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Opponents Offer Unhelpful Critique of Wendy Davis: She's A Bad Mom!
LatestTexas gubernatorial candidate and pro-choice It Girl Wendy Davis announced just last week that she'd raised over $12 million dollars over the second half of 2013. And, on Sunday, like clockwork, a Dallas paper ran a barbecued garbage "expose" that slammed her for being a bad mother. Texas-style sexism really sticks to the ribs, doesn't it?
The Dallas Morning News ran a piece this Sunday that called into question certain aspects of Wendy Davis's personal story. Here HuffPo's Laura Bassett breaks them down,
Davis has said she was a divorced single mother at 19, when she was only separated at 19. Her divorce did not become final until she was 21. She has told stories about the difficulty of living in a trailer with her daughter, but the article noted they lived in that mobile home for just a few months. Davis mentioned in 2012 that her mother had a sixth-grade education; in fact, her mother has a ninth-grade education.
Wow. This is some Congressman Francis Underwood-level fuckery. Lying about how much school your mom had? AND WE THOUGHT THIS WOMAN WAS FIT TO GOVERN. WHAT FOOLS WE WERE!
Predictably (and completely, 100% justifiably), conservative shoutmakers on Twitter and on the radio and on the toilet or wherever were quick to jump all over Davis, calling her a bimbo and a Barbie and implying that because she went to law school while a human child existed she was a bad mother who had abandoned her kid in favor of her selfish career in Professional Feminism. It was good old fashioned red meat apoplexy, made extra silly by events that were yet to transpire later this week. But we'll get to that later.
Davis responded by clarifying some of the details of her backstory and saying that she should be more careful with conveying details now that she's under the public microscope. And, you know, from as objective a standpoint I can muster, lying about personal details in your past when you're running for elected office is both weird and sloppy. But, like, nowhere near warranting the kind of slobbering response it got from the right. In fact, in a state as red (turning purple-ish, but still red) as Texas, why are conservatives even wasting their time drawing attention to Wendy Davis in such a sexist, shitty way when all the overreaction does is remind people that Davis's opponent, Greg Abbott, is of a party of petty, sexist bigots? It's like using a gun you keep in your house for self-defense to accidentally shoot yourself in the leg while horsing around.
And the overreaction of the right looks especially silly in light of what happened today in Virginia, when Republican ex-Governor Bob McDonnell, he of mandatory vaginal ultrasound fame, was indicted (alongside his wife) on federal corruption charges. Apparently during all that time making his state a national example of Why Women Should Not Vote For Republicans, he found time to accept $120,000 in illegal loans — ironically, after a probe. I wonder how many of the people absolutely shitting American flags over allegations that Wendy Davis maybe didn't accurately represent how long she lived in a trailer are equally upset that one of their anti-choice darlings was Illinois-level corrupt. Can't wait for all the Vaginal Probe Ken jokes; McDonnell's certainly got the hair for it.


text: Kakashi orders Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura to watch a movie before their next mission. Naruto is a big fan of the lead actress. After the movie, they see the heroine in person and being chased. They help her and Naruto asks for an autograph but she wouldn't give him one. When the three returns, Kakashi tells them about their mission: to escort the actress to the Snow Country to film a new movie. (Source: ANN)

subset: commoncrawl


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Trent Reznor Biography
Trent Reznor
(Michael Trent Reznor)
musician, singer, songwriter
Born: 5/17/1965
Birthplace: Mercer, Pennsylvania
Grammy Award-winning singer, songwriter and musician who is for known mixing dance club beats with heavy metal tones. Raised by his grandparents, Reznor learned to play piano and several other instruments as a child. After graduating from college he formed the band Nine Inch Nails. Lead by Reznor, the band won Grammys for best metal performance for "Wish" (1992) and for "Happiness in Slavery" (1996). The band's albums include Pretty Hate Machine (1989) and The Downward Spiral (1994).
William Reynolds | R | Ving Rhames |
See also:


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Clockwork Aquario (Tokeijikake no Aquario in Japanese) is an arcade game developed by Escape / WestOne Bit Entertainment, the same guys behind the Wonderboy series, that was cancelled in 1994 after about two years of development.
In 2011 Johnny Undaunted, a lostlevels forum user, translated an interview with the game's music composer…
Sakamoto: It was going to be similar to Wonder Boy 3: Monster Lair. It was going to be a forced side-scrolling game, but with a bit of a cooperative multiplayer mode. It was originally going to be a 2-players game, but then we decided to add a third player as well. The three characters consisted of a boy (named Hack Rondo), a girl (Elle Moon), and a robot (Gash). The method of attack was by stomping on enemies and then grabbing them to throw them out. Oh, I think you could even catch enemies thrown by other players as well or something like that. You could even head butt thrown enemies thrown at you.
…and some notes wrote by a japanese gamer who played Aquario in 1993 in a location testing
Aquario was a Super Mario Bros.-type side-scrolling action game. The controls originally consisted of three action buttons ("throw", "jump" and "invincibility").
Enemies are attacked first by jumping over them, rendering them unconscious. When the player moves towards an unconscious enemy, he automatically picks it up. At this point the player can throw the enemy by pressing the throw button. Enemies that are thrown flies off in a single horizontal line and are defeated by flying off-screen or being bashed to a wall. Thrown enemies can be used to knock other enemies unconscious as well. Moreover, by holding the joystick upwards, enemies can be thrown to the top of the screen as well.
Pressing the invincibility button makes the player invincible to enemies for a brief period. In the upper portion of the screen, there's an invincibility gauge underneath the score display and when it reaches zero, the player's invincibility will wear off. The gauge can be replenished by picking up items.
The key to the exit of each stage is kept by a sub-boss. By defeating the sub-boss, the player can obtain the key and use it to enter the boss' lair. Each boss can be defeated by jumping over him repeatedly or by throwing his henchmen to him. The boss of the first stage in this version was a crab.
The game featured a 2-hit points per life system similar to Ghosts 'n Goblins and Midnight Wanderers, in which getting hit once would make the player's clothes look tattered, and then getting hit a second time would make him lose a life. The player's clothes can be restored by picking up a health power-up.
* Impressions of the June 14 version.
This version was really difficult. I couldn't defeat the crab boss after several plays. It was a pretty difficult experience for novice players, since enemies move quickly and a lot of fake-outs are used by them. The invincibility button was difficult to use as well. Because it was difficulty to predict what kind of dangers would face in these kinds of action games, getting through them was simply a matter of "pressing the button on time". There were also unfair trap placement as well, such as the snapping trap in Stage 1. The game was still unfinished at the time, as there were bugs such as glitched text display during the playing instructions at the start of the game. However, the colorful graphics really caught my attention.*August 15, 1993
Another location test for Aquario was held, this time in the comic book shop near the Spo-Lan in Shinjuku Nishiguchi. The content of the game were greatly altered since the last location test, to the point that the game was almost completed.Impressions of the August 15 revision.
The number of action buttons was reduced to only two (punch and jump). This time, invincibility is only provided by a power-up item for a limited period (similar to the Starman in Super Mario Bros.). The invincibility gauge was replaced with a 1UP gauge that gives player an extra life when filled and it seems enemies are now defeated by knocking them unconscious with a punch, moving onto the unconscious enemy, and then throwing them. It was also possible to defeat enemies by simply punching an unconscious enemy further until he disappears . Since players were irritated that they were unable to defeat enemies quickly in the June 14 version, the resulting changes in this version made the game easier to play in longer periods. Perhaps because of this, the game was still deemed unsafe to release to the market yet.*August 29, 1993
Once again location testing was held in the Spo-Land store in Shinjuku Nishiguchi. I was wondering at this point why it wasn't already released yet (how unfortunate).Changes made in the August 29 revision.
The differences are very minor this time. However, there seems to be a 2-Players competitive mode this time (there wasn't one in the August 15 version). I have no idea how it worked because I never saw it in action. From what I remember, a few graphical details were changed, but I didn't have much difficulty. Even though I wanted the game to come out already, I had a bad premonition at the time.
It was the last day I ever saw the game. I heard stories that another location test was conducted in the Spring of '94, but I'm not sure what changes were done at that point. Because of this, I now associated location tests with the process of a game company coming up with the decision of having to cancel a game. I thought to myself I shouldn't get too involved with location tests. However, I must consider myself fortunate to have the chance to had played this game due to my fascination with the company's Monster World series.
Thanks to an hardcoregaming 101 interview with Ryuichi Nishizawa, director of Aquario and of almost all the Wonderboy games, we also know that the source code survived and the reasons behind the game's cancellation:
"Aquario of the Clockwork" was the last arcade game developed by my company. I had been working and suffering for a long time to complete it, but the location test results were poor. It was an eccentric action game with three player simultaneous play. The graphics were quite excellent, but it was not released, unfortunately. The program is located in the archives of my company, so I do not have any screenshots.
The soundtrack of Aquario is available to buy here. For more informations check this hardcore gaming 101 blog post. Thanks to Youloute for the contribution!


