants and, if you wish, you could once blow $125 on ground meat on a bun at the Boca Raton Resort. Make your own and it will beat the hell out of any fast food joint. Ground beef, pork, turkey, even lamb are relatively cheap. Add a few spices and herbs and pay attention to what you're cooking and you can eat a burger worth writing about.
I have the luxury – like agrarian peasants of yore – of working at home so I can devote time to cooking and slow-cooking intensifies flavors and tenderizes tough meat – pot roast is a classic American example. But these days you can buy a slow cooker pretty cheap and cook supper while you're at work.
The lesson to be learned here: Make the best of what you can afford. Peasant food isn't about eating fancy, it's about eating well.
Posted by Kevin Weeks at 5:00 AM | Permalink
St. Valentine Prep: Aphrodisia
Your words are my food, your breath my wine. You are everything to me. ~ Sarah Bernhardt
It's nearly St. Valentine's Day when a young chef's thoughts turn fondly to foods that will spike the libido. In fact, Valentine's Day is one of the two biggest days of the year for restaurants (the other being Mothers' Day). If you're planning on going out to dinner next Saturday and haven't made reservations yet, it may be too late. Personally I prefer the intimacy of preparing (or sharing preparation) with my loved one. Then pile the dishes in the sink, toss a towel over them, and settle in for an evening for two.
It's not surprising that we associate food with love. Eating is second only to sex in it's sensuality, because like sex it involves our senses of taste, smell, touch, and sight. That being the case, it's not surprising that over the centuries humans have turned to various foods to arouse and stimulate. The Romans considered asparagus and eggs to be aphrodisiacs (separately, not together).
For the most part, reputed aphrodisiacs fall into one of three categories of magic. The first group are what you might term spiritual aphrodisiacs. By eating a Tiger's penis you take on the strength and virility of the tiger, the same applies to eating a pig's testicles.
The second group are associative, the Aztecs associated chocolate with the fertility goddess, Xochiquetzal and the Greeks considered sparrows to be stimulating because they were favorites of the goddess Aphrodite (the root the word "aphrodisiac").
But by far the most common aphrodisiacs are forms of sympathetic magic – foods presumed to have an effect because of their resemblance to human sex organs. Oysters, figs, strawberries, peaches, and epithelial orchids are all said to resemble female genitalia (you have to slice the fruit open to get the effect).
On the male side, I mentioned asparagus above as a symbol of the phallus, but in that same category also fall leeks, carrots, ginseng, bananas, and parsnips. Avocados are said to resemble testicles – in fact the name "avocado" comes from the name of the tree, Ahuacuatl, which means "testicle tree." Nutmeg falls into this same category.
There are a few genuine aphrodisiacs. Testosterone affects the libido of both men and women. Anything that increases dopamine levels increases libido – cocaine falls into this category. Chocolate contains caffeine, a stimulant, and phenylethylamine, which does have a mild libidinal effect, as well as theobromine, which affects the pleasure centers by emulating serotonin.
So, if you're planning on cooking your own romantic dinner this Valentine's Day, here are a few suggestions from my cooking and recipe site, Seriously Good. Bon Apetit!
Oysters Shooter
Rack of Lamb
Glazed Carrots with Mint and Lemon
Leeks with Anchovy Butter
Pots de Crème
Posted by Kevin Weeks at 11:10 AM | Permalink
Eating Dirt and Staying Healthy
Last summer I spent a week in the hospital after developing a severe staph infection on my lower belly. I drove myself to the emergency room one Sunday evening after having reached the conclusion there was something seriously wrong – this wasn't just a heat rash. The doctor's reaction on examining me was ("Holey Moley!!").
Perhaps I have a sensitivity to staph. I've had three staph infections in my life (although this was by far the worse), but I don't have much sensitivity to anything else infectious – or autoimmune either.
I had asthma as child but outgrew it. For about five years I had something cold-like every fall when the weather first turned cold – but that's been over 20 years ago. I had the flu when I was 18 and a strep throat when I was 26. Aside from these events I don't catch diseases. Oh, there have been days when I snuffled a bit or had an upset stomach and may have been fighting off an infection, but it was always gone in a day.
I'm not alone. My parents seldom get colds, don't have allergies, and aside from the inevitable effects of aging are hale and hearty. Same with my siblings. Sure, you can argue good genes, but I've long had another theory about this, one I was reminded of by an article published by Jane E. Brody in the New York Times: "Babies Know: A Little Dirt is Good for You."
My parents grew up in the 20s and 30s before our culture became terrified of germs while my siblings and I grew up on a farm eating food and drinking water that wasn't perfectly clean. As children we were all exposed to a broad spectrum of bacteria at low levels and our bodies simply developed the ability to kill the unfriendly ones. Our immune systems were regularly exercised and, as a result, became strong and discriminating.
We've seen a huge increase in allergies here in the West and there's evidence this may be a result of immune systems that "panic." They have not learned to distinguish between organisms and chemicals that threaten the body and those that don't. Consequently anytime these immune systems see something odd they attack – even if it's you they're attacking.
In another couple of examples, some current research points to potential links between celiac disease and lactose intolerance and the lack of microorganisms in the gut that can break down gluten and lactose. A decrease in breast-feeding may well contribute to this. The placenta isn't a perfect filter, but it's pretty good. So breast feeding not only passes on the mother's existing antibodies to her children, but also passes on some useful bacteria. Ultra-sterilized infant formula doesn't.
We have become a germophobic nation. The supermarket hands out wipes to disinfect buggies, we buy anti-bacterial soap for our kitchens and bathrooms, we expect our doctors to give us antibiotics whenever we get a runny nose or our child has an earache, we shoot our industrially raised cattle and chickens with drugs to prevent illness – not cure it.
This is silly. We live in – and surround – a sea of bacteria. In fact, aside from physically breaking down the food you eat by chewing and the application of some acids and enzymes, you do relatively little to digest your food. Instead a host of microorganisms living in your gut extract and then excrete the nutrients that keep you alive. If your intestine ruptures many of these bacteria can quickly kill you, but in their place they're not only harmless but positively beneficial.
Besides, anti-bacterial soaps don't work any better than ordinary soap, but they do enable bacteria to evolve their own immunity to the anti-bacterial agents. Our over-reliance on drugs whenever we don't feel well combined with the additional drugs we get in every bite of chicken or drink of milk we eat is breeding a new group of super bugs – and making us less able to defend ourselves.
I don't really advocate eating dirt, although eating a bit is unlikely to kill you. Washing your hands regularly – but not obsessively – is wise. And washing fruits and vegetables is a good idea, but the most effective way is to disinfect them is by briefly soaking in a vinegar solution. And the next time you feel bad, instead of going to the doctor, just take the day off and relax. Give your immune system a chance to do it's job – and get a little exercise.
Posted by Kevin Weeks at 5:00 AM | Permalink


