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TechnoMage by Dirk Bruere. Pub. Lulu, available from http://www.neopax.com/technomage/
It's extraordinary what can happen when a detailed and state-of-the-art knowledge of engineering, psychology, physics, exotic computing, neurophysiology, martial arts, psi experiments and a few less well-known or less respectable disciplines are blended with magic inside the same skull. Dirk Bruere put this book into my hands back in June last year and I've only just finished reading it. My reasons are: a) I find books on magic very hard to read, b) this is a large and complex book and c) there is some very, very interesting and important stuff in it.
At the start, the author asks: 'Who is this book aimed at? ... That rather rare breed who mix science, engineering and magick into what I have termed TechnoShamanism.' That comment earns points with me straightaway: Bruere is not claiming to be teaching anything about 'shamanism', thereby removing himself from the grotesque and dishonest feeding frenzy around that word. Yes, I'm taking yet another opportunity to excoriate that blurring of meaning, that devaluation of traditions the world over which sprouted from a certain epiphany, the realisation that one can make much more money (and fame) by teaching the sanitized mix called 'Core Shamanism' to gullible and cash-rich newagers than by languishing in the halls of Academe.
My first impression of TechnoMage was of its size: 400 (large) pages, and my next was of how crammed with information it is. It is hard to sum up what the mix of ideas is like: Bruere's thesis is that 'powerful magical techniques are a thing of the present and the future rather than the past'; he has built on the sceptical foundation of Chaos Magic, even retaining some of its exercises, but his book reads very differently to any CM book I've ever seen.
The first two chapters set the scene: Ch 1 is Semantics and Spells, and Ch 2 is Science and Magic, and it is here that he defines the underlying assumptions of his TechnoShamanism:
'Reality lies in Mind and Consciousness
Belief is everything
Perceived Reality is fluid and conditional
The Subjective and Objective are equally real
Space and Time are illusions'
OK, I wouldn't unreservedly subscribe to all those positions myself, especially not the final one, but we're definitely in the land of magic. His definitions of buzz-words like 'multiverse' are refreshingly rigorous; it struck me that the author is walking behind Chaos Magic tidying up all the half-defined notions that launched us out from the boring old Newtonian world.
Much of this reads like a science lesson for magicians, or perhaps more accurately, a lesson in the languages of science and magic for intellectuals; here I use that word positively, to mean one who delights in thinking to some depth, marginalized of course by our infantilizing culture. Magicians should be the most intelligent people in a culture, and Bruere asks good questions. Some of the science stuff may even empower our magic - after all, if it seems to do so, then it does.
Of course, this Science stuff doesn't delight every magician, but if it is your thing, this chapter will really do it for you: Bruere is out there with the weirdest notions: the relatively tame Einstein's Brain paradox, the identity paradox that underlies Greg Egan's tremendous novel 'Permutation City', and then the really mad stuff, like Max Tegmark's 'All Universes Hypothesis', a notion so counter-intuitive and, as far as I can see, so out-to-lunch, that we may as well declare that, under its moderately convincing layer of dusty regolith, the moon really is made of green cheese.
With Ch3, Psi and the Occult, we plunge into the retro-land of post-Victorian spiritism, the Scoles experiment. Funny really, you have this group who are determined to prove there's something objectively interesting about the results they get, but they insist on sitting in the dark. And they have crystals on the table, which, ipso facto, directs our attention to the far end of the credulity spectrum. Something extraordinary did happen - but probably not contact with any ET called Manu. Mr Bruere is of a similar mind to me on this, and concludes that 'belief is everything'. He makes a superbly original examination of where the energy for 'psychic' manifestations comes from, and speculates that it might be driven ultimately by temperature differentials: somehow, energy is extracted from the surroundings against the normal thermodynamic gradient. This would be a great trick on a larger scale - the perfect renewable energy scheme!
This chapter also features the PK Party, where you get fifteen or so people into the right state and all start bending cutlery. This is something I really want to try. He looks at Remote Healing, a popular area, and one in which my current course at Arcanorium College are building up to experimenting in, in a couple of weeks.