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Starting this week onward Delhi Food walks brings you a new series named Ethnic Food Tour series that catalogues our food explorations across the diverse and rich tribal panorama of our country and beyond.
It commences with the rustic cuisine of the Rabha tribe from Assam. The Rabhas are the indigenous tribal groups from Assam who belong to the Indo-Mongoloid group of people. In Assam they are mostly settled in Goalpara, Kamrup, Kokrajhar, Udalguri, Baksa, Bongaigaon, Chirang, Sonitpur and Karbi Anglong districts. Agriculture, forest based activities and weaving are the mainstay of their traditional economy in general. Rabha women are skilled weavers who usually make their garments on their own. However due to the lack of market opportunities and external support their exquisite skill haven't yet transformed into a thriving livelihood opportunity.
Getting back to their cuisine, rice is the staple food of the Rabhas who are completely non vegetarians. Local herbs and edible insects are the essential components of their daily diet. The simple and rustic dishes have minimum use of spices and condiments. Home brewed rice beer is widely consumed not only during special occasions but on a daily basis. Their meal is hued with unique earthy notes because all of their ingredients are primarily sourced from the forests and local farms. To discover more about them, we visited the Ujan Rabhapara village in Kakoijana in Bongaigaon district of Assam along with our brilliant hosts Chayanika, Sishir and Risha whose insights helped us to get familiar with the new culture with ease.
En route to the village, we stopped at a local household to try Assamese Jolpan. It is the umbrella term for the traditional breakfast dishes that the locals relish daily. The Assamese word 'Jolpan' refers to both breakfast and evening snacks that includes different forms of the wide variety of local rice that are eaten with jaggery and curd. Typically, the base ingredient includes any one of the following-kumol saul (uncooked but soaked rice), sira (flattened rice), moori (puffed rice) etc. One can customise it with banana, sweet boondi, rasgulla etc. It also includes other preparations like Pitha and Nadu. We tried the most elementary of them i. e the Sira Doi gur and boondi laddo. It was such a comforting combination.
After a short drive, we reached Ujan Rabhapara. Nestled amidst the green canopy of the Kakoijana forest expanse, this quaint sleepy village is home to the Rabhas. Kakoijana is the home to the endangered golden langur. Along with our hosts Chayanika, Sisir, Risha and Sanjib Sharma, we met the welcoming womenfolk from the village who had all gathered to cook a traditional Rabha meal for us. Since agriculture based activity are the mainstay of their livelihood, their cuisine is naturally dominated by the components from the same.
Hence it isn't a surprise that it includes rice which is the staple, various local herbs, meats, fishes and insects. Bugs and insects like the silkworm, red ants, grasshoppers etc. are the delicacies that define their cuisine.
Another important element of the Rabha cuisine is the local rice beer called Chokoth, that is brewed in almost all households and is consumed almost daily. We tried it along with the genial locals. The taste profile of this alcoholic beverage was on the sweeter side. It is prepared by fermenting local rice along some herbs. After a period of 15 to 20 days they get ready for consumption.
The meal was prepared over the wood fire. Watching the herbs wilt in oil along with onions etc was a joyful experience although the addition of the silkworms or the red ants did make us apprehensive as it was our maiden attempt to try them. For the Rabhas these creatures are a nrich source of protein and so they are an important part of their regular diet. In no time with the collective efforts of the amazing womenfolks, the meal was ready. It was served in the local manner i.e. on the banana leaves. The meal comprised of the following- steamed rice, Mai Posung(steamed sticky rice with coconut) Skunkvine fritters, Silkworm with herbs, Posola di Kukura Mankho(country chicken cooked with banana stem), Taukam Bamshi(country chicken cooked with rice flour), Bakham(roasted pork), Hissa Pichi(Eggs of the red ants), Kekura bota(Crab Chutney), Guti aloo Aru Dhekiya Bhaji(baby potatoes with fiddlehead ferns) and Chokoth. Honestly some of the dishes like the silkworm and the dry fish chutney were an acquired taste that didn't really catch our fancy although they weren't at all weird. After finishing with the lunch we ate the Tamul and got ready for our departure. But what a humble experience it was with the simple and lively locals and of course the serene natural setting.
We are truly grateful to our amazing hosts for walking us through the fascinating landscape of the Rabha Cuisine with such enthusiasm and patience.


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Want to find out how? Click HERE to watch the Irvine Police Explorer Video
The Irvine Police Explorers is a volunteer program that allows high school aged young adults to investigate and explore a career in law enforcement. Explorers volunteer at a variety of community events and provide public services ranging from traffic control to fingerprinting children. After explorers complete a five-day training academy, Explorers are invited to participate in monthly patrol ride-alongs.
The Irvine Police Explorers is a fantastic way to serve the community while preparing for a career in law enforcement. Many former Explorers now serve the city of Irvine as Police Officers, Dispatchers, Traffic Investigators, and Public Safety Assistants.
Meetings: The Irvine Police Explorers meet on the first and third Wednesday of each month at 6:30 PM, at the Irvine Police Department. Meetings typically consist of general business discussions and training.
Each meeting, Explorers have the opportunity to learn how the different divisions of the police department function. Explorers have participated in presentations from Detectives, K-9 Handlers, DUI Enforcement Officers, SWAT, Crime Scene Investigators, Orange County helicopter operations, Traffic and Patrol.
Joining the Irvine Police Explorers:
INFO: Want more info?


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Smoking marijuana Vs. Vaporizing marijuana: Depending on one's experience within the realm of cannabis consumption, some may never have heard of vaporizing.
Vaporizing marijuana is a common technique for consuming marijuana, while at the same time negating many irritating respiratory toxins that exists within the grown marijuana flower and are released when smoked. Conversely, vaporizing cannabis allows one to get at all of the psychoactive ingredients available within that specific strain of marijuana , minus the combustion that ordinarily takes place during consumption.
The basic design of the average marijuana vaporizer is to allow marijuana smokers to inhale the many active Cannabinoids, while at the same time avoiding any of the harmful elements that may exist on that specific flower… although invisible to the naked eye.
While most don't know it … There is a vast difference in the quality of smoke that one receives when they are vaporizing marijuana vs smoking marijuana. When one smokes a joint, or hits their bong approximately 88% of the combusted smoke gases contain non-cannabinoid elements, most of which do not get you high and provide potential health risks.
Conversely when one is vaporizing marijuana the gases that they are inhaling consists of approximately 95% cannabinoids, otherwise known as the psychoactive ingredients that both calm the mind and soothe the body.


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Bilytica provide SAP BPC solution which ensures that all the processes are streamlined for operational and financial planning requirements
We provide highly integrated and intuitive solutions in order to perform the critical activities like forecasting, budgeting, reporting and predictive analysis which ensure processes streamlining for the financial and operations planning requirements. Bilytica experts are highly experienced as they have helped many companies in improving the performance through the leveraging of SAP business planning and consolidation solution.
SAP BPC Consolidation Services Offered By Bilytica
Bilytica consultants understand that when you align departmental budgeting and planning with strategic goals then it impacts directly on the performance of an organization. Our technical experts make use of the business objects consolidation which allows you to gain documented audit trail in order to drive the compliance with financial and regulatory standards, do the management and legal consolidation activities and achieve GAAP compliant consolidated financial statements. Management consolidation can be performed simultaneously through the use of profit centers and partner profit centers in order to satisfy the accounting requirements.


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DAYTON, Ohio (AP) _ A newspaper investigation has found the average pay gap between men and women in the offices of four of Ohio's five elected statewide officials has grown to as much as almost $10 an hour, as it's shrunk to under a dollar across the rest of state government.
Women working in Republican Gov. John Kasich's office earn $9.81-an-hour less, on average, than men, the Dayton Daily News analysis published Sunday showed (http://bit.ly/1jWcGS7 ).
That's the highest gender pay gap among statewide officeholders, according to the newspaper's study of Ohio Department of Administrative Services data.
The gender gap compares to $3.99-an-hour under former Gov. Ted Strickland.
The report comes as national debate over pay differences between men and women is in the spotlight after the U.S. Senate failed to pass a bill last week seeking to narrow the pay gap.
Republican lawmakers said the measure could hinder employers from granting raises, or permitting flexible hours in exchange for lower pay, for fear of costly lawsuits. For Democrats, the bill was the latest stressing income-fairness they are pushing this campaign season.
The governor's office says the gap reported by the newspaper doesn't take into account office staff and policy advisers from other state agencies that Kasich relies on. Counting those employees, the gap was $5.04-an-hour on average last year. Under those same parameters, the newspaper found, the gap under Strickland was $1.28-an-hour in 2010.
"The governor is proud of having a strong female chief of staff, an excellent lieutenant governor in Mary Taylor and strong, capable women in key Cabinet positions," said Kasich spokesman Rob Nichols. "Additionally, the wage gap for state employees has dropped 20 percent on his watch." He said the administration values diversity and will keep pushing for it.
Across state employment, the pay gap has averaged $1.09 over the past seven years and most recently was 86 cents an hour.
Kasich's likely Democratic opponent in November, Cuyahoga County Executive Ed FitzGerald, has a gender pay gap of $7.02 an hour between men and women in his office, according to data provided to the Daily News by FitzGerald's office. That was higher than the offices of Ohio's state auditor, secretary of state, treasurer and attorney general.
FitzGerald employs a staff of 25, 17 men and eight women in the office, Cuyahoga County employs a total of 4,558 workers, 57 percent of them women. Countywide, the gender pay gap is $2.29 an hour, the report said.
FitzGerald has said in campaigning against Kasich that persistent pay inequity for women hurts middle class families.
"Rather than focus on passing income tax cuts that disproportionately benefit the wealthy, our legislature needs to pass meaningful reform that will allow Ohio's women to earn equal pay for equal work," he said in a campaign release. "Because when women succeed, Ohio succeeds."
The examination does not take into account men and women appointed by Kasich or FitzGerald to lead government departments, just those who work in their offices.
A comparison of 2010, the last full year Strickland held office, and 2013 also found:
_ The gender pay gap grew to $1.38 an hour under Republican Auditor Dave Yost, up from $1.05 under Republican Mary Taylor;
_ In the secretary of state's office, the gap increased to $2.77 an hour under Republican Jon Husted, up from $2.37 under Democrat Jennifer Brunner;
_ In the treasurer's office, the gap went up to $1.06 an hour favoring men under Republican Josh Mandel, up from a penny per hour in favor of women under Democrat Kevin Boyce;
_ The pay gap shrunk in the attorney general's office under Republican Mike DeWine to $4.81 an hour, down from $4.94 an hour under Democrat Richard Cordray.


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What we're about
About Ottawa's Windows Server User Group
What is OWSUG.ca?
OWSUG.ca is the Ottawa Windows Server User Group. We are more than three hundred of your IT PRO colleagues throughout Ottawa and the surrounding area.
OWSUG.ca is an association focusing on all aspects of Microsoft technology from software to hardware.
OWSUG.ca is a community… peers who meet on a monthly basis to learn and discuss new and existing technologies with industry leaders.
Why should YOU join OWSUG.ca?
We are committed to bringing you seminars and lessons on topics of interest that our members request; We offer special programs such as study groups and more to come; By helping our efforts you will be making a difference in the community; and It's absolutely free so WHY NOT!?