text:
This is a thread to compile and answer both common and uncommon specific questions about death knights. A copy of each question will be kept and organized in this OP. Feel free to ask any dk related questions, but if question is anything along the lines of "I'm not doing as much damage as I should" or "What am I doing wrong", please use http://www.mmo-champion.com/threads/...-My-DK-DPS-MoP instead.
Question and answer archive:
Class Mechanics:
Q: Which dk abilities use spell crit chance?
A: Howling Blast, Death Coil, Death and Decay, and Stormlash (from a shaman in same party/raid) all use the spell crit chance instead of the melee crit chance, meaning they generally crits 5% less than your melee abilities. They are spells after-all, so I don't believe it's a bug, and balance-wise, I'm sure it's taken into consideration. Every other ability, including diseases, should use the melee crit chance.
Q: Is soul Reaper static or dynamic? The dot, is it static, in the form when you apply the dot, will it will do damage from the procs you had when you applied it or will it benefit from your procs at time in which it deals damage?
A: It updates dynamically.
Q: Is it worth using SR for the haste buff?
A: SR is only 50% extra rune regen for 5 seconds. With a generously low rune regen of 7.5 seconds, that shaves 2.5 seconds off the rune regen time for 5 seconds. In that 5 seconds, you generate 3 runes, but would normally generate 2 runes (5/7.5 *3). So the net gain is 1 rune, and you spent 1 rune to cast SR in the first place (and 1 GCD).
The haste buff is more of a consolation prize if the enemy happens to die early, but you should try to avoid it whenever possible and cast it on the enemy that will actually live to take the shadow damage.
Q: Does AotD scale with bloodlust?
A: Yes. Ghouls attack speed scale with your own, which scales with BL.
Q: What is base armor?(pertaining to blood presence) How is it different from Moonkin and Shadowform armor increase?
A: Testing shadowform shows that it's exactly what it looks like, the 100% bonus armor takes whatever existing armor you have, and doubles it. However it treats the armor as "bonus armor", so instead of saying you have 2000 armor, it says you have 1000 armor + 1000 armor, and the bonus is written in green instead of white.
Blood presence, on the other hand, only increases the "white" or base part of the armor, and doesn't show a + anything, or have any green. Also, in times past, some items had "bonus armor" as a stat, though it was quite rare. One example is http://www.wowhead.com/item=50606 having 2764 armor, while http://www.wowhead.com/item=51265 having 3148 armor, at the same ilevel. The "green" color refers to bonus armor. Blood presence does not multiply bonus armor, only base armor.
Q: Does pestilence spread DoTs with your current AP, or the AP on your current set of diseases?
A: Pestilence and roiling blood always take your current AP when spreading diseases.
Q: What is disease gaming?
A: Disease gaming means reapplying diseases before they fall off, when you have more AP/crit/mastery and they would do more damage. It's mostly an unholy tactic.
Q: Is disease gaming worth it for frost?
A: Yes, but only for blood plague. You need about 2500 more AP than your current diseases PER SECOND that you have left with blood plague as 2-hand frost. As DW frost, you need about 350 more AP than your current diseases PER SECOND that you have left with blood plague. More detailed info can be found here.
Q: What is the spec balance in 5.4?
A: For ST, all of the specs are very close. DW frost is simming slightly higher in most cases, but all 3 specs can pull comparable damage, and you'll get the most damage out of whatever spec you play the best.
Q: Is DW viable?
A: DW is perfectly viable for frost, in the case of unholy it's viable with DW weapons about 60 ilevels higher then a 2-hand, and for blood it's viable with the same weapon ilevel increase as unholy. Though, if you have such amazing 1-hand weapons, you should just go frost.
Q: Where can I find a frost guide?
A: MMOC does not have an up-to-date guide at this time.
You can, however, find frost guides on:
Elitest Jerks
Icy Veins
I suggest the EJ or IV veins guide, but I'm a little biased, being author of one and consultant for the other. I have not personally read the noxxic or battle.net one.
Q: Is Soul Reaper a DPS gain for 2H Frost?
A: Yes, but a small one.
Q: Should I be hitting Obliterate every time I have the runes available for it? Should I be Obliterating even if my RP is high?
A: No, the most important part of playing a dk is not wasting resources. Runes are not wasted unless they are not regenerating at all now, this allows us to "bank" one of each rune in reserve without losing anything, and you should try to avoid overcapping on runes or runic power (or t5 procs or km procs or rime procs). If you have 76+ runic and you are not about to cap on runes, don't oblit, use FS instead.
Q: Is it worth holding back runes to get oblit to line up with KM?
A: Short answer:
This issue, whether or not to hold off on using km procs in order to shift more of them over from FS to oblit received a lot of attention and discussion in 5.0-5.1. Euliat provided a fantastic mathematical analysis and rundown (which is quite a good read), and you can find it here.
Q: When do I use howling blast over soul reaper as DW?
A: At the SR breakpoint:
(((Weapon min damage + weapon max damage)/2) + (2.4 *(X/ 14)))*1.3*1.15*1.04*0.68 + (60000 +1.2X)*1.15*1.05 = (499 + 0.8487X) * 1.10*1.05*1.15 *Mastery value
X = AP, solve for X to get the breakpoint. Example with 200% frost damage from mastery and a 580 DW weapon:
Q: Which one of the 75 tier talents (rune regeneration) is the best for unholy?
A: BT gives you the most control, and therefore damage, if done right. RC is a better option for those who don't want to micro BT.
Q: What's wrong with my threat?
A: Optimal threat comes from gear, rotation, and on occasion, fight mechanics. Check out the blood guides here or on EJ to learn about gearing and rotation, and make sure you understand the fight for any effect that may have on threat.
Q: How do I properly build up resources to get the most out of DRW?
A: DRW can be used as both a defensive and an offensive CD. Defensive-wise, you get the most out of it by using it before a long string of melee damage, or pairing it with army for less damage taken.
Offensive-wise, you can bank a 2-set of DSs, a near full runic bar, which both slam pretty hard, and an outbreak, for double diseases. If you want to really bring the pain, popping ERW right after the first 2 DSs let's you machine gun off 4 DS and 3 RS, which fills up most of DRW and does a massive amount of damage, but ERW can be useful as a defensive as well. If ERW is on CD or you need it for something else, simply use DS and RS as much as possible, apply diseases, and otherwise follow your normal rotation.
Gearing and stats:
Q: What are the best trinkets?:
A: You can find trinket rankings at Frost, and Unholy.
Q: Why did haste become so bad?
A: There were several factors that reduce haste's value for 5.4:
1. Haste no longer scales with rppm trinkets/zandy.
2. RC bug removed from the game, stopping it from multiplying with haste to further make the trinket uptime go down.
3. The new PL generates 2 runes every 25 seconds instead of 1, and is basically free if managed right. These extra free runes make haste less necessary to GCD cap.
5. The new AMS glyph reduces the average CD on AMS, allowing you to get more runic from it.
6. The new CD trinket does the same thing.
7. The amp trinket means you need less haste to achieve the same rune regen effect.
8. The T-16-2set, if haste is your highest stat, leads to pushing you above the GCD capped threshold.
Most of these factors do not yet affect people. Even the PL/trinket change alone is enough to drop haste down a bit, and perhaps below crit. Best way to find out if it affects you is to sim yourself.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
The Little Cloud Nine pillow is a face pillow that lets weary travelers sleep without having to bother their neighbors by reclining their seat.
The unusual face pillow resembles a large, inflatable tower that sits in the airplane or car sleeper's lap. A surface at the top of the tower supports the sleeper's face, while pockets on the sides help rest tired hands. Because the entire contraption is inflatable, it can be blown up or release air in order to perfectly fit the user's face size and body type. It comes in two sizes: small and large, for people 5'7" or taller. The innovative face pillow can also double as a back-supporting cushion when the user is not sleeping.
Many products are aimed at frequent flyers looking to optimize their travel systems. These items look to health, comfort and entertainment while on the go.
Face-Planting Travel Pillows
More Stats +/-
WiFi-Enabled Leather Bags
Friendship-Forming Travel Apps
Advanced Carry-On Bags
Recycled Sail Knapsacks
Suitcase BBQs