Bruere is not alone in debunking the ludicrous notion that UFO abductions are, even when 'real' to the 'abductee', even remotely likely to be anything to do with extraterrestrials, but it's unusual and valuable to read anyone who has time for subtle energies or UFOs but who hasn't also got some flaky axe to grind. His speculations about working with the Ultraterrestrials, the notional non-humans behind the highest-energy ET type manifestations, remind me of the work of Dr John Dee and his dodgy skryer Edward Kelly - men engaging with entities so powerful and capricious it matters little whether they are angels or demons. And one of his ideas struck me with a special personal resonance: 'Temporal effects are apparently maximized by closed loops between past and future.' My experience of working with models of higher consciousness - using both the HGA and the Wode-Fetch complex models - bears this out, over a timescale of 40 years. Maybe one day I'll elaborate on the story I started telling in Chaotopia!.
Chapter 4, Gods and Demons, introduces Marvin Minsky's fascinating 'Society of Mind' model, in which our intelligence and awareness emerge from a collective of sub-functions, one consequence of which is that we have many channels of possible input, all of which we need to use in order to do effective magic. This concept, together with Dawkins's Memetics, and Jung's Archetypes, forms a framework for a discussion of entities, in which he combines memes, Agents and Archetypes into a set of equations, which may or may not be your thing. On the Ouija Board, he is the only writer I've read who, having ruled out outright fraud and sensibly dismissed the notion that there's really any dead persons moving the planchette round, remarks on the much more interesting notion that what is going on is an astonishing degree of unconscious collusion.
Chapter 5 covers Hypnosis, and is a good rundown on the subject, including fascinating references to Hilgard's Hidden Observer experiment, and its implications for the reality (or unreality) of the self. Chapter 6, Mind Tools, examines remote hypnotism, sensory deprivation and 'brainwashing', culminating in a useful set of instructions for running your own cult. In Chapter 7, Subliminals, he includes NLP, sigils and 'hypersigils'.
Ch 8 is titled Psi and Science, and this is great stuff for those who are interested in indications of the reality of psi effects. He goes into experiments which have interesting and important consequences for magic, but seldom get written up in books on the subject, like the Princeton Engineering Anomalies Research programme, in which psychokinesis on random event generators was tested, and, according to Bruere's comments, proven.
Ch 9, the Electromagnetic Domain, covers transcranial magnetic stimulation, the technique that first gained renown in the hands of Michael Persinger, of 'god-helmet' fame. Even more impressive is the link between hauntings and magnetic field variations shown by Richard Wiseman's studies. Might this amount to a physiological basis for the Devereux 'earthlights' hypothesis, in which intense geomagnetic/ electric fields seem to cause an ESC which would account for UFO abduction memories?
Ley-lines and poltergeists, hauntings and UFO abductions, are all connected via electromagnetism (EM) and presence-sensing 'organs' in the brain. Bruere relates this kind of sensitivity to the notion that Elves do not like iron, which may smooth out local EM variations, cutting off our perceptions of this other realm.
This is one of the points where, despite his determined search for physical explanations of psychic phenomena, the author demonstrates that he is not a simple reductionist. I get the impression that he is well up for exploring these realms.
This chapter contains some of the scariest stuff. Bruere comments: 'The governments of Earth are moving into what was previously 'our' space', the mental', and he mentions in passing the infamous mind-rape programs which elements of the US (so-called) intelligence community perpetrated on its citizens, using drugs, until, apparently, they found electromagnetic systems that mashed people's brains up just as well. He examines the possibility of the induction of psychoactive effects in a whole neighbourhood, by introducing rhythmic spikes into the power supply. This is genuine modern 'black' magic, in the old-school sense of 'very bad for humans and other living things'.
In Ch 10, Machines, we are treated to a classification ranging from the dowser's forked twig, via using fast channel changers for divination, to the modern necromancy of the Psychomanteum.
In Ch 11, The Great Work, Bruere shows his Transhumanist hand, defining that philosophy as 'using our technologies to transform ourselves into Beings that transcend the merely Human. To extend the capabilities of our minds, bodies and spirits to such a degree that we become as gods...'. Setting his Transhumanism against the 'overt atheism' of the organized movement, he sees that 'Transhumanism can be seen as a manifestation of an ancient spiritual force.' In that, I'm with him. However, his thoughts then take a rather quirky turn: after a quick historical review of the insane vileness of Yahweh's minions, he utilizes a Christian mythological perspective in a Gnostic-like exposition which leads up to how come the Transhumanist Association (TH) ended up borrowing the 8-rayed Star of Chaos for their logo.