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We keep you up-to-date on the latest tax changes and news in the industry.
There's an old saying that reminds us that there are only two certainties in this life: "death, and taxes." Whoever coined that phrase couldn't have known how true it was, particularly when it comes to the latter portion.
The Internal Revenue Service recently came out with its annual Enforcement Report, and the numbers themselves don't lie. In addition to the overall instances of tax fraud that were identified that totaled $5.7 billion, the IRS further found another $26.9 billion in financial crimes. All told, there were over 1,200 warrants executed in the last year alone, which are in addition to the 1,837 crimes that were ultimately referred for prosecution.
All of this is to say that if you've ever considered the idea of hiding income from the IRS, the numbers are very firmly against you.
Overall, the IRS has a staggering 99.6% conviction rate when it comes to these types of crimes. To put that into perspective, in 2018 there were 79,704 cases filed by the federal government for a myriad of different crimes. Of that total, only 320 resulted in acquittals - meaning that you're more likely to get away with a drug offense, a property offense, or even a violent crime than you are lying to the IRS.
All of this is to say that there is a lot that can go wrong if you are a tax evader and are in the process of actively running afoul of the Internal Revenue Service. This is true for a wide range of different reasons, all of which are worth exploring.
The Consequences of Being a Tax Evader: What You Need to Know
If the IRS identifies some type of discrepancy on the return that you file, at a bare minimum they will likely send you a notice. This is true whether or not they suspect that the issue was a result of malicious intent.
Keep in mind that the IRS doesn't just get information about your tax returns every year from the filer. They're also comparing information obtained from employers, payment processors, banks, and other financial institutions. If there is anything that doesn't formally line up between those sources, you will likely get a notice in the mail with a request to provide additional documentation.
Additional Considerations About Tax Evasion
Another step that the IRS can take during these matters involves a formal audit. This is a lengthy (and sometimes costly) process that will essentially see representatives from the IRS go over your income tax returns, W-2 forms, and other financial statements with a fine-toothed comb to get to the bottom of what, if any, issues have been identified. Some estimate that the more complicated audits can last more than a year - and they can also result in late fees, penalties, and more. It's also been estimated that the average audit results in an additional $9,500 of taxes owed, which is obviously a situation you would want to avoid if you can.
This is all before you get into the additional costs of paying for professional help to assist in your audit defense in the first place. If the IRS suspects that you knowingly lied - and that you're hiding a significant amount of money - they will come at you in full force. Defending yourself and avoiding civil penalties almost immediately becomes an uphill battle that will require additional assistance. So not only are you paying a professional to help, but you're also going to end up paying the IRS what they are owed. Instead, you could just be forthcoming on your income taxes in the first place to help avoid this type of situation altogether.
In the end, trying to evade the IRS just isn't worth it - both in a figurative sense and in a literal one, too. All of this underlines the importance of partnering with a tax professional for all of your financial needs. Not only can they help you avoid this type of scenario, but they can also (legally) minimize your income tax bill for both businesses and personal filers alike, all so that you can enjoy all the benefits of the United States tax code with as few of the potential downsides as possible.
If you'd like to find out more information about what could happen if you think that you can beat the IRS' current enforcement effort, or if you just have any additional questions that you'd like to go over with someone in a bit more detail, please don't hesitate to contact us today.


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AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — America's infrastructure has scored near-failing grades for its deteriorating roads, public transit and storm water systems due to years of inaction from the federal government, according to the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE).
In its "Infrastructure Report Card" released Wednesday, the group gave the nation an overall C- grade and called for "big and bold" relief to fix things.
The ASCE study evaluated 17 categories of infrastructure, with grades ranging from a B for rail to a D- for Transit.
"For the first time in 20 years, the country's infrastructure as a whole received a grade in the C range, meaning on average, the nation's infrastructure is in mediocre condition, has deficiencies and needs attention," wrote ASCE in a press release.
However, 11 of the 17 categories in the "Report Card" received a grade in the D range: aviation, dams, hazardous waste, inland waterways, levees, public parks, roads, schools, stormwater, transit, and wastewater.
Over the past four years, the U.S. made incremental gains in some categories, according to the "Report Card." Due to increased investment, grades improved in aviation, drinking water, energy, inland waterways, and ports.
The ASCE estimates it would cost $5.9 trillion over the next decade to bring roads, bridges and airports to a safe and sustainable level. That's about $2.6 trillion more than what government and the private sector already spend.
If the U.S. does not pay its overdue infrastructure bill, ASCE says by 2039, the U.S. economy will lose $10 trillion in growth and exports will decline by $2.4 trillion. Additionally, the group says more than 3 million jobs will be lost in 2039 and each American household will bear $3,300 in hidden costs per year.
President Joe Biden has said the nation's infrastructure is a priority of his and he campaigned on rebuilding it in a sustainable way that would create jobs. It could also present an opportunity for Democrats to work with Republicans, since both parties have complained about lack of progress on the issue. Much of that work will fall on Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who was nominated by Biden to lead the Department of Transportation.


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Audience: Everyone! (Students and teachers all grade levels, informal educators, and the general public)
Dates: July 15, 2020 - August 15, 2020
How to Participate: Spend summer together by discovering clouds from a new perspective. There are many ways to participate. Learn more about clouds with NASA scientists and educators each Thursday on NASA Earth's Facebook page, do at-home activities, or take cloud or sky observations through the Clouds tool on GLOBE or the GLOBE Observer app. It is all up to you! Show how you took part in this unique event by sharing on social media.
Choose how you want to participate (3 different ways)
Visit https://observer.globe.gov/cloud-challenge-2020 for more information
about each activity listed in the table.
Click on the image to download the Cloud Activity Tracker
Learn more about cloud opacity
Tune in on Thursday, July 30th at noon EST on www.facebook.com/nasaEarth
Tell a friend about your
favorite type of cloud
Estimate Cloud Cover
Tune in on
Thursday, July 16th at noon EST on www.facebook.com/nasaEarth
Explore clouds data in the
GLOBE Visualization System
Download the
GLOBE Observer app
Share your favorite cloud photo
with a friend or on social media (#CloudChallenge)
Construct an Aerosol Sampler
("Up in the Air" Activity)
Thursday, August 6th at noon EST on www.facebook.com/nasaEarth
Take an observation during a satellite flyover
Video available on how to read a satellite match table
Create a Cloud in a Jar
Thursday, July 23rd at noon EST on www.facebook.com/nasaEarth
Follow GLOBE on social media:
(click on the symbols)
Contribute to a show for
the Fiske Planetarium
Start a nature journal
Thursday, August 13th at noon EST on www.facebook.com/nasaEarth
Science Topic: Satellite Matches to GLOBE Cloud Observations
NASA GLOBE Clouds
Project Scientist Marilé Colón Robles
and Scientific Programmer Tina Rogerson
NASA Langley Research Center
Join Marilé Colón Robles and Tina Rogerson as they share why satellite matches to GLOBE cloud observations are important and how they are done.
Get to know more about them! Marilé, born and raised in Puerto Rico, loves volleyball and music (link). A Poquoson, VA native, Tina loves going to the beach and solving puzzles (link).
At-Home Activity:
Reading a Satellite Match Table
NASA Educator Heather Mortimer
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Join NASA Educator and graphic designer Heather Mortimer as she walks through her own cloud observations and satellite matches. To do this activity all you need is to make a cloud observation through GLOBE or using the GLOBE Observer app during a satellite flyover time and use the satellite match table you receive.
Science Topic: What is Citizen Science?
Atmospheric Scientist Jessica Taylor
Jessica Taylor will share how she started in GLOBE as a student and her path to NASA. Learn more about citizen science and why is it important for NASA. This former Latin dance instructor loves reaching out to students all around the world as she grew up in Florida and in Mexico (link).
At-Home Activity: Cloud Cover Estimation
Join Jessica Taylor and her two daughters as they try out the Cloud Cover Estimation activity. To do this activity all you need is paper (white and blue), scissors, glue or tape, and a marker or pencil.
Science Topic: Clouds and Weather
from 22,000 miles away
Atmospheric Scientist Kris Bedka
Kris Bedka will teach us how clouds relate to weather and how data from geostationary satellites are used to study clouds.
Kris, a Chicago native, enjoys sports, gardening and landscaping, and eating ethnic foods (link).
At-Home Activity: Cloud Cookery
Camp Counselor Lucy Ellisor
Camp Discovery in Blythewood, SC
Join Camp Discovery Camp Counselor Lucy Ellisor and her brother Deon as they do the cloud cookery activity. All you need to do this activity is warm water, a metal tray or cookie sheet, ice, a see-through jar, and a match.
Science Topic: Clouds and Earth's Climate
Atmospheric Scientist Patrick Taylor
Patrick Taylor will discuss how he studies clouds to look at our changing climate and analyzes data from Low Earth Orbit satellites.
Patrick started his passion for weather when he was in fourth grade at Greenwood Elementary School in Millerstown, Pennsylvania (link).
At-Home Activity: Cloud Clues (Opacity)
GLOBE Educators Joselyn Hathaway
River Road Middle School in Elizabeth City, NC
and Wanda Hathaway
Churchland Middle School in Portsmouth, VA
Join this mother and daughter duo as they do the SciGirls' cloud clues activity. All you need to do this activity is a transparent item (like cellophane or a bottle full of water), translucent items (like wax paper or tissue paper), opaque items (like construction paper or aluminum foil), a light source and white paper.
Science Topic: Aerosols and Air Quality
Research Scientist Kristina Pistone
Bay Area Environmental Research Institute at
NASA Ames Research Center
Kristina Pistone will talk about aerosols, why NASA studies them, and how they are related to clouds.
Kristina speaks different languages, loves to travel and meet new people as much as she loves collecting data (link).
Up In The Air (Aerosol Catcher)
NASA Educator Angela Rizzi
and Atmospheric Scientist Ali Omar
Join NASA Educator Angie Rizzi as she does the Up In The Air activity that is part of the Elementary GLOBE storybooks series. NASA Scientist Ali Omar will talk about the types of aerosols you can see and cannot see with your eyes.
All you need to do this activity is a copy of the student activity sheet, clear contact paper or tape, a piece of cardboard, a magnifying glass, and a six-sided dice.
Science Topic: The Impact of
Your Observations in Research
Atmospheric Scientist J. Brant Dodson
Brant Dodson will explain the power of citizen science observations and how GLOBE and GLOBE Observer cloud observations are being used in his research.
This Houston, TX native loves looking up at the skies day and night as he is also a backyard astronomer (link)
At-Home Activity: Cloud Fun (Nature Journal)
GLOBE Educator Veshell Lewis
Jackson Public Schools and
University of Southern Mississippi
Join GLOBE educator Veshell Lewis as she does the Cloud Fun activity that is part of the Elementary GLOBE books series. All you need to do this activity is the free Elementary GLOBE storybook: Do You Know That Clouds Have Names?, paper, the GLOBE cloud chart, newspaper, white paper, glue or glue sticks, markers or pencils, and cloud fun activity sheet.


