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I Am No Longer A Foreign Service Officer
A post I wrote in October 2006 called "What is a Foreign Service officer?" ranks among this blog's most popular entries. I wrote it during the heady days when I was looking forward to a long career as a diplomat and retiring from the Foreign Service. Alas, it was not meant to be. I resigned from the U.S. Department of State last year to pursue other interests, a decision that I do not regret and am thankful I made.
I owe it to readers who read my earlier post a balanced view of the Foreign Service that cannot be found in the Foreign Service Journal, AFSA press releases, State Department literature, or blogs written by diplomats or their dependents. Most of what you read online about the Foreign Service is rosy and, in my opinion, defends it to a fault. Perpetual sunshine about the Foreign Service does not tell the full story and does a disservice to those who are interested in becoming Foreign Service officers and need a more realistic picture of what to expect.
If you are interested in a career as a Foreign Service officer, you should seriously consider these points before embarking on the lengthy and competitive application process. I do not want to dissuade you from pursuing your dream, but you should be aware of some realities of Foreign Service life that are not well publicized. These views are my own but have been reinforced by years of firsthand observations and conversations with peers. Many of my colleagues shared these sentiments.
1. Worldwide Availability. You are expected to be available for service worldwide, and your personal preferences may not be taken into account. You may be called to go somewhere you don't want to go that could put your life at risk. The needs of the service supersede yours. Expect to serve in places you may not want to be.
2. Separation. Be prepared at some point in your career to be separated from your family and serve unaccompanied. If your spouse or partner also works for the Department, expect to do separate tours at least once in your career, possibly more. As of last year, over ten percent of all posts were unaccompanied. If keeping the family together is your raison d'être, you may be disappointed.
3. U.S. Interests. Expect to promote U.S. foreign policy. There is little room for altruism and idealism if it does not coincide with U.S. interests. These interests depend on the administration in office, and whatever you advocated may change at any time. You do not serve your country. You serve the Federal Government and hope that it is doing what's best for your country.
4. Frequent Moves. Be prepared to move frequently. In some cases, this may mean a short tour of one year or less in a conflict zone, a short-term assignment, an evacuation, or a reassignment to another post. You will move from place to place every two-to-three years, or sooner, unless you can find a different assignment at the same post. While moving from country to country may seem exciting to some, relocation ranks as one of the biggest headaches for Foreign Service families.
5. Bureaucracy. Get used to working in a bureaucracy. You work for the Federal Government. It may be "cool" being a diplomat, but you are still a member of the bureaucracy. Expect decisions and paperwork to move slowly through the system, if at all. Often they will be "overcome by events," a fancy term that means you did a lot of work for nothing. You will do an immense amount of paper pushing in the office until you're senior enough to have support staff to do it for you.
6. Unfair Rules. "Fair" is a four-letter word. Do not expect justice or fairness. The rules are written to be equalizers and may make no sense. Expect "no" as an answer to even the most logical requests and massage the rules until you get to "yes." You are subject to the Foreign Affairs Manual and federal regulations. In a rule-based organization, those who know the rules and how to work the system tend to do better. Those who expect fairness, justice, or hold firm in their resolve often go wanting. The Foreign Service has few options for those who want to pursue a complaint because the rules were written with the Department's interests in mind.
7. Multiple Clearances. Do nothing until you have cleared with everyone who needs to approve whatever you're doing or face potential consequences. Your superiors are ultimately responsible for your actions under mission authority and can take disciplinary action if you misstep. If you're a free spirit or like to do things your own way, think twice. Measure as many times as it takes to get full clearance and then cut.
8. No Privacy. Do not expect to have any privacy. Your life is on public display, and you are expected to lead yourself in public responsibly. Do nothing privately you would not want to see end up in the pages of the Washington Post. Everyone wants to know what you're doing. Everyone, inside and out.
9. Unhealthy Work Environment. Expect to work with a variety of personalities from many cultures. Given its high-pressure working environment, the Foreign Service has elevated levels of stress that can negatively influence behavior. While many employees are excellent colleagues, the Department has its fair share of bad bosses and nasty coworkers. The Department's hierarchical clearance and promotion systems are designed to give leverage to those in positions of authority. They can make your life miserable if you're not compliant or simply rub them the wrong way. Try to get along, even if it goes against every fiber in your being, because with perseverance you too will rise to a position of authority and eventually exert your own leverage.
Michael Gene (M. G.) Edwards is a writer of books and stories in the mystery, thriller and science fiction-fantasy genres. He also writes travel adventures. A former U.S. diplomat, he served in South Korea, Paraguay, and Zambia before resigning in 2011 to write full time. He is recipient of numerous State Department awards, the Joint Civilian Service Achievement Award from the U.S. Department of Defense, and a commendation from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Paraguay. He lives in Bangkok, Thailand with his wife Jing and son Alex. For books and stories by M.G. Edwards, visit his web site at www.mgedwards.com. Contact him at firstname.lastname@example.com or on Facebook or Twitter.
The views in this blog entry are solely those of the writer and do not represent the views of the U.S. Department of State.


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Sunday, February 17, 2008
Foots pads again
33 comments:
- the girl with pointy sticks said...
I swear I can see the Virgin Mary in the one on the left. Eek.
The right one is more of a rutabaga... - February 17, 2008 at 12:00 PM
- Bad_Robot said...
Looks like something out of the bad horror movies they make these days.
- February 17, 2008 at 12:07 PM
- Mike May said...
I like your blog so I'm going to give you a little advice and hope you understand what I'm saying: You really, really don't want to screw with the Thorium Lobby. Just trust me on this one...trust me.
- February 17, 2008 at 12:23 PM
- Chickie said...
- This comment has been removed by the author.
- February 17, 2008 at 12:28 PM
- Chickie said...
I'm assuming that you've seen the posts where they dissect the pads. On the plus side, when this thing gets taken off the market, you'll probably get a few bucks in the class action suit :)
- February 17, 2008 at 12:31 PM
- bertas said...
Sorry my dear but that looks absolutely vile :)
Couldnt you just have a cup of green tea or something? Seems much easier in the long run :)
About the glue trap... well my dog got stuck to it because there was a piece of bacon on it... he always had an appetite... :) And it got stuck right next to his nose so he was flapping with it.. well you get the idea... it took ages to unglue it and whatnot... thank God he was ok afterwards...
so word of advice keep the sticky pads away from the dog :)
Also if you want I can consult a friend of mine about detoxing and the rest... her whole family switched to macrobiotic diet when her mum was diagnosed with breast cancer, it was 15 years ago and she is fit as fiddle...
She is always making me eat these sprouty thingies and beans that are supposed to be good for liver and kidneys and what... if anyone knows how to detox properly she does. I'll ask her :) - February 17, 2008 at 12:44 PM
- Colleen Oakes said...
My experience with "As Seen on TV" products: I bought the pancake maker - kind of a pan with an attached lid that you can flip upside down. My mother-in-law and I attempted it while making brunch the day after my wedding. It took us like 20 minutes to make one pancake. My MIL looked at me and said, "I don't want to hurt your feelings, but in the time it took us to make one pancake, I could have made 10 on the griddle." It was hilarious.
- February 17, 2008 at 1:16 PM
- Ali said...
oh those look disgusting :(
- February 17, 2008 at 2:33 PM
- Bethany James Leigh Shady said...
i can't wait for the box to be empty so you're no longer waving those stinky things in my face!
- February 17, 2008 at 2:38 PM
- Miss Scarlett said...
Yeah well...if I knew what Thorium was I would swear off the stuff.
;-) - February 17, 2008 at 2:43 PM
- Alice said...
(I wrote my comment and lost it while posting, here it goes again, sorry if it duplicates)...
The very very very good news is that your body has all the mechanisms really needed to get rid of all the waste and toxins it produces. So you don't really need any other form of purification or detoxification.
What it sounds like to me is that you are starting to care more about your health. My recommendation is take small small steps (and no need for nasty cottage cheese either!), the green tea the other commenter was suggesting is probabley a very good idea. Also drink more water, those kidneys will do the rest of the work for you.
A hug from mexico - February 17, 2008 at 3:59 PM
- redelf said...
GROSSS!!! lol
I showed those to my sister, I had never heard of them until your blog but she apparantly knew all about them.
You know...just eat a lot of prunes and drink a lot of water...that will get anything out of your system toxic or otherwise. - February 17, 2008 at 4:16 PM
- Joey Polanski said...
Lets jus be glad that no ones evr suggestd that toxins coud be drawn out by stickin one o them pads right on th moosh.
- February 17, 2008 at 5:30 PM
- keri marion said...
re: prunes..
prunes are the way to go if you need a quick "bowel release." when ever i have issue, i pop open a can of prune juice and usually within minutes.. issue is resolved. not good for public spaces, tho.
or white pants. - February 17, 2008 at 6:03 PM
- Sawyers said...
Totally off topic Jorge, and don't know if anyone's seen it yet, but I found the responses hysterical! ;)
Topic: Saw Hurley at Bookstore...
http://www.4815162342.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=45589 - February 17, 2008 at 6:16 PM
- Boomer and his mom Carol said...
They kind of look like something my cat would throw up...
- February 17, 2008 at 6:20 PM
You should list the left one on eBay as "Detoxifying Foot Pad With Apparition of the Virgin Mary" and list the other one as "Authentic Jorge Garcia Hurley from Lost Toxins in Foot Pad" and see which one sells for more...
- February 17, 2008 at 6:54 PM
- twisby said...
When I started reading this blog it was because I love you on LOST... but somehow you have also tapped into my one true blog love: people talking about their detox stories. I'm really not kidding. Next you should try "the grape cure" because I'm interested to see if that works. I'm too lazy/poor to do any of this shit myself.
I finally watched last week's episode of LOST yesterday, and then I immediately watched it two more times. That beautiful Naveen... how can you work with him and not turn gay? Haaaaa :) - February 17, 2008 at 10:44 PM
- elainemarieg said...
The comments here are as funny as your blogs.
After you eat food in Hawaii for awhile, maybe it'll get all of that buttery cheesy Wisconsin food out of your system. - February 18, 2008 at 1:41 AM
- eduardesky said...
nice, sticky shit in my foot, thats the way I want to start my day....
- February 18, 2008 at 3:01 AM
- Lynn Faruque said...
What the heck is Thorium?
- February 18, 2008 at 8:10 AM
I wanna try doing that thing with my feet.
It's disgusting, but you probably should feel great after a while. - February 18, 2008 at 8:30 AM
- stormko said...
Coincidentally, I just saw a show today that covered those pads. Not only did they say that the pads are fake (big surprise), but there is vinegar in the pads. That's why they stink and that's why the pads turn dark. Sweat from your skin interacts with the vinegar and turns dark.
- February 18, 2008 at 1:14 PM
- 3goodrats said...
Those things look inhumane...inhumane like glue traps. Just sayin'.
- February 18, 2008 at 6:35 PM
You are so hilarious! I wondered if those things had worked. I always see them late on the tele and I wonder "hmm, should I waste the money and find out?" But, luckily, I have found your blog. Thank you sir.
- February 18, 2008 at 8:31 PM
- Jen said...
Oh. My. Dear. Hilarious.
- February 19, 2008 at 2:02 PM
- SpOOky (Mark) said...
More Skulls ;)
- February 20, 2008 at 3:54 PM
- Sonia said...
I read that they are just a practical joke... they contain a granular substance that turns black when in contact with water... different pads are supposed to have different concentrations of this granular substance, hence having different shades of black... etc. Sorry that you had to pay money for it :(
By the way... I LOVE your blog so much :) just wanted you to know that - March 3, 2008 at 1:25 PM
- Sonia said...
DUDE! No more footpads! this is another study that says this stuff is TOXIC for you!
http://genesismetabolic.com/?p=20 - March 12, 2008 at 9:14 AM
- islandgirl4ever2 said...
I used the same type of product a few years ago and my foot pads looked darker than yours!! It's just funky that you can see something on the pads when you take them off... :)
- March 31, 2008 at 1:29 PM
- Nicole said...
Oh feck I used to use those things...they stink!
And your feet are all sticky and smelly in the morning after using them... ewwwww - April 12, 2008 at 1:32 PM
- Mama said...
Make sure you check out 20/20's report on those foot pads... http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Stossel/story?id=4636224&page=1
I've done them before too...they feel so gross...kind of "soupy" .. I was more than happy to give em the old heave ho after seeing this! - May 4, 2008 at 3:43 PM
- Momof4 said...
LOL w/ tears in my eyes. I have 4 kids age 6 (barely) and under & homeschool w/ them. Your blog has become one of my daily escapes. Thanks for giving me some fun.
- February 20, 2009 at 5:30 PM