He goes on to examine some of the core projects of the TH. It always reminds me how unequal a world we live in when people talk about life extension as if it's going to be available to everyone. The author writes: 'For those who are children now, I make this prediction - you will never die of old age. Your death will be by disease, accident or violence. It will not be 'natural'.'
I agree, reluctantly: unless you are 20 and already a billionaire, you will probably die in a stinking favela from a fight over a cup of clean water, or from one of the new diseases that will rip through the swarming 60 billion the author seems comfortable with as a future population. No doubt, if a critical mass of humans and technology can survive the coming century, then we will no doubt achieve the wonders Bruere - and I - dream of. But, to get a bit more work out of the Christian metaphor, it's looking like we'll have to cross Hell first. However, I'm inclined to think he's right about one thing: we humans have to change ourselves, or face extinction.
The final Chapter, 12, is called Fermi, Doom and Simulation, and starts from the premise that there is something deeply flawed about our view of reality. In support of this, he discusses the famous Fermi Paradox - what happened to all the extraterrestrials? What is so privileged about human life on earth that we never see any aliens? I agree that this paradox presents serious problems, and Bruere outlines some of the most interesting solutions, including the one that we already live in a simulation, a concept explored by Ramsey Dukes in his novel 'Words Made Flesh' and in some of his essays. In fact, the ideas are so similar that it does seem that the theorist whom Bruere quotes, N. Bostrom, must have nicked Dukes's concept of The Johnstone Paradox and renamed it - Bostrom is quoted as writing in 2003, and Dukes (under one of his other noms de plume) wrote about his version in the 1970s. Bruere does a good job on this - his thinking, once again, is thorough, even exhaustive, and he digs right down into the paradoxes of simulation, including the intriguing notion that the person who is running the simulation is our own True Self.
This leads on to asking the question: How can we crash the simulation and view the next level of reality?, and one of Bruere's best answers speculates that we are doing something rather like that when we practice being aware:
'...by exercising our Will and forcing ourselves, and those around us, to act and think in what Buddhists call a Mindful manner we soak up available processing power and drain it from the world around us. This in turn renders our perceived reality far more malleable and fluid.'
To conclude, what is significant about this book? Looking particularly at the Appendices, it seems the author has embraced a kind of 'completism', an encyclopaedic ideal. He does in fact warn in the Intro that 'each chapter can be considered as a condensation of the core information of several books, or research publications, in the area it covers.'
This could be thought of as the book Chaos Magic has been waiting for the birth of, having fathered it in an unnatural liaison with forbidden mutant technology. In some ways, this might be the most important book on magic published for years.
On the downside, it is a large book, and for all its virtues, is not easy to engage with. I predict that no-one who is not highly tolerant of technical detail will manage to finish it, which will limit its area of influence. So what could be done, with such a tasty menu, to get it out to more people?
Basically, I think the reader could do with less detail to get bogged down in. This could perhaps be achieved by splitting TechnoMage into at least 2 things: a smaller book, retaining all the headings, subheadings, and enough of the text to justify the framework, with references from each section to pages of a website, where more details are available. This is already happening to some extent - Dirk Bruere's website, Neopax, (URL at top of this review) includes pages from each chapter. He could even consider splitting the book up along the lines of topics, into a number of smaller 'introductory' books, (out of which he could probably make more money).
So ultimately, who would I recommend to buy it? Despite its intellectuality, this is not a book for the academic, unless he is capable of taking his head out of his arse, a postural problem which seems irreversible for many sufferers. If there's one big element of the book that impinges directly on how we might do our magic, it is the examinations of psi research, something that very seldom gets done in books on magic. TechnoMage is also full of fascinating facts, like an episode of QI for magicians, including some fine tales of madness and scandal, like the bloodshed and mayhem around the making of the 70s horror classic The Omen and the just-possible link between George W. Bush and his just-possibly grandad Aleister Crowley. On a style point, I like his year formalism; sticking 'CE' right after the date, as in '1936CE', somehow makes that silly dating system look less absolute.
What do these psi studies mean for the way we think about magic, how do they impinge on our magical thinking, on the problems I was discussing a few weeks ago on this blog? Psi experiments do not overcome the gulf between magic and parascience (see blog entry http://chaotopia-dave.blogspot.com/2010/11/magical-thinking-science-and.html ) - because nothing can, parascience being a religion, not a true scientific attitude. However, if psi is proven, then physics has to work a bit harder to make room for that in the theory department. This is very good news for magical thinkers. I suspect the kind of evidence we are talking about here would be more likely to reduce the resistance to magical thought of an engineer rather than a theoretical scientist.