text:
Buyer's Guide
Here are some tips to make sure your online buying experience runs as smoothly as possible and some advice for when things go awry.
Keep all correspondence with any online seller until the transaction has been satisfactorily concluded.
Before committing to the purchase
- Ensure you're buying exactly what you want. For example,
- Are you after a hardcover or paperback edition?
- If you're buying a text book, be aware of International Editions being advertised under the full retail version - carefully check the ISBN and description on the vendor's page and ensure the product you're buying matches your expectations.
- Can your DVD player play the DVD you're buying?
- Ensure you're buying a DVD rather than a CD or vice versa.
- Confirm the shipping price and dates are as you expect:
- Is the item large? Does it attract a shipping surcharge beyond your expectations?
- Can they ship the item within the time frames you expect?
- Confirm the currency you're paying in.
- Some sites may offer you the ability to charge in different currencies. Make sure you choose the best currency for you and understand the fees for converting currencies.
- Check for email addresses or contact forms for the seller, to ensure you have a way to communicate if things go wrong.
- If you're not familiar with the vendor, check them out on sites such as Reseller Ratings, Not Good Enough and Whirlpool. Please be wary of the fact that most people rarely bother writing about their positive experiences, so the feedback on these sites is mostly negative. If you've had a good experience with an online store, please make sure to let others know.
After buying
- Look for a receipt number or confirmation email to confirm the purchase.
- Has your credit card been charged immediately, or will it be charged when the item has shipped?
- Confirm you've been charged the appropriate amount, in the currency you expect.
When things go wrong
- Keep track of all correspondence.
- Communicate quickly and clearly with the vendor explaining the issue.
- If you have not received the items or have received the wrong item or have been charged an incorrect amount you may be able to contact the bank which issued your credit card to have the charge reversed. This should be a last resort. Ensure the vendor is aware you are considering contacting your bank.


text:
package irmin-fs
Dune Dependency
Irmin is based on distributed version-control systems (DVCs), extensively used in software development to enable developers to keep track of change provenance and expose modifications in the source code. Irmin applies DVC's principles to large-scale distributed data and exposes similar functions to Git (clone, push, pull, branch, rebase). It is highly customizable: users can define their types to store application-specific values and define custom storage layers (in memory, on disk, in a remote Redis database, in the browser, etc.). The Git workflow was initially designed for humans to manage changes within source code. Irmin scales this to handle automatic programs performing a very high number of operations per second, with a fully automated handling of update conflicts. Finally, Irmin exposes an event-driven API to define programmable dynamic behaviours and to program distributed dataflow pipelines.
Irmin was created at the University of Cambridge in 2013 to be the default storage layer for MirageOS applications (both to store and orchestrate unikernel binaries and the data that these unikernels are using). As such, Irmin is not, strictly speaking, a complete database engine. Instead, similarly to other MirageOS components, it is a collection of libraries designed to solve different flavours of the challenges raised by the CAP Theorem. Each application can select the right combination of libraries to solve its particular distributed problem.
Irmin consists of a core of well-defined low-level data structures that specify how data should be persisted and be shared across nodes. It defines algorithms for efficient synchronization of those distributed low-level constructs. It also builds a collection of higher-level data structures that developers can use without knowing precisely how Irmin works underneath. Some of these components even have a formal semantics, including Conflict-free Replicated Data-Types (CRDT). Since it's a part of MirageOS, Irmin does not make strong assumptions about the OS environment that it runs in. This makes the system very portable: it works well for in-memory databases and slower persistent serialization such as SSDs, hard drives, web browser local storage, or even the Git file format.
Irmin is primarily developed and maintained by Tarides, with contributions from many contributors from various organizations. External maintainers and contributors are welcome.
Built-in Snapshotting - backup and restore
Storage Agnostic - you can use Irmin on top of your own storage layer
Custom Datatypes - (de)serialization for custom data types, derivable via
Highly Portable - runs anywhere from Linux to web browsers and Xen unikernels
Git Compatibility -
uses an on-disk format that can be inspected and modified using GitDynamic Behavior - allows the users to define custom merge functions, use in-memory transactions (to keep track of reads as well as writes) and to define event-driven workflows using a notification mechanism
API documentation can be found online at https://mirage.github.io/irmin
Please ensure to install the minimum opam
and ocaml
versions. Find the latest version and install instructions on ocaml.org.
To install Irmin with the command-line tool and all unix backends using opam
opam install irmin-cli
A minimal installation containing the reference in-memory backend can be installed by running:
opam install irmin
The following packages have are available on opam
- the base package, plus an in-memory storage implementationirmin-chunk
- chunked storageirmin-cli
- a simple command-line toolirmin-fs
- filesystem-based storage usingbin_prot
- Git compatible storageirmin-graphql
- GraphQL serverirmin-mirage
- mirage compatibilityirmin-mirage-git
- Git compatible storage for mirageirmin-mirage-graphql
- mirage compatible GraphQL serverirmin-pack
- compressed, on-disk, posix backendppx_irmin
- PPX deriver for Irmin content types (see README_PPX.md)irmin-containers
- collection of simple, ready-to-use mergeable data structures
To install a specific package, simply run:
opam install <package-name>
Development Version
To install the development version of Irmin in your current opam switch
, clone this repository and opam install
the packages inside:
git clone https://github.com/mirage/irmin
cd irmin/
opam install .
Below is a simple example of setting a key and getting the value out of a Git-based, filesystem-backed store.
open Lwt.Syntax
(* Irmin store with string contents *)
module Store = Irmin_git_unix.FS.KV (Irmin.Contents.String)
(* Database configuration *)
let config = Irmin_git.config ~bare:true "/tmp/irmin/test"
(* Commit author *)
let author = "Example <email@example.com>"
(* Commit information *)
let info fmt = Irmin_git_unix.info ~author fmt
let main =
(* Open the repo *)
let* repo = Store.Repo.v config in
(* Load the main branch *)
let* t = Store.main repo in
(* Set key "foo/bar" to "testing 123" *)
let* () =
Store.set_exn t ~info:(info "Updating foo/bar") [ "foo"; "bar" ]
"testing 123"
(* Get key "foo/bar" and print it to stdout *)
let+ x = Store.get t [ "foo"; "bar" ] in
Printf.printf "foo/bar => '%s'\n" x
(* Run the program *)
let () = Lwt_main.run main
The example is contained in examples/readme.ml It can be compiled and executed with dune:
$ dune build examples/readme.exe
$ dune exec examples/readme.exe
foo/bar => 'testing 123'
The examples directory also contains more advanced examples, which can be executed in the same way.
The same thing can also be accomplished using irmin
, the command-line application installed with irmin-cli
, by running:
$ echo "root: ." > irmin.yml
$ irmin init
$ irmin set foo/bar "testing 123"
$ irmin get foo/bar
testing 123
allows for irmin
flags to be set on a per-directory basis. You can also set flags globally using $HOME/.irmin/config.yml
. Run irmin help irmin.yml
for further details.
Also see irmin --help
for list of all commands and either irmin <command> --help
or irmin help <command>
for more help with a specific command.
Irmin's initial desing is directly inspired from XenStore, with:
the need for efficient optimistic concurrency control features to be able to let thousands of virtual machine concurrently access and modify a central configuration database (the Xen stack uses XenStore as an RPC mechanism to setup VM configuration on boot). Very early on, the initial focus was to specify and handle potential conflicts when the optimistic assumptions do not usually work so well.
the need for a convenient way to debug and audit possible issues that might happen in that system. Our initial experiments showed that it was possible to design a reliable system using Git as backend to persist configuation data reliably (to safely restart after a crash), while making system debugging easy and go really fast, thanks to efficient merging strategy.
In 2014, the first release of Irmin was announced part of the MirageOS 2.0 release here. Since then, several projects started using and improving Irmin. These can roughly be split into 3 categories: (i) use Irmin as a portable, structured key-value store (with expressive, mergeable types); (ii) use Irmin as distributed database (with a customizable consistency semantics) and (iii) an event-driven dataflow engine.
Irmin as a portable and efficient structured key-value store
XenStored is an information storage space shared between all the Xen virtual machines running in the same host. Each virtual machines gets its own path in the store. When values are changed in the store, the appropriate drivers are notified. The initial OCaml implementation was later extended to use Irmin here. More details here.
Jitsu is an experimental orchestrator for unikernels. It uses Irmin to store the unikernel configuration (and manage dynamic DNS entries). See more details here.
Cuekeeper is a web-based GTD (a fancy TODO list) that runs entirely in the browser. It uses Irmin in the browser to store data locally, with support for structured concurrent editing and snapshot export and import. More details here.
Canopy and Unipi both use Irmin to serve static websites pull from Git repositories and deployed as unikernels.
Caldav is using Irmin to store calendar entries and back them into a Git repository. More information here.
Datakit was developed at Docker and provided a 9p interface to the Irmin API. It was used to manage the configuration of Docker for Desktop, with merge policies on upgrade, full auditing, and snapshot/rollback capabilites.
Tezos started using Irmin in 2017 to store the ledger state. The first prototype used irmin-git before switching to irmin-lmdb and irmin-leveldb (and now irmin-pack). More details here.
Irmin as a distributed store
An IMAP server using Irmin to store emails. More details here. The goal of that project was both to use Irmin to store emails (so using Irmin as a local key-value store) but also to experiment with replacing the IMAP on-wire protocol by an explicit Git push/pull mechanism.
irmin-ARP uses Irmin to store and audit ARP configuration. It's using Irmin as a local key-value store for very low-level information (which are normally stored very deep in the kernel layers), but the main goal was really to replace the broadcasting on-wire protocol by point-to-point pull/push synchronisation primitives, with a full audit log of ARP operations over a network. More details here.
Banyan uses Irmin to implement a distributed cache over a geo-replicated cluster. It's using Cassandra as a storage backend. More information here.
irmin-fdb implements an Irmin store backed by FoundationDB. More details here.
Irmin as a dataflow scheduler
Datakit CI is a continuous integration service that monitors GitHub project and tests each branch, tag and pull request. It displays the test results as status indicators in the GitHub UI. It keeps all of its state and logs in DataKit, rather than a traditional relational database, allowing review with the usual Git tools. The core of the project is a scheduler that manage dataflow pipelines across Git repositories. It was used for a few years as the CI system test Docker for Desktop on bare-metal and virtual machines, as well as all the new opam package submissions to ocaml/opam-repository. More details here.
Causal RPC implements an RPC framework using Irmin as a network substrate. More details here.
CISO is an experimental (distributed) Continuous Integration engine for OPAM. It was designed as a replacement of Datakit-CI and finally turned into ocurrent.
Feel free to report any issues using the GitHub bugtracker.
See the LICENSE file.
Development of Irmin was supported in part by the EU FP7 User-Centric Networking project, Grant No. 611001.