text:
Ketchikan Man Sentenced to 38 Months in Federal Prison For Conspiracy To Distribute Methamphetamine
October 30, 2010
Michael Todd Stanley, 40, a resident of Ketchikan, Alaska, was sentenced by Chief United States District Judge Ralph R. Beistline, on October 28, 2010.
According to information presented to the court by Assistant United States Attorney Jack S. Schmidt, while under an investigation conducted by the Ketchikan Police Department, Stanley was secretly recorded distributing methamphetamine to an undercover informant on three separate occasions. The investigation later linked Stanley to a larger, drug-distribution conspiracy involving a number of individuals distributing methamphetamine in Ketchikan. The conspiracy involved the distribution of over 50 grams or more of actual methamphetamine over the course of the conspiracy.
Prior to imposing sentence, Judge Beistline noted the extremely serious nature of the offense and the sentence was needed to deter the defendant and others.
Loeffler commended the Ketchikan Police Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Stanley.
Related News:
Source of News:
Publish A Letter in SitNews Read Letters/Opinions


text:
We're constantly updating our Last Night's Look gallery with all the best red-carpet moments (gorgeous dresses! dazzling accessories! sky-high heels!). Now, let's talk beauty. Each week, we'll be highlighting one of the most gorgeous makeup and/or hair moments, along with details on how to recreate the look — straight from the makeup artist or hairstylist — in our feature, Look of the Week.
Springtime is synonymous with pastel eye shadow, sheer lipstick shades and subtly flushed cheeks. But for Paula Patton and her makeup artist Sam Fine, seasonal trends are so entry-level. For the premiere of The Perfect Match, the actress wowed with a deep wine-colored shade. "I don't cater to seasonal shades," Fine tells PeopleStyle. "I choose colors that work best for the client and the event!"
Gregg DeGuire/WireImage
At the film's premiere, the makeup pro had a very good reason for breaking the beauty rules. "After wearing a nude lip for a long day of press, it was time for a bit of drama," Fine tells PeopleStyle. "I immediately pulled out Tom Ford Lip Color in Bruised Plum while her dress was being fitted and the whole room gasped!"
He added the star's textured, detailed minidress helped seal the deal: "When Paula showed us the Thierry Mugler dress she planned to wear for the premiere, we immediately agreed that the look should be strong, sleek and glamorous."
RELATED VIDEO: How It's Done: Faking Fuller Lips
To get the look, Fine swiped on the lip hade, skipping a liner and filling in the lip with a small brush for precision. (Pro tip: "I've paired deep lip colors with dark smoky eyes for editorial, but [in real life], deep lip colors are best worn with a soft eye, to keep the focus on one feature.")
RELATED PHOTOS: Celebrity Beauty Hacks: 10 New Ways to Use Food In Your Beauty Routine
#AboutLastNight 📸 Last looks w/#PaulaPatton before heading to #ThePerfectMatch premiere! In theaters #March11th! #FineWork #FineBeauty
A photo posted by Sam Fine (@iamsamfine) on Mar 8, 2016 at 10:03am PST
Following his own advice, Fine kept Patton's eyes low-key with just a few coats (three, to be exact!) of Givenchy Phenomen'Eyes Mascara in Deep Black, then set the star's lashes with Surratt Beautys Relevée Lash Curler in between each coat to "make her eyes look lifted and awake."
So what did Patton think of her statement pout? "'Soooooo good, Sam!'" she told Fine. What a relief, Fine says: "Whew! Because I hate taking off a deep lipstick and starting over!"
What do you think of the star's bold lip moment? Share below!
–Sarah Kinonen
Follow @sarahkinonen