subset: commoncrawl


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Another neoconservative, free market theory has gone up in flames, as deregulation hurts the Canadian consumer ... again.
This time it was the telephone industry, that is enjoying massive profits at our expense.
A report detailing the effects of deregulation in the telecommunications industry finds Canada's three largest telephone companies have benefited at the expense of consumers.Don't fret over all those profits though. They are getting another huge tax break. Whew. That was close. They almost had to give us some of our money back.
... Its author, Michael Janigan, told CBC News that four years after deregulation, Bell, Telus and Rogers are making "super-normal profits," while consumers are paying too much and getting too little in terms of service.
"We still have three big players with over 90 per cent of the market, and they're pretty fat and happy," Janigan said in an interview with CBC News. "We're still seeing the incredible clout of the big telcos in relation to their ability to swing competition in their favour." The report points to a policy decision in December 2006 by then Industry Minister Maxime Bernier that ordered the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission to use market forces to the maximum extent possible ...
Higher taxes, higher gas prices, higher telephone bills. Good job Harper. Remind me again why neoconservatism is good for us.


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My friend Veronica asked if the "blobs" on this pizza were ricotta. She was right they were, and that's how this pizza got its name. I giggle every time I see this picture now with all the blobs, and am motivated to make more blobby food. Is blobby a word anyway? It should be.
Well anyway, here's the blobby recipe for this tasty pizza.
Zesty Old School Style Pizza Sauce
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon ground sweet paprika
1 teaspoon sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
Fresh cracked pepper to taste
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon white vinegar
Place all the ingredients in a medium sized bowl and stir together.
Makes 1½ cups of pizza sauce. Enough sauce to cover three medium, or two large pizzas.
Garlic & Spinach Pizza with Ricotta Blobs
1 (16 inch) stretched pizza dough on a pan (See notes below)
1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 cup zesty old school style pizza sauce
2 cups shredded mozzarella
Couple handfuls fresh spinach
1 to 2 cloves minced garlic to taste
Ricotta, about ½ of a small tub
½ cup freshly grated parmesan
Salt and fresh cracked pepper
Sprinkle of garlic powder
Sprinkle of onion powder
Sprinkle of red pepper flakes, optional
1. Make the Zesty Old School Pizza Sauce. Set aside. (Extra sauce freezes well, or will cover another medium pizza.)
2. Heat up the grill to hot and close the lid.
3. Brush the pizza pan lightly with olive oil and sprinkle with cornmeal. Stretch and roll the dough and place on the pan. Brush with 1 Tablespoon olive oil. Spoon the pizza sauce around the dough.
4. Top pizza with the mozzarella, spinach, minced garlic, ricotta blobs (I did mine with a mini cookie scoop, but teaspoons work fine), parmesan, and a sprinkle of salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder and red pepper flakes.
5. Set the pizza on the grill and close the lid. Turn grill to medium high and cook for 5 to 8 minutes or until cooked through. Turn to medium for a thicker crust pizza and cook longer. Remove onto a cookie sheet with tongs.
Notes: See http://www.thecookingphotographer.com/2009/04/lets-talk-dough-pizza-dough.html for information on pizza dough and grilling techniques.
Recipe by Laura Flowers


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Gangstar Vegas is a role-playing game to become the leader of a gang in Las Vegas, while playing along gangsters and mafia cartels, in a free open game world with gang wars.
V is for Las Vegas: The City of Sin
Explore this open city with different TPS missions, box the mafia cartel, fight for the final prize and play in different adventure crime clans vs. the gang world of the city of Las Vegas.
This is an RPG adventure saga of mafia and waging gang wars. Extra missions are added with each update and season, plus limited-time events to play.
Street fights and mafia deals are part of this gangster world-of-crime game, with six-gun action missions. Fight-night boxing, street fights anytime and anywhere, and different kinds of city driving with multiple vehicles and roaming around this open world.
Gangster Open-World Encounters
An open world with racing challenges with different kinds of vehicles, various collectible weapons and clothes. Commit grand theft auto crimes on the streets of Las Vegas and combat gangsters.
Keep fighting for your life through each adventure-packed mission. Robbers and thefts chase you in auto racing challenges to drive beyond city legal limits. Motorcycles, trucks and boats are also part of your vehicle choices for accomplishing different missions.
Vice is all around the streets and locals, and shootings happen everywhere. Play TPS missions in Las Vegas, a gangster city with alien wars, waves of tanks, zombie clan attacks and different mafia to fight.
Criminal Missions: Gangs and Weapons to Trade
In this adventure saga, various vehicles and weapons are available for each different mission. Gang wars with Molotov cocktails, grenade launchers and many other weapons and vehicles to accomplish the plans and missions.
Visit our official site at http://gmlft.co/website_EN
Check out the new blog at http://gmlft.co/central
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This app allows you to purchase virtual items within the app and may contain third-party advertisements that may redirect you to a third-party site.
Terms of Use: http://www.gameloft.com/en/conditions-of-use
Privacy Policy: http://www.gameloft.com/en/privacy-notice
End-User License Agreement: http://www.gameloft.com/en/eula


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MSS Sport is for the performance road driver who drives hard on the road and occasionally at the track. Upgrade and experience a total transformation of your vehicle's performance handling - and a more controlled ride.
Our unique dual-stacked, triple-rated springs are proudly European - designed and engineered in the UK, and manufactured in Germany.
Unlike OEM and traditional aftermarket suspension, our two active springs and three separate spring rates deal with a much wider range of situations when driving near the limits. Distinct benefits from the reduced roll and pitch - whether it be dive or a squat - enables you to turn sharper, brake later and accelerate sooner.
- Adjustable Ride Height
- Retain factory Electronic Suspension Functionality
- Improved Handling and Cornering
- MSS Ride Adjusters/Couplers
- MSS Ride Controllers
- MSS Ride Enhancers
- MSS Adjuster tool (s)


