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Sydney's Anason and Fish & Co serve it up hot
Just like an Anzac Day dawn service, the glass of Suvla Bay 2015 Syrah has me deep in thought and near to tears.
It's a red wine that conjures up images of ground where Australian, New Zealand and Turkish blood mixed to stain the earth, and indeed of where the Anzac legend was largely born.
The vineyard is on land where many Anzacs were killed more than a hundred years ago.
I'm tasting the wine, which, like many modern wines from Turkey, is sensational in the purity and intensity of its flavours, while chatting to Burak Cebi, the restaurant's extremely affable and efficient maître d', who's been working with its owner, Somer Sivrioglu, for some eight years.
That places him well before Anason's launch, and into Balmain's renowned Efendy, the Turkish restaurant which launched Somer's career and inspired Anason, the first restaurant to open full-time in Sydney's waterside Barangaroo development.
I was introduced to Anason during Vivid a couple of years ago and immediately listed it among Sydney's very top eateries. I've returned a couple of times and see no reason to change my ranking.
I ate there again recently and was blown away by the quality of food and service — and by Sydney's response to its excellence.
I left things to Burak, and he fed and 'watered' me well.
I started with the familiar — plates of humus and atom, the former probably needing no explanation, the latter a dish of labne yoghurt served with curly peppars, marash chillies and burnt butter.
They were delicious and I tucked into them hungrily with slices of pidé bread as I sampled another Turkish syrah, this time a softer, gentler 2014 Centum, made at a much larger winery from Turkey's western Anatolia region.
Then, among other delights, it was on to balik ekmak — moist grilled fillets of sand whiting — before being completely taken out of my comfort zone by beef tongue, served with isot, a Turkish black pepper, and garlic and pickles.
And then, the pièce de resistance — kusleme, a treat of the most delicate lamb with charred leeks. Wow, where has this dish been all my life? It probably would have suited a great Turkish cabernet rather than a great Turkish syrah but I was too busy devouring to quibble.
Did I say pièce de resistance? That conclusion was probably drawn before I ate the couple of pieces of baklava, made in Turkey by Telat Cagdas, the grand master of the art, and flown weekly and exclusively to Sydney for Somer Sivrioglu,
It's sweet yet it's dry. The experience is simply sensational … and it will have me back in Anason again. As if the rest of the food wouldn't have done so.
My Vivid restaurant discovery this year is Fish & Co, in the newish Tramsheds precinct which has taken over space next door to The Glebe's — or is the suburb more correctly designated as Forest Lodge, famous for the watering hole we used to know as the 'Frostie Lodge'? — old Harold Park trotting track, which is being redeveloped by Mirvac in a case of 'urban renewal'.
The Tramsheds space itself is well worth checking out for an excellent range of restaurants, providores and cafés.
Fish & Co is the brainchild of married couple Sajad Akhlaghi and Belinda Guymer, who operate on the simple twin philosophies of ensuring what they do is sustainable and that the fish they serve is wild-caught.
As they say on their website: "We source food with a story for its high quality and ethics. Our food and ingredients are chosen for their traceability, buying direct from fishermen, small-scale producers and food artisans wherever possible because of the close relationships and trust that creates."
If I'd known all this as I sat down in Fish & Co — as, of course, I should have — I would have ordered some fish, perhaps a serving of beer-battered NZ hoki or of grilled wild-caught Alaskan salmon.
Instead, I plumped for the familiar — some seafood pot stickers (aka dumplings, to use the more familiar Australian vernacular) and some salt-and-pepper squid. Both were excellently fresh and crisp, so unlike the limp, salt-laden shit I'd been served the day before in a place that should have known and done better.
I did, however, venture into new territory with some butterflied Skull Island prawns, gigantic creatures from Queensland, gigantic yet so sympathetically treated to retain all of their delicious, delicate flavours.
I like the way that they handle their house wines, too. Most of them come from Printhie, near Orange, and are poured under a blanket of nitrogen from a small keg, thus ensuring freshness and not a whiff of the oxidation that so often bedevils bottled house wines.
Keep an eye on this place — and on Sajad and Belinda. They really know what they're doing, and they're doing it really well.
Anason, 5/23 Barangaroo Ave, Barangaroo, Sydney; phone (02) 9188 1581; visit www.anason.com.au
Fish & Co, Tramsheds, 1 Dalgal Way, Forest Lodge, Sydney; phone (02) 9518 6868; visit www.fishandco.com.au
John Rozentals was a guest of Destination NSW.


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WASHINGTON, D.C. –U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) was recognized for his advocacy on behalf of economic development initiatives in Appalachia, receiving the 2013 Congressional Award from the Development District Association of Appalachia (DDAA) during a ceremony in Washington.
"Strong rural communities demand economic investment and development," Brown said. "That's why these local development districts throughout Appalachian Ohio are so important. By tapping into the revolving loan fund and federal grants, these organizations make a huge difference in the communities they serve. I appreciate the Development District Association of Appalachia's work on behalf of Southeastern Ohio rural communities, and I am honored to receive this award."
The Congressional Award is given annually to one or two members of Congress who have been identified as strong advocates and supporters of regional economic development in general and the work of the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) and its mission to improve the quality of life for residents of Appalachia. Past recipients include former U.S. Sens. Robert C. Byrd (D-WV), Bill Frist (R-TN), Hillary Clinton (D-NY), and George Voinovich (R-OH).
Brown has been a strong supporter of the ARC and its mission. As a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Brown worked to ensure adequate funding for the ARC, and his office routinely attends meetings of the local development districts in Southeast Ohio. Brown, who is the first Ohioan to serve on the Senate Agriculture Committee in more than 40 years and who is the Chairman of the Subcommittee on Jobs, Rural Economic Growth and Energy Innovation, has also been a strong advocate for a five-year farm bill, which would save taxpayer dollars while creating jobs and boosting rural development.

subset: commoncrawl


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We were happy and proud to sponsor the recent Making Waves in Colorado event run by the Colorado Scuba Retailers Association and Colorado Ocean Coalition in Boulder, CO on October 20-21, 2012.
With over 500 people attending the various activities during the two day weekend, the message was loud and clear, we need to protect our oceans, even from a Mile High!
The thank you was great!
Dear Richard,
On behalf of all the members of the Colorado Scuba Retailers Association and Colorado Ocean Coalition, we would like to extend a huge thank you for donating a vacation to Matava Resort to the Making Waves in Colorado event. With your support, the CSRA was able to raise over $10,000 to support the Colorado Ocean Coalition and the Ocean Foundation in their efforts to educate the public on ocean conservation and policy change for protection of our fragile oceans.
With over 500 people attending the various activities during the two day weekend, the message was loud and clear, we need to protect our oceans, even from a Mile High! From Jean-Michel Cousteau encouraging attendees to get out and dive, to our training representatives answering questions on the basics of scuba certification, the industry showed a great presence. In addition, our speaker representatives were able to educate attendees on safe diving practices and environmental protection efforts that are being made throughout our industry.
We would not have been able to make this event such a success without your help, so we thank you for contribution and support of this event. It is vital that the scuba industry continue to support environmental movements in ocean conservation and we look forward to a successful event next year as well. We want to create a lasting impression on all Colorado ocean lovers, showing the scuba industry cares about our oceans and is willing to do anything to protect the marine environment for generations to come.
Alexandra Miller
President, CSRA
Matava sponsors the Making Waves with Colorado Ocean Coalition


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| 6.7°C Belfast
The former chairman of the defunct Anglo Irish Bank has been cleared of all fraud charges over a loans-for-shares scheme months before the bank collapsed in January 2009.
Sean FitzPatrick, 65, from Greystones, Co Wicklow denied providing unlawful financial assistance to a select group of clients to buy shares in the bank in July 2008 as the stock value tanked.
The jury will resume deliberations on two other directors Pat Whelan, 51, of Malahide, Co Dublin and William McAteer, 63, of Rathgar, Dublin over the provision of 619 million euro of loans for a group of investors dubbed the Maple 10 and the family of bankrupt former industrialist Sean Quinn.
The deal was allegedly concocted to unwind a secret stock market punt by Mr Quinn who borrowed hundreds of millions from Anglo to cover losses on the doomed investment.
Twelve jurors returned the majority verdict in the landmark trial at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court - the first prosecution connected to the collapse of Anglo, regarded as the bank that brought Ireland's economy to its knees.
FitzPatrick shook hands with his legal team in the courtroom after his acquittal on 10 counts.
In a statement outside the courts complex, Mr FitzPatrick thanked his family, friends, legal team and the jury.
"First of all I would like to thank my wife, my two sons and my daughter, and my sisters who have supported me not only during this trial but for the past six years of great personal difficulties," he said.
"I would like also especially to thank the women and men of the jury who have found me not guilty of all charges."
He added: "To all my friends who have stood by me in particular two very special friends, I will always be truly grateful for their support during this very difficult time.
"I now simply ask that the courtesy extended to me and my family during the trial by the media be maintained and the privacy of my family which has been intruded on over the past six years will now cease."
Mr FitzPatrick said it would be inappropriate to take questions and walked to a waiting taxi.
The former bank chairman, regarded as having built Anglo over 30 years to become the fastest growing bank in Europe during Ireland's much-vaunted Celtic Tiger period, had originally been charged with 16 counts of fraud.
He showed little emotion when the verdicts were delivered.
He winked at family members in the courtroom and shook hands with McAteer and Whelan before walking from court holding his daughter's hand.
The charges related to 619 million euro loans - 450m euro for the Maple 10, a handpicked secret circle of Anglo clients, mostly developers and two of whom were worth more than a billion at the time, and 120m euro for five of Sean Quinn's children and his wife Patricia.
It was put in place to unwind the 28% holding of Anglo shares built by now bankrupt tycoon in a doomed 2.4 billion euro (£1.9 billion) punt on the bank's value.
Mr Quinn had used investment banks to buy Contracts for Difference (CfD), a complex trading derivative which boiled down to gambling that Anglo's share price would rise.
Judge Martin Nolan had earlier directed the jury to find Mr FitzPatrick not guilty on the six charges relating to the Quinns.
After three full days deliberating - about 13 and a half hours in total - they reached a majority verdict on the remaining 10 charges against the ex-banker.
The seven women and five men had been told to put aside their prejudices about bankers when determining verdicts.
Judge Nolan had also told them the attitude or actions of the financial regulator were totally irrelevant, as was the involvement of city of London investment bank Morgan Stanley, which completed the deal.
He also warned that the defence of Anglo having legal advice for the deal was also irrelevant.
The jury will return tomorrow to deliberate on the full 16 charges against McAteer and Whelan.
The state's case against Mr FitzPatrick was that the loans were extraordinary business and in contravention to section 60 of Ireland's Companies Act and even as a non-executive director and chairman he had a responsibility.
No-one has ever before been prosecuted for a breach of that law.
The verdict draws to a close just one aspect of complex fraud investigations focusing on the turbulent months before Anglo was nationalised in January 2009 at a cost to Irish citizens of about 30 billion euro.