text:
Madame Chair: Regina Shanklin Leads Board of Organization for African Americans in the Life Sciences
Primary tabs
Madame Chair: Regina Shanklin Leads Board of Organization for African Americans in the Life Sciences
(3BL Media) May 30, 2012 - LinkedIn proved to be more than a way for Regina Shanklin, Sr. Director, Marketing Training, Commercial Capabilities, to keep in touch with professional contacts. It was the springboard to her involvement with a young professional organization primarily comprised of African Americans and blacks in the life sciences and pharmaceutical industry, the National Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical Association (NBPA). She's now the chair of its board of directors.
"Dr. James Gillespie, one of NBPA's founders, saw my LinkedIn profile and thought my pharmaceutical marketing experience would be a valuable complement to the board, which includes an impressive mix of physicians, scientists and educators" said Regina, who was elected to her position last October
It's easy to understand why Dr. Gillespie would want to recruit Regina to NBPA's high-caliber volunteer board. During her 10-year career at Sanofi, she's skillfully guided marketing initiatives for Lantus® SoloStar®, Avapro®/Avalide® and Plavix®; in 2004 and 2005, DTC Perspectives magazine named her one of its 25 DTC Marketers of the Year. Regina has consumer product management experience, with previous responsibility for household brands such as Coppertone® and Dr. Scholl's® while at Schering-Plough, and Milk-Bone® Dog Snacks and Cream of Wheat® Hot Cereal during her time at Nabisco. With a bachelor of science degree in chemical engineering, Regina also earned an MBA from Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management, where she graduated in the top 10 percent of her class.
Regina, in turn, was attracted to the organization's mission of promoting deeper and broader contact, communication and resource exchange among its members: primarily African Americans and blacks in Africa, South America and the Caribbean employed by the life sciences industry. It's a historically underrepresented group in science and math fields (see graphic). "It means a lot to me to help people network and grow professionally, especially those who may be the only African American in their department or one of a handful in their company," she said. "The NBPA fills a gap among professional associations and connects African Americans in different parts of the healthcare ecosystem who might otherwise not be aware of each other's existence."
Meeting Members' Needs
As a relatively new organization formed two years ago, the NBPA is still exploring ways to best meet its members' needs. Networking is the most obvious, says Regina, but the group is also involved in service opportunities, partnering with colleges, advocating for its members and exploring solutions to issues such as career mobility and the underrepresentation of minorities in clinical trials.
To that end, on June 14, NBPA is sponsoring its second Diversity and Clinical Trials symposium, where participants will discuss opportunities and challenges regarding the interface between diverse communities, clinical trials and the pharmaceutical industry. Additionally, as NBPA chair, Regina serves as a steering committee member for the Minority Biomedical Entrepreneurship Conference, which will be held May 21-22 in Cleveland.
"The entrepreneurship conference, while not an NBPA program, is the first of its kind and aligns with our goals, so I'm really excited about it," says Regina. "It will bring together some of the best minds in business development with people who are working on great science, but might not have expertise in being entrepreneurs. We're hoping for an exciting exchange of ideas and knowledge."
One panelist will be Bill Daley, Vice President, Business Development & Licensing, U.S. Medical Affairs. "This conference aligns very well with Sanofi's vision to build strong external relationships and partnerships with both biotech and academic institutions for growth opportunities," he said. "More important, it makes good business sense to have diversity in partnerships, especially as diversity in biomedical entrepreneurship is becoming more common. A diversity-balanced approach to partnership is essential for Sanofi's success, given our patient demographic and our identified growth platforms such as diabetes and consumer healthcare."
A Two-Way Street
It's that kind of balance that Regina and the NBPA welcome. "The organization is not for African Americans and blacks only, just as Sanofi's WISE is open to women and men. We welcome everyone," says Regina, who is working along with other employees and Sanofi Diversity & Inclusion to develop a diversity employee resource group at Sanofi dedicated to supporting Sanofi's efforts around the development, retention and inclusiveness of a diverse workforce. "And the talent that NBPA is nurturing benefits more than individuals – it benefits the life science and pharmaceutical companies they work for, as well. A diverse workforce brings different ideas to a business and richness to a company's culture."
About Sanofi
Sanofi, a global and diversified healthcare leader, discovers, develops and distributes therapeutic solutions focused on patients' needs. Sanofi has core strengths in the field of healthcare with seven growth platforms: diabetes solutions, human vaccines, innovative drugs, consumer healthcare, emerging markets, animal health and the new Genzyme. Sanofi is listed in
Sanofi is the holding company of a consolidated group of subsidiaries and operates in the United States as Sanofi US, also referred to as Sanofi-aventis U.S. LLC. For more information on Sanofi US, please visit http://www.sanofi.us or call 1-800-981-2491.


text:
What's the Deal with Ann Coulter and John Edwards?
As I am sure you are aware, the latest skirmish between Ann Coulter and John Edwards was launched this week. It started with Coulter's lovely comment that, "If I'm gonna say anything about John Edwards in the future, I'll just wish he had been killed in a terrorist assassination plot." This led to her confrontation with Elizabeth Edwards where she simply kept stammering that Mrs. Edwards wanted to silence her. This comes on the heels of her calling former Senator Edwards a "faggot" earlier this year and her earlier making insulting comments about the Senator's supposed political use of the death of his son (which, for the most part, seems not to be grounded in any fact).
I recognize that virtually no one takes Coulter seriously. Indeed, she makes Rush Limbaugh sound like Kant, but I am mystified about her obsession with John Edwards. I have, however, developed a few theories:
1. She is secretly in love with Edwards, but like a pre-teen, she only can show her love by insulting him.
2. She believes that he is the Democrats weakest candidate and is using these tactics to help him get the nomination.
3. Conversely, she is secretly working with Edwards, as they both recognize that these idiotic attacks gave both of them attention (all that she cares about) and help him raise money.
4. She is even dumber than I imagine.
Any guesses? Other theories?
Labels: Politics


text:
Posts Tagged 'yearly horoscope'
Advertisement :
Sponsered Links :
Know Your Horoscope.
Submitted by astrologer1089 • October 1, 2012
astrologer1.bravesites.com - Horoscope: It's very common way to know about future and mostly everyone knows about this. There are 12 house in our horoscope and our whole life depend on that 12 house. These 12 house tells everything about our life like ...
Advertisement :


text:
Apply to become a Purex Insider for the opportunity to get Free Samples from Purex Insiders, plus Coupons and Exclusive Savings!!
Applying to be a Purex Insider is easy, just fill in the fields [in link above] and submit your application.
Note: You will receive an activation email to verify your email address. Click on the activation link to finish the application process. They will then review your application.


text:
Worthington resident, dentist accused of inappropriately touching inmates at South Dakota jail
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — A Worthington dentist and resident active in community organizations has been accused of inappropriately touching female inmates during dental exams at a South Dakota county jail.
Andrew Heinisch, who practices dentistry at AppleWhite Dental Partners of Worthington, faces eight criminal charges related to alleged sexual contact of Minnehaha County Jail inmates and employees.
According to a press release from the Minnehaha County Jail, an investigation was initiated June 9 after a jail inmate reported to jail staff that she had been inappropriately touched while in the jail's dental office. Throughout the investigation, five current and former Minnehaha County female inmates reported being inappropriately touched during dental exams.
Based on the investigation, a warrant was issued, charging the 37-year-old with two counts of sexual contact between a jail employee and an adult detainee, a class 6 felony; two counts of attempted sexual acts between a jail employee and an adult detainee, a class 6 felony; two counts of sexual contact without consent with a person capable of consenting, a class 1 misdemeanor; and two counts of attempted sexual contact without consent with a person capable of consenting, a class 1 misdemeanor.
He turned himself in Thursday, where he posted a $10,000 cash bond and was released. His initial court appearance is scheduled for 9 a.m. Monday.
According to the sheriff's office, Heinisch has not been allowed to access the jail facility since the investigation was initiated.
Subcontracted through Armor Correctional Health Care, Heinisch has provided dental services to the Minnehaha County Jail since March 2016.
According to a doctor profile on AppleWhite Dental Partner's web page, Heinisch has practiced dental hygiene at the Worthington clinic since graduating from dentistry school in 2014.
Heinisch also provides dental care at Our Lady of Guadalupe Free Clinic, is a Worthington Noon Kiwanis Club member and has also volunteered as a math teacher at the Worthington Area Learning Center.
According to the jail, the Minnehaha County Sheriff's Office Detective Division is continuing to follow up on investigative leads as they develop.