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USA Tungsten Titanium Carbide Market-Leading Countries, Landscape Analysis & Application
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Results of the recent scientific undertakings towards the development of new Tungsten Titanium Carbide products have been studied. Nevertheless, the factors affecting the leading industry players to adopt synthetic sourcing of the market products have also been studied in this statistical surveying report. The conclusions provided in this report are of great value for the leading industry players. Every organization partaking in the global production of the Tungsten Titanium Carbide market products have been mentioned in this report, in order to study the insights on cost-effective manufacturing methods, competitive landscape, and new avenues for applications.
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text:
Our baking molds are 100% biodegradable
About us
Since 1995, Panibois has been the world leader in the manufacture and marketing of peeled wood containers and baking molds for food products.
Created in 1993 with two members of staff, the company had intended to target the fruit and vegetable market. However, finding there was no market, it decided to create its own.
It used existing machinery to manufacture wooden containers and baking molds. In 2001, in response to client demand, it converted this machinery to glue rather than staple the wood.
It now has four machines for square, rectangular and octagonal baking molds and one special machine for tart rings.
The containers are made from best, natural, peeled poplar wood. Thanks to constant development, the company currently employs 40 people and sells half its products in France and the other half in 30 countries worldwide. |
Its range of wooden molds includes 25 different models aimed at various markets: Bakers-Pastry chefs, Chocolate-makers, Delicatessen butchers, Caterers, Restaurateurs, Cheese-makers, grocers and the like. Innovation is a permanent quest at Panibois. |


text:
When you're dealing with a cough that just won't go away, you'd give anything to make it stop. So you do what anyone battling the common cold would do and head to your nearest pharmacy to load up on the best over-the-counter cough syrup you can find. While this remedy can finally make your coughing ease up, there is a link between this soothing fix and cavities that your Lyndhurst dentist wants you to know about.
The Danger is in The Ingredients
Most cough medicines and cough drops contain ingredients that, although made to help treat your cold symptoms, can also be damaging to your oral health. Many of the top medicines designed to help suppress that chronic tickle in your throat contain sugar and alcohol – both of which can contribute to tooth decay and other problems.
Sugar is a common ingredient in many medicines for one reason – to make them not taste so horrible. However, these sugars are just the thing that bacteria love to feed on. When bacteria feed on sugars, they release a acidic byproduct. This acid wears away the protective tooth enamel and leave teeth exposed to decay.
A healthy mouth is one that produces saliva adequately and remains moist throughout the day. This saliva helps neutralize and rinse away acids caused by the sugar-eating bacteria. However, when alcohol is introduced into the mouth, saliva production is greatly decreased. Alcohol is naturally drying and inhibits your mouths ability to produce as much saliva as it should. A dry mouth is the perfect place for acid to wear away enamel, increasing the likelihood of decay.
Reduce the Risk
Just because your favorite cough medicine may contain these damaging ingredients doesn't mean you have to suffer through your cold. There are a few ways you can reduce the risk of tooth decay and still find relief..
- Take your medicine with food. Saliva production increases while eating so it can help wash away dangerous sugars and acids.
- Avoid taking cough medicine right before bed. If you take medicine after you brush your teeth, the sugars and acids stay on your teeth all night.
- Try a pill form of the medicine instead of a liquid. A pill reduces the amount of damaging ingredients that come in contact with teeth.
At our dental office in Lyndhurst, it's our mission to keep our patients healthy, especially during cold and flu season when germs are aplenty. Even if you try every trick in the book to keep germs at bay, sometimes catching the dreaded sore throat, stuffy nose, or constant cough is inevitable. When this happens, we want you to be cautious of how you ease the symptoms to keep your smile healthy.


text:
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
DID THE JACK SACK HAVE COSMETIC SURGERY? Here's an exclusive interview!
Q: Hi, Jack Sack, I have to say we're all very pleased to have you back on the show.
A: Why thank you! I have had a lot of people come up to me on the street and say the same thing, but it doesn't get old, let me tell you.
Q: I hope I'm not offending you here, but I have to ask right at the start- what's with the new look?
A: Ah, not a problem asking-- the people have a right to know. It began less than two years ago. Jack and I were both kidnapped and taken on a slowboat to China. Dare I say, I felt the end had finally come. The Chinese went to work on 'ol Jack right away. And me? Well, while canvas material is sturdy, it still frays. My captors started with my shoulder strap, twisting it around and around until I saw stars. But I wasn't going to give them any information. Then... then, they started to soil me with unmentionable fluids. I know children may be reading this, and I dare not say anything further about that episode. But the Chinese were relentless- they used knives, boots, a drunk rooster-- anything they could produce that would terrify or cause me pain. At the end of those two years, I was not the same sack any longer.
Q: Wow, that's compelling stuff, Jack Sack. Do you want to take a moment to collect yourself?
A: No! (sigh) I am fine, let's continue-- please.
Q: So, after being tortured and mutilated, what happened next?
A: Things happened quickly. I was thrown in a garbage bag and taken to what I later found out was a local dump. The Chinese simply tossed me in with the trash. I could barely speak, I was left for dead out on the pile. And that's when Audrey Raines came and found me. Audrey recognized me immediately. She tended to my wounds, temporarily stitching me up so that I could at least start to heal. Audrey asked about Jack, I told her everything I knew and she and I retired to her hotel for much needed rest. Audrey is a magnificent woman.
Q: You know, a lot of fans of "24" actually hate Audrey, and they're really annoyed that she's back this season, what do you--
A: Audrey is a flower! She is in full bloom, and I will always adore the woman. I may be some worn-out canvas bag, but Audrey understands me. What we shared in China, even for one recklessly passionate night, will be with me for all of my days.
Q: Are you saying that you and Audrey hooked up in China?
A: Next question, please.
Q: Well, back to the beginning question really, how did this new look come to be?
A: After I was healthy enough to travel again, Audrey shipped me to a friend's place in New York City. Her friend, Armand, was a hot new designer that just came onto the fashion scene. I lived in a doorman's building in Chelsea with Armand for five months while he personally performed a miracle reconstruction on me-- new straps, new pockets, and a lot of Midori Sours. Armand, you're a prince!
Q: So, what does your new look mean to you?
A: It's about having a second chance. Life comes so quickly at times, you end up making mistakes that you look back at later with regret. My new look is a symbol of a new opportunity to do the things I've always wanted to, but never had the chance to pursue in the past. Jack is my number one priority, however. And of course, there's Audrey. I know I'll never be with Audrey, but I have to help save her regardless. If it weren't for her, I would be covered with banana peels and bootleg versions of "Basic Instinct 2" in some Beijing city dump. No, I've come back to help Jack exact certain revenge.
9 comments:
Jack Sack 2.0 does not look like it can hold all of Jack's gear. Looks a little wimpy.
- April 18, 2007 at 11:04:00 AM EDT
- TheJackSack said...
Watch it with the "wimpy" talk. A few months living in Chelsea does not a wimp make! - April 18, 2007 at 11:37:00 AM EDT
- TheJackSack said...
Ya know, I will eventually delete this SPAM but it's nice to know that The Jack Sack has attracted the water bong marketers. Yikes.
- April 18, 2007 at 2:55:00 PM EDT
*wiping tears, lip quivering with emotion* I always knew you and Jack would be back together. The spiritual connection the two of you share is, well, unlike anything else I've ever seen. *sob* I love you jacksack.
- April 19, 2007 at 12:05:00 PM EDT
- Sally Jo said...
The Jack Sack loves Audrey. See, I tolja she wasn't all bad!
- April 19, 2007 at 3:25:00 PM EDT
- TheJackSack said...
Thanks ladies (sally and glockspeak!). Now be a good bunch of girls and click on celia's SPAM links to purchase water bongs!
Seriously, best SPAM ever. - April 19, 2007 at 7:54:00 PM EDT
- Sally Jo said...
I'm so wasted!
- April 20, 2007 at 8:50:00 PM EDT
- Sally Jo said...
I'm so wasted!
- April 20, 2007 at 8:50:00 PM EDT
- TheJackSack said...
See, now Sally knows how to write a comment!
:) - April 21, 2007 at 10:57:00 AM EDT
New comments are not allowed.


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A couple of weeks ago, I attended my friend Cassie's graduate exhibition at the Foundation Coffee House in Manchester. A couple of days earlier we had been shopping and I picked up a long tunic-style skirt and some lace brogues from H&M, which I decided to incorporate into my outfit. I don't think I've ever bought such inexpensive shoes before but they are beautiful and surprisingly comfy.
Blazer: Karen Millen
Bra: Eustratia
Shirt: H&M
Trousers: Eustratia
Shoes: H&M
Neckalce: Richard Ayres
Rings: Elemental luxury
Bag: H! by Henry Holland


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Scanning my notebooks
| notetakingYou'll often find me taking notes in a small paper notebook that I tuck into my beltbag for easy access. I like taking notes on paper more than I like taking notes on my smartphone because:
- I don't have to look down when taking notes.
- I don't have to worry about battery life. My phone runs out of battery frequently enough even without using it for notes or web browsing, because I use Bluetooth and GPS frequently.
- I can add little sketches here and there.
My notebook habit started in 2006, when I was a graduate student at the University of Toronto. My mom reminded me that living like a student didn't have to mean denying myself all sorts of things, so I splurged on my very first Moleskine and started writing in it.
I've filled a few of these notebooks over time. I don't write in them consistently. Sometimes there are gaps of weeks or months when I take notes on my smartphone or my laptop instead.
Many of the pages are lists: things I'd like to do in Toronto, reasons for starting a business, ideas to try. Many of the pages are notes from conversations. Few of the pages are straight-up journal entries like the one above, as I prefer to type in my reflections so that they're saved in Org Mode.
Scanning the notebooks
We have a Samsung SCX-4828fn printer/scanner/copier/fax. The scanner supports both sheet-fed and flat-bed scanning. For batch scanning on Microsoft Windows, I used Picasa's import function. (XSane on Linux is more configurable, though.) I set up my foot switch to click on a button in the scanner program so that I could scan the next page without touching the mouse. I put the notebook on the flat-bed scanner, hit the footswitch, waited for the scanning head to finish the page, and then flipped to the next page while the scanning head returned to the ready position.
Well, technically, there was also the set-up step of hooking up a second monitor and picking things that would run on that second monitor so that I could watch screencasts while scanning. =)
You can do the same setup without a foot pedal (keep your mouse within easy reach) or a second monitor, but those things made it a lot more fun for me.
Reviewing the notebooks
Picasa makes it easy to flip through images, and I've been using that to "star" pages and add tags. I've also imported quite a few of my notes into Evernote in order to take advantage of the handwriting recognition.
I saved the images in my Dropbox folder and uploaded them as private albums to Google Photos, so I can refer to them on my Android phone too. That's pretty nifty. I may spring for the Evernote premium subscription so that I can sync and search the handwriting in my notebooks when I'm offline, too. (Still cheaper than a data plan.)
Updating my notes
Haven't done this yet, but updating my scanned notebook pages with additional notes should be easy to do with Autodesk Sketchbook Pro or something like that. Hooray for tablet PCs! I might use git or something similar for version control, but it's not important.
Partial notebooks
Partially-used notebooks are harder to scan because I have to remember to come back and scan the last section, and I can't seem to change the import filenames in Picasa (one of the reasons why XSane is awesomer). Anyway, I'm going to focus on filling the pages of the partial notebooks, then I can scan them in one go. I tend to update previous pages in my current notebook (lists, recent conversations, etc), so I'd prefer to scan them only when the notebook is finished. I see scanning as a way to carry digital copies of my past notebooks with me, so that works out nicely.
Lessons learned
- Cursive script is hard to quickly read. I think I'll stick to printing letters.
- Conversation notes are ephemeral.
- Lists are useful for a long time.
Thanks to Markus Zmija for the nudge to write about this!