Maybe the 'ideal reader' this book is designed for is an engineer, standing on the edge of magical thinking. It is certainly worth buying for a friend who might be about to take his first steps outside of parascientific materialism.
It is also highly recommended for anyone who wants new ideas for their magical practice; my copy still bristles with post-it notes, where I've marked things I want to try out. Along with a lot of ideas that force me to think, that is the best sign of all for how good a book is.
Sunday, 23 January 2011
TechnoMage by Dirk Bruere - Review
Labels: chaos magic, engineering, magic, philosophy, science, transhumanism
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text: Need to find good quality images for your presentations or papers? Come to the Finding Images workshop to learn how use the library's image databases, books, and public domain/open access image websites to find high quality images in all different subject areas including art, advertising, journalism, popular culture and more. Presentation tips, copyright, and tech tools will be also briefly be covered. 9/26/14 @ 2PM in Alkek 101. Register here.

subset: commoncrawl


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I use Kubuntu Linux 12.10 with Wine 1.5.8 and Newsbin 6.33.
I am unable to expand a search result by clicking the "+" sign to the left of it.
For a while i thought this was Newbin but tried it under windows and it works as it should.
Can anyone shine an light on how i can get this to work under Wine. It is driving me crazy as when i get a corrupt file there is no way to just down load that one file again.


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Swedish soccer star Zlatan Ibrahimovic announced at a recent press conference in Paris that a French team had signed him for about $17 million a year.
Soccer salaries often cause controversy, but Ibrahimovic's created an instant scandal.
The next morning President Francois Hollande had his deputy budget minister, Jerome Cahuzac, go on French radio to denounce the record payout as indecent.
The French government's reaction won't just be indignation. If Hollande has his way, Ibrahimovic will get socked with a 75 percent income tax on his new mega-salary. Same goes for anyone earning more than about $1.2 million a year in France.
Hollande is trying to lower France's deficit to stave off contagion from other faltering euro zone countries such as Spain. The loudest complaints about the 75 percent tax bracket come, predictably, from those who stand to pay it.
At a small hotel in Paris, Sophie Canipel said she once liked the idea of inheriting this place from her parents. But with the top-tier tax, she said, she would be ruined.
"Right now, as upper middle class people, my husband and I are paying around 45 percent in income taxes each year," Canipel said. "When I inherit the hotel from my parents we'll get bumped up into that 75 percent tax bracket because the value of the place will be counted as income. There'll be nothing left over for us."
Without doubt Madame Canipel and others like her stand to pay through the nose. But they're hardly getting a lot of sympathy from their working class neighbors.
In the city of Nancy, in eastern France, a shop owner named Anne says that she supports the tax hike. With it, she says, there would be a fairer distribution of wealth between the ultra rich and the middle class.
But the vast majority of French non-millionaires aren't rushing to celebrate. Many doubt the rich will really end up paying the tax increase.
"I like the idea that the rich pay more, but I worry that they'll find a way to pass the buck," said a barista named Sophie, who works at a cafe in the Paris suburb of Asnieres. "I'm sure that's going to happen. The middle class is going to take it on the chin. It always happens that way. And the middle class is shrinking."
Another fear is that more wealth will leave the country. The wealthiest French routinely stash their money in far-flung tax havens. Now there's concern that businesses might simply pack up and go.
Under Hollande's tax reform, French corporations have lost a handful of deductions, including a big one on overtime salaries. Businesses already complain that labor costs are too high in France.
French carmaker Peugeot cited those costs this month as a reason for laying off 8,000 workers and closing a plant outside Paris. If Peugeot follows through, it would be the first car factory to close in France in 20 years.
British Prime Minister David Cameron recently joked that he would roll out the red carpet for French companies in the form of tax breaks.
Unions are up in arms, and Hollande has come out swinging. He needs to show that he can tax big money and not have the little guy pay the price.
Finance Minister Pierre Moscovici went on French radio to say that Peugeot's plan was unacceptable. When asked what leverage the government had over private business, he hinted that government subsidies for the carmaker might come into question.
The outcome at Peugeot could weigh heavily on the credibility of Hollande's plan to tax the wealthiest more without strangling the economy.