text:
Northern Ireland's ambulance response target more ambitious than in Republic
Emergency response targets are being missed in all but one region
The most serious emergencies, where lives are at imminent risk, should be responded to within eight minutes in at least 72.5% of cases according to response targets in the North. Photograph: Justin Kernoghan
In the past decade the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service improved its performance figures against a background of tightened budgets, soaring demand and problems at hospital emergency departments.
Response targets are more ambitious than in the Republic. The most serious emergencies, where lives are at imminent risk, known as category A calls, should be responded to within eight minutes in at least 72.5 per cent of cases.
This is similar to the Health Information and Quality Authority (Hiqa) demand that first responders – trained to attend emergency calls and provide care until an ambulance arrives – attend emergencies within eight minutes, but without the longer 19-minute limit for the arrival of an ambulance.
In all but one region of the North, however, these targets are being missed. Rural parts of south Down, Armagh and Tyrone are among the areas in which response times are longest.
Only the greater Belfast area bettered the 72.5 per cent target. Emergencies in the city are attended within eight minutes in more than 87 per cent of cases. However, the other four areas failed in this regard, with three falling below even the minimum target of 65 per cent.
In the whole of the North, 68.5 per cent of vehicles met the response time, but the trend in recent years has been towards quicker responses.
According to the Stormont department of health, almost £100 million (€122 million) is being invested in the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service (NIAS) in the decade to 2018. Most will be spent on equipment and on improving the ambulance and rapid-response vehicle (RRV) fleets.
Minister for health Edwin Poots points to the greatest problem faced by those attempting to meet the 72.5 per cent target for the sub-eight minute response time. "Given the lower level of category A demand in rural areas, it would not be operationally or financially feasible to deploy an emergency resource in areas where demand indicates it will sit unused for significant periods." he said.
"NIAS deploys ambulances tactically to ensure that available ambulance resources are deployed where calls are most likely to originate, and where existing ambulance resources can have the greatest impact for the greatest number of patients.
"This means that the response to an emergency call may be provided by an ambulance or RRV which is not actually based at the nearest ambulance station."
Nuisance and hoax calls, along with attacks on ambulance staff, are also hampering better response times. According to the minister, one in five 999 calls for an ambulance last year were non-emergencies.
The ambulance service got 1,686 hoax calls, 2,476 people called for information only, and 735 people called for help to get them back into bed.


text:
In my quest for a lunch recipe that is easy to make and easy to assemble and that fits into the Hubby's Bento Box and that's delicious AND vegan I stumbled upon Jamie's recipe for The best vegan burger. And let me tell you my dearest dearest readers that if a hyperbolic title was ever true it's this time!
"Packed with flavour, these vegan corn burgers are healthy and seriously satisfying. "
- 1 x 400 g tin of chickpeas
- 1 x 340 g tin of sweetcorn
- ½ a bunch of fresh coriander (I used dried, and it was just fine 🙂
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon ground coriander
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon ground turmeric (not in the original recipe, but I'm currently having a love-affair with turmeric, so I'm putting it in everything!)
- zest from 1 lemon
- 3 heaped tablespoons whole wheat flour , plus extra for dusting
- rapeseed oil (again, I used olive oil and it was lick-your-fingers delicious)
- 1 small round lettuce
- 2 large ripe tomatoes
- 2 ripe avocados
- tomato sauce
- 4 wholemeal burger buns
- Stars by draining the chickpeas and sweetcorn, and add them to the bowl of your food processor.
- Add the spices, salt, lemon zest and flour and pulse until combined, BUT stop before it turns into a paste. Remember, you still need a little texture.
- Divide the mixture into 4 equal-sized patties about 2cm thick on a flour-dusted surface, and then place them in a fridge for about 30 minutes.
- Heat a little bit of oil in a non-stick frying pan and cook the patties over medium heat on each side until golden. I'm considering placing them in the oven next time, and I"ll let you know how that turns out.
- Assemble and enjoy! Bread bun + tomato sauce + veggie patty + tomato slices + avocado + bread bum.
Packing tip
Pack the bread separately to keep it fresh, and place the buns on a bed of spinach leaves to keep them fresh.
Bon appetit!