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The latest publication from the Internal Revenue Service is getting all the sendup worthy of a new best-seller. The Data Book for 2020 recounts the agency's effort to deal with tax season during the time of the coronavirus.
Admittedly, the numbers supply a heroic read.
The Data Book spans the 2020 fiscal year, running from Oct. 1, 2019 to Sept. 30, 2020. Among other things, the Data Book recounts how the IRS responded to the COVID-19 pandemic, by developing new technology and equipment that allowed agency employees—thousands of employees—to work from home. This, in turn, allowed the IRS to continue processing tax returns and provide telephone assistance to taxpayers.
IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig is understandably proud of his agency and its people for their hard work and teamwork during the pandemic.
"This year's Data Book describes the important work that IRS employees accomplish on behalf of the public," said Rettig. "The IRS accounts for approximately 96% of the funding that supports the federal government's operations, while proudly serving and interacting with more Americans than any other public or private organization."
"The 2020 Data Book also details the extraordinary measures the IRS took to protect the health and safety of taxpayers and IRS employees during the COVID-19 pandemic while implementing critical economic relief legislation—the largest economic rescue packages in US history," Rettig added.
The 2020 Data Book also describes how the IRS eased the burden on taxpayers during the pandemic by extending the federal tax deadline to file and to pay from April 15 to July 15, 2020.
If all this sounds like it's not enough to keep an entire federal agency busy, the IRS also debuted its People First Initiative during this time. The new program eased payment guidelines, delayed compliance actions, and suspended most collection enforcement actions, such as liens and levies, from April 15 to July 15, 2020.
The IRS giveth
To help combat the huge downturn to the economy the pandemic left in its wake, Congress passed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act. This new law sent nearly 162 million Economic Impact Payments (EIPs) directly to American taxpayers in the first round alone. The IRS played a leading role, sending out the actual payments to taxpayers.
A second round of 146.5 million EIPs was sent out by the IRS in 2020, bringing the calendar year's direct-payment relief total to nearly $413 billion (yet another round of relief payments would go out in 2021).
While processing and sending out relief payments, the IRS still had to continue to handle incoming federal income tax returns, processing over 240 million returns and collecting almost $3.5 trillion in federal taxes over the fiscal year.
The IRS Data Book for 2020 includes some 33 tables that describe all the agency's work during the fiscal year, from the returns processed to the revenue collected, audits and collection activities, as well as budget and personnel figures.
While Commissioner Rettig encourages people to have a look at the 2020 Data Book, he stresses that the IRS story goes beyond statistics, charts and tables.
"IRS employees care, and our agency is made up of people who give back to their communities and help one another. Our employees provide significant support for those devastated by hurricanes, wildfires, and other natural disasters, and across the nation, they did amazing work in their communities to help those impacted by COVID-19," Rettig said.
Source: IRS releases Data Book for fiscal 2020 describing agency's activities during pandemic


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By Camilla Posthill, FSMA Project Coordinator, National Farmers Union. March is Women's History Month—a time to share stories that deepen our understanding of the contributions that women make to farming, the food system, and the world. This month, we reached out to our friend and respected farmer, Stepheni Norton. She's agreed to talk to the Local Food Safety Collaborative (LFSC) about the obstacles she has overcome and practical tips for small farm success. She shares a whole lot of inspiration in this month's "From the Farm" blog series!
Q: Tell us about yourself and your farm.
A: Our farm is called W.D. Dickinson and is an heirloom fruit, vegetable, and herb farm, historic event venue, and modern-day general store. The farm was founded in 1888 and revived in 2012. We are a small-plot urban farm located on the historic Wallace D. Dickinson homestead in South Bay San Diego, CA. The farm is located on 0.25 acres, and we actively farm ~2500 square feet. We have a CSA, a on-farm stand, and sell to local restaurants and chefs. In 4 years, the farm has grown and yields just over 4000 pounds of produce annually. It now includes a farm store, small batch pantry and home good product lines, meal prep, home delivery, private event space, monthly public events, and private farm business workshops!
Officially, I'm the "Founder and Operations Manager" for the farm — working in and managing the day-to-day operations on the farm. In reality, I feel like I'm the "Dreamer" and the "Do-er". I weed, harvest, pack, and sell. I work hands-on with the paper tiger that is a small business. I am the slow life visionary. I am a productivity and compliance nut.
Q: You have an amazing story to tell… Can you share why you decided to become a farmer?
A: Breaking Ground: My farming journey began after purchasing the historic Dickinson homestead, was subsequently deployed, and fell ill. After almost three years of misdiagnosis, I was properly diagnosed with stage 3 Lyme Disease, and promptly started daily IV treatment. After a few months of struggling to find fresh and clean food that didn't contraindicate with my medicines, I took matters into my own hands – I learned the business of farming, designing a farm layout and business plan from the clinic IV chair.
Business Expertise: A retired Chief Petty Officer and decorated military veteran, with over 20 years of hands-on entrepreneurial experience, I started and ran multiple successful businesses before breaking ground on the farm. Experience and expertise with local, state, and federal regulatory compliance, startup and growth strategies for emerging markets, leadership in transitioning and operational environments, administrative and program development, as well as research and data management has helped make W.D. Dickinson a success.
I am a certified Produce Safety Alliance (PSA) Grower Trainer and the author and lead facilitator for "Business of Farming", a semester-long course at a local college. I also work with the Small Business Development Center (SBDC) to help aspiring food and farm entrepreneurs build and grow their businesses.
Q: How do your "off-the-farm" jobs relate to your "on-the-farm" job?
A: I work full time on the farm – more than full time – and less than part-time with Community Alliance with Family Farmers (CAFF) as a regional food safety specialist and the local SBDC as a food and farm small business advisor. With my diverse background, it would have been easy to stay in tech, life sciences, or some other highly compensated field. But for me, it was important to relate my off-farm work back to our farm. I wanted to ensure that during the time I spent working off-farm I was also learning things I could implement on my own farm.
Q: You've built a successful business in one of the most competitive markets in the country. How does food safety factor into that success?
A: Food safety is good business practice, and good business practices make for successful businesses. Our biggest key to success is to just do it. We are all guilty of procrastination, but procrastination means delay – delay in implementation, delay in harvest, delay in sales, and ultimately delay in money in your pocket.
Q: You're a role model for beginning, women, urban, small and organic farmers. Give this group your number one food safety pro-tip:
A: Thank you! You should create a food safety plan, a business model, a schedule, and most importantly a life you don't feel the need to procrastinate from!
Q: So, you're a registered organic grower?
A: We are a registered organic grower and we should have our inspection for certification in the next few months. As a registered organic grower, we must follow the same standards as a certified grower. The organic certification process didn't seem hard to implement – as a new farm we set most of these standards up from the start. The record keeping is the hardest part, not the data —educating and changing the habits of our employees to ensure they keep the records is a challenge.
Q: How did the organic certification process compare to making sure your farm is compliant with the FSMA standards that apply to your farm?
A: The review and understanding of standards were the same. Understanding takes time and focus, which most of us have very little of. But once you understand it, it was quick to realize that we just had to keep a few more pieces of data.
Q: What has been your greatest obstacle in improving food safety on your farm and how have you overcome it?
A: Recordkeeping. (see next answer for how we overcame it!)
Q: Like most fellow farmers, you are wearing a lot of hats. How do you make sure everything gets done?
A: Planning, processes, and delegation. There's no need to create overly complex processes, but simple ones that are followed by everyone on the farm are best. This allows you to delegate and know the tasks are getting done in a safe and compliant way.
Q: Are there any practical food safety resources that you use or can recommend?
A: We use Asana (free online task management tool) that is accessible on our phones and computers. We document our processes in that app. That allows all of us, no matter where we are and what tasks we are doing – in the field, in the store, in the wash shed, out for delivery – to all follow the same processes. We have also started using AgSquared Total Farm this year (for mobile devices and computers), which allows us to create standard activity logs with mandatory fields capturing all the required data points.
And of course, I'm biased but the CAFF food safety website has a TON of free resources: https://www.caff.org/programs/foodsafety/
Visit W.D. Dickinson Farm website: www.wddickinson.com
Follow @stepheni1888 and her farm @w.d.dickinson on social media!


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Dear Heart
Year 1919
Words by Jean Lefarve Music by W. C. Polla and Willard Goldsmith C. C. Church and Co. Hartford, Connecticut |
First Verse I'm dreaming dreams of days gone by, A heart that once was true, Of rosy lips, enchanting smiles, And eyes of fairest blue But mem'ry is all that's left, Another claims the prize, Still in my dreams I feel the love, That once beamed in those eyes. Second Verse But dreams come true when faith fails not, As sunshine follows rain, And rosy lips, enchanting smiles, Are mine once more again And mem'ry's now reality, I've fairly won the prize, No cloud can hide the wondrous light, That now beams in those eyes. Chorus Dear heart, are you true to me, My heart yearns for only thee, My Soul knows no sunshine Unless you are mine. Faithful I will always be, You're more than the world to me, Come bring back the sunshine, Dear, Dear heart. CLICK HERE TO PLAY THIS SONG |


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Visit chemists & pharmacy stores in Chambers Flat, QLD, if you're feeling under the weather
Have you just visited the doctor and left with a prescription? If the answer is yes, our list of chemists & pharmacy stores in Chambers Flat, QLD, can help you with any medicines, ointments or tablets you need. The friendly pharmacists will provide you with advice on how to safely take or use the medicine. Don't be afraid to ask questions you may have. Promoting health awareness is key focus for them.