France's unemployment is at 10 percent and continues to rise. Hollande would like to win this battle before moving on to the next: trimming France's bloated public sector.


text: Finally had them out today. What a relief. They have been bothering for two years. The doctor said I should feel a whole lot better without them. But oh my, am I thankful for narcotics! Although pain which you know is for your own good is easier to bear, it still is...a bear.


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Prodeo (Buenos Aires)
The Hotel
Prodeo Hotel, situated in the Palermo Soho district, is the perfect urban retreat for travelers who appreciate individualized style and hospitality. Prodeo offers cosmopolitan citizens personal attention and access to the best of real Buenos Aires. The hotel's dedicated concierge service reserves tables at the hippest restaurants, opens doors to the city's most chic as well as underground clubs, and always has the inside track to the latest art and cultural events. For those choosing the road less traveled Prodeo is partnered with expert tour guides who can escort you into Argentina's vast nature and landscape. For the shoppers ready to splurge on Porteño style the Prodeo staff organizes personalized shopping experiences. Prodeo understands what you need: direct access to the right places in and around the city. In terms of design, Prodeo is it, custom everything developed from the ground up to inspire and intrigue. Prodeo is the ideal location both for first timers discovering this vibrant city as well as for regular visitors desiring the easiest access to all of their favorite haunts while enjoying the utmost in comfort and style.
Service, Music, Good Vibes, Designed to the hilt, Bar, and various spaces for intriguing events and most importantly for your leisurely pleasure. - Always Good Value.


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The title of this book could be what your family members exclaim when they discover where you have hidden to read 'just a few' more pages or chapters–that's how compulsively readable this suspense thriller is. I couldn't put it down.
Here's the story line about two decades of secrets, a missing husband, and a man with no memory…
"In a windswept British seaside town, single mom Alice Lake finds a man sitting on the beach outside her house. He has no name, no jacket, and no idea how he got there. Against her better judgment, she invites him inside.
Meanwhile, in a suburb of London, twenty-one-year-old Lily Monrose has only been married for three weeks. When her new husband fails to come home from work one night she is left stranded in a new country where she knows no one. Then the police tell her that her husband never existed.
Twenty-three years earlier, Gray and Kirsty are teenagers on a summer holiday with their parents. Their annual trip to the quaint seaside town is passing by uneventfully, until an enigmatic young man starts paying extra attention to Kirsty. Something about him makes Gray uncomfortable–and it's not just that he's playing the role of protective older brother."


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The Healthy Bodies Toolkit
This site contains files for the Health Bodies Toolkit in PDF format for your use.
This publication was developed and written by Vanderbilt Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities (LEND) long-term trainees Amy Weitlauf, PhD; Stormi White, PsyD; Olivia Yancey, MDE; Caitlin Nicholl Rissler, MSN; Doctor of Audiology student, Elizabeth Harland; Cong Van Tran, PhD; and LEND faculty members Jennifer Bowers, RN, MSN, CPNP, Pediatric Nurse Practitioner, Division of Developmental Medicine; and Cassandra Newsom, PsyD, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Division of Developmental Medicine, Director of Psychological Education, Treatment and Research Institute for Autism Spectrum Disorders (TRIAD)/Vanderbilt Kennedy Center. It was edited, designed, and produced by the Communications and Graphics staff of the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (Kylie Beck, BA; Jan Rosemergy, PhD; Courtney Taylor, MDiv) with the support of the Vanderbilt LEND (Pam Grau, BS; Evon Lee, PhD; Terri Urbano, RN, MPH, PhD). We are grateful for review and suggestions by many, including faculty of TRIAD and members of Autism Tennessee.
All text and illustrations are copyrighted by the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center and cannot be used in another context without written permission of Vanderbilt Kennedy Center Communications (firstname.lastname@example.com, 615-322-8240).
This publication was made possible by Grant No. T73MC30767 from the Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB), Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the MCHB, HRSA, HHS. Photos ©istockphoto.com. Printed June 2013.


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Long Island's offense enjoyed a record-tying performance in last Friday night's Empire Challenge senior all-star football game, which unlike each of the previous three was decided well before the closing seconds.