text:
Alaska, Mount Huntington
Trapper Creek climber Johnny Soderstrom (26) was declared missing and presumed dead in an avalanche, which occurred on Tuesday, February 15th. Soderstrom was last seen alive by his climbing partner, Joe Reichert, on Tuesday morning, as the pair approached the mountain's West Face Couloir route. After several hours of probing in avalanche debris in search of his partner, Reichert used a satellite phone to initiate search and rescue efforts.
There is no way to soften the blow or somehow mitigate the ramifications of this tragic loss. Yet any lessons or benefits of learning from hindsight, I believe, must be seized. Johnny's death was felt far and wide by the climbing community, and many people can see themselves in this accident. It is only through the honest discussion of this incident that others might be safeguarded.
For the purposes of this report, the objective contributory causes will be discussed within the headings of terrain, weather, snowpack, and rescue. The subjective contributory causes will be discussed within the heading of decision-making/human factor.
Terrain. Based on statements made by the reporting party (Joe Reichert) and observations made during an aerial survey on February 16 and 17, the accident site appeared to have a slope angle from the high 30-degree range to the mid 20-degree range. Johnny appears to have entered the slide area at the steepest part of the slope.
Because it is at the base of the vertical West Face of Huntington, the slope lacks the typical windward (scouring) or leeward (loading) phenomena. Nevertheless, it is prone to snow slab formation, which results when snow sloughs from the adjacent cliffs and lands on the relatively flatter slopes below.
The slope is typical of a glacier in its lack of roughness or presence of sufficient anchoring. The slope is approximately 60 meters in height by 20 meters in width, is planar in shape, and lacks any compressive support from the snowpack below due to a large crevasse at the lower margin of the slab. The crevasse made the consequence of being caught in an avalanche a nearcertain fatality.
Weather. There are two parts of weather to consider. The first is the prior events and how those may influence the stability of the snowpack. The second is how current events are influencing the stability of the snowpack. The question to be asked: "Is the weather contributing to instability?"
The unstable layering within the snowpack had its probable origins two weeks prior to the accident. A period of clear skies with no snowfall and cold temperatures from January 31 to February 5 resulted in a layer of weak, poorly bonded (faceted) snow on the top of the snowpack. This weak layer was subsequently buried by light snowfall on February 6 and 10, and farther buried by an even heavier snowfall from February 13 through 15. February 11 and 12 were clear and cold, which continued to provide a sustained temperature gradient necessary to produce faceted snow.
The wind that Johnny and Joe experienced during the storm of February 13-15 (estimated 30+mph) did not seem to contribute significantly to this avalanche. The slope is situated to avoid direct wind loading due to the lack of adjacent ridges or ribs, as evidenced by the relatively shallow crown face of the avalanche. However, the wind may have played a slight role at this location by acting as a compactor, making the slab more cohesive and able to propagate a fracture.
The weather on the day of the accident was stormy with heavy snowfall at times. This additional loading on this slope would have increased the avalanche hazard. Most avalanches happen during a storm, when the stresses on the snowpack are greatest and natural releases are most common. Consequently, it is prudent to avoid traveling in avalanche terrain during or immediately after storms.
Further, the overall visibility was less than adequate. The collection of information about the terrain becomes more difficult during storms or flat lighting. Communication is more difficult during bad weather, and good discussions—crucial to good decision making—are often minimized or non-existent. Finally, if there is an accident, increasing hazard on unreleased slopes or rebuilding hazard at the accident site may preclude optimum search efforts.
Snowpack. The snowpack, consisting of a layer of weak snow capped over by a slab, had stored elastic energy provided by the snow falling from the above cliffs. The weak layer and subsequent snowfall were ubiquitous, but the weak layer, slab, and poor bonding found at the accident site existed primarily at the base of the cliffs. It only needed the slight additional stress supplied by a suitable trigger—in this case Johnny—to put the snow in motion.
On the day of the accident, while traveling on the lower portion of the route, Joe noted a lack of typical clues indicating an unstable snowpack, such as other avalanche activity, collapsing layers, shooting cracks, or hollow-sounding snow. For a slab avalanche to occur, there needs to be a relatively strong layer over a relatively weak layer, a critical balance between the strength and the stress of the snowpack, and enough elastic energy to propagate a fracture. In this scenario, the weather events contributed to the strong-over-weak layering; the slope angle, while shallow enough to collect snow, had enough steepness to allow the snow to slide; and the cliff faces above provided the mechanism that built the slab and supplied the needed elastic energy.
Further, the stresses at this particular site would have been higher due to the lack of compressive strength that is typically provided by the adjoining lower snowpack. The snowpack on any given slope derives some support from running into the snow below that is on a slightly less steep slope. Because the bottom of the avalanche slope adjoined the open crevasse, it lacked this component. It is possible that this difference allowed Johnny to cross the similar slope to the left of the slide path without triggering it.
Rescue. From talking to Joe and examining the site, it appears that Joe did everything that could be done to locate Johnny. Because they did not carry avalanche beacons, Joe could only search for surface clues and search the debris using an avalanche probe. Johnny was most likely swept into the crevasse on the leading edge of the slab. Consequendy, the probability of finding clues, because of the short distance Johnny traveled before entering the crevasse, was unlikely. Further, being on the leading edge would have made his burial very deep, so the chance of making probe contact was also low.
Joe first searched the debris that had not gone into the crevasse. This was a good strategy. The likelihood of a live recovery was highest there. He then concentrated his efforts in the main part of the debris in the crevasse, in the zone of highest probability of burial. Joe's probe method, while not standard, was the approximate spacing of the three holes per step and, using proper technique, could yield about an 80 percent probability of strike. This is within the range of acceptable probe-line probabilities.
Joe searched for an estimated two hours and twenty minutes. Considering the hazard of the continuing snowfall, potentially reloading of the slope, and the large overhanging cornices that he was required to search under inside the crevasse, this was an appropriate amount of time. Statistics compiled from thousands of avalanche accidents tell us that even during shallow burials, it is rare to find the victim alive after one hour.
Decision Making/Human Factor. In 95 percent of avalanche accidents, the victim or someone in the victim's party triggers the avalanche. In other words, the main cause of backcountry avalanche accidents is flawed decision making. Analyzing post-fatality decisions involves a certain amount of speculation. No one can know for certain the decision-making process that Johnny employed. Also, while retrospective judgments are easy to make, it is important to maintain a sense of humility. No one can predict with certainty how he or she might perform in a given situation, as many experts will attest. Even extensive experience and/or expertise do not provide absolute protection.
Based on the findings, it appears that the instability of the slope was underestimated, and the severity of the consequences was either not recognized or was underestimated. These judgments, particularly the latter, were the greatest contributory factors in this incident. Given the statement Johnny made immediately preceding the slide, it appears that he recognized the potential for an avalanche. However, he continued, either believing the snow would not avalanche, or that he would somehow be able to survive a slide.
Neither Johnny nor Joe dug a pit to investigate the layering and bonding of the snowpack. This is understandable given that a pit site that could provide the necessary information regarding slab formation, stress concentration, and layer bonding was exposed to the very hazard they were attempting to avoid. Sometimes in mountaineering "digging a pit" increases one's exposure-time to the hazard. For this situation, however, the clues could have been garnered from a recollection of the weather, an examination of the snowpack lower on the route, knowledge of the slope angles they were likely to encounter, and an understanding of how slabs are built at the bottom of cliffs.
Joe and Johnny had spent longer on the route than anticipated, and the shorter amount of time they had remaining may have affected their decision to push forward on that day rather than wait for better conditions. They did, however, have a plan of calling for a flight to pick them up if time got short, though this was not their preferred option.
The entire mitigation of the avalanche hazard had to be the avoidance of avalanche slopes. This was not accomplished. Micro route selection was poor. On the macro scale, the route left little room for variation. The nature and location of the crevasses pushed the route up under the cliffs and above the crevasses. The route up to the point of the open crevasse was acceptable, but once Johnny stepped above the crevasse, the situation changed completely. To avoid being placed between a hammer and an anvil, as it were, it was necessary to skirt along the sides and upper edge of the slab. The margins of the slab are identifiable by the serac on the left side, the bergschrund above, and the lower slope angles on the right side.
The visibility was variable, so it may have been that Johnny couldn't see the alternative option of ascending toward the bergschrund before he crossed above the open crevasse. Also, the alternative route could have necessitated taking off ones skis and post-holing, or at least making numerous switchbacks and side-stepping, all of which would be difficult in deep snow. Other factors may have influenced Johnny's decision making. The distance from where he entered the avalanche slope to the safer lower angled slopes ahead is short. He was concerned about avalanches, which was demonstrated by his instructions to Joe. A predictable level of apprehension would have made the lower-angled terrain on the other side of the slope a very enticing focal point, a situation not conducive to looking around for alternatives.
It was unfortunate that visual contact was not maintained. This was an understandable product of the type of terrain they were attempting. From an avalanche perspective it is acceptable and often beneficial to travel unroped and farther apart. Being separated may have prevented both of them from being caught. It's unknown how deep Johnny was pushed into the crevasse, but with the amount of snow involved, it is highly unlikely, had they been roped together, that Joe would have been able to arrest the fall and not be pulled in himself.
The decision to not take avalanche beacons deserves discussion. A beacon would probably not have made a difference in the outcome of this tragedy. However, a beacon would have provided more information about where exactly Johnny was buried and helped to eliminate the inevitable uncertainty and discomfort that occurs when a body cannot be found. Beacons also enable rescuers, including organized responders, to focus their efforts, shortening the search time and limiting their exposure to potential hazards.
Using an avalanche beacon in the big mountains has benefits other than body recovery. There are potentially survivable avalanches even in the big mountains and having a beacon does increase the odds of survival. The Mount St. Elias avalanche of June 10, 1981, provides a clear example of the potential benefits of wearing transceivers. Survivor of a burial Charlie Campbell said, "On my eight previous climbing expeditions, none of us ever used avalanche beacons. It was at my insistence that everyone had to wear one this trip. I guess I got smart just in time. Our choice of route, the intentional separation of our party, our avalanche beacons, and the fact we were trained to use them all helped stack the deck in our favor."
The absence of beacons often represents an overestimation of one's ability, or an underestimation of the hazard. It is not uncommon for experienced mountaineers to feel that if conditions make it prudent to wear a beacon, then the conditions are too dangerous to proceed. These climbers often claim that they "just won't go" if it's unsafe. Indeed, if wearing of a beacon encourages or allows the user to travel in more dangerous conditions than they might otherwise travel in, then there is a loss of overall safety. But to say that dangerous avalanche conditions will be totally avoided is a serious overestimation of any person's ability to recognize and deal with the hazard. To say it another way, it is a serious underestimation of any person's ability to make mistakes and not see the entire picture, or subconsciously to eschew the data that contradicts a desired result. Judging the hazard of any given slope is like shooting at a moving target. Conditions change over time, and what may be totally safe to cross on one day may not be safe on the next.
There are many factors that allow individuals to recognize the potentially serious consequences of avalanches and yet think that their personal situation is not so dangerous. In fact, studies on cognition have shown that people consistently rate their hazard evaluation skills significantly above average. We all feel we're smarter than average and consequently feel the hazard is not as great for ourselves as it is for others. (Source: Blaine Smith, Alaska Avalanche School/Alaska Mountain Safety Center)