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Vipp 14 (8l) from Vipp
The Vipp pedal bin is made with a layer of stainless steel and equipped with a damper mechanism for smooth closing of the lid as well as a rubber ring that guarantees air-tight closure. The body is manufactured in powder-coated steel and hides the removable, galvanised steel inner bin. A rubber ring at the base ensures that sensitive surfaces are safeguarded. Warranty: 10-year warranty. The extended warranty for bins applies to products purchased in 2008 or later. The warranty assumes that the product has been properly used as described under 'Care Instructions', with reservations for normal wear and tear. A 2-year warranty applies to bins purchased before 2008. Care instructions: Stainless steel surfaces should be cleaned and polished with a microfibre cloth, glass cleaner or other non abrasive and gentle cleaning agents. Lacquered surfaces should be cleaned with a moist cloth. Rubber parts should be cleaned with a moist cloth. Apply silicone spray for better finish. Vipp products with dark surfaces should be cleaned with a soft brush and, if stained, with a bit of water. Then wipe with dry cloth.
The very first Vipp bin was made in 1939 as a labour of love. Today, Vipp has developed into an entire family of products. The original bin has now been supplemented by a range of products ideal for bathroom, kitchen, bedroom and office spaces as well.
Do you have a question about "Vipp 14 (8l)"? How can we contact you?
Your message was sent.
or please call us:
+49 7231 313061
Monday - Friday: 9.00 am - 6.30 pm
By appointment also after 6.30 pm
Saturday: 10 am - 4 pm
dieter horn GmbH
Karlsruher Straße 91
75179 Pforzheim
› Your way to us


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If you enjoyed this collection of vintage photos, please subscribe to my Homo History blog. There are links at the top and very bottom of every page.
These photos are just a small fragment of our gay history; unfortunately so much of it has purposely been destroyed. Since most of the men and women in these photos are unknown, it's pretty much impossible to tell it they were a gay couple or just "good friends." Most photographs of gay couples were eventually destroyed by horrified family members. For every photo that I may have mistakenly identified as gay, thousands more were burned or torn into pieces to keep a family secret.
Jeffrey Gent


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1) My first job was as a newspaper delivery person - a paper boy. I was 11 when my friend Gordon McLennan and I got a route for the twice-weekly San Diego Independent newspaper. Our route was between 32nd Street and 34th Street, and Juniper Street to Laurel Street, in the North Park area of San Diego. We held this job for about six months, delivering papers on Thursday and Sunday mornings to subscribers, using bicycles and flexies (Flexible Flyers, not a sled, but with wheels and steering bar) to throw them on porches. The highlight each month was collecting the 35 cents subscription fees from the subscribers - we got stiffed a lot for what they considered a throw-away newspaper.
2) My second job was an extension of the first - my brother and I had a San Diego Independent newspaper route for about five years, but closer to home (28th Street to Fern Street, Date Street to Fir Street, 10 blocks, about 100 addresses). We got really good at doing this job through experience, got to know our customers, and made some pocket money. The customer that I remember is old Mr. Stoddard, who lived on Dale Street. He had his buddies over to play cards regularly, and when we came to collect, he would ask us in to show off what we learned. He actually paid us 25 cents or 50 cents each month to learn something new - the State Capitals, the National Parks, say the alphabet backwards, etc. I can still say the alphabet backwards really fast.
3) I wrote about my first "real" regular paying job in the summer of 1963 with the San Diego Chargers in http://www.geneamusings.com/2007/10/my-first-real-job.html.
4) After three years at San Diego State University studying aerospace engineering, I got my first real "professional" job with Wagner Aircraft in San Diego in the summer of 1964 - I spent about three months there. This was a spinoff company (from Convair) trying to build a 25-seat commuter propeller-driven aircraft designed for small airfields. The innovative feature was a boundary layer control system that would permit takeoffs and landings at 60 miles/hour. I worked as an analyst doing aerodynamics analysis (performance, stability and control, etc.) with several veteran aerodynamicists, including Bob Gusky, who would play a big role in my life a few years later. This was an excellent basic job education and networking experience.
5) I went back to college (San Diego State University) in September 1964, and Wagner Aircraft folded before the summer of 1965. However, Sunrise Aircraft was formed with new investors and Fred Wagner at the helm, but with few of the Wagner Aircraft employees, and none of the aerodynamicists. I got a summer job there for 1965, doing essentially the same things I had done at Wagner in 1964. Larry F. was the only aerodynamicist at the time and he was happy to have someone help out. I stayed on as a part-time employee in late 1965, and then came on full-time in January 1966 after graduating from SDSU. In addition to the aerodynamics work, I picked up some of the Boundary Layer Control (BLC) work and traveled to Cambridge Mass. twice for model tests and technical discussions with DynaTech, a technical services company. In the end, I wrote a NASA Contractor's Report with the DynaTech people. Unfortunately, Sunrise Aircraft couldn't meet payroll in March 1967, and I kept working there for essentially promises (which never came about) until September. Another excellent experience, more responsibility, and some travel. Also - a lesson learned! Don't work for promises!
This was the first real crisis in my life - I had my own apartment, was living the good life, but now I had to move back in with my parents and borrow money from the bank. I applied for unemployment, started a job search, had several interviews, and finally accepted a job in Thousand Oaks Calif. with Northrop Ventura as an aerodynamicist. I was going to start on Monday, 24 October 1967. My plan was to live a month in a cheap motel, eat on my credit card, pay the bills with my first paychecks, and then get an apartment there.
My father had worked at Rohr Corporation in Chula Vista in the 1940's, and still had some contacts there in management, to whom he had given my resume. Bob Gusky was at Rohr then, and my resume passed his desk and he asked the employment folks to set up an interview. Gil from Employment called on Friday morning, 21 October, and asked if I could come down the next week for an interview. I explained that I was starting at Northrop Ventura on Monday - could we do an interview on that Friday afternoon? The answer was yes - I put on my only suit and tie, drove down to Chula Vista (8 miles), interviewed, and was offered the job on the spot. This is my first "There are things that happen in a second that take a lifetime to explain" moment.
6) I worked at Rohr Corporation (later Rohr Industries, Rohr Inc., and then Aerostructures Group of Goodrich, now a part of United Technologies) from October 1967 until I retired in August 2002. I started as an Aerodynamicist, then a Senior Aerodynamicist, an Aero/Thermo Group Engineer, Chief of Aerodynamics, Chief of Aero/Thermo and finally as a Senior Staff Engineer. The company makes the pods around jet engines for commercial aircraft - the inlets, cowls, thrust reversers, nozzles, pylons, etc. I became an expert in nacelle aerodynamics; turbofan engine performance; thrust reverser design, performance and testing; fluid dynamics; aircraft performance; boundary layers; and FORTRAN programming. I worked on most of the commercial aircraft built by Boeing, McDonnell Douglas and Airbus, and traveled all over the USA and Europe. It was a great 35-year career in a good company.
7) After being retired for two years (doing genealogy), I went back to Goodrich Aerostructures in August 2004 for two years as a Contract Engineer, since the needed experienced engineers working on the Boeing 787 nacelle design and analysis (shown above, the engine inlets, fan cowls, thrust reversers, nozzles, etc.). I helped design and analyze all of the nacelle components.
8) Genealogy research and Genea-blogging! After the 2002 retirement, I joined the Board of Directors of the Chula Vista Genealogical Society and have served as Treasurer, First Vice-President - Programs, President, Research Chairman and Newsletter Editor (the last two are my present positions). I started writing Genea-Musings in April 2006. This "job" includes writing, speaking, attending conferences, teaching classes, consulting with genealogy companies, meeting lots of other enthusiastic and committed researchers and bloggers, etc. I've never had so much fun!
One of my favorite sayings is "There are things that happen in a second that take a lifetime to explain." This is certainly true for me - with my job search in 1967, meeting my wife in 1968, reading Roots in 1987, retiring in 2002 and again in 2006, and starting to blog in 2006.
What would my life have been like if Rohr had not called me on Friday, 21 October 1967? I really don't know. I would have worked in Thousand Oaks, perhaps met and married a woman near there, or perhaps moved on to Seattle, Long Beach, or some other aerospace center. Would my daughters and grandchildren be as smart and beautiful as mine are? Would I still be in my home town enjoying my family and friends? Would I have become interested in genealogy in 1987 if my life course had been different? Who knows!
NOTE: Reposted, but edited a bit, from 2013-2016.
Copyright (c) 2017, Randall J. Seaver
Please comment on this post on the website by clicking the URL above and then the "Comments" link at the bottom of each post. Share it on Twitter, Facebook, Google+ or Pinterest using the icons below. Or contact me by email at firstname.lastname@example.com.