text:
Finally, here is a poem by Anne Bronte, entitled "A Word to the Elect," written in 1843, in which she shows her anger at Calvinism, with its smug self-righteousness.
You may rejoice to think yourselves secure;
You may be grateful for the gift divine –
That grace unsought, which made your black hearts pure,
And fits your earth-born souls in Heaven to shine.But, is it sweet to look around, and view
Thousands excluded from that happiness
Which they deserve at least as much as you –
Their faults not greater, nor their virtues less?And, wherefore should you love your God the more,
Because to you alone His smiles are given;
Because He chose to pass the many o'er,
And only bring the favoured few to Heaven?And, wherefore should your hearts more grateful prove,
Because for ALL the Saviour did not die?
Is yours the God of justice and of love?
And are your bosoms warm with charity?Say, does your heart expand to all mankind?
And, would you ever to your neighbour do –
The weak, the strong, the enlightened, and the blind –
As you would have your neighbour do to you?And, when you, looking on your fellow-men,
Behold them doomed to endless misery,
How can you talk of joy and rapture then? –
May God withhold such cruel joy from me!That none deserve eternal bliss I know;
Unmerited the grace in mercy given:
But none shall sink to everlasting woe,
That have not well deserved the wrath of Heaven.And oh! there lives within my heart, a hope long nursed by me;
(And should its cheering ray depart, how dark my soul would be!)That as in Adam all have died, in Christ shall all men live;
And ever round His throne abide, eternal praise to give.That even the wicked shall at last be fitted for the skies;
And when their dreadful doom is past, to life and light arise.I ask not how remote the day, nor what the sinners' woe,
Before their dross is purged away; enough for me to know.That when the cup of wrath is drained, the metal purified,
They'll cling to what they once disdained, and live by Him that died.