text:
Lisk, which raised $6.5m in a crowdsale, 'is an app store for peer-to-peer apps for a blockchain or its sidechains'.
Sourced through Scoop.it from: www.ibtimes.co.uk
Ian Allison article about Lisk, a JavaScript compatible cryptocurrency released version 3.0 with sidechains capability. Article is descriptive on what is to be expected with Lisk in FinTech. Developers are in for a party!
See on Scoop.it – Social Media and Mobile Websites


text:
Detail Images
Current Color
Temporarily Out Of Stock
Don't get too bummed. This item is on the way and will be available for purchase as soon as it rolls into the warehouse.
Can't wait? Consider one of the other Bike Tools & Tool Kits we have in stock.View Similar Products
6 Reviews
Guide the way.
Emblazoned with a compass graphic on its hand-sanded, artfully finished beech wood box, Silca's Limited Edition Woodblock Print Essential Kit represents a refined take on the everyday, do-anything toolkit. Its eight hex keys are carefully constructed with strong and durable S-2 steel, coated in deformation-resisting chrome, and coated again in a grip-enhancing, high-visibility polymer finish to keep them from getting lost or slipping in a grease-littered environment.
This kit also includes a stainless steel magnetic adapter, six of the most common Torx sizes, and two Phillips and two flat head screwdrivers. Each tool is held in place in its own individual slot, and the box utilizes a magnetic closure to keep the whole set secure whether you're in your own garage or racing far from home.
- A refined tool collection for everyday wrenching
- Beechwood box adds style to your work area
- Tools made from durable, chromed S-2 steel
- Hex handles finished with grippy polymer coating
- Includes magnetic adapter compatible with 1/4mm driver bit
- Individually numbered out of 300 total kits
- Item #SLC000O
Tech Specs
Gearhead Help
Tech Specs
- Reviews
What do you think about this product?
Have questions about this product?
Best Hex Tools. Period.
- Familiarity: I've put it through the wringer
As with everything that Silca does, these tools are top notch. The tolerances for their Hex heads are so tight that it is almost impossible to strip a bolt when using the correct size. as a shop mechanic, we would go through 5mm and 4mm wrenches about once a year. when we moved to these, we hadn't needed to change wrenches in 2 years and counting.
- Familiarity: I gave it as a gift but have feedback to share
I don't usually refer to tool as beautiful but I gave these to my father in law for christmas and he loved them. They feel very heavy duty and the detail in the box is amazing.
High quality tools for high quality gear
- Familiarity: I've put it through the wringer
I'm always amazed when I see someone using a 5mm hex key that they got from an Ikia furniture build kit on a $6000 bike.
Here's what you get when you use a cheaply made tool:
1) Poor tolerances. For example, your 5mm hex key could be 4.95 mm, which is not good.
2) Poor quality steel. For example, your 5mm key will very soon be a 5mm round thing, similar in form to a 5mm key but prone to ruining bolts.
So, you want 'high quality' tools -- high quality steel and tight tolerances. In general that means made in Germany, Japan, Italy, or the US. This is not to say that you can't buy high quality tools made in China, but a $20 set is probably not a good bet. I'd say $10-20 *each* is more like it (a good 10mm hex key can be $35, while a good 2mm key might be $10). Don't believe me? Look up Beta tools.
Simply put, to avoid damaging your very expensive stuff, you buy the best tools you can afford. Any mechanic will tell you this.
These are excellent quality, and not particularly expensive for what they are, especially considering the extras.
Bottom line: These are very nice tools, at a moderate price point. You could buy some cheaper, but as a rule, if a set of 8 hex keys doesn't retail for $75+, then it's probably not high quality. If you want really nice stuff, this is the entry level.
Note that a smart shopper doesn't pay retail, but then these retail for $125. In my estimation the current asking price of $98 is a steal.
Best Hex Keys Ever
- Familiarity: I've put it through the wringer
Hands down, the Silca HX-ONE tool kit includes the best hex keys I've ever had the privilege of twisting; these have been the most exact fitting wrenches I've ever laid my hands on, which when you're tightening or loosening the titanium bolts on your Campagnolo Super-Record components is important ... no chance of rounding off these keys or the bolts.
Sure, they're a bit spendy, but with a 25-year warranty, like all Silca products they're built to last a lifetime.
Makes a fantastic gift, which is actually how I got mine; but is one of the many Silca products I own.
If you have any questions about this item or any other Silca product, please feel free to reach out to me directly at 801-736-6396 ext. 2422, or via email to email@example.com
All- I love Silca's stuff. However you can buy hex wrench's just like this on Amazon for $20. Spend the $110 I just saved you on something else for you bike!
- Familiarity: I've used it once or twice and have initial impressions
Warning, do not buy anything from Silca, once you start, you cannot stop. These are beyond doubt some of the best made tools out there. They are beautifully ergonomic and ooz style. Once you get your hand on anything made by Silca, everything else seems uncevilized and crude. Sometime I even feel guilty for using them, although they are functional and very well made. Form and function cannot be any better.
The downside, and like anything from Silca, it is expensive and it is just a gateway drug to spend more money on their stuff.
Agreed. Just wonder why the 7mm is not included. Of course, no one seems to make the 7mm anymore?
so happy
- Familiarity: I've used it several times
I've eyeballed this tool kit for quite a while, easy to pull the trigger with a little extra flash.


text:
Auto Brightness settings missing after update.
I recently replaced my Front-Facing camera and Sensor Assembly and also updated to iOS 11 then to 11.0.1 and they moved Auto-Brightness. I found where they moved it to,
Settings> General>Accessibility>Display Accommodations
When I go there it is totally missing from the list. Does anyone else have this issue of it not being there? or is it possible that I just have a bad Front-Facing Camera and Sensor Assembly?