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Update: Do not miss James Fallows' new post on the significance of the Google-China-Wikileaks revelations. Google, he concludes, comes out of this looking pretty good, its complaints of government-orchestrated harassment appearing to be confirmed.
The Wikileaks controversy isn't going away, and the latest memos to fall under media scrutiny reveal that the US government had plenty of evidence about China's obsession with Google, whose search engine was making them look bad. This obsession led to some very dirty tricks.
As China ratcheted up the pressure on Google to censor its Internet searches last year, the American Embassy sent a secret cable to Washington detailing why top Chinese leaders had become so obsessed with the Internet search company: they were Googling themselves.
The May 18, 2009, cable, titled "Google China Paying Price for Resisting Censorship," quoted a well-placed source as saying that Li Changchun, a member of China's top ruling body, the Politburo Standing Committee, and the country's senior propaganda official, was taken aback to discover that he could conduct Chinese-language searches on Google's main international Web site. When Mr. Li typed his name into the search engine at google.com, he found "results critical of him."
That cable from American diplomats was one of many made public by WikiLeaks that portray China's leadership as nearly obsessed with the threat posed by the Internet to their grip on power — and, the reverse, by the opportunities it offered them, through hacking, to obtain secrets stored in computers of its rivals, especially the United States.
Extensive Chinese hacking operations, including one leveled at Google, are a central theme in the cables. The hacking operations began earlier and were aimed at a wider array of American government and military data than generally known, including attacks on computers of American diplomats preparing positions on a climate change treaty.
One cable, dated early this year, quoted a Chinese person with family connections to the elite as saying that Mr. Li himself directed an attack on Google's servers in the United States, though that claim has been called into question. In an interview with The New York Times, the person cited in the cable said that Mr. Li personally led a campaign against Google's operations in China but that to his knowledge had no role in the hacking attack.
…Precisely how these hacking attacks are coordinated is not clear. Many appear to rely on Chinese freelancers and an irregular army of "patriotic hackers" who operate with the support of civilian or military authorities, but not directly under their day-to-day control, the cables and interviews suggest.
But the cables also appear to contain some suppositions by Chinese and Americans passed along by diplomats. For example, the cable dated earlier this year referring to the hacking attack on Google said: "A well-placed contact claims that the Chinese government coordinated the recent intrusions of Google systems. According to our contact, the closely held operations were directed at the Politburo Standing Committee level."
…[T]he cables provide a patchwork of detail about cyberattacks that State Department and embassy officials believe originated in China with either the assistance or knowledge of the Chinese military.
Sorry for the long clip; be sure to read the entire article. It leaves no doubt about China's top-down encouragement of and direct involvement in major hacking initiatives and cyber-terrorism.
Again, this should show the Chinese that the US is not determined to make China look bad. The government had this information and kept it secret. Wikileaks is an equal-opportunity whistle-blower and is leaking bombshells like this about the State Department's dealings with everybody (Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Israel, etc.), and China is just one of many. The interesting thing is how quiet the diplomats were about what they knew and what they heard second-hand. If the US was out to demolish China's reputation we'd have heard more about this long ago.
It raises the question of why the US went so far out of its way to keep the Chinese government's involvement in the attacks a secret. It belies the arguments from the naysayers and idiots that Google fabricated or exaggerated the charges of cyber-terrorism because it needed an excuse to exit from China without looking defeated.


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jerry's fireplace
fireplace cleaning
Fireplace Cleaning: Ensuring Safety and Efficiency
At chimney repair columbus ohio , we understand the importance of a well-maintained fireplace. A fireplace not only adds warmth and ambiance to your home but also serves as a focal point, creating a cozy and inviting atmosphere. However, regular cleaning and maintenance are essential to ensure the safety, efficiency, and longevity of your fireplace. In this comprehensive guide, we will walk you through the process of fireplace cleaning, covering everything from basic maintenance tasks to professional cleaning services.
Why Fireplace Cleaning Matters
Fireplaces, whether wood-burning or gas-powered, accumulate soot, creosote, and debris over time. These substances can obstruct airflow, reduce efficiency, and pose serious safety hazards. Regular fireplace cleaning is crucial to prevent the following issues:
- Creosote Buildup: Burning wood produces creosote, a highly flammable substance that sticks to the walls of the chimney. If left unchecked, creosote buildup can lead to chimney fires, causing extensive damage to your property.
- Soot Accumulation: Soot is a byproduct of burning wood or fossil fuels, and it can accumulate on the interior surfaces of your fireplace and chimney. Excessive soot can obstruct the flue, hindering proper ventilation and increasing the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning.
- Blockages and Obstructions: Leaves, animal nests, and other debris can find their way into your chimney and block the flue. This can result in poor drafts, smoke backing up into your home, and even fire hazards.
Basic Fireplace Cleaning and Maintenance
While some maintenance tasks require professional assistance, there are several steps you can take to keep your fireplace clean and safe:
- Protective Gear: Before starting any cleaning process, ensure your safety by wearing protective gear such as gloves, safety goggles, and a dust mask.
- Remove Debris: Begin by removing any loose debris from the fireplace using a small broom and dustpan. Be sure to remove ashes, wood chips, and other remnants, taking care not to scatter them around.
- Clean the Firebox: Use a fireplace shovel to scoop out the ashes from the firebox. Dispose of them in a metal container, away from any flammable materials. Scrub the firebox walls using a stiff-bristle brush and a mixture of warm water and mild detergent. Rinse thoroughly and let it dry.
- Clean the Grate and Tools: Remove the grate and any fireplace tools, such as pokers or tongs. Scrub them with a brush and warm, soapy water. Rinse and dry them before placing them back in the fireplace.
- Inspect the Chimney: Using a flashlight, carefully inspect the interior of the chimney for any signs of damage or blockages. Look for cracks, loose bricks, or obstructions caused by debris or animal nests. If you notice any issues, it's important to seek professional assistance.
Professional Fireplace Cleaning Services
While regular maintenance is essential, professional fireplace cleaning services should be sought periodically to ensure thorough cleaning and inspection. Trained professionals have the expertise and tools to identify potential problems and address them effectively.
Here are some key benefits of professional fireplace cleaning:
- Comprehensive Cleaning: Professional chimney sweeps utilize specialized equipment, such as rotary brushes and high-powered vacuums, to remove stubborn creosote and soot buildup. They also have the skills to clean hard-to-reach areas, ensuring a thorough cleaning process.
- Safety Assessment: During the cleaning process, professionals inspect the chimney and fireplace for any signs of damage or deterioration. Identifying issues early on can prevent costly repairs down the line and ensure the safety of your home and loved ones.
- Efficiency Improvement: A clean and properly maintained fireplace operates more efficiently, providing better heat output and reducing energy waste. Professional cleaning helps optimize the airflow and ventilation, allowing the fireplace to function at its best.
- Smoke and Odor Reduction: If you've noticed smoke backing up into your home or persistent odors, it could be a sign of a problem with your chimney. Professional cleaning helps eliminate blockages and buildup that can cause these issues, ensuring a smoke-free and pleasant environment.
- Preventive Measures: Fireplace cleaning services often include preventive measures to safeguard against future issues. This can include installing chimney caps to prevent debris and animal entry, applying waterproof sealants to protect against water damage, and providing recommendations for ongoing maintenance.
In conclusion
maintaining a clean and well-functioning fireplace is essential for both safety and efficiency.
Whether you choose to perform basic maintenance tasks yourself or seek professional fireplace cleaning services, regular care, and inspections will ensure a warm and inviting atmosphere while minimizing potential hazards.
Remember to choose a reputable service provider, follow recommended maintenance practices, and enjoy the comfort and beauty of your fireplace for years to come.


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If you have been following this blog, you'll know I have been profiling Data Center efficiency companies over the last few weeks. This week I take a look at Sentilla.
I talked to Sentilla's CTO and co-founder, Joe Polastre, the other day and Joe told me that Sentilla came out of Berkeley where they had been looking at data analytics problems around large, potentially incomplete or inaccurate, streaming datasets. The challenge was how to turn that into a complete picture of what's going on so people could make business decisions.
Sentilla takes an industrial manufacturing approach to Data Centers – in manufacturing you have power going in one side, and products and (often) waste heat coming out the other. In the same way in data centers you have power going in one side and coming out the other side you have the product (compute cycles) and waste heat. To optimise your data center you need to get the maximum data/compute (product) output with the minimum power in and the least waste heat generated. Sentilla thinks of data centers, as data factories!
Unlike most of the data center people I have talked to, Sentilla don't talk so much about energy savings. Instead they emphasise maximising performance – getting the most out of your existing data centers, your existing storage, your existing servers, your existing power supply. By far the greatest saving from deploying Sentilla, Joe claimed, is not from the energy savings. That pales in comparison to the capital deferment savings gained from being able to delay the building of extra data center facilities by however many years, he said.
So how does Sentilla help?
Well Sentilla analyses the energy profile of every asset in the data center, whether metered or not, and makes recommendations to improve the planning and management of data center operations. I highlighted the "whether metered or not" bit because this is an important differentiator for Sentilla – they have developed and patented what they call "virtual meters". These are algorithms which look at the work that a device is doing, and based on models which Sentilla have built up, and measurements they have done, as well as some benchmarks which are out there, Sentilla computes how much power is being used by that equipment.
The reason this is so important is because the most inefficient equipment in the data center is not the new stuff (which is likely to already be metered) but the legacy devices. These are the ones which need to be most carefully managed, and the ones where the greatest performance gains for the data center can be made. And because Sentilla can pull usage information from management databases like Tivoli, it means the Sentilla doesn't need to poll every piece of equipment in the data center (with the increased network traffic and data that would generate).
Also, because Sentilla has its virtual meters, it is a software-only product and can therefore be rolled out very quickly.
The other nice feature Sentilla has is that it can identify the energy utilisation of virtualised servers. This is important because with the increasing ease of deployment of virtual servers, under-utilised VM's and VM clutter are starting to become issues for data centers. VM clutter isn't just an issue for energy reasons – there are also implications for software licensing, maintenance and SLA requirements.
I asked Joe about whether Sentilla is a SaaS product and he said that while they have a SaaS version of the product, so far most of Sentilla's clients prefer to keep their data in-house and they haven't gone for the SaaS option.
Finally I asked about pricing and Joe said that Sentilla is priced on a subscription basis and, apparently, it is priced such that for any modest sized data center, for every $1 you put into Sentilla, you get $2 back. Or put another way, Joe said, deploying Sentilla will generally mean that you reclaim around 18-20% of your power capacity.
Disclosure: Sentilla are a client (but this post is not part of their client engagement)
You should follow me on Twitter here
Photo credit The Planet