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Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8 review
* High-performance Grand Cherokee driven * Priced from around 59,000 * On sale early 2012...
What is it? The latest Jeep Grand Cherokee has impressed us in diesel form, but this new SRT8 model is a different prospect.
The high-performance flagship of the range, it gets a dramatic exterior makeover and a 6.4-litre V8 engine. It's also the most powerful car ever to wear a Jeep badge, producing 470bhp (up from its predecessor's 414bhp).
What's it like to drive? Despite its considerable size and weight, the SRT8 is seriously quick. Jeep quotes a 0-62mph time of 4.8 seconds and a top speed of 158mph, although the average economy of 16.8mpg won't encourage you to fully exploit this performance.
The big Jeep handles itself well when you start to drive more enthusiastically. It feels planted, giving the driver plenty of confidence to push on through corners at noticeably higher speeds than you would in a Range Rover Sport.
However, improved feedback through the steering wheel would improve things, as would a better automatic gearbox: the five-speed 'box isn't as good as some rivals' six-, seven- or eight-speed transmissions.
There is little road or wind noise, and the ride is good especially so considering the SRT8's chunky 20-inch alloys.
What's it like inside? Jeep's interiors have rarely lived up to those of their prestige rivals, but here the new SRT8 is much improved.
The interior build quality is certainly better than anything we've seen in previous Grand Cherokees, although some of the plastics and materials could still be better when compared with a Porsche Cayenne's or Range Rover's.
The paddles behind the steering wheel are also small, and need to be flicked with your index finger to avoid operating the stereo control buttons that are just below them.
The blue-rimmed dials are a nice touch, as is the carbonfibre-look trim and the leather and Alcantara seats. The SRT8 is also packed with equipment, including heated and cooled front seats, a heated steering wheel, heated rear seats, panoramic sunroof, electric tailgate and a reversing camera.
While few SRT8 owners are likely to treat their cars like a hot hatch, the trip computer also features an automatic stopwatch to constantly measure your best and last 0-60mph times. A further rotary knob just behind the gear selector allows you to switch driving modes between Track, Sport, Auto, Snow and Tow, to alter the suspension accordingly.
Should I buy one? With mean looks, acres of road presence and guaranteed exclusivity, there's lots to recommend the Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8, before you even get to how it drives and that superb engine.
Like its performance 4x4 competition, however, the SRT8 is only ever going to attract a fraction of buyers compared with its turbodiesel stablemates. An appealing car, then, but prepare to be on first name terms with the staff at your local petrol station.
Porsche Cayenne
Range Rover Sport
What Car? says


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Jamaica's largest selection of musical instruments and accessories. We distribute most major brands. You will find the finest guitars, basses, drums, wind instruments, electronics, books and CDs. We serve everyone from the professional to the student.


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webTour is a web based planning tool, which interfaces with WEBFLEET to get control of all your transportation vehicles. webTour makes it easier to keep track of the many details that you experience in your everyday life of running a transport business. webTour makes it easy for a carrier to keep track on all of its drivers' driving and rest times, making it possible to avoid heavy fines. In webTour, you can receive signature- and picture documentation, using a Tablet or a SmartPhone. It is possible for the drivers, to right down extra tasks on the Tablet or SmartPhone during the day. Through webTour you get a planning tool that reduce operation cost and increases the efficiency in Transport and logistic companies.
TechHouse.dk is a highly competitive software development company located in Denmark. It was founded in 2002 by director Thomas Bøge. He has since the beginning followed the advice thread and driven the company to make innovative IT solutions that create positive profits for our customers.


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Gems and Beads
Gems - Beads - Beading - Stones
Collecting - Necklace - Braclet - Anklet
Listen to Coronavirus Patient Zero
Stamps Collecting has Never Been So Easy
Collecting stamps has been a popular pastime ever since there were stamps to collect. Collecting stamps has never been easier and collecting isn't just for the gray-haired gentleman who spends his days poring over his stamps. When collecting stamps, it's important to have at least some definition of what you're hoping to achieve. Some people collect only historical stamps. That is, they're only looking for the old, rare stamps that are highly sought and prized by collectors. This is a noble goal, but probably not much fun for those without the finances to make those rare purchases.
If you're simply looking for a great hobby, start searching for unusual stamps or collect stamps postmarked in other states and/or countries. Take a look at some ideas that can help you get your stamp collection off to a good start, or give your current collection a real boost. Don't keep your stamp collection a secret. While Great-Aunt Margie isn't likely to want to sit down and hear the history of every stamp in your collection, letting her know that you're a stamp collector could be the best move you've ever made. She may have a stash of letters in her attic from that special beau who wrote to her from Europe during World War I! Or she may have the letters her grandmother sent back home during her trek across the country in a covered wagon.
And she just may remember to mail you a postcard from her next trip to a foreign country. The most unlikely people may be the ones to help you expand your collection, so let family and friends know that you're collecting stamps. The Internet can be a very useful tool for those collecting stamps. All you really need to do is find an online forum for stamp collecting and start trading stamps with others creating collections similar to yours. In most cases, you'll be able to send a letter and the recipient will send one back to you – instantly adding stamps to your collection. Because this is a relatively inexpensive request, you may also get people to send you stamps who aren't looking for a return letter. Another idea for collecting stamps that works well for youngsters is to simply be looking for those unusual, strange or "cool" stamps. Your post office will likely have a good selection and you can let your child help you choose each time you need a new book of stamps. Take one off to add to the collection and see how many great stamps are available. Don't forget that the postal service will also let you create your own stamps with photos you upload to their website! Collecting stamps can be a great way to connect with your child, and can create a hobby that will span a lifetime.
Gems and Beads Articles
Gems and Beads Books
Gems and Beads


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PR WINNER OF THE WEEK: "A" (PR PERFECT) to Jeff Koons, who took Manhattan in a PR blitz that transcended the art world. Koons began with a retrospective at the Whitney, which is the museum's final show at its Madison Avenue location. He also unveiled "Split-Rocker," a 37-foot tall work featuring over 50,000 live flowering plants, in Rockefeller Center. Koons next went into the world of fashion, designing a "Balloon Dog" handbag for retail clothing merchant H&M and decorating their flagship store in Times Square. Art lovers, tourists, youthful fashion lovers… Koons has them all covered in an admirable media blitz.
PR LOSER OF THE WEEK: "F" (FULL FIASCO) to President Vladimir Putin, for shocking mishandling of the crisis of Malaysian Airlines Flight 17. Far more concerned with finger-pointing to maintain image, Putin allowed the deceased to remain unattended in a field, and for what is now known to be a crime scene to be compromised. Even those on the side of Russia in their battle against separatists have had a difficult time defending Putin.
THE PRV "THERE'S NO 'THERE' THERE" AWARD to Sarah Palin, the former governor of Alaska who first gained international attention when she was chosen by John McCain as his vice presidential running mate. Since that loss Palin has been flying sans PR handlers, and she generally makes the news when uttering an outrageous statement. Her latest is calling for President Obama to be impeached, saying that not doing so is an affront to God. Bad PR? Not at all; Palin has transcended that notion, going from politician to rattlesnake handler with deftness that bespeaks a natural talent. In terms of getting media attention, Palin has cemented her place in the PR Tabloid folder, under "any press is good press."


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You can conveniently check the status of any Brussels Airlines-operated flight to/from Brussels.
All departure and arrival times are in local times.
You can search by:
Visit as well our dedicated B2B platform for companies and travel agencies and discover our special conditions for schools.
A group booking is limited to maximum 40 passengers, please adapt the number of passengers and try again.
Burundi, officially known as the Republic of Burundi, is a colourful country located in the African Great Lakes region. It is bordered by Rwanda on the north, Tanzania on the south and east and the Democratic Republic of Congo on the west. Much of its west border is adjacent to Lake Tanganyika. The land has an equatorial climate and its economy is mostly based on agriculture and pasture.
Bujumbura is the capital and largest city of Burundi, a landlocked country in the African Great Lakes region, nestled between Rwanda, Tanzania and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Home to about 500,000 people and located on the north-eastern shore of Lake Tanganyika, Africa's largest freshwater lake, Bujumbura ships most of the country's chief export such as coffee, cotton and tin ore.