text:
Just wanting to touch base, I may be offline for a few days as we are moving this week and internet etc may be down for a few day's.
Tomorrow is our first day at John Flynn Hospital setting up the studio which is very exciting.
We have some fabulous new product's available also which we will release next week.
My quote for today is
"Happiness is a way of travel, not a destination"


text:
Mars Encounter
Played 3030 times
Mars Encounter game information:
Defend the planet from the Martian invaders fighting them in this new version of Space Invaders game. Choose the difficulty level and begin the game. Move your ship using the mouse and shoot using the button. You can choose the image quality too.
How to play:
Use mouse to move, left click to shoot.
Add this game to your website or blog!
Popular Tags
Latest Games
- Knf Santa Claus Christmas Gift Escape
- Help The Santa
- Santa Double Adventure
- Liberation Of Santa
- Recover The Gift
- Memory Loss Santa
- Xmas Pass Over
- Perfect Winter Trendy
- Santa Arctic Adventure
- Knf Winter Wooden House Escape
- Santa Way 3
- Bart Shootout
- The Hulk Differences
- Princess doll house 2
- American Trucks Memory
- Sailor Ship Escape
- Defend Kindom Wars
- Deadpool Jigsaw
- Offroad Race Truck
- House Cleaning
- Kings Castle 20
- BMW F32 Jigsaw
- Art Gallery Escape
- Fairy Beauty Salon
- Daredevil Jigsaw
- Semi Truck Jigsaw
- Lexus RS 350 Jigsaw
- Land of the Monsoon
- Kings Castle 19
- Italy Palazzo Escape


text:
My First Video Project
Check out my first video project, made using Adobe Premier! 🙂
All that cute, sparkly, girly sh!t
Check out my first video project, made using Adobe Premier! 🙂
Check out NikkieTutorial's review of the new Pop Luxe color changing highlighter!!
Be shameless with the new Marc Jacobs Shameless Youthful-Look 24 Hour Foundation!! It's clinically tested for 24-hours of long-wear, and contains a first-to-market technology that encapsulates the SPF in pigment, making the SPF visibly undetectable in photos (even with flash!!). This oil-free, weightless foundation provides buildable, medium coverage that blends seamlessly. The patented Infinity Milling™ process produces super-fine pigments that result in the most natural-looking, self-setting finish. The broad shade range was developed with artists and models worldwide to fit all skin tones and skin types (shoutout to all of my darker-toned ladies!! <3).
Say hello to your new go to purse palette! This mini edition of Urban Decay's Naked Heat features 6 scorched neutrals to create bold fiery looks, even on the go!
Is there anything more amazing than holographic makeup (Or anything tbh)?? These new Stellar Beauty Stardust Holographic Lipglosses are the perfect way to get with the holo trend! Each one contains light reflecting pearls, which can give lips a fuller appearance (bonus!!). Also, the formula combines hydrating vitamin E, vitamin A, and aloe leaf extract to make a non-sticky, ultra shiny finish. And at only $22 a pop, you don't have to feel too guilty about treating yo-self to an awesome holo-rific product!!
Check out my fun, beachy mix! 🙂
1 2 Next


text:
International Vegetarian Union (IVU)
International Vegetarian Union
Vegan Pasta Recipes
Contributed by Vegetarians and Vegans from around the world
Use these links to buy from amazon and IVU gets up to 10%!
Tropical Pasta
From: Karen C. Greenlee
Serving Size: 4
4 ounces uncooked vermicelli
1 medium red bell pepper cut into -- 2 x 1/4" strips
1 small papaya or mango -- chopped
1 medium tomato -- chopped
2 tablespoons fresh cilantro -- chopped
1 tablespoon peanut oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/4 cup cocktail peanuts -- chopped
Cook and drain vermicelli per package directions.
Rinse with cold water and drain.
Toss vermicelli and remaining ingredients except peanuts.
Sprinkle with peanuts.
Print Recipe (without the ads)


text:
Gyles Brandreth has taken great license in making one of the most controversial figures of Victorian society and literary circles of his day an amateur sleuth.
Amazingly, this works rather splendidly. Having now read The Candlelight Murders, Dead Man's Smile and now the fourth book, The Nest of Vipers, Oscar's powers of deduction go from strength to strength as does Brandreth's prowess as a writer of mystery fiction.
I enjoyed The Candlelight Murders and was surprised by the revealing of those with murderous intent. Dead Man's Smile was where I was first introduced to Oscar in Paris, in the theatre; how wonderful. I found both books enjoyable reads although a little clunky in places, the flow of Brandreth's narrative not always feeling comfortable with me, leading to paragraphs where I had to determine to plough on rather than glide through.
And then you have Nest of Vipers. I breezed through this book, delighting in the twists of the narrative; pleased by the inclusion of Arthur Conan Doyle again and revelling in the insight into the royal avoidance of scandal that seems surprisingly paramount to all suspects concerned in the narrative to the detriment of the pursuit of justice and, of course, the truth.
The Duchess of Albemarle is found murdered in her telephone room after a prestigious party held at her house. Initially, it is assumed that she died of an enfeebled heart. However, it transpires that the Duchess is a lustful woman with an appetite that must be satiated; an appetite the Duke is unable to assuage.
Linked with the Prince of Wales as one of his many lovers, the royal household is keen to avoid a scandal but the Prince is also curious about the truth of the Duchess' demise and so instructs or orders Oscar and his band of followers, Robert Sherard, biographer and Conan Doyle, admirer and friend, to investigate. Which they duly do.
There are many possible suspects who come under the detective eye of Oscar Wilde, and he deduces the facts and surmises the truth in a way which is uncannily like Conan Doyle's famous sleuth, Sherlock Holmes. Oscar's insights litter the text, his astute observation of people's behaviour and accomplished (and some might say rather lucky) guess work, revealing much about the characters around him and these are greatly entertaining.
Oscar keeps much to himself allowing Brandreth the wonderful climactic reveal at the end of the book where the killer is uncovered in a Poirot style summary and confrontation. And this sits easily with the portrayal of Oscar as showman and orchestrator, the person in the centre of attention to whom others clamour.
Brandreth's style of narrative structure is developed in this book, the author making great use of secondary sources as opposed to Sherard's sole voice and the odd smattering of telegrams.
At the opening, Brandreth has Sherard talking to Wilde about publishing the story of the Duchess' murder and asks him to read through his gathered source material corresponding to the affair. We are then beadily looking over Oscar's shoulder while he peruses the papers which are collated chronologically and include diary entries, telegrams, party invitations, etc.
Adopting this format makes the book exceptionally easy to digest, avoiding the turgidity that sometimes permeated Sherard's narrative. The inclusion of letters by other applauded writers and friends of Oscar like the aforementioned Doyle and also Bram Stoker, author of Dracula add the element that Brandreth's book spans two worlds rather well, those of fiction and reality.
So, another great mystery story. What were also interestingly provided in this novel which I liked were the diary entries of an intimate of Wilde, Rex LaSalle. Whilst also being a suspect, he is an acolyte of Oscar's who is disarmingly attractive and also claims to be a vampire.
His personal private encounters with our hero allow a small, albeit fictional glimpse beneath the veneer of Wilde's persona into a world where he is more vulnerable, more exposed. I liked these hints of intimacy, the man beyond the image.
Altogether, I think this is Brandreth's best book to date. I wonder where Wilde will wander (and wonder) next.