text:
A basic problem of housing it this: Housing is a commodity instead of a human right. We're not accustomed to seeing housing as a basic right for everybody, but why isn't it? Other than food and water, what is more basic a need than shelter?
It is here that questions about why the cost of housing is so out of control should begin. Because real estate is a massively profitable commodity — a locus of speculation — your rent is too damn high. So is your mortgage. And not disconnected from that is the scourge of gentrification, which continues to decimate urban communities around the world.
The specifics can change from one city to another, but ultimately massive accumulations of capital are at work. In New York City, where the form of government is a de facto dictatorship of the real estate and financial industries, the hands behind sharply rising rents are in the open. In San Francisco, where gentrification is fueled by cascades of money flowing into the technology industry, or Vancouver, where foreign speculators are seeking profitable outlets for the massive amounts of capital at their disposal, the proximate causes are somewhat different. But the underlying causes in these and other cities are ultimately "market forces."
Market forces are nothing more than the aggregate interests of the largest industrialists and financiers. Markets do not sit high in the clouds, dispassionately sorting out worthy winners and losers in some benign process of divine justice, as ideologues would have us believe. There is no magic at work here.
Neither housing, nor education, nor a clean environment are considered rights in capitalist formal democracies, and if you live in the United States, health care is not a right, either. Democracy is defined as the right to freely vote in political elections that determine little (although even this right is increasingly abrogated in the U.S.) and to choose whatever consumer product you wish to buy. A quite crabbed view of democracy or "freedom" if we stop to think about it.
That is because "freedom" is equated with individualism, a specific form of individualism that is shorn of responsibility. Those who have the most — obtained at the expense of those with far less — have no responsibility to the society that enabled them to amass such wealth. Imposing harsher working conditions is another aspect of this individualistic "freedom," but freedom for who? "Freedom" for industrialists and financiers is freedom to rule over, control and exploit others; "justice" is the unfettered ability to enjoy this freedom, a justice reflected in legal structures. Working people are "free" to compete in a race to the bottom set up by capitalists.
Housing costs in U.S., Canada far outstrip inflation
Let's run some numbers and examine just how this "freedom" works for working people. By no means are the massive increases in the cost of housing limited to a handful of popular cities. Nor is this merely a new or recent phenomenon.
Since 1975, the average prices of houses in the United States have risen by more than 60 percent faster than inflation. In Canada, real estate prices have increased 46 percent faster than inflation since 2000. Those are countrywide numbers, not specific to particular cities.
That inflation-adjusted cost of U.S. housing was calculated by comparing the statistics for the period January 1975 to February 2017, as reported by the S&P/Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price Index, with the rate of inflation for that period as calculated by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' inflation calculator. The increase in Canadian national housing prices from January 2000 to February 2017 was then compared with the rate of inflation as determined by the Bank of Canada's inflation calculator.
If the prices of buildings are increasingly inflated above inflation, then as sure as the Sun rises in the east rents will rise, too. Often faster, as holders of real estate try to squeeze every possible dollar out of beleaguered renters. The U.S. government's Department of Housing and Urban Development, in a report that the Trump administration has not yet gotten around to removing, says:
"Shelter costs have been increasing faster than the costs of other items. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Consumer Price Index (CPI), the costs of equivalent levels of shelter increased by 104 percent from 1985 to 2005 compared to a 74-percent increase in the cost of all other items."
The department reports that for home owners, the cost of principal and interest on mortgages increased nearly 18 percent, adjusted for inflation, from 1985 to 2005. The cost of rent, over the same period also increased nearly 18 percent over the same period, again adjusted for inflation. As a result, the percentage of income paid toward either a mortgage or rent increased over these two decades. These trends have only accelerated since.
Incomes fall but rents keep rising
Those are national averages. In many cities, of course, rent increases have been much faster. Examining the trends in rents going back to 1960, Andrew Woo of Apartment List wrote:
"[I]nflation-adjusted rents have risen by 64%, but real household incomes only increased by 18%. The situation was particularly challenging from 2000 – 2010: household incomes actually fell by 7%, while rents rose by 12%. As a result, the share of cost-burdened renters nationwide more than doubled, from 24% in 1960 to 49% in 2014. … Rents have risen rapidly in many cities across the US, but looking at things over more than fifty years helps us understand the impact of these trends. If rents had only risen at the rate of inflation, the average renter would be paying $366 less in rent each month."
Mr. Woo reported that although incomes in expensive areas like Washington, Boston and San Francisco have risen rapidly, rents have increased roughly twice as fast. In Houston, Detroit and Indianapolis, incomes have actually fallen in real terms, while rents have risen 15 to 25 percent. He found that the only U.S. urban areas where incomes kept pace with rising rents were Austin, Las Vegas and Phoenix.
For those workers struggling to survive on the lowest wages, the cost of living is a nearly impossible burden to bear. There is not one state in the U.S. in which a minimum-wage worker can afford the cost of the average one-bedroom apartment by working a full-time 40 hours. It would take 49 hours per week to afford the average one-bedroom apartment in West Virginia (the lowest figure) and 124 hours in Hawaii. In 14 states and the District of Columbia, you'd have to work at least 80 hours per week at minimum wage to afford the average one-bedroom apartment.
As this is a product of capitalism, not national peculiarities, we can see the same trends around the world. Average real estate prices in Toronto, adjusted for inflation, are seven times higher in 2016 than they were in 1953! Thus it comes as no surprise to learn the average rent of a one-bedroom apartment in Toronto is nearly double that of someone earning Ontario's minimum wage. And not only does the supply of affordable housing not keep up, it is actually shrinking: In Calgary, for example, 3,000 rental units were converted into condominiums from 2006 to 2008 alone at the same time that the number of people in unaffordable housing steadily increases, while in Edmonton the wait-list for social housing in 2015 tripled.
A BBC report found that the average rent on a one-bedroom flat in London is £920, which would consume more than 90 percent of the after-tax income of someone working 39 hours per week at the minimum wage. Although not as expensive elsewhere, the rent for a one-bedroom would consume more than half of that minimum wage in Wales, West Midlands, and the southeast and east of England. A separate report by the Resolution Foundation found the household income of British renters increased two percent from 2002 to 2015, while their housing costs increased 16 percent.
And on it goes, from Paris to Berlin to Istanbul to Sydney to Melbourne.
Limited local efforts to counteract global forces
Some local governments in the cities subjected to the most extreme rent crises are taking measures to ameliorate market conditions, including those with a measure of effectiveness, such as Vancouver, which has instituted targeted taxes, and those with no effectiveness, such as New York, where the mayor continues his predecessors' policies that accelerate gentrification.
Homelessness in Vancouver has reached record heights at the same time as the city has become one of the world's least affordable, along with Hong Kong, Sydney, Melbourne, Auckland, and the California city of San Jose.
The city council of Vancouver in November 2016 instituted a tax on unoccupied homes that are not principal residences and are unoccupied for at least six months of the year. The city government estimates that more than 20,000 homes are empty or left vacant for most of the year. Earlier in the year, the British Columbia provincial government imposed a 15 percent tax on foreign buyers, who have been rapidly buying up real estate. "We need to find a balance between welcoming investment and ensuring it doesn't skew the housing options for people who live here," Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson told The Guardian, while lamenting the actions already taken as "too late."
Home prices were reported to have declined since the 15 percent tax on foreign buyers was imposed, but whether that decline will be sustained, or translate into reduced rents, remains to be seen.
Doomed to certain ineffectiveness, by contrast, is the housing plan of New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio. Rents there have escalated well beyond inflation for many years, with landlord profits increasing yearly. Gentrification was encouraged by the city's mayor during the late 1970s and 1980s, Ed Koch, who infamously declared, "If you can't afford New York, move!" The pace quickened under Rudy Giuliani and Michael Bloomberg, with the latter forcing through massive re-zonings of neighborhoods against the wills of residents.
The Bloomberg plan was to allow developers to run wild, and give gigantic subsidies to them in exchange for a few units to be set aside for affordable housing. Although he won election as a supposed progressive reformer, Mayor de Blasio has kept the Bloomberg plan firmly in place, and thus continues to drive gentrification, rising rents and the ongoing removal of residents forced out by unaffordable rents.
Gentrification is a deliberate process
Gentrification is not some natural phenomenon like the tides of the ocean, as ideologues are fond of asserting, but rather is a deliberate process. Gentrification frequently means the replacement of a people, particularly the poor members of a people, with others of a lighter skin complexion. A corporatized, sanitized and usurped version of the culture of the replaced people is left behind as a draw for the "adventurous" who move in and as a product to be exploited by chain-store mangers who wish to cater to the newcomers.
Gentrification is part of the process whereby people are expected, and socialized, to become passive consumers. Instead of community spaces, indoors and outdoors, where we can explore our own creativity, breath new life into traditional cultural forms, create new cultural traditions and build social scenes unmediated by money and commercial interests, a mass culture is substituted, a corporate-created and -controlled commercial product spoon-fed to consumers carefully designed to avoid challenging the dominant ideas imposed by corporate elites.
Bill de Blasio tries to assert that gentrification is some natural, uncontrollable process beyond human control as fervently as his billionaire predecessor, Michael Bloomberg. In sum, Mayor de Blasio believes that the only way to get affordable housing built is to allow billionaire developers to do whatever they want, grant exceptions to already pro-developer zoning regulations, and accept a few crumbs in return. As a result, rents have increased more than twice as fast as wages since 2012, and a minimum-wage worker would have to work 139 hours per week to afford the average New York apartment.
Rezoning is the linchpin of Mayor de Blasio's housing plan — specifically, what is called "inclusionary zoning," whereby developers are allowed to exceed height limits and are given huge tax credits in return for a few extra apartments below market rates and targeted for specific income levels. This simply does not work, instead funneling still more money into developers' bulging pockets and further fueling higher profits for existing landlords because the new high-rent housing puts upward pressure on the rents of older apartments. The affordable units created by Bloomberg's inclusionary zoning account for just 1.7 percent of housing growth between 2005 and 2013, according to Samuel Stein, writing in Jacobin.
That is below the level of the city's population increase for the period. Coupled with de-regulation laws with large loopholes, an estimated 300,000 to 400,000 rent-regulated apartments have been lost since the 1990s, a city housing activist and reporter, Steve Wishnia, reported in Truthout. At the same time, other subsidies are thrown at developers to build luxury housing unaffordable by almost all city residents — a Midtown Manhattan tower in which apartments cost tens of millions of dollars and which is largely empty because the units are mostly bought by capitalists from outside the country as pied-à-terre received $35 million in tax breaks!
Jamming more money into developer pockets
Inclusionary zoning is a "fatally flawed program," concludes Mr. Stein:
"It's not just that it doesn't produce enough units, or that the apartments it creates aren't affordable, though both observations are undeniably true. The real problem with inclusionary zoning is that it marshals a multitude of rich people into places that are already experiencing gentrification. The result is a few new cheap apartments in neighborhoods that are suddenly and completely transformed.
De Blasio wants to use inclusionary zoning to create sixteen thousand apartments for families making $42,000. That's just 3 percent of the need for such apartments in the city today, according to the plan's own figures. At the same time, the mayor's policies would build one hundred thousand more market-rate apartments in the same neighborhoods. What will happen when these rich people arrive? Rents in the surrounding area will rise; neighborhood stores will close; more working-class people will be displaced by gentrification than will be housed in the new inclusionary complexes. …
Rather than curbing speculation or aggressively taxing landlords, inclusionary zoning keeps the urban growth machine primed and ready to build. … What this and other public-private partnerships will not do is fix the city's perpetual housing crisis."
The only alternative is to fight back. Fran Luck, a housing activist who has fought the gentrification of the Lower East Side of Manhattan, notes:
"Progressive movements from the 1920s through the 1960s fought for and won some housing relief for low-income people — including rent controls, public housing and Section 8 subsidies. But during the 'Reagan [counter-]revolution' of the 1980s, federal housing monies were slashed and by the late '80s, mass homelessness, such as had not been seen since the Great Depression, had made a comeback, accompanied by accelerating gentrification.
"Today, with little housing money from the Feds, mayors such as New York's Bill de Blasio, even with the best of intentions, simply have no source for 'affordable housing' funds other than the crumbs thrown out by large developers. While the housing movement in New York City is not dead — as shown by the annual struggle between tenants and landlords over rent regulation — it has been on the defensive for some time due to a real estate climate heavily skewed toward developer profits, not people's housing needs."
Such a climate enables judges judges to overturn even tepid attempts at stabilizing rents, such as in San Francisco, where a federal judge in 2014 declared that rents rise without human invention and thus a ruled against a city law that would have forced landlords who kick tenants out of rent-controlled apartments to pay them the difference between the rent they had been paying and the fair market rate for a similar unit for a period of two years.
Landlords are innocent victims of rising rents, the judge declared, and have no responsibility for San Francisco's housing crisis. Bizarre, yes, but the logical conclusion of rampant ideology that declares the workings of capitalism operate on their own, as a natural process outside of human control. Public-private partnerships, whether designed to create housing or public infrastructure, are thinly disguised schemes to turn over public property to private capital, so the latter can cash in at the public's expense.
As long as housing is treated as a commodity to be bought and sold by the highest bidder, housing costs will increase and we'll remain at the mercy of landlords, who, under gentrification, decide who is allowed to stay and who will be pushed out of their homes. Housing should be a human right!


text:
One day after staging a coup, Thailand's military summoned leaders of the ousted government and other political figures to a meeting Friday. More than 150 people were ordered to convene at the Royal Thai Army auditorium — or risk arrest and possible charges.
Update at 10:30 a.m. ET: Ousted PM Yingluck Detained
Thailand's army has detained deposed Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra after holding meetings with her and other politicians. She has reportedly been taken to an army base, along with members of her family who were also in the government.
"We have detained Yingluck, her sister and brother-in-law," a senior military officer tells Reuters. "We will do so for not more than week — that would be too long. We just need to organize matters in the country first."
The Associated Press reports, "By nightfall, dozens of the VIPs who turned themselves in were still being held, although at least eight ex-Cabinet ministers had been released."
Thailand's new military rulers had earlier forbidden Yingluck and other former officials from leaving the country.
Our original post continues:
Since taking power, the army has installed rules meant to restore peace and quell opposition, from a public curfew to limits on news coverage.
"The army has warned the media not to disseminate any information challenging the army decision to take power in order to 'restore order,' " reporter Michael Sullivan tells NPR from Bangkok.
The military junta also told 76 Internet service providers that "all news carried on the Internet must be 'correct' and the information must not be 'distorted' or likely to 'provoke people,' " reports the Phuket News.
But the rule that's provoking the most pushback is one governing TV.
"Thai television stations remain off the air or limited to playing patriotic music," Michael says. "There's no word on when regular programming will be allowed to resume."
That restriction led many to take to Facebook, where they critiqued the TV musical offerings from the new ruling junta, which calls itself the National Peace and Order Maintaining Council. They asked for more variety — and perhaps for a children's TV channel to be restored.
From the AP:
" 'Since you're reforming politics, you might as well reform your music,' said one of many postings on the page, which had over 210,000 likes by Friday afternoon, up exponentially from earlier in the day.
"Song requests poured in — for Justin Timberlake, Michael Jackson, the Disney hit 'Let It Go,' and for foot-tapping Thai folk music.
" 'Please give us something more uplifting,' said another comment on the page."
The coup — Thailand's first since the military seized control in 2006 — has not brought reports of any large-scale violence; the streets in Bangkok are reportedly quieter than usual.
From Bangkok, Michael sent this update to our Newscast unit:
"Schools are closed not just in the capital, but all over the country. Public gatherings of more than five people have been banned, and the army says there will be a 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew again this evening.
"Both pro- and anti-government demonstrators are packing up their protest sites and being bused out of the city. The army has also summoned dozens of people it wants to question, including several former government ministers and the recently deposed Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra."
Shinawatra reported to the army meeting as ordered, according to The Bangkok Post, which says she "arrived at the Royal Thai Army auditorium in Thewes in a black bullet-proof Volkswagen van, with a vanguard of bodyguards."
Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.