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You must file returns even if there is no activity or no taxes due for the period. You may file and pay taxes online with Taxpayer Access Point (TAP).
You can submit a TC-69C, Notice of Change form to close an account if you no longer meet the requirements to have a license or account.


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We're getting some serious mileage from air plants this summer. We've given a group of them as housewarming and kid and adult birthday gifts. We've used them around the house to make our beach finds a little more interesting. And, because they're dirt-free, highly portable and sturdier than they look, they've made some rad cameos (giant octopus and alien spacecraft) in my children's Lego games.
*Note from the editors: the link we have for the air plants is new as of January 2012. A reader let us know that she had bad luck with the first link–they didn't send her the air plants, after she had paid…so we took it down.


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Manama Climate & Weather
Manama experiences extreme climatic conditions, with summer temperatures in July rising to 102°F (39°C) and winter temperatures in January as low as 57°F (14°C). The most pleasant time to visit Manama is in autumn (October and November) when warm temperatures are tempered by a soft breeze. Manama has an arid climate with little rainfall.
Become our Manama Travel Expert
We are looking for contributors for our Manama travel guide. If you are a local, a regular traveller to Manama or a travel professional with time to contribute and answer occasional forum questions, please contact us.


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Maureen Gilmer
While a student in the 1970s, I was faced with caring for a project where black plastic was laid over an old lawn and the whole thing covered with bark as a low-maintenance, water-conserving yard alternative.
By the time I came onto the scene, the running grasses were traveling up to 10 feet in the dark under that plastic as they sought light at its edges. The few creeping junipers that were planted through the plastic became nests of runner grasses after the first growing season. It was irreparable. The whole project had to be thrown out so the old lawn could be removed properly to prevent such rapid reinfestation of aggressive running grasses.
For projects where the lawn is removed in favor of more water-conserving surfacing, the removal of running grasses becomes very important. Failure to get them out means that such pernicious plants will inevitably rise again to infest your new surface. To avoid this, it"s vital to remove grass properly so it won"t come back.
Out west and in the South, Bermuda grass is a good example because it grows virtually everywhere and travels almost as fast as I can walk. This grass and its kin demonstrate the characteristics of other running-grass species as well.
Bermuda is composed largely of thick, ropy runners that are very hard to break. This is key to its spread and establishment. Each original plant is composed of a bundle of deeper feeder roots. From the root crown at the surface extend traveling stems. Stolons grow on top of the ground and rhizomes underground. Both of these are segmented by regularly spaced growth nodes, with each able to produce roots, shoots or both.
A single stem may be over a foot long, with many rooting points along its length. Try to pull it by hand and it breaks at the weakest node, leaving all the others steadfastly rooted. Each root or stem left behind can create a whole new plant. That"s why established runner grasses and their cousins in turf grass are so hard to remove permanently without chemicals.
Translocated herbicides such as Roundup remain perhaps the best solution to permanent running-grass removal because they kill right down to the root tips. The process takes about two weeks from the date of application to completely finish the job. The herbicide is applied to green leaves, which take it in through their natural processes. Then it moves throughout the rest of the plant. This ensures that no roots left in the ground will root and start the invasion all over again.
The more actively growing the grass is, the better it"s able to take up and translocate the herbicide thoroughly. Therefore, it must be applied during the growing season. If done in late spring, when the grasses are growing rapidly, they are still relatively small and easier to coat with spray. Some folks have discovered that watering and fertilizing plants and weeds before applying the herbicide helps the chemical to better enter and travel throughout the entire grass. When applied when grasses are becoming dormant or are already browned by frost, such an herbicide won"t work at all.
Removing an old lawn can be a challenge, but if you plan to take a month or more to get it done, you will find a much cleaner environment to begin a green, low-maintenance landscape.
First apply the herbicide to a growing green lawn. Do not water for a day or two after application to make sure the chemical remains on the lawn. Wait two weeks for full results. Once all has turned brown, dig out the remnants. Then till the area to bring everything to the surface that has been lying dormant. You may choose to water at this stage to encourage new growth for the second application of the herbicide.
While I am not keen on garden chemicals, runner grasses are an exception. Take your time in removing the old lawn and you"ll save yourself many hours of weeding in the seasons to come.
Maureen Gilmer is an author, horticulturist and landscape designer. Visit her website at www.moplants.com or contact her at firstname.lastname@example.com.


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Clarke Will Try For Johnson's Seat
A Sangamon County native will join the race to replace retiring Congressman Tim Johnson. Jerry Clarke, a former aide to Congressman Tim Johnson and Illinois House Republicans, plans to make an official announcement Monday.
Clarke, 46, is also a veteran of the Iraq War. More recently, he has been Chief of Staff for another Congressman, Republican Randy Hultgren.
Clarke says he likes his chances since Champaign County contains the largest weighted vote due to the number of Republican ballots cast this year.
He says the nature of debate in Washington now is killing the economy
"I've seen the dysfunction of Congress up close," said Clarke. "The partisanship and endless gridlock and the failure to solve our serious problems. I think the people of Central Illinois see the impact of an incompetent Congress, and the lack of job growth, the bad roads, high taxes, and endless debt. I think we can do better, and I'm ready to serve."
Clarke calls Congressman Johnson his mentor. The 46-year old Clarke also served on the staff of the Illinois House Republicans. He's a native of Pawnee in Sangamon County.
If Clarke is elected to Congress, he says the public should expect a similar voting record.
"We're pretty close, so I'll ask him to support me when the time is right," Clarke said. "I've been a chief of staff for the last 12 years out in Congress, I'd like to take a shot at running myself."
Tim Johnson made a surprising announcement this week that he will step down after his current term. County Republican leaders in the new 13th Congressional District will choose his replacement.
The new district stretches from the Champaign area on the east across Central Illinois, including Springfield and Decatur. Others who have expressed interest in the vacancy include state representatives Adam Brown of Decatur, Chapin Rose of Mahomet and Dan Brady of Bloomington. Senator Bill Brady of Bloomington said he won't try for the job.
Clarke kicks off a tour of the 13th District with stops in Urbana and Springfield on Monday.
Meanwhile, Dan Brady says he will be evaluating lot of factors before he decides whether to try to make that leap, including his own growing seniority in the State House.
"It was a major concern of not seeking to run for the state senate because of the fact of where I am in the (Illinois) House - and earning my stripes so to speak, and what I could to more to help my legislative district," Brady said.
Brady says he also recently took on a new business venture as a partner in a funeral home. He says the 13th district includes very little of McLean County. He says that could boil down to Champaign and Macon County Chairs effectively making the pick.


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Global Medical Laser Camera Market Forecast 2019-2023 & Analysis By Top Companies : Fujifilm, Konica, Carestream, AGFA, Beijing Wandong
Global Medical Laser Camera 2019 Market Research Deep Analysis 2019-2023 :
The Global Medical Laser Camera 2019 Market report 2019 deeply analyses significant features in major developing markets. The analysis includes market size, latest trends, drivers, threats, opportunities, as well as key market segments. The study reveals market dynamics in several geographic segments along with Global Medical Laser Camera 2019 Market analysis for the current market environment and future scenario over the forecast period. The report also contains a comprehensive market and vendor landscape in addition to a SWOT analysis of the key vendors. It also talks about the market size of different segments and their growth aspects.
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Major Key Players in Global Medical Laser Camera 2019 are: Fujifilm , Konica , Carestream , AGFA , Beijing Wandong , ,
By the product type, the market is primarily split into – Product Type123
By the Application, the market is primarily split into – #VALUE!
Global Medical Laser Camera 2019 report also covers all the regions and countries of the world, which shows a regional development status. Regional Segmentation:
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Tobacco Everywhere
For making cigars, tobacco is grown all around the world, from Poland to South Africa, from Argentina to Canada and, westbound, from Philippines to Mexico. But cigar tobaccos are mainly grown in the intertropical areas.
Tobacco Origin
Tobacco is known as a plant originally from America. Some species were identified in South Pacific. There are many species and varieties. Not all of them are used in smoking products. Many are grown as ornamental plants as they are frequently blooming, showing colors from white to dark red and purple.
Here are some of the countries in which tobacco is grown, to produce your cigars.
Argentina grows dark air-cured tobacco in the provinces of Misiones and Corrientes, and flue cured tobacco in the area of Salta. Misiones has also a production of Burley type. These tobaccos are mainly for cigarettes but Corrientes is appreciated for short filler cigars because of its smooth taste. Argentina used to be a big producer and exporter but changes in the economic and income tax policies have seriously damaged the production, making the tobacco too expensive to be competitive on the international market. Consequently, production volumes have decreased.
Brazil is one of the largest world's tobacco producers. The East Central State of Bahia is an important cigar tobacco growing area, about 100 miles west of the state capital, Salvador da Bahia, an active port on the Atlantic Coast. The Northern State of Alagoas hosts a production around the city of Arapiraca where maduro cigar wrappers are grown. The Southern states of Rio Grande do Sul and Santa Catarina produce tobacco for cigarettes and pipe.
Cameroon cigar wrappers are grown in the East part of the country. The growing area spreads over the eastern border, into the Central African Republic. Wrappers are air grown, without fertilizers and pesticides, by small farmers. The average plantation size is about one acre. The seed is originally from Sumatra, introduced in the country just after WWII. Grown first for French Monopoly needs, the tobacco was offered on the international market when production was too large for this single use. Well appreciated by European manufacturers and large American cigars companies, Cameroon wrapper production dropped down during the late 1980s, due to poor management. Today, quantities are small and quality could be better.
Dark air cured tobaccos are produced in Mexico, mainly in Vera Cruz and Tampico provinces, on the East Coast along the Golf. There is also some production in Yucatan. Previously a state-owned operation, it is now handled by private individuals and cooperatives. Mexican tobacco is very dark and the best leaves can be used as maduro wrappers. In San Andres de Tuxtla (Vera Cruz), there is a very interesting production of Sumatra seed wrappers.
In Philippines, tobacco growing is concentrated in the Northern part of the main island of Luzon. Traditionally, dark tobacco for cigars was grown and Philippines' cigars were very famous, under the powerful Compania General de Tabaccos de Filipinas. They probably declined because they were too mild. Today, Philippines still grows dark tobacco and has developed a production of flue-cured tobacco for blond cigarettes.
Zimbabwe is among the top three countries for high quality flue cured tobacco (with the USA and Brazil). The embargo that hit the country, when it was still Rhodesia, did not hurt the production. It made the Rhodesians more inventive and they went on producing. At this time, Zambia and Tanzania, the neighboring countries were selling a lot! When the embargo was lifted in 1980 allowing us to deal directly, we discovered a fascinating organization and equipment, the best in the world. Tobacco was the top activity of the country and getting a job in tobacco was a challenge for many young men. The actual Zimbabwean agrarian policy , which we won't discuss here, will probably strike this country off the list of tobacco producers. Cigar industry will not suffer as flue-cured tobaccos are mainly concerned. Brazil should be the major beneficiary of this situation.
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Surprisingly, or maybe not such a surprise, tobacco has good uses as a remedy for getting rid of some garden bugs and other critters. Be cautious and use wisely.
Here are seven ways that you can use tobacco and nicotine as a remedy for garden and yard pests.
1) Put a cigarette in a quart of water and let it stand overnight. The nicotine will release a poison into the water that you can use to spray and kill insects with.
2) Prepare a mixture of one half cup of powdered garlic with one cup of compost. Add one cup of tobacco (a good use of cigarette butts) or use organic tobacco. Blend this mixture into the soil around the base of your aphid infested plants.
7) Drop a package of chewing tobacco into a gallon of boiling water. Take off the heat, and let it cool down. After it has cooled, strain the solution. Pour a cup of the solution and a half cup of lemon scented liquid soap into a sprayer. Spray the solution around your yard and outside of your house to get rid of spiders.
Caution: Since nicotine is a poison, be sure to keep it away from areas where children play and where pets roam. Also, keep it away from fish and roses. It will make roses turn black.


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VMware Grows Earnings by Moving Beyond vSphere
VMware has perhaps done more than any other vendor to help virtualize data center workloads with its vSphere server virtualization technology. VMware is still pushing forward on server virtualization, but it is now the wider suite of management, server and cloud offerings that will push the company's earnings forward.
VMware reported its third quarter fiscal 2013 results late Monday, with revenue coming in at $1.29 billion, representing growth of 14 percent year-over-year. Net Income was reported at $261 million, up from the $157 million reported for the third quarter of 2012.
Looking forward, VMware provided fourth quarter fiscal 2013 guidance for fourth quarter revenue to range from $1.450 billion to $1.480 billion, for a growth rate of between approximately 12 percent to 14 percent.
"VMware continues to build momentum globally because we're uniquely positioned to help our customers transform to the mobile cloud era of computing," VMware CEO Pat Gelsinger said during his company's earnings call.
While VMware's early success was founded on its vSphere server virtualization platform, the company has expanded its offerings in recent years. VMware's Chief Financial Officer, Jonathan Chadwick, said that a significant portion of VMware's year-over-year bookings increase is a result of the company's success in the category of products beyond standalone vSphere.
VMware now has a long list of management, automation and cloud suites including vSphere with Operations Management (vSOM), vCloud Suite and the VMware Service Provider Program.
"In Q3, over 40 percent of our license bookings were from these product areas beyond the standalone vSphere," Chadwick said. "This figure is up from approximately 30 percent in Q3 of 2012 and reflects the significant uptake in our newer products, including the success of our suite strategy with vCloud Suites and vSOM."
VMware CEO Gelsinger noted that overall, the market for cloud management is really changing the entire way that IT is built and operated today. He commented that VMware still sees it as being the early days in the transition of cloud management tools replacing the overall way that IT management was done in the past.
"It's old versus new model for cloud management," Gelsinger said. "So in that context we say it's our first inning, maybe second, but certainly not more than that, as there is extraordinary amounts of installed management tools that are yet to be replaced."
Even in VMware's traditional sweet spot of server virtualization there is still room for growth. Carl Eschenbach, President and Chief Operating Officer of VMware, said during the call that there is still a rich opportunity going forward for the non-virtualized workloads that continue to exist. In his view, those workloads that have not yet been virtualized tend to be the most mission-critical Tier 1 applications.
Eschenbach said that as organizations look to virtualize the remaining workloads in their data center, they are looking for more high availability, business continuity and disaster recovery solutions.
"So wide adoption of the remaining workloads to a virtualized state maybe slower than that first 60 or 70 percent we have picked up over the last decade," Eschenbach said. "We actually see a significant up-sell opportunity as we grab to those mission-critical workloads in the future."
Sean Michael Kerner is a senior editor at Datamation and InternetNews.com. Follow him on Twitter @TechJournalist
Photo courtesy of Shutterstock.
Read more on "Server Virtualization Spotlight" »


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This was originally published on the TED Fellowship Blog
As 2013 inexorably rolls into 2014, social justice comedian and filmmaker Negin Farsad has a few choice words for the outgoing 365 days…
You started 2013 thinking it was gonna be a real hoot. There was an inauguration for a president, a bunch of balls, Beyoncé sang, spirits were high!
2013 had its moments! You saw the royal baby, the Kimye baby, the brilliant death of Walter White. You got a colorful iPhone, you started Instagramming your favorite cappuccinos, you actually used all the Pilates classes you got in that one Groupon. You gave up snark for smarm, you tried kale for the first time, and you finally replaced your desk chair with an exercise ball! You were doing GOOD.
But things got murky with ol' 2013. Take Miley Cyrus, she was suddenly full of haircuts, tongue gestures and twerking – or was it tweeking? Or was it butt-clapping? You resolved to keep better track of popular dance moves. But how could you? You hadn't logged onto Twitter in like a week! You may as well be dead. So you start furiously tweeting pithy one-liners about Carlos Danger, about crack smoking mayors, about Paula Deen hating black people, about fictional fat Santa's race.
You were super in love with Obama until his website didn't work immediately and then you were super mad at Obama. Your 3D printer keeps jamming, which is probably Obama's fault too. You ended up with health insurance but you were still inexplicably mad at the Prez.
You get excited because there might be a House vote on the immigration bill. No wait, there isn't. No wait, there is. No wait… You look at your toilet, you realized that by carting off your family's pooh throughout the year it has done more than all of Congress.
You try to figure out the rules on being gay – you can marry in some states (woo hoo!); not in others (boo!); you're welcomed as Olympic athletes in some countries (woo hoo!); shunned in others (boo!); beloved by the pope (woo hoo!); scorned by people who sell duck calls (boo!). The rules are too complicated so you ditch that and play Minecraft.
And pow! There's a government shutdown, bitches! You realize that little joke you made about Congress and your toilet is actually true! You also realize that apparently the US government ain't no match for the minority wing of an already unpopular political party that's obsessed with tea and three cornered hats. Hell no it isn't!
You learn that all your carefully crafted text messages, voicemails and cell phone calls were being saved, archived, tapped, reread, reviewed, and re-enjoyed all by the country's very own National Security Agency. You decide not to think about civil liberties or privacy or like "law" or whatever, and focus your attention on Edward Snowden, the dude with the laptops. Did you know he had a stripper girlfriend? Now there's something to post on Facebook!
Oh yes, Facebook's stock was down and then up again and… does it even matter? Because once you log on you're reminded that all of your friends have BETTER LIVES THAN YOU. They're au courant on Walking Dead episodes and have interesting thoughts on the morality of Snapchat. They post multitudinous photos of the kind of joy you couldn't possibly ever achieve because you're single with no kids or because you have too many children or because you hate your husband or because you're divorced and plan on hating all future women… Aw man! 2013 has you feeling like garbage.
But forget 2013, it just soiled itself. Its like the last one left at the party, it won't get the hint. The hosts are already clearing out the empty bottles. Its time for it to go! 2013 is goosed, it's cooked, its burnt on one side, it will never taste good in these buns, gah!
But here comes 2014 and 2014 is the year you're going to remember to vote, to jog, to care, to be fair. You're gonna clean the gutters and stand on the side of justice and you're not gonna let Ted Cruz or the NSA or duck hunters keep you down. You're gonna get all inspire-y like Malala, you're gonna get in the trenches like Madiba. This is your year to throw on your Google Glass, punch the boogeyman in the dick, and tell all them schmos to tread lightly 'cause 2014 is about to Turn. This. All. Around.


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There is a thick stack of beautifully-produced glossy pamphlets depicting fall leaves and smiling good-looking young people and gothic architecture on my kitchen counter. So many that they continuously slide around and fall off onto the floor to be chewed on by Max the family dog and stepped on by most everybody else. And more arrive everyday: a continuous stream of personalized correspondences proclaiming "Hey Nick" and "Fit is Everything" and "Rocky Says Yes" and "Your Future is Now."
It can only mean one thing. And anybody who has a kid who's a junior or senior in high schools knows just what it is:
It's time to apply to college.
I must admit, it's been a while since I did any applying to schools—the last time being over fifteen years ago when I applied to doctoral programs. It's been almost thirty years since I applied to undergrad, and even then I only applied to one school.
There may have been a few brochures here and there, but certainly nothing to compare with the mass of publications that seem to be single-handedly keeping the US Postal Service in business.
Ah, there's the applicable term in all of this: business.
College, for better or worse, has become a business, and like all businesses, it relies on advertisement.
Ergo the huge stack of pamphlets overtaking the counter.
For even in this age of digital technology and social media, not to mention limited resources of both the natural and economic kind, colleges are still heavily invested in print. And nice print at that: thick glossy paper with lots of color and professional graphic design. Some even send short books, paperbacks that are designed more like travel guides than college brochures.
But don't get me wrong, there's heavy investment in digital media as well, from emails and Facebook messages to Tweets and IM and who knows what else. And even phone messages from personal Admissions advisors and perky college students extolling the joys of going to Whatever U or This-and-That State.
Throw in the fact that my son wants to play Soccer, most probably in Division II or III or perhaps even NAIA, and you have another aspect to deal with. College coaches (though limited in how much contact they can have) sending texts or leaving phone messages. Recruiting companies selling their services. College Showcases here; ID Camps there. Recruiting forms to fill out and highlight videos to make.
And if you add something else like band or the International Baccalaureate program, then it all gets multiplied exponentially.
Schools we've never heard of contacting us and sending materials. Like Finlandia, which is not quite all the way in Finland, but it's close (Upper Peninsula Michigan on Lake Superior). Or Lutheran Schools of every Synod imaginable—evidently, when you apply to one Lutheran School, they tell two friends, who tell two friends, and so on and so on, until the thought occurs that maybe we'll convert to Islam just to stop the obscene amount of materials coming from Lutheran schools alone.
And God forbid your student played a highly coveted instrument in the band. Like the Euphonium (the what? I know; it's a fancy baritone). On a recent college visit to the corn fields of Nebraska my son met with the band director, even though he has little to no inclination to continue playing in college. When asked by a few band students in the music building what instrument he played, the opening of their eyes was only exceeded by the gaping of their mouths as they sat there drooling, barely able to contain their joy: "Euphonium? You play the Euphonium?" Even the band director could not completely hide his emotion (I still swear I saw a little tear in his eye as he spoke), promising the chance at several thousand dollars in scholarship without even the requirement of a music major or minor. "Just a couple of practices a week and concerts a few times a year."
In real estate, they call this a "buyers market."
The fact of the matter is that colleges and universities need students way more than students need colleges and universities.
By that I don't mean to denigrate a college education, only that the supply seems to be outpacing the demand. And the skyrocketing cost of a higher education isn't helping, as schools vie for the attention and tuition of students who have many choices, from traditional to online.
College is expensive, the College Board recently reporting that the average total cost (including room and board) for a four-year in-state public school is $18,493.00 per year, and $32,762.00 for out-of-state. Cost for the average private school is $42,419.00.
And with such high dollar amounts and a plethora of choices comes the need to stand out. To show how these amenities or those services provide the best fit or opportunity or quality of life or whatever. Hence the need to sell; the need to advertise. The need for all those %@#& pamphlets and brochures.
Gone are the days when colleges and universities just offered an education to students. Now, like everything else, we offer services to a clientele: a product, a lifestyle, a brand.
I don't know if, in the long run, this is a good or a bad thing. After all, one benefit is the opportunity of higher education to a broader range of students. Of course, one of the drawbacks is the oppressive student debt that a generation of students has racked up since we shifted paradigms from mostly grants to mostly loans several decades ago.
College is big business now, and not just the athletic programs with sponsorship and television deals. It's big business for academics too. And let's not kid ourselves: given the amount of money that the government receives from interest rates, it's big business for the federal government as well.
And big business means big advertising. And creating demand. And promoting a brand. And selling series.
Which in term means lots and lots of slick pamphlets and shiny brochures collecting on the counter.


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Hedging QE3 bets, 52% say Fed won't act after allSeptember 11, 2012: 11:24 AM ET
This week's Federal Reserve meeting is front and center, with many still on the fence about whether or not the central bank will announce any new stimulus measures.
More specifically, investors have remained divided about a third round of bond buying, or quantitative easing, by the central bank.
A little more than half (52%) of the 13,000 respondents to a CNNMoney poll say they don't think the Fed will announce so-called QE3 when it wraps up its two-day meeting Thursday afternoon.
That's similar to what a lot of market strategists and economists have been saying. By and large, they think the Fed will probably announce some form of stimulus. But they pretty overwhelmingly don't think the market actually needs it.
Related: Jobs report may have forced Bernanke's hand
QE3 hopes were raised over the past two weeks -- first by Fed chief Ben Bernanke's Jackson Hole speech, where he laid out his case for more stimulus. And last week's disappointing jobs numbers raised the stakes even higher.
But with the November election right around the corner and worries about the U.S. economy falling off the fiscal cliff, many are starting to hedge their bets.
As the 'will they or won't they' debate rages on, investors are unwilling to make any big moves in markets around the world. Stocks in Europe and Asia were mixed in a narrow range Tuesday. In the United States, investors were also loathe to place any big bets, with stocks holding onto modest gains.


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Dear Sgt. Shaft:
My ex-husband served in the Army for two to three years. I was married to him for 11 years. Am I entitled to any VA benefits? I was recently diagnosed with an autoimmune disease and was wondering if I am entitled to medical benefits.
Thank you, Marilyn Via the Internet
Dear Marilyn:
The answer provided to me by the Department of Veterans Affairs is that you are not entitled to any benefits based on the service of your former husband.
Shaft notes
• Kudos to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki who recently announced the award of $299,056,370 in homeless prevention grants to 319 community agencies in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
Several private, nonprofit agencies in the Washington DC VA Medical Center's catchment area of D.C., Northern Virginia and Southern Maryland will receive a large portion of the grants to provide services to very low-income veteran families living in — or transitioning to — permanent housing.
"With these grants, we are strengthening our partnerships with community nonprofits across the country to provide veterans and their families with hope, a home and a future," Mr. Shinseki said.
"The work of Supportive Services for Veteran Families (SSVF) program grantees has already helped us prevent and end homelessness among tens of thousands of homeless veterans and their families, but as long as a single veteran lives on our streets, we have work to do," he said.
Local organizations such as: Community Partnership for the Prevention of Homelessness, Three Oaks Homeless Shelter, Community Council for the Homeless at Friendship Place, Housing Counseling Services, U.S. Veterans Initiative and Operation Renewed Hope will receive a total of $6,708,179 to serve approximately 2,000 homeless and at-risk veteran families.
These community organizations will provide a range of services that promote housing stability and play a key role in connecting veterans and their family members to VA services such as mental-health care and other benefits.
Community-based groups can offer temporary financial assistance on behalf of veterans for rent payments, utility payments, security deposits and moving costs.
This is the third year that the Department of Veterans Affairs has provided the SSVF grants. Last year, VA provided about $100 million to assist approximately 50,000 veterans and family members.
The grants are intended to help Veterans Affairs accomplish its goal of ending homelessness among veterans by the year 2015.
Veteran homelessness has declined 17.2 percent since 2009, according to the 2012 Point-in-Time Estimates of Homelessness.
Through the homeless veterans initiative, VA committed more than $1 billion in fiscal year 2013 to strengthen programs that prevent and end homelessness among veterans.
• The Military Officers Association of America (MOAA) warns Washington's lack of progress to repeal ongoing budget sequestration actions will threaten the fundamental capabilities of our nation's armed forces amid an ongoing war.
"Threatened sequestration budget cuts under the 2011 Budget Control Act were designed to be so onerous, so senseless, that a budget deal would have to be struck to prevent mindless budget slashing targeting the Department of Defense to take 50 percent of the cuts," MOAA President Vice Adm. Norbert R. Ryan Jr. said.
"Yet a budget deal was never reached. Here we are, halfway through the first year of cuts, and there is woefully little discussion or movement toward securing a bipartisan agreement to avoid harmful sequestration effects for not only fiscal year 2014, but for the next nine years," he said.
Without an agreement, the Pentagon faces yet another $52 billion in across-the-board cuts in fiscal year 2014 alone.
"Unfortunately, media outlets make it appear that sequestration has had little or no impact. The Washington Post recently ran an article, 'Budget Cuts, But No Chaos,' stating sequestration was milder than forecasted," Vice Adm. Ryan said. "MOAA completely disagrees with these perceptions. People are going to suffer long-term morale problems across the DOD community; including DOD civilians, as well as uniformed service members and their families."
Vice Adm. Ryan said MOAA members report sequestration is already taking a toll on our military families who have endured more than 12 long years of war. Families are genuinely worried and anxiety is building as there is no immediate resolution in sight.
Children in defense schools will lose five instructional days at the beginning of the 2013-14 school year alone. Commissaries are closing more days per week, which affects all families, but especially those overseas.
Summer recreational facilities and programs have been cut back or canceled. Many parents rely on these programs heavily to balance the needs of their families.
Families say ignoring the impact on their morale is simply callous.
Additionally, for the past several months, the nation's military readiness has suffered and will continue to diminish if nothing is done.
The Air Force has already slashed flying hours by 30-percent, greatly reducing the opportunity to maintain pilot proficiency.
The Navy has canceled the deployment of at least six ships and renegotiated critical procurement contracts.
And if sequestration continues, the Army and Marine Corps will likely see additional large personnel force cuts.
The Pentagon has imposed 11-day furloughs affecting more than 600,000 DOD civilian employees and TRICARE is expected to run out of money in August, so health care access for more than 9.6 million beneficiaries will be reduced.
Recently, the Senate Armed Services Chairman Carl Levin, Michigan Democrat, and ranking member James M. Inhofe, Oklahoma Republican, asked DOD to outline what future cuts might have to take place.
On July 10, Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel released a statement that outlines the following harmful impacts if sequestration remains in effect for fiscal year 2014:
* Acceleration of force drawdowns; * Reductions in flying hours and training drills; * 10-percent reductions in operations and maintenance accounts; * 15- to 20-percent cuts in modernization accounts; * Involuntary reductions-in-force to cut civilian personnel costs * Hiring freezes; * Halting all accessions; * Ending all permanent-change-of-station moves; * Stopping discretionary bonuses; * Freezing all promotions.
• Send letters to Sgt. Shaft, c/o John Fales, P.O. Box 65900, Washington, D.C. 20035-5900; fax 301/622-3330, call 202/257-5446 or email firstname.lastname@example.com.


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VIDEO DOWNLOAD - Old School with Savio Vega
On this edition of Old School, Savio Vega sits down with Steve Corino for an explosive interview. They trace Savio's roots growing up in Puerto Rico, going to work for Carlos Colon and becoming T.N.T.
Savio also gives a detailed account of what he saw the night Bruiser Brody was killed and how it affected the territory. The also talk about Savio leaving the WWC and forming the IWA and the heat that caused with Carlos. You don't want to miss this island style edition of Old School with Steve Corino.
Topics Include:
- Growing up in Puerto Rico
- Bruiser Brody
- Jumping from WWC
- IWA Puerto Rico
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Yes, I've talked before about how incredible it is to see all my favorite superheroes band together in one single film. In some ways it's almost become such a familiar occurrence, that I barely think of how awesome it is. For instance when Captain America shows up in Thor 2 - yes, it was cool - but considering how Marvel Studios has run things, it was almost expected.
And that's really where we are, it's cool to see all of them. Literally all of them, in one movie. But do we really appreciate how amazing it is? And do we really appreciate how impressive it is to do that, and not have a movie that sucks? Because Avengers 2 definitely didn't suck.
Yes, it was not as surprisingly good as Captain America: The Winter Soldier. And it wasn't as fun as Guardians of the Galaxy. But I feel that that isn't the idea of the Avengers movies either.
The idea of the Avengers movies is to gather all of them, and have cool fight scenes and explosions and stuff. Have buildings collapse, have skyscrapers collapse, have entire cities collapse. Stuff like that. And all the while ALL OF THEM are looking cool, while doing cool stuff. And it's just so damn awesome to see the Marvel cinematic universe in this place, where it's familiar, expected and natural. And that's the strength of Avengers: Age of Ultron.
It's like reading a Marvel comic book, but in cinema.
It's like reading a Marvel comic book, but in cinema.
Yes, I could talk about details, and there were tons of them in this movie. Interaction between Ultron and Vision, interaction between Hulk and Black Widow. Interaction between Tony and almost everyone else. Most of the stuff involving Hawkeye. It seems they wanted to round out a few characters a bit more than they have done in previous movies, and it works fairly well. But this movie is about seeing all of them together, and explosions.
Ok, some details. Holy shit, Vision! I like. Hulk riding a Quinjet alone made an impact for some reason. Ending shows promises, but also challenges for Marvel Studios. Post credits scene somewhat boring, but not necessarily bad. Also, regarding Hawkeye, thank god they didn't follow Ultimates storyline, or I would never be able to drag my girlfriend to another Marvel movie. Ok, that last one may have been a spoiler.
Marvel is at an impressive - and some what dominating position these days, and I just fear they won't be able to keep up the pace, and that they won't put as much effort into the "individual" movies as they have done so far. If they do continue to make an effort, I'll gladly accept the occasionally mindless, but still glorious action from future Avengers movies.


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Participation in INI programmes is by invitation only. Anyone wishing to apply to participate in the associated workshop(s) should use the relevant workshop application form.
Scientific Advisors: Monique Laurent (CWI, Amsterdam & Tilburg) and Kurt Anstreicher (Iowa)
Programme Theme
Optimisation problems involving polynomials arise in a wide variety of contexts, including operational research, statistics, probability, finance, computer science, structural engineering, statistical physics, combinatorial chemistry, computational biology and algorithmic graph theory. They are however extremely challenging to solve, both in theory and practice. Existing algorithms and software are capable of solving only very small instances to proven optimality, unless they have some amenable structure, such as sparsity or convexity.
A fascinating feature of polynomial optimisation is that it can be approached from several different directions. In addition to traditional techniques drawn from operational research, computer science and numerical analysis, new techniques have recently emerged based on concepts taken from algebraic geometry, commutative algebra and moment theory. In this regard, polynomial optimisation provides a valuable opportunity for researchers from previously unrelated disciplines to work together.
The plan for this four-week programme is as follows. During the first week (15th-19th July 2013), there will be a "summer school and workshop", which are open not only to official programme participants, but also to other interested academics, PhD students and post-doctoral researchers.
The following three weeks will be open only to invited persons. Each of the three weeks will focus on a specific sub-topic:
1. Algebraic Approaches (22nd-26th July 2013). This will concern the development of new theory and algorithms based on techniques from relevant areas of pure mathematics, such as real algebraic geometry, commutative and noncommutative algebra, moment theory and the theory of sums-of-squares representations.
2. Convex Relaxations and Approximations (29th July-2nd August). This will be devoted to the study of convex relaxations (and hierarchies of relaxations) of certain important specially-structured problem classes, along with associated approximation algorithms (and inapproximability results).
3. Algorithms and Software (5th-9th August). This will be devoted to the development of new algorithms and their implementation as software. This may include, for example, algorithms for computing lower and upper bounds, algorithms for generating strong valid inequalities, and algorithms for solving instances to proven optimality.
Please Note: The list of Invited Participants only includes people who plan to attend during the last three weeks of the programme. For a list of participants in the summer school and workshop, please see the event's Participants page.


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Privacy has long been a moving target, thanks to technology.
For much of humanity's history, privacy referred to the physical environment — who can see or hear you. Consider one of the most famous law review articles, called "The Right To Privacy," penned in 1890 by Samuel Warren and future Supreme Court justice Louis Brandeis.
The matter at hand was the invention of instant photo cameras, which turned private meetings into potentially semi-public or fully public ones, says Alessandro Acquisti, a professor at the Heinz College at Carnegie Mellon University.
These days, much of what we used to do privately isn't that private. We wear step-counting trackers. We document our meals, gatherings and whereabouts online. We let giant tech companies into our homes through voice-activated home assistants.
Our boundaries have evolved, and "privacy" has become a term more tightly associated with our digital selves: the troves of data, the bits of our identities and activities, sprinkled through a myriad of databases.
Now, the physical and digital are merging in the shape of Amazon Key, rolling out on Wednesday. The new product from the retail giant allows delivery couriers to drop packages inside homes.
The $250 "smart" lock is linked to Amazon's Cloud Cam, which gets installed inside near the door. The pitch is convenience and, in fact, security: You can watch the courier enter the house on your phone, or use the lock to grant access to, say, a dog walker or cleaning crew.
This follows a similar pitch from a company called Latch, which makes keyless "smart" locks. It has has partnered with Walmart's Jet.com to get packages into apartment buildings.
From the companies' perspective, in-home deliveries are a solution to the problem of package theft.
"As a researcher, I am fascinated and curious to see indeed how many consumers will take advantage" of Amazon Key, says Acquisti, "because that will tell us something interesting about, to what extent we now trust corporations with both our digital data and our very real, very off-line, very physical lives, such as the entrance to your house?"
Amazon Key's intrusiveness — what with the camera inside your home and software controlling your door — faced skepticism as soon as it was announced in October.
A Washington Post opinion column proclaimed it "Silicon Valley at its most out-of-touch." Satirical newspaper The Onion ran with, "Popular New Amazon Service Just Comes To Your House And Kills You." Several polls found a majority of Americans uncomfortable with the in-home delivery offer.
But, as Acquisti puts it, we are constantly redrawing the boundaries of what we consider private.
"You can imagine a scenario where — someone who already has an Alexa (Amazon's home assistant) and they are already comfortable with Amazon collecting information about their behavior and preferences," says Mary Madden, a privacy researcher at the Data & Society Research Institute.
Plus, there are other well-studied factors: We feel more comfortable revealing private details when we see other people in our circle doing it, and we do it more readily in a pinch — when you really need the app or the service and the company doesn't give you an easy out.
Already observers are saying that Amazon Key could trigger the same major cultural shift — as Uber did for willingness to get into strangers' cars, or Airbnb did for staying at strangers' houses.
To Madden, who is leery of Amazon Key, the major question is who's driving the cultural shift: Is it consumers demanding to trade off private details for more convenience, or companies making it very hard to resist?
"I don't think people are necessarily making fully informed decisions about all the implications of the use of (their) data. And I don't think they reasonably can," she says. Acquisti's research cleverly refers to this idea — consumers' efforts to stay on top of their own data privacy as companies keep pushing the envelope — as the task for "a modern Sisyphus."
"We are in a time," says Madden, "where even people who study these issues for a living can't keep up with all of the potential uses and implications."
Today, Amazon is rolling out Amazon Key. It's a high-tech solution for allowing packages to be delivered inside your home when you're gone. NPR's Alina Selyukh reports on what that technology says about our views of privacy and convenience.
ALINA SELYUKH, BYLINE: If you think about the most basic way that people separate their public and private lives, it's a door, especially the door to your house.
MARY MADDEN: Hi, Alina. Welcome.
SELYUKH: How are you doing?
I'm stepping out of a rainy street into the home of Mary Madden. She studies digital privacy at the Data and Society Research Institute, and she points out something interesting about our digital lives.
MADDEN: We used to think of privacy and security as quite separate concepts. And increasingly, the two are becoming more closely associated and, in some cases, completely overlapping.
SELYUKH: Think of it this way. In the physical world, you trust that your front door will help keep your life private but also secure. Lately we've been trusting companies to do the same on the Internet. And now Amazon is asking for the actual key to that front door.
UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: As an Amazon Prime member, you'll now be able to use Amazon Key, a new service that enables in-home delivery.
SELYUKH: Amazon Key is an Internet-connected door lock linked with an Internet-connected camera that you put inside your house. The pitch is convenience. You can make sure your purchases don't get stolen or use the smart lock to let other people in remotely, like your dog walker.
MADDEN: It's easy to see the ways in which some of these technologies will make life more convenient. It's not always easy to see the risks that they may present down the road.
SELYUKH: With Amazon Key, these risks are both digital and physical. Amazon's camera lets you see who's coming in, but it's also software that opens your door. Software can be hacked. And a Wi-Fi-connected camera is only as secure as the Wi-Fi connection it's on. Plus, it's more ways for Amazon to learn about you.
MADDEN: People tend to assume that there are a lot more restrictions around what companies can and can't do than there actually are.
SELYUKH: Privacy researchers have been watching how trust is evolving. A Carnegie Mellon study a few years back tracked how people were cutting back on details they posted publicly while posting even more of them in their friend circles without thinking of Facebook and other apps silently listening in. These days, we've got voice-activated assistance learning about us inside our homes. And now there is an Amazon camera.
MADDEN: We are in a time where even people who study (laughter) these issues for a living can't keep up with all of the potential uses and implications.
SELYUKH: And Amazon Key will be one test for just how much we trust a company with access to our front door. Alina Selyukh, NPR News. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.


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How New Internet Spying Laws Will Actually ENABLE Stalkers, Spammers, Phishers And, Yes, Pedophiles & Terrorists
from the not-as-simple-as-you-might-think dept
There's proposed legislation in the US (sponsored by Lamar Smith) and in Canada (sponsored by Vic Toews) and in the UK that uses various flimsy justifications for the mass collection of data on telecommunications users. The data covered by these proposals varies, but includes things like URLs, phone calls, text/instant/email messages, and other forms of communication. Some of this proposed legislation deals with communication metadata, e.g., sender, recipient, time, etc.; some of it deals with communication content, e.g., the full text of messages.
I'm going to gloss over the specifics for two reasons: first, they've been covered exhaustively elsewhere, and second, I think it's an absolute certainty that whatever these proposals contain, the next ones will contain more.
The putative reasons given for these proposals are the usual Four Horseman of the Infocalypse: terrorists, pedophiles, drug dealers, and money launderers. One would think, given the hysteria being whipped up by the proponents of these bills, that one could hardly walk down the street without being offered raw heroin by a grenade-throwing child pornographer carrying currency from 19 different countries.
Of course, everyone who's actually studied terrorists, pedophiles, drug dealers and money launderers in the context of telecommunications knows full well that nothing in these bills will actually help deal with them. The very bad people who are seriously into these pursuits are not stupid, and they're not naive: they use firewalls, encryption, and tunneling. They use strong operating systems and robust application software. They use rigorous procedures guided by a strong sense of self-preservation and appropriate paranoia. They're not very likely to be caught by any of the measures in these bills because they'll (a) read the text and (b) evade the enumerated measures.
Yes, there are occasional exceptions: every now and then, a clueless newbie or a careless dilettante turns up when they're caught. And of course when that happens, there's always a press conference announcing the event, and many claims that it's a "major blow against crime" and a flood of self-congratulatory press releases. But it doesn't mean anything, except that someone was either stupid...or careless...or was set up.
The unpleasant reality that these bills are trying to avoid is that catching very bad people requires diligence, patience, expertise and intelligence, aka "competent police work." There's no substitute and there are no shortcuts. This means that these bills will achieve very few of their stated goals; that is, the benefit to society from them will be minimal, if any.
But what about the cost?
I don't mean the financial cost, although that will be high -- much higher than those proposing such legislation are prepared to admit; I mean the cost to society as a whole.
If such legislation passes, then everyone will know that every ISP is building a database -- a highly useful database for very bad people. It's the sort of thing that some very bad people have been trying to construct for years, often at considerable expense and effort. How very nice of someone else to build it for them, saving them the cost and trouble -- because they, and/or their agents, will of course target it for acquisition. And given the parade of security breaches and dataloss incidents we see on a daily basis, it's certain they'll get it. (My bet is that they'll get it before it's even finished. Any takers?)
There's an old military saying -- a bit of inter-service trash talk: "The Air Force builds weapons; the Navy builds targets".
Politicians who propose such measures appear to be thinking that they're building a weapon -- a weapon that law enforcement agencies can use to pursue people who've committed, or are suspected of committing, crimes. But they're not. They're building a target. They're building the mother lode for stalkers, pedophiles, spammers, identity thieves, child pornographers, blackmailers, extortionists, and yes -- terrorists. A Techdirt story just a few days ago gave some rather creepy examples of what Target's data mining can do...and they're just trying to sell you stuff. Imagine what very bad people are capable of, given far richer data and the rather obvious inclination to break the law at will.
What's worse than building a target? Telling everyone you're building a target. What's worse than telling everyone you're building a target? Telling everyone where it is. What's worse than telling everyone where it is? Telling them what's in it. Yet that's exactly what these bills would do: force the construction of a target, inform everyone that it exists, where it is, and what's in it.
I'm sure that the very bad people these bills allegedly target are delighted. I'll bet they're having a hard time not expressing their enthusiastic support. But my guess is that most of them will heed Napoleon's sage advice: "Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake."
I'm not the only one who's observed that these databases are targets, not weapons. So has Ontario Information and Privacy Commissioner Ann Cavoukian:
"This is going to be like the Fort Knox of information that the hackers and the real bad guys will want to go after. This is going to be a gold mine. [...] The government will say that they can protect the data, and they can encrypt it. Are you kidding me? The bad guys are always one step ahead."
But this is not the worst of it -- that is, the certainty that very bad people will find ways to acquire these databases and to correlate them with each other and with still more databases isn't the endgame.
Particularly talented intruders will not only get it, they'll monitor it in real time. How do you feel about someone knowing where you bank, that you've made three phone calls to stores today, and that you have a Visa card with the following number that you just used from a hotel room 300 miles from home? How do you feel about the web browsing of your teenage daughter being observed by someone who's also reading her instant messages and listening to her VOIP calls, and has the IP address she's using in her college dorm room?
And even this is STILL not the worst of it. Given the rampant Internet and computer illiteracy that we see every day out of law enforcement, private investigators, journalists, and others around the world -- such as the clueless people behind these bills -- it's only going to be a short time until "the logs say X" becomes semantically equivalent in the vernacular to "X is true". And it is at that point that some of the more talented very bad people won't just acquire this data: they'll modify it.
Filed Under: canada, data retention, lamar smith, lawful access, uk, us, vic toews


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Earthquake causes casualties and damages in eastern Myanmar
TitleEarthquake causes casualties and damages in eastern Myanmar
On 24 March 2011, an earthquake of magnitude 6.8 struck the eastern state of Shan in Myanmar, triggering six aftershocks to date and high risk of landslides. The latest official number of casualties has reached 73 deaths and 125 injuries, and an initial rapid assessment conducted by World Vision International (WVI) estimates that 95,000 people have been affected. Tremors were felt in northern parts of Thailand and even Bangkok.
The Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement has visited affected areas in and around Tacheleik Township, and the Minister himself is expected to visit with his team on 26 March. Local authorities are providing basic relief assistance, and the National Disaster Preparedness Central Committee has deployed search and rescue and relief teams.
Food, water, temporary shelter and basic first aid supplies are urgently needed, and the UN and NGOs have started assessments, mobilizing efforts and response. 224 houses, 11 monasteries and 11 official buildings have been damaged in Tarlay Sub-Township alone. WVI has distributed water and food assistance to affected households, a local WHO staff member is providing assistance to local health authorities, and UNICEF has deployed field staff to conduct a rapid assessment with the Myanmar Red Cross Society.
This is the third earthquake in Myanmar since the beginning of the year – the first hit on 4 February, the second on 10 March – and it is the first to result in damages and casualties. The Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Myanmar will be meeting key partners and donors on 26 March in Yangon.


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ROCHESTER, Mich. – Staff and students at North Hill Elementary School in Rochester will pay tribute to one of the victim's of the Navy Yard shooting victims Tuesday, by holding a flag lowering ceremony. Michael Arnold, 59, who is from Rochester, died along with 11 others when Aaron Alexis opened fire last month.
Arnold's brother is a fourth grade teacher at the school.
Alexis, 34, an information technology contractor and former full-time Navy reservist was killed in a confrontation with security.
Arnold was living in Lorton, Va., and was a Navy veteran and avid pilot. He was building his own plane that he planned on flying from Virginia to Michigan before his 60th birthday.
Arnold graduated from the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., and served in the Navy for 29 years, before retiring as a captain last October, according to an article in the Navy Supply Corps Newsletter.
Arnold went to Rochester High School. He had two master's degrees from the University of Washington in Seattle, then went to work for LMI, a consulting firm based in McLean, Va.
He worked on designing ships in the yard.
The other victims:
• Kathy Gaarde, 62, of Woodbridge, Virginia, took care of her 94-year-old mother until she died last year, said Douglass Gaarde, her husband of 38 years. She also loved animals and counted bluebirds for a local refuge.
A Chicago native, Gaarde graduated from Florida State University before moving to Washington 38 years ago, where she has been a longtime Washington Capitals season ticket holder.
Douglass Gaarde said he traded e-mails with his wife shortly before the shooting.
"That was the last I heard from her," he told CNN's Anderson Cooper.
"You know, at first you don't think it could happen to her. I mean, there's 3,000 people in there," he said. "But as it gets later in the day ... you know if she was able to get to the phone she would have called home."
Their daughter, Jessica Gaarde, said her mother was the type of person would do anything for anyone she loved.
"I want them (people) to know she lived. She is not a number, or some statistic," she told Cooper.
• John Roger Johnson, 73, of Derwood, Maryland, was an avid fisherman and Redskins fan, CNN affiliate WJLA reported.
His wife described him as an awesome human being.
"He always said, 'Goodbye beautiful, I love you so much,'" said Judy Johnson, according to WJLA. "I was very lucky, and very blessed to find the human being that I found in him."
Her husband "always had a smile on his face," one of his neighbors told The Washington Post, adding that Johnson had lived in the neighborhood for more than 30 years.
A civilian who worked for the Navy, Johnson was described as a "smart man."
"He loved children. He loved our grandchildren. No one could ask for a better neighbor," the neighbor told the newspaper.
• Arthur Daniels, 51, of southeast Washington, D.C., was married to Priscilla Daniels for 30 years. They had five children and nine grandchildren, according to WTTG-TV.
He worked at the Navy Yard as a handyman for 17 years and was on the fourth floor of Building 197 when the shooting began, his wife said.
Daniels loved his family, cooking and dancing to James Brown, WJLA said.
It was the second time a shooting tragedy took a family member from the Daniels.
Daniels' teenage son had lost his life in a similar way, The Washington Post reported. He was shot in the back while running from a gunman.
It happened four years ago, when their 14-year-old son was walking home from the Metro, the newspaper reported.
• Richard Michael Ridgell, 52, of Westminster, Maryland, had three daughters who prompted him to join Facebook so he could keep up with them, The Washington Post reported. A friend once teased him for having only three connections on the social media site.
He attended high school in Maryland and worked for the Maryland State Police until 2000, capping a 17-year career with the force, the newspaper reported.
Ridgell loved his work, his country and the Baltimore Ravens, CNN affiliate WJZ reported.
"I don't want people to remember him as a victim cause he never was in his life, and he never will be. He was strong. I want him to be known as a dad above a victim of a shooting, cause he was a great dad for all of us," his daughter, Megan Ridgell, told the network.
• Martin Bodrog, 54, of Annandale, Virginia, grew up in New Jersey, Indiana and Massachusetts and graduated from the Naval Academy in 1981 before serving 22 years in the military, where he received numerous awards and medals, according to a family statement. After his career, he oversaw the design and procurement of ships for the Navy.
Bodrog and his family (wife of 23 years, Melanie, and daughters Isabel, 23, Sophie, 17, and Rita, 16) taught Sunday school for preschoolers, and he was active in Young Life, a Christian outreach group for high school students.
It was common to see him, in all weather, wearing shorts and a Boston Bruins jersey, walking his dog and helping shovel snow out of his elderly neighbors' driveways.
"He was such a great man," Selma Nunes, a friend of Bodrog's, told CNN's Erin Burnett. "Everything he did was purposeful, meaningful, and was intentional, and because of that he did everything with excellence."
"So many people have regrets, and I can say with confidence that he lived the American dream," she said.
• Vishnu Bhalchandra Pandit, 61, of North Potomac, Maryland, had a stream of cars arriving at his home late Monday, neighbor Zhaohua Zhou told The Washington Post.
Mike Honig, another neighbor, described Pandit as "a very nice man with an Irish setter." He said Pandit and his wife had lived in the neighborhood for 20 years.
• Kenneth Bernard Proctor, 46, of Waldorf, Maryland, married his high school sweetheart. He and Evelyn were married 19 years before an amicable divorce this year. He still called her every morning before breakfast at the Navy Yard, where he worked as a civilian utilities foreman, Evelyn Proctor told the New York Daily News.
The Washington Redskins fan had two children with Evelyn: Kendull, 15, and Kenneth, 17. Kenneth is in Army basic training in Oklahoma, Evelyn Proctor told the newspaper, describing her ex-husband as "a very loving, caring, gentle person."
• Mary Francis Knight, 51, of Reston, Virginia, was an information technology contractor who had been in Washington for five years, her family told CNN affiliate WITN.
The daughter of a Green Beret and a native of Fayetteville, North Carolina, Knight had two daughters herself -- Nicole, who got married earlier this year, and Danielle, who lived with Knight.
Knight was also an adjunct professor at Northern Virginia Community College.
"She was a great patriot who loved her country and loved serving the USA," family spokesman Theodore Hisey told WITN.
• Gerald L. Read, 58, of Alexandria, Virginia, was an information assurance specialist in the Navy Sea Systems Command who spent much of his career in military law enforcement and as a systems analyst, according to The Washington Post. The former Army lieutenant with two master's degrees worked as a civilian at the Navy Yard, managing security risks related to data.
His wife of 35 years, Cathy, described him as a "totally reliable, really, really solid" husband who loved reading -- especially books about the Civil War -- and was close to his daughter and three grandchildren, according to the newspaper.
Read and his wife had been rescuing Labrador retrievers for a decade. The couple had three Labs, an Irish setter and two cats, but Read was most fond of his black Lab, Roderick, the paper reported.
• Sylvia Frasier, 53, of Waldorf, Maryland, was the second-youngest of seven children, The Washington Post reported. Her family gathered Monday inside a three-bedroom home waiting for news.
"No matter how we feel, no matter what information we get from the FBI, we have got to forgive," Wendy Edmonds, Frasier's sister, told the newspaper. "We have to forgive. We can't become bitter."
The family released a statement remembering Frasier as a loving person with an infectious smile.
"If there are any words to describe her, it would be faithful, family oriented, and dedicated professional," the statement said.
Frasier was a deaconess, altar counselor and member of the arts and music ministry at Rhema Christian Center Church.
"She was a friend to everyone she met and a stranger to no one," her family said. "The only hurt she caused us was the void that was left when she was snatched up prematurely and gone too soon."
• Frank Kohler, 50, of Tall Timbers, Maryland, was married with two daughters, according to Baynet.com. Kohler was a past president of the Lexington Park Rotary Club, and was once "King Oyster" at the group's oyster festival, the local news outlet reported.
The family has faced tragedy in recent years, a neighbor told Baynet. Their home burned down in a gas explosion but they rebuilt, the neighbor said.
"I have many good memories as Frank and I worked together at Lockheed Martin," Bob Allen, a friend and fellow Rotary club member, said on his Facebook page, according to Baynet. "He took my job at Oyster Festival in charge of beer stands, a Steeler fan, a golfer, a great family man, a Christian, and a great friend. Frank you will be missed by me and so many!"
Injuries: 8
At least eight other people were injured. Three were shot, including a woman who was struck in the head but survived. The bullet did not penetrate her skull, and she was released from the hospital Tuesday night.
The others suffered contusions and chest pain.


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Panna Cotta – Under Construction! {a little help over here…please!}
Okay readers. Clearly, I am in need of your help, your collective knowledge and wisdom, your trial and error experience with the seemingly simple (any-idiot-should-be-able-to-make-it) Italian dessert – panna cotta.
Don't get excited…I did not make this one…
I made this one. I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that a perfect panna cotta is not supposed to look like this…
Seriously…I've searched and searched for clues as to why it separated…and I can find none. I repeat…NONE! I followed the recipe exactly.
Okay not e-x-a-c-t-l-y…but very close. Instead of using vanilla, I used Meyer lemons as the flavoring, the juice and some of the zest. I bloomed the gelatin and heated the milk, stirred it altogether to make sure it was good and mixed…I poured it into little ramekins and let it cool a bit and then put them in the fridge.
(and what's worse…I served them to my in-laws who were visiting…who were more than polite and delved right in as if eating gelatinized milk with a weird-looking yellowish layer on top was nothing other than sheer delight – luckily they are good-humored individuals!)
It tasted fine as well…but the bi-level layering and the yellowish top layer was a bit hard to get past.
So what happened, huh?
Attempt number two is happening this afternoon…but, if that one doesn't turn out. I may have to throw in the panna cotta towel.
{I'm counting on you, readers, to pull me out of panna cotta hell and tell me what went wrong! Puh-lease!}
oh…and Happy Mother's Day!
I made a second batch yesterday afternoon using a Mark Bittman recipe for Vanilla Buttermilk Panna Cotta. The process varied quite a bit, and I was sure it would work out this time. Many have thought that my issue may have been caused by the acid in the lemon juice – but yesterday's recipe contained no lemon at all! I was feeling very confident and pulled one out of the fridge after dinner and dug my spoon in…only to find that once again…full separation.
At this point, panna cotta and I are in a fight…a big one, and currently, I'm holding a big grudge. We'll have to talk it over at some point but I think right now I need some space! GEEZ!
So I now request your help once again…or I'm going to start email-stalking Bittman himself until he discovers the error of my ways!


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