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This is the fifth post in the series of Teensy USB HID for
Penetration Testers. Sorry for the gap between this and the last post (almost
three months). I was not sitting idle
though, I released Nishang in between and there is a new and shiny version of Kautilya
is out :)
Let us have a look at some advanced payloads in
This payload could be used to dump password hashes from
Windows 7 machine. To use this payload, you have to upload powerdump
meterpreter script from msf to a website (I used pastebin). The script would then be
downloaded on the victim machine later on.
On a Windows 7 machine, you must have SYSTEM privilege to
dump hashes using powerdump script. This SYSTEM privilege could be gained
by scheduling a task as an administrator to be run as system.
The second option asked during payload generation is the name of this task.
Also, this payload pastes the hashes to pastebin as a
private paste. To paste privately, you need a free account on pastebin. You
need to provide username, password and api developer key (under the api link
after you log in to pastebin) for your pastebin account.
Compile the generated output to Teensy, connect to the victim and after few seconds you should see this in the private pastes of the pastebin account used with payload
Neat!! Now we can crack or "pass" these in further attacks. (The hashes are from one of my test system).
This payload runs a keylogger written in powershell and
pastes keys to pastebin as a private paste after a given interval. Here is how to use this:
Compile the output to Teensy, connect to the victim and you should see this in your pastebin account after few seconds (keep in mind the time interval you have given)
Download this and use parsekeys.ps1
script to get some meaningful data. The script requires data from this pastebin
to be copied in a text file called data.txt in the same folder as the script
and creates a file called Logged_keys.txt with the parsed keys. This is how
parsed keys should look.
The keylogger is able to log keys typed in web forms and
windows prompts. This payload works with a normal user privs (no admin required). While using this payload, please keep in mind that pastebin
limits the number of posts per day and I think the limit is stricter for
private pastes. You either need a pro account or ask me nicely for implementing
some other paste service ;) In fact, I tested this on tinypaste and it worked
cleanly. The reason I stuck with pastebin is that I have seen pastebin allowed
in many restricted environments as compared to tinypaste.
Wireless Rogue AP
Windows 7 has a nice feature called Hosted Network. This is
meant for sharing your wireless network with other devices. This feature could
be used as a backdoor. This payload adds and starts a wireless hosted network
on the victim. Then a meterpreter bind is executed in the memory using
powershell. This technique is being used from this awesome post by Matt (used in many more payloads in Kautilya). Administrative access is required for this payload.
You need to generate bind meterpreter payload using the
command in payloadgen.txt in extras
directory. The generated payload is to be copied to rogue_ap.txt in src directory. After that, create a payload using Kautilya
You should be able to see a wireless network called "wifibdoor" after the output is compiled to Teensy and attached to the victim. After successfully connecting to the network you would like to
connect to the bind payload but what would be the IP address to connect to?
Open up command prompt and look at the gateway for this wireless connection. As
this is hosted on the victim the default gateway would be the IP of victim.
Connect to the port you used for msf bind payload on the default gateway using msf
listener and bingo you have a meterpreter session. But wait, this is a bind shell what about Windows Firewall? If you look at the
source,an exception is added to Windows Firewall exception list with program name as "PowerShell Update".
Connect to Hotspot and Execute Code
I got idea of this payload during an internal pen test. In
case of that client, there was no internet access from the employees' laptops
barring few (almost 20) websites. In such a scenario, I use this technique
which I call Injecting the Internet…hee hee.
This payload forces the target to connect to a hot spot controlled by
you thus effectively bypassing any restrictions on the internet connectivity. This forceful connection is achieved by "typing" a wlan profile on the victim, the profile is then used to make a connection. Administrative access is required for thisaction.
An ideal use case is using a hot spot hosted on a Smartphone within the
wireless range of the target machine ;) In the third option (URL where the payload is hosted), you can use either a URL hosted on a web server running on your phone (I use kWS) or a URL from the internet. The Kautilya payload expects an executble in text format at this URL.
After connecting the Teensy to a victim, we get this :)
WLAN Keys Dump
This payload dumps information for all wlan profiles on the target system, including the in
clear text and uploads them to pastebin as a private paste. A user with admin privs must be logged in for this payload to work.
Code Execution using DNS TXT queries
This payload pulls first stage of a meterpreter from a DNS
TXT record and executes it in memory using powershell. The payload makes two queries to differnt subdomains for a 32bit and 64 bit shellcode, the architecture is detected during the payload execution and the appropriate shellcode is executed. The meterpreter needs to be generated using the command in payloadgen.txt in extras directory in Kautilya.
The result is same as some of the payloads above. A nice meterpreter shell !
Obviously, you should have control of TXT
records of a domain to use this. I used a domain with zoneedit.com. It is easy
and effective to use.You can fit first stage of a meterpreter inside a single TXT record.
Wait for Command
This payload continuously queries a pastebin url for
specific content. As soon as the content matches, another URL is opened looking
for powershell script. The powershell script is downloaded and executed on the
In the above example, the content of first URL is queried continuously (with an interval of 5 seconds). Whenever you want to execute powershell script on the target, change its content to that of the magicstring (which is "balwant_rai_ke_kutte" in this case ;) ) and the payload will download and execute powershell script from the second URL .
This post covered many interesting payloads for Windows in
Kautilya. In the next post in this series we will have a look at payloads for Linux (Ubuntu) and OS X. Please leave comments
and feedback. I would be glad to implement (almost) any feature request.


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The Reluctant Fundamentalist
A Novel
By Mohsin Hamid
Published by Harcourt
At a cafe table in Lahore, a bearded Pakistani man converses with an uneasy American stranger. As dusk deepens to night, he begins the tale that has brought them to this fateful meeting . . .
Changez is living an immigrant's dream of America. At the top of his class at Princeton, he is snapped up by the elite "valuation" firm of Underwood Samson. He thrives on the energy of New York, and his infatuation with elegant, beautiful Erica promises entry into Manhattan society at the same exalted level once occupied by his own family back in Lahore.
But in the wake of September 11, Changez finds his position in his adopted city suddenly overturned, and his budding relationship with Erica eclipsed by the reawakened ghosts of her past. And Changez's own identity is in seismic shift as well, unearthing allegiances more fundamental than money, power, and maybe even love.
hardcover | 9780151013043
| April 17, 2007


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Humans have always been obsessed with how things came to be. Originally, this started with existence, how humans arrived on Earth, how our planet was formed, what caused the lights in the sky; once those topics were milked for all they were worth, these stories narrowed down: how the rhino got its skin in the classic porquoi tale best told by Rudyard Kipling, how narcissism created the echo and reflection from the Greek myth, or why male genitalia looks the way it does as given in the Winnebago Trickster Cycle from the Winnebago Native American oral tradition. Perhaps the most interesting thing is how the same stories are told in a multitude of ways. This could be attributed to use of oral tradition, the passing down of stories through voice, carrying through different narrators with different styles of speaking and different interpretations of the same events. In this way, the story is always changing and refining through a never-ending cycle of editors in order to become the tales we know today.
There's something satisfying about creation, too, like scratching an itch you didn't even know existed. The act of creation through writing, art, music, and crafts is highly valued, even though nobody wants to do it. Everyone dreams of writing a novel but taking on writing as a profession is still generally met with hesitance ("Creative writing? What do you plan to do with that, teach?"). However, in a more visual sense, such as works-in-progress videos by various artists or with crafts like crocheting or knitting, people are hypnotized. I find there's nothing more calming than watching someone make a watercolor painting, and when the work is finished, I want to find the artist and thank them for allowing me to watch. When I crochet in public, I'm always greeted with a "What are you knitting?" (I've given up correcting them) followed by the person watching me work as I wrap the yarn around the hook and pull it through the loops.
The downside to creating is, of course, dealing with doubt. I don't think anybody in creation stories ever doubted their actions, but being in the arts requires juggling doubt and dancing with failure. One of the ways I personally deal with this is by writing my own creation stories. I've found it kick-starts my imagination and returns me to the mindset of seven-year-old me who loved to write how things came to be, to the point of writing a chapter book about star formation. Creativity is a must, too. Why do snails have shells? Well, obviously, a snail started out as a slug and decided it wanted to become strong, like the ant, so it found a shell to live in and now carries its own house on its back as a strength building exercise. It's unscientific but gives us a new way of looking at the world which is exactly what literature and the arts aim to do: show new perspectives so that we may live without hurting others. Bonding through any form of creation, especially through storytelling, gives us the chance to understand something new, both in intellectual and empathetic standpoints. Even if your next work doesn't make you the next Charles Dickens, it's still creation and has the possibility to change someone's viewpoint. Even if it's not something you want published, tell the story to a few friends and tell them to pass it on to someone else; in a few generations, you'll have a masterpiece.