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Research Direction of the Fischetti Lab
More than 90% of all infections begin at a mucous membrane site (oral, nasal, upper and lower respiratory, ocular, intestinal and urogenital). The overall direction of our laboratory is to understand the earliest events in gram-positive bacterial infection, so that we may devise strategies to interfere with these processes and prevent infection before it begins. Towards this goal we are involved in four areas of research, i) develop bacteriophage (or phage) lysins to gram-positive pathogens to be used to both decolonize human mucous membranes and treat infections caused by these organisms, ii) understand the earliest events in S. pyogenes infection, so that methods may be devised to interfere with them, iii) identify the mechanism by which gram-positive bacteria attach their surface proteins in the cell, and develop methods to block this attachment, because naked bacteria cannot cause infection, and iv) develop mucosal vaccine strategies to induce a local immune response to prevent S. pyogenes colonization and infection.
Our laboratory is also involved in research to understand the role played by phage in modulating pathogenic bacteria in their capacity to cause disease and survive in the environment. For these studies we use S. pyogenes and Bacillus anthracis as model organisms. Since most pathogenic gram-positive bacteria have phage systems (lysogenic and virulent), it is clear that these viruses play a major role in the life of these bacteria.


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SAN FRANCISCO - A hacker claims to have followed through on a threat to release several episodes from the upcoming season of Netflix's hit series "Orange Is The New Black."
The hacker, who goes by the name The Dark Overlord, announced the move on Twitter early Saturday. The post included a link to an illegal file-sharing service where purportedly 10 episodes from the series' upcoming fifth season were available for download. The Associated Press could not legally confirm the authenticity of the uploaded files.
New episodes of "Orange" are scheduled for official release on June 9. Pirated copies of the series' episodes could dent Netflix's subscriber growth and the company's stock price. A spokeswoman for the video streaming service declined to comment on the release of the episodes Saturday.
Earlier, Netflix said that a small production vendor that works with several major TV studios suffered a breach. The Los Gatos, California, company described it as an "active situation" that's being investigated by the FBI and other authorities.
The Dark Overlord had been demanding that Netflix pay an unspecified ransom in exchange for not releasing the episodes prematurely online. In a statement online Saturday, the hacker noted that Netflix had remained "unresponsive" to the ransom request.
"It didn't have to be this way, Netflix," the hacker wrote. "You're going to lose a lot more money in all of this than what our modest offer was."
The hacker claims to have stolen other series from Netflix and other studios, including ABC, National Geographic and Fox. The Dark Overlord promised to also release titles from those other networks unless "modest" ransoms are paid.
Rumours of a massive leak of Hollywood films and TV episodes have been circulating online for months, fed by purported screenshots of the footage and a copy of a proposed deal to delete the stolen material in return for tens of thousands of dollars in electronic currency.
When the AP contacted The Dark Overlord in February, the hacker said the purloined video wouldn't be made publicly available after all, making the far-fetched claim that "no one really (cares) about unreleased movies and TV show episodes."
It's not clear what triggered The Dark Overload's renewed ransom demands.
Netflix is counting on "Orange" to help it add 3.2 million subscribers from April through June. That's substantially higher than the company's average gain of 1.8 million subscribers in the same period over the past five years.
Whenever Netflix's quarterly subscriber gains fall short of management's projections, the company's stock usually plunges.


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Information Possibly Outdated
The information presented on this page was originally released on April 11, 2008. It may not be outdated, but please search our site for more current information. If you plan to quote or reference this information in a publication, please check with the Extension specialist or author before proceeding.
Flood waters rob wheat farmers
VICKSBURG -- Gambling on the river takes on a different meaning every spring for a handful of farmers.
Warren County Extension director John Coccaro said hundreds of acres, some of the county's best cropland, are 10-12 feet under water because of heavy rains well north of Mississippi. Most of the fields were planted in winter wheat last fall when the state was in a seemingly endless drought. Still, the fields have a history of flooding, which makes them too risky for insurance coverage.
Coccaro fields questions every day about cropland flooded by backwater from the Mississippi and Yazoo rivers.
"From a statewide perspective, the impact on the wheat crop will be a small percentage, but to the individual farmers involved, it's as much as a 100 percent loss," Coccaro said. "And there are no easy answers for how the farmers will cope with their losses."
On April 10, forecasters said the Mississippi River would crest in Vicksburg at 50.5 feet, or more than 7.5 feet above flood stage, on April 18. The crest date gets later and the water level rises as more rains occur upstream.
"Land that floods is usually the most productive because of the accumulation of nutrients in the soil," Coccaro said. "This year, we have more at-risk fields planted because of the profit potential for wheat last fall. With the droughts we've been having, it did not seem to be a big gamble."
Mississippi growers planted a record 400,000 acres of wheat, up 30,000 acres from the previous year. Growers produced an average of 56 bushels per acre in 2007, just short of the record average of 59 bushels set the previous year.
Grower Doug Jeter needs a boat to see his wheat fields near the Yazoo River. He was anticipating a 70-plus-bushel-per-acre yield when he fertilized the crop on Feb. 20. By the time he got the bill, his fields were under water.
"It's hard enough farming without a flood. I planted wheat on my highest ground, and it still went under. It's hard to find any land available that is not likely to flood," Jeter said.
Compounding Jeter's situation is the fact that he sold most of his 2008 crop last fall to lock in on the strong prices at the time, and he's not alone. For example, if a farmer guaranteed an elevator 5,000 bushels at $7 per bushel, he must now go out and find 5,000 bushels he can buy to deliver in its place. With prices currently near $10, that farmer stands to lose $3 a bushel for a total loss of $15,000, not counting input costs, such as seed, fertilizer and fuel.
Coccaro said growers' planting intentions this spring will depend on more than the calendar as the flood waters slowly recede.
"The corn planting window is already closing, the profit potential for cotton is not looking good, and there is a significant shortage of soybean seed," he said. "Milo, or grain sorghum, may be the most likely alternative."
Grower Brad Bradway has seen 14 spring floods in the 30 years he has been farming. He described the 2008 flood crisis as "the perfect storm," hitting the same year as the soybean seed shortage.
"It's harder to survive one bad year than it used to be," said Bradway, as he expects to lose $25,000 on his 100 acres of wheat. The economic chain reaction could trickle down into the community's and state's financial pictures, he said.
"When farmers make money, it comes to town. When they don't, towns feel it," Bradway said.
Wayland Hill, hydrolic technician with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Vicksburg, said about 240,000 acres of cropland was under water on April 9. He estimated about another 100,000 acres would go under by the crest date.


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*This is an Electronic Delivery Purchase, you will receive a Download Link with Serial Key to Install and Activate Program System Requirements: 2.5 GHz Processor or greater Microsoft Windows 10 or Later 4 GB RAM or more Recommended 1024x768 VGA with True Color