Led by a dynamic set of skill position players, Long Island scored on all five of its first-half possessions to build a 24-point lead on the way to a convincing 44-20 victory over New York City before a crowd of more than 8,000 at Hofstra. Quarterback Greg Campisi (St. Anthony's) earned MVP honors by throwing for two touchdowns — both to Carey's Nick Giacalone — and rushing for 63 yards on seven carries. Running back Kevon Hall (Roosevelt) had a team-leading 68 yards on the ground and scored twice.
"It was one of the best two weeks I've ever been involved with in football," said Rich Reichert (St. Anthony's), who served as Long Island's head coach to cap a 41-year coaching career. "It was the classiest group of coaches and kids to work with," he added.
The previous three Empire Challenges were decided by a combined eight points, including the past two on the final snap, although there was no drama this time as Long Island tied the mark for most points set in 2005. The game, in its 24th season, benefits the Boomer Esiason Foundation and cystic fibrosis research. Last year, L.I. held on for a 28-27 win by stopping a two-point conversion attempt with no time left on the clock. In 2017, New York City prevailed 37-35 on a field goal as time expired.
"Being a part of this game is an unbelievable experience," said Hall, the 2018 recipient of the Thorp Award, given to Nassau County's most outstanding player. "We made each other better every day in practice and tonight we executed and put up a lot of points," he added.
Under the direction of offensive coordinator Mike Stanley (Carey), Long Island racked up 325 yards on 42 plays in the first half and led 30-6 following Chaminade kicker Anthony Pecorella's 35-yard field goal at the horn.
"We were extremely deep at every position and as balanced as you can imagine," Stanley said. "It's such a selfless and humble group of kids. Everything they showed on the field tonight is what they brought to practice for two weeks."
The game-opening drive saw Long Island set the tone by marching 71 yards on 13 plays, capped by Giacalone's 3-yard touchdown grab. The defense, which yielded only 122 yards in the first half, swiftly forced a NYC punt to get the offense back in business. The second drive, quarterbacked by Matt Sluka (Kellenberg), covered 89 yards and culminated with Hall's 15-yard touchdown run and a 14-0 lead less than a minute into the second quarter after Pecorella's second of six PATs.
Before NYC's offense showed any spark, the margin was 20 following Trevor Yeboah-Kodie's (Garden City) 5-yard touchdown scamper with 5:45 remaining in the half. Tottenville quarterback Timothy Brown then directed NYC on its best possession of the night, a 91-yard drive, and finished it off with a 10-yard touchdown strike to Iona Prep's Camari Glasgow to cut the margin to 20-6.
Long Island responded with 10 points in the final minute of the half. Oceanside wideout Jake Lazzaro keyed the ensuing drive with a 38-yard reception from Garden City's Colin Hart off a gadget play that set up his 20-yard touchdown catch on a fade from Sluka.
Hall had a 12-yard touchdown run in the third quarter, and Malverne's Jovani Duran's fumble recovery led to Giacalone's 4-yard scoring grab in the fourth. Defensively, Massapequa's Marco Musso led the unit with six tackles.
"We couldn't have had a more talented group," Lazzaro said. "We knew we'd be able to put up points and that our defense would play hard."
Long Island now holds a 14-8 edge in the series. Sixteen of 22 meetings (the first two matchups featured Nassau vs. Suffolk) have been decided by fewer than eight points, including five by a point.


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By now, you've surely seen it. The cover story in this Sunday's New York Times magazine went viral days before it landed on my doorstep. Robin Marantz Henig's "What Is It About 20-Somethings?" focuses a lot on the work of psychologist Jeffrey Jensen Arnett, who's trying to get "Emerging Adulthood" identified as an official, distinct life stage. Arnett's quest is an interesting one, but, regardless whether the label will earn approval, there's little question that it fits.
Here is, as we geeks of the pen call it, the nut:
It's happening all over, in all sorts of families, not just young people moving back home but also young people taking longer to reach adulthood overall. It's a development that predates the current economic doldrums, and no one knows yet what the impact will be–on the prospects of the young men and women; on the parents on whom so many of them depend; on society, built on the expectation of an orderly progression in which kids finish school, grow up, start careers, make a family and eventually retire to live on pensions supported by the next crop of kids who finish school, grow up, start careers, make a family and on and on. The traditional cycle seems to have gone off course, as young people remain untethered to romantic partners or to permanent homes, going back to school for lack of better options, traveling, avoiding commitments, competing ferociously for unpaid internships or temporary (and often grueling) Teach for America jobs, forestalling the beginning of adult life.
The subsequent discussion that's hit the airwaves and the blogosphere comes down like this: Yes, for many 20-somethings, and opposed to maybe their parents' generation, and certainly their parents' parents' generation, the decade is more about exploration than commitment. It makes sense: we live–and work–a lot longer now than ever before. And the interconnected nature of modern life puts all the options out there, front and center on our computer screen, the riper for the fantasizing. So is it any wonder that today's 20-somethings would rather try before they buy? Rule things out as they make their way, honing in–circuitously… eventually… maybe–on what they ultimately want for their lives? Whether that's jobs, locations, or romantic partners, the goal of this cohort, in the words of blogger Jessie Rosen,
is to get to the right place, not to get there at the "right time." It's not that we don't know what it means to be an adult and how we're supposed to do it–it's that we do.
We are painfully aware that the decisions in our 20s lay the foundation for all of adult life. We know exactly how old our parents were when they had us, and exactly what they sacrificed as a result. We know that time is precious, age isn't really just a number, and having kids changes everything…
What is so much better about becoming an adult faster?
What am I gaining by taking my time versus what I'm losing by just getting to it already? With every year I wait to be ready to get married, am I letting all the people there are to marry pass me by? Will I be a better, more mature mother at 35 or would I have been just as adept and instinctual at 25? If I live at home with my parents for one more year while I save up to be a full-time writer, will that leave an eternal mark of lame on my life resume? Does being an adult mean having the maturity to know you're not ready for adult things, or having the maturity to dive in and just figure it out? Won't I be a better, happier, healthier adult if I take my time getting there?
All of which begs the question: what is this "adult life," anyway?
According to the NYT piece, sociologists typically define adulthood using a checklist comprised of five milestones (altogether, now!): completing school, leaving home, financial independence, marriage, children. In 1960, 77% of women and 65% of men had ticked them all off by the time they hit the big 3-0. As of 2000, less than 50% of women and one-third of men had killed the checklist.
But, again, to quote–well, myself–is it really that simple?
While financial independence is one thing, as for the rest of it–marriage, parenthood, and one single Career–is making such commitments all there is to being an adult? Is signing on to something–one thing–forever and ever the only thing that can ferry you over the threshold, out of NeverNeverLand and into GrownUpDom?
The idea of checklists, commitments, clearly demarcated life stages, they imply a destination, rather than a journey. And I think the fact of the matter is that whether you've got the mortgage, the 2.1 progeny, and the pension plan or not, life is always a journey. We are always emerging, as Arnett puts it. And in that way, it's apt, though not a stage at all. It's just life.


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East China Sea
East China Sea, arm of the Pacific Ocean, c.480,000 sq mi (1,243,200 sq km), bounded on the E by the Kyushu and Ryukyu islands, on the S by Taiwan, and on the W by China. It is connected with the South China Sea by the Taiwan Strait and with the Sea of Japan by the Korea Strait; it opens in the N to the Yellow Sea. The Chang River empties into the sea, whose main ports are Shanghai, Hangzhou, Ningbo, and Fuzhou, China; and Chilung, Taiwan. Territorial control of much of the eastern half of the sea (and its oil and gas) is disputed between China and Japan.
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2012, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
See more Encyclopedia articles on: Oceans and Continents


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South Florida Casino & Gambling Guide
covering gaming in Miami-Dade and Broward Counties including information, photos, entertainment, dining, hotels, and poker.
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Casino Miami Jai-Alai
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The Isle Pompano
Soflat.com Site Map
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SoFla Casino Map
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Ballinglen XIII
Oil and cold wax on Arches oil paper, 30 x 24 cm, mounted and backed on archival board.
This is one of a number of new works created at Ballinglen in Ireland. I have started using oil and cold wax to enable me to provide more of an abstract style whilst retaining the atmosphere you normally see in my landscapes. The layering, using cold wax, pure pigments, pastels and oil bars, provides depth to the painting and allows me to use colours I don't normally use. The images are also based on my memory of a place rather than relying on photographs and sketches.


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Published at Thursday, June 25th 2020, 17:47:24 PM. worksheet. By Fifine Renaud.
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Serves 4
- 2 medium or large aubergines/eggplants (or use large courgettes)
- 1 large onion, sliced finely
- 2 green bell peppers, sliced finely
- 4 tbsp sun dried tomato paste
- 4 tbsp cider vinegar*
- 200g feta, diced
- 1 tbsp fresh dill, chopped
- 1 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
- 1 tsp paprika
- pinch of cinnamon
Drizzle with 1 tbsp olive oil and bake, cut side down, for around 15-20 mins at 190C/180C Fan/Gas 5 in an oven proof dish, or casserole.
Meanwhile soften the onion and green pepper in a pan with a little olive oil.
Add all of the remaining ingredients to the pan, except the feta, and stir well.
Allow to cook for about 5 minutes and then turn off the heat until the aubergines are ready to stuff.
After 15-20 mins, the aubergines should be soft enough to carefully scrape out the flesh (with a spoon), leaving the shell intact - I do this while they're still hot, but you might want to let them cool a little first!
Cut up the aubergine flesh and add to the pan.
Add the cheese to the pan and stir gently to mix.
Divide the stuffing mixture between the aubergine halves.
Pour about 200ml of boiling water into the bottom of the dish and cover with foil or a lid. This stops the aubergines drying out.
Bake in the oven for a further 15-20 minutes.
Finally uncover the dish and cook for a further 10 minutes to give the ingredients a chance to colour and to allow some of the moisture to evaporate.
Serve hot, warm or cold with a salad or green vegetables.
Not suitable for freezing.
For this recipe, I used Higher Nature* Organic Cider Vinegar, as I was sent a sample to review. This vinegar has a lovely fruity flavour which balances its acidity well. It can be used in a variety of recipes - especially sauces, marinades and salad dressings.
*Supplier of vitamins, supplements and organic foods Higher Nature.
Integrity Statement
I received a bottle of Higher Nature* Organic Cider Vinegar to review and use in a recipe. I did not receive payment, and the views expressed are genuinely those of myself and my family.


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1. My name is Jennifer Peake, and my business is Scented Sensations.
2. I decided to turn my hobby into a business because I needed to make some extra money on the side to pay for a few things that had come up. I realized I might be able to take it further than just making candles and selling them on eBay so I had a friend help me make a website and set it up so people could purchase from my site. I have been in business for one year.
3. I make and sell candles. I make votives (round and square), pillar candles, glass jar candles (heart and star shaped glass and also Mason jars) and tart melts in fun shapes, such as puppy paw prints, hearts, roses and flip flop sandals.
4. My business goals are to expand a little bit more than I have so far. I have a full time job and I make candles as my "second job." But I would love for it to become a steady income. I also would like to start selling accessories for candles, such as candleholders, plates, sconces, etc. But I need to find a source of getting those products, either through a vendor or wholesale.
5. The products I have used from Nature's Garden have been mainly the fragrance oils and candle wicks for my candles, but I have also purchased and used candle molds as well. I really enjoy the fragrances you have and so do my customers!
My website is www.scentedsensationsplus.com


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HOUSTON — Over the three and a half years from July 1969 to December 1972, six teams of astronauts walked on the moon. They went from "We came in peace for all mankind" to the parting words, "We'll be back."
But decades passed, and nobody came back. At various times in the 1980s and 1990s, space enthusiasts (myself included) were encouraged by speculation about being "halfway back to the moon." That is, in one's imagination, the years until the next human footprint were certain to be less than the years since the last footprint. It was going to be downhill from now on, or so it could be thought.
There's a chance that estimate might even be true. If the Obama administration and its successors stick to the "space vision" unveiled five years ago, Americans might be walking on the moon again in 10 years, or 15 at the outside. If they do, it won't have been a decade between moon programs, or a generation — it will have been practically an entire human lifetime.
Between now and then, the grim statistics of the actuarial tables suggests that despite the hopes and wellwishers and the best efforts of medical science, Earth may well lapse back to a demographic situation that had ended on July 20, 1969, when nobody living on Earth had ever been to the moon. It would be nice if any Apollo moonwalkers lived long enough to see new footsteps on the moon, at least for cultural continuity — but it may not happen.
With the loss of key players in historic events comes a loss of memory. Artifacts may endure, and records can last as well. But the thoughts, hopes and fears of the participants — they can fade away forever. And this loss of the past may cripple the future, since unless we understand the why of past efforts, knowing the when and who and how may turn out to be useless.
The 'why' of Apollo
Skimming the popular literature of spaceflight history, a novice reader may be forgiven for believing that humans went to the moon because they are a curious species for whom exploration