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With 37 million people living with HIV worldwide, and over 2 million new infections diagnosed each year, an effective vaccine is regarded as the most potent public health strategy for addressing the pandemic. Despite the many advances in the understanding, treatment and prevention of HIV made over the past 30 years, the development of broadly-effective HIV vaccine has remained unachievable.
The European HIV Alliance (EHVA) is a five year project funded by the European Union's Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme designed to foster the development of an effective vaccine. The EHVA encompasses 41 partners, each with the expertise to promote a comprehensive approach to the development of an effective HIV vaccine. The international alliance, which includes academic and industrial research partners from all over Europe, as well as sub-Saharan Africa and North America, will work to discover and progress novel vaccine candidates through the clinic.
> EHVA Press Release > Project FactSheet (PDF) > About us (PDF)
EHVA P01 / ANRS VRI08 is a phase I, prophylactic HIV vaccine trial to evaluate the safety and...
The European HIV Vaccine Alliance (EHVA) has announced that the EHVA T02 / ANRS VRI07 trial, a...
Drawing from 41 partner organizations, EHVA encompasses expertise in the fields of molecular biology, structural biology, vectorology, adjuvants delivery, immunology, clinical science and biostatics. The alliance is devised to approach the challenges that have hindered the development of a broadly effective vaccine, to date, from all possible angles.
The multidisciplinary-partnership alliance was initiated by Professor Yves Levy of the French Institute of Health (INSERM) and Professor Giuseppe Pantaleo of the Swiss Vaccine Research Institute...
EHVA fosters a multidisciplinary approach to the challenge of developing broadly effective HIV vaccines.
EHVA's programme primary goals are to:
This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research |


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A three book set giveaway, it is international, and you do not have to be a visible follower to enter and win!
Below is some information about the 3 books all in order of the most recently published to the first in the series.
The Five Greatest Warriors
From the deserts of Israel to the tsunami-lashed coasts of Japan, from the steppes of Mongolia to the most mysterious island on Earth -- this is what we have come to expect from Matthew Reilly: stupendous action, white-knuckle suspense, heroes to cheer for, and an adventure beyond imagination. Strap yourself in and hold on tight as he unleashes his biggest and fastest adventure yet, The 5 Greatest Warriors.
When we last left Jack West Jr., he was plummeting into a fathomless abyss and his quest to save the world from impending Armageddon appeared doomed. But all hope is not lost.
After an astonishing escape, Jack regroups with his trusty team. Racing to rebuild the final pieces of the fabled "Machine," they discover an ancient inscription containing a rhyme about five mysterious unnamed warriors -- great historical figures whose knowledge will be vital to unlocking the secrets of the Machine and its long-lost "pillars." But the ancients have hidden their secrets well, and with each pillar bestowing an incredible power upon its holder, their pursuit has attracted the attention of other forces from around the world -- some who want to rule it and others who want to see it destroyed.
With enemies coming at him from every side and the countdown to doomsday rapidly approaching, Jack and his team had better move fast. Because they are about to find out what the end of the world looks like...
The Six Sacred Stones
After their thrilling exploits in Matthew Reilly's rampaging New York Times bestseller, 7 Deadly Wonders, supersoldier Jack West Jr. and his loyal team of adventurers are back, and now they face an all-but-impossible challenge.
A mysterious ceremony in an unknown location has triggered a catastrophic countdown that will climax in no less than the end of all life on Earth. But Jack and his team might be able to ward off the coming Armageddon if they can find the fabled Six Sacred Stones, which hold clues to a legendary ancient device long lost in the fog of history. As the hunt begins, Jack and his team discover that they are not the only ones seeking the Stones...and that there might just be other players out there who don't want to see the world saved at all.
From Stonehenge in England to the deserts of Egypt to the spectacular Three Gorges region in China, The 6 Sacred Stones will take you on a nonstop rollercoaster ride through ancient history, modern military hardware, and some of the fastest and most mind-blowing action you will ever hear.
The Seven Deadly Wonders
A legend of the ancient world decrees that every 4,500 years, a terrible solar event will wreak worldwide destruction . . . but whoever sets the Golden Capstone atop the Great Pyramid at Giza will avert disaster and gain the ultimate prize: a millennium of world dominance.
Now the Sun is turning once again and nation will battle nation to retrieve the missing Capstone . . . but a group of small nations, led by super-soldier Jack West Jr., bands together to prevent any one country from attaining this frightening power. Thus the greatest treasure hunt of all time begins -- an adrenaline fueled race on a global battlefield.
From the Colossus of Rhodes to the Hanging Gardens of Babylon to the Great Egyptian Pyramid itself, unlock the thrills of The Seven Deadly Wonders.
******************************************************************************** Matthew Reilly is the international bestselling author of eight novels: The 6 Sacred Stones, 7 Deadly Wonders, Ice Station, Temple, Contest, Area 7, Scarecrow, and the children's book Hover Car Racer, and one novella, Hell Island. His books are published in more than eighteen languages in twenty countries, and he has sold more than 3.5 million copies worldwide.
For more information see his personal website, and Simon & Schuster's page. There is also a trailer for his The Five Greatest Warriors at the publisher's site and samples to read.
Here are several other cover styles available in the UK and Canada.
Amazon purchasing links for The Five Greatest Warriors – US/UK/Canada and from The Book Depository in Euros and AUD.
Amazon purchasing links for The 6 Sacred Stones – US/UK/Canada and from The Book Depository in Euros and AUD.
Amazon purchasing links for The Seven Deadly Wonders– US/UK/Canada and from The Book Depository in Euros and AUD.
Now for the Giveaway:
You do not have to be a follower for this giveaway. Anyone can enter.
Contest Info:
To enter you must:
- comment
- include in the post your email so that I can contact you
For optional extra points you can do any, or all of the below for 1 entry point each. All entries may be included in one single comment.
- Be a subscriber of Layers of Thought – google or facebook. (I need to be able to see you – and to get updates in facebook feed please add me as a friend.)
- Blog it - side bars are great - please provide links
- Tweet it – provide links please
- Friend on Twitter
- Friend on Goodreads
- Friend on Book Blogs
- Friend on Glue - new to glue? have questions? let me know.
This giveaway is International.
Contest ends Sunday March 15, 2010 at 12 pm US Pacific time. Winner will be posted and notified on Friday March 19, 2010.
A big thanks to Elizabeth from Simon & Schuster for offering this to Layers of Thought's readers!
Review by JD coming soon for the first book in the series – The Seven Deadly Wonders. Here is a snippet of what he thought:
I'd recommend this book to anyone who enjoys fast-paced action stories and mysterious quests.
Have fun and good luck!


text:
The Magic Flute, Mozart's bizarre two act comic opera, can be seen as a fairy tale battle between the forces of darkness and light. Like all good fairy tales, at the end of The Magic Flute's second act, love and happiness triumph. The Singspiel opera (featuring singing as well as spoken dialogue) was written in the prolific final year of Mozart's life. It premiered in 1791 at the popular Theater aug der Wieden on the outskirts of Vienna. Amid its convoluted story, Masonic symbolism, Enlightenment philosophy and sly political references (the sinister Queen of the Night might be a coded allusion to Austrian Empress Maria Theresa), is Papageno, the bird catcher. He isn't exactly a main character, but he's there, nonetheless, through most of the opera (read the synopsis here). In the first performance the role was sung by the opera's librettist, Emanuel Schikaneder.
Mozart's music tells us everything we need to know about Papageno as a character. He's a clownish buffoon, decidedly unheroic, who tries to lure birds with his panflute. But, as the music suggests, he also exhibits a vivacious and contagious passion for life. He's imperfect, yet amiable and we can relate to him. Here is "Der Vogelfänger bin ich ja" (The birdcatcher am I) from the first scene of Act 1:
You might remember the next excerpt from the movie, Amadeus. Here is "Ein Mädchen Oder Weibchen" (A maiden or a wife), in which Papageno longs for female companionship:
At the end of The Magic Flute, Papageno's magic bells summon Papagena. The couple dreams of the many future children they will have.
The Magic Flute Overture
Mozart and Schikaneder were both Freemasons and lodge brothers. Judith Eckelmeyer's analysis of The Magic Flute includes a discussion of the work's Masonic symbolism as well as the use of the "golden mean" and attention to mathematical proportion. Three is a significant number in Masonic symbolism, and patterns of three occur throughout the opera. In the middle of the overture listen for three repeated chords.
Here is James Levine and the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra:
[unordered_list style="tick"]
Neither a lofty degree of intelligence nor imagination nor both together go to the making of genius. Love, love, love, that is the soul of genius.
The music is not in the notes, but in the silence between.
-Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart


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Did you know that the Foundation that powers half the Internet uses FreeBSD for nearly all of its public facing services? The FreeBSD Foundation recently received this testimonial from the Apache Software Foundation:
The Apache Software Foundation (ASF)
provides organizational, legal, and financial support for a broad range
of open source software projects. The Foundation provides an established
framework for intellectual property and financial contributions that
simultaneously limits contributors potential legal exposure.
Through a collaborative and meritocratic development process, Apache
projects deliver enterprise-grade, freely available software products
that attract large communities of users. The pragmatic Apache License
makes it easy for all users, commercial and individual, to deploy Apache
The ASF powers half the Internet, petabytes of data, teraflops of
operations, billions of objects, and enhances the lives of countless
users and developers. Established in 1999 to shepherd, develop, and
incubate Open Source innovations, "The Apache Way," the ASF oversees
150+ projects led by a volunteer community of over 350 individual
Members and 3,000 Committers across six continents.
ApacheCon North America 2011 was just recently held in Vancouver,
British Columbia, Canada where FreeBSD was a highlight in the DevOps
track talks. The Apache Software Foundation itself leverages FreeBSD
for nearly all of its public facing services
including one of the largest SVN repositories in the world. Our
repository is mirrored on several continents and contains over 1.4
million revisions stretching for over a decade. We will even be lending
a hand converting the FreeBSD CVS ports tree to SVN.
The Apache Software Foundation makes use of both custom FreeBSD
Tinderbox and FreeBSD Update servers to rapidly perform application and
base system updates across multiple datacenters in an automated, quick,
and efficient fashion. The Apache Infrastructure Team frequently works
directly with FreeBSD developers to stress cutting-edge features like
ZFS under real-world loads.
Like The FreeBSD Foundation, the ASF is also a 501(c)3 organization.
Donating to FreeBSD through The FreeBSD Foundation, makes Apache better
too and will help make your's and others' daily lives less stressful.
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Apache Software Foundation Testimonial
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