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For those interested in the other end of my Wordless Wednesday picture from this past week:
Cheers to joyful dining with kids!1
- "Surgeon General: Breastfeeding Should Be Less Hassle" from The Huffington Post: New call to action by the Surgeon General to support breastfeeding. The emphasis is on removing obstacles for women who wish to breastfeed, which I think is right on target. Other relevant links:
- "Call to Action to Support Breastfeeding Fact Sheet" from SurgeonGeneral.gov
- "Everyone Can Help Make Breastfeeding Easier, Surgeon General Says in 'Call to Action'" — press release from US Department of Health & Human Services
- "Want a Feminist Son? Tips From a Veteran" from Cynthia Samuels at BlogHer: I've been thinking about this myself, considering my son continually tells me he doesn't like girls right now. Once I said, "But I'm a girl." That left him speechless for awhile. Then, several minutes later, he said, "I like Lucy. Lucy a girl." (Lucy = made-up name for a girl from his preschool.) Like he was appeasing me. Normal developmental, gender-association phases aside, I hope Mikko sees the respect his father and I have for all genders and and takes that as his model, as I did from my parents, even though my mom disdains to call herself a feminist. I have also been thinking that we'll need to have targeted and regular discussions about gender, just as I'm finally starting to about race and sexuality and other categories that tend to push people apart if we don't bring them out into the open. I see that as part of my job as a parent — both to model it and to talk about it.
- "The Double Standard of Potty Privacy" from Code Name: Mama: Continuing the poo talk from Strocel.com's post the other week! On children's obsession with witnessing our potty-going. The quote is my reader contribution:
"Mikko loves company while he's pooping; it's a huge ordeal for him every time, so he wants someone to hold his hand and read him stories. Maybe that's why I can't convince him I don't want the same treatment? I'm pretty intentional now about closing the door when I'm pooping, but pees are still free-for-alls. I draw the line at having him sit on my lap while I go — he keeps asking!"
He also loves asking to nurse when I'm on the pot. I guess because I can't get away?
- "50 Healthy Snack Ideas for Kids plus Fun Serving Suggestions" also from Code Name: Mama: As someone with a typically picky eater, I appreciate ideas for fun and nutritious snacks!
- "Closeted Extended Breastfeeding: Wonder Nanny and Sleepy Nurse" from Strocel.com: I'm glad I'm not the only one pondering this.
"I don't think that anyone has to always be the breastfeeding poster child, including me."
See also: "Extended breastfeeding around extended family" and "Should a toddler breastfeed in public?" I find I nurse less and less in public now, and have avoided breastfeeding in front of certain people who I think might say something negative. Nursing an older toddler in public is one of those things where it's not something I'm against, heaven knows, but where I don't necessarily want to be the one on display.
- On the lighter side, we've been watching a lot of Berenstain Bears here, and I started wondering: Is it possible to live in a treehouse? Ah, yes, it is: "One-of-a-kind tree houses that really seem like home" from The Seattle Times. Now I have a new item on my bucket list….
- "Breast Is Best" from Ben comics, via Rina's comment on PhD in Parenting's "Picks for Best Breastfeeding Blogs and Posts." I agree with Rina on this one, so I'll let her talk:
"It's a series of comics about a nursing mom who is kicked out of her shopping mall. These were made over 10 years ago and yet it is still happening all over the world. Sadly, plus ça change…"
- "Beautiful Breastfeeding & AP!" from Pickles & Paisleys: I, too, love this beautiful and serene picture of Miranda Kerr breastfeeding (side-lying!) after the birth of her son with Orlando Bloom:
- Life With Levi, Ashley D00dle, and ABCs and Garden Peas are hosting a series of Breastfeeding Blog Hops to help you connect with other breastfeeding-friendly bloggers. I figure I might as well hop as long as I'm posting about it!
Here are the guidelines for this blog hop:
- Follow the 4 blog hosts for the week (spots #1-4). Spot #4 will always feature a blogger randomly selected from the previous week's blog hop.
- Link up your breastfeeding-friendly blog so others can find it. If you have posted about breastfeeding (and/or pumping) in the past or plan to post about breastfeeding, that's you!
- Check out some of the other blogs from the Linky. Be sure to leave a comment on each blog that you found them through the Breastfeeding Blog Hop so they can follow you back!
- Repost the linky (link for the code is in the lower right-hand corner of the linky below) on your blog to help promote the blog hop. Be sure to add some info about YOU so others have a place to say "Hi" & let you know they're following.
- Grab the button below if you'd like and display it in your linky post or your sidebar.
This blog hop will be active from Thursday, 01/20 – Sunday, 01/23. - Be sure to include these guidelines when you add the Blog Hop Linky Code to your blog.
I'm guessing there's a new one coming up Thursday!
About me: I'm Lauren, currently breastfeeding three-year-old Mikko through pregnancy. I blog about natural parenting and occasional bits of hobo lore. I'm always open to following new blogs!
- From Natural Parents Network, in a delightful week on Cosleeping and the Family Bed:
- "Five Benefits to Cosleeping Past Infancy": Hugely well-received article by Dionna of Code Name: Mama that garnered us a flurry of supportive comments as well as our fair share of trolls. Ah, popularity!
- "Bed Sharing with Two (or More) Children," by Acacia of Be Present Mama: On how to arrange the bed & bedtimes for multiple kids in a family bed. Very timely for our family! Mikko tends to sleep sideways, so we've been brainstorming about possible ways to fit all four of us in a bed when the new baby comes, or potentially to transition him (and Sam, too) into a separate bed or onto a separate mattress. I like how this article gives a positive spin to continuing the family bed.
- Super-snuggly Wordless Wednesday: I can't resist sharing our readers' pictures, like the one below from Melissa at Simple Whimsy. They're all so sweet!
- "Please Help a Fellow NP Mama!": Dionna is trying to gather words of encouragement and electronic gifts to cheer up a mama who needs our support.
"Jen was still breastfeeding her youngest, Nicholas, until this past October when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Like many nursing mothers, Jen was devastated to hear that not only would she be forced to wean Nicholas before they were ready, but she would have to undergo a mastectomy.
Flood Dionna's inbox with e-cards, notes, photos, gift certificates, and more for Jen!
I would love to see the natural parenting community come together this week to support one of our own. Please help me."
- And this is on my site but related to NPN: "Writers & volunteers wanted for Natural Parents Network!": Click on over to see the upcoming topics we'd love your newly written articles for, and the open volunteer opportunities. There's still plenty of help needed, and we welcome your fresh content. We look forward to getting you plugged in, and thank you in advance for helping our community! NPN has been growing and thriving, and we're so excited to highlight your writing, answer your questions, bring you relevant product reviews and fun giveaways, and interact with you on Facebook and in the forums. Yea for natural parents coming together! (Read the post to find out what we're looking for at the moment and how to contact us.)
- "Midnight Maniac Meatless Mondays {Sweet 16}" from Midnight Maniac: Hey, look! My stuffed mushrooms are featured! Yippee!
And Anktangle figured out a gluten-free variation with spinach that looks scrumptious! (Picture to the left is hers.)
I should really put up more recipes. I keep taking pictures but not posting them… Do you like recipes?
- Check it out! I have my very own, very new newsletter sign-up.
What will the newsletter be about? I'm thinking it will mostly highlight the best of what's on my sites (Hobo Mama, Hobo Mama Reviews, LaurenWayne.com, Natural Parents Network), as well as fun things I've read recently and interesting conversations on Twitter and Facebook. Does that sound exactly like Sunday Surf? Well, yes, except — delivered to your mailbox! And I imagine it will be more targeted and less lengthy. If I can manage it! I'm sure I'll also include what I hope are entertaining tidbits from my life, and funny pictures, so that's worth it, right? There might be other special things going on, which you won't know till you sign up.
How often will it come out? Oh, not often. I don't know really, but there's no way in unholy heck I'm going to be loading your inbox every day, or week, or maybe even month. I'm just too lazy to be a spammer.
To subscribe, just sign up with the link or in the sidebar, and you can easily unsubscribe from a link in any newsletter, at any time. I'm not even having unsubscribe alerts sent to me, so I won't know… Hope you'll join me!
Thank you to erosissa for sending me the link that made the decision for me.
- Giveaways! Oh, the fun you could win!
- This one ends in TWO DAYS! Enter to win an 11x14 Premium Photo Calendar from Picaboo $29.99 {1.25; International} at Hobo Mama Reviews: One lucky winner will receive a coupon for a 12-page, glossy, 11x14-inch premium photo calendar from Picaboo. Highlight last year's family photos throughout 2011! You'll be able to order it in time for a Valentine's gift for a loved one — or keep it to brighten up your wall!
- Playful Parenting (Paperback or CD) $19 {1.29; US/Can} at Natural Parents Network: Win the paperback or CD of Dr. Larry Cohen's #1 parenting book. This is a phenomenal book to get you down on the floor, communicating with your children in their most natural way — play! Playfully parenting can help ease discipline issues, smooth sibling rivalry, and foster trusting connections between parents and children. The book gives you specific ideas to put play to work for you and your kids.
- Smart Mom Teething Bling from Posh Baby Boutique $19.99 {2.3, US/Can} at Natural Parents Network: Functional and stylish pendant necklace perfect for teething babies to gnaw on or to help nursing babies focus their wandering hands and attention spans. Sponsored by the lovely Posh Baby Boutique.
- "Squishy Tushy gift certificate {2/18 US}" from TheArtsyMama Low entries, so you have a fabulous chance to win $10 off your next cloth diaper or related purchase from Squishy Tushy! (Boy, I love cloth diaper seller names.)
You can find more shared items during the week at my public Google Reader recommendations feed.
Check out Authentic Parenting, Baby Dust Diaries (on hiatus), Maman A Droit, Navelgazing, Momma Jorje, pocket.buddha, Breastfeeding Moms Unite!, Enjoy Birth, A Domesticated Woman's Adventures, This Adventure Life, The Parent Vortex, and A Little Bit of All of It for more Sunday Surfing! (If you also participate in a regular link list, whether on Sunday or not, let me know and I'll add your link.)
Feel free to add your recommendations in the comments. Happy reading!
1 We dropped Mikko off, against his will again but then he had lots of fun, with his aunt, and Sam and I went out for a dinner…alone! Fancy. I mean, not the restaurant — it was a phở place. But having a whole conversation! This family came in partway through with a perhaps four-year-old daughter (active and adorable) and sat one table away from us. I found it hilarious to mouth to Sam, "The nerve of people bringing a child into a restaurant!" I made sure they didn't see me, though, don't worry. I was just cracking myself up.↩


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This passage appears in Housman's autobiography, The Unexpected Years. Housman created the decorated initial for his The Field of Clover (1898) — George P. Landow.
or the second time only, I met Oscar Wilde, then in forlorn exile;. . . from the conversation which took place as we lunched with a party of friends I obtained the material for the dramatic dialogue called Echo de Paris which I wrote and published twenty-four years later, and from the preface to which I may here give the impression made on me:
My memory of him on that occasion inclines me to believe that those are right who maintain that as a personality he was more considerable than as a writer. The brilliance of conversation is doubtfully reproduced in the medium of cold print, and I may have wholly failed to convey the peculiar arresting quality of what by word of mouth sounded so well. But the impression left upon me from that occasion is that Oscar Wilde was incomparably the most accomplished talker I have ever met. The smoothflowing utterance, sedate and self-possessed, oracular in tone, whimsical in substance, carried on without halt or hesitation, or change of word, with the quiet zest of a man perfect at the game, and conscious that, for the moment at least, he was back at his old form again: this, combined with the pleasure, infectious to his listeners, of finding himself once more in a group of friends whose view of his downfall was not the world's view, made memorable to others besides myself a reunion more happily prolonged than this selected portion of it would indicate.
But what I admired most was the quiet uncomplaining courage with which he accepted an ostracism against which, in his lifetime, there could be no appeal. To a man of his habits and temperament conscious that the incen tive to produce was gone with the popular applause which had been its recurrent stimulus the outlook was utterly dark: life had already become a tomb. And it is as a "Monologue d outre tombe" that I recall his conversation on that day: and whether it had any intrinsic value or no, it was at least a wonderful expression of that gift which he had for charming himself by charming others.
Among the many things he touched on that day (of which only a few disjointed sentences now remain to me) one note of enthusiasm I have always remembered, coming as it did strangely from him, with his elaborate and artificial code of values, based mainly not on beauty of human character, but on beauty of form when, with a sudden warmth of word and tone, he praised Mrs. Gladstone for her greatness and gentleness of heart: "her beautiful and perfect charity" I think was the phrase he used: "But then, she was always like that."
None of us knew her, but from that day on, the warmth and humility of his praise left an impression upon my mind which a reading of her life only two years ago came to confirm. Perhaps I like to think that it was possible an expression of her "beautiful and perfect charity" had come to him personally, so making her stand differently in his eyes from the rest of the world. [182-83]
Housman, Laurence. The Unexpected Years. London: Jonathan Cape, 1936.
Last modified 19 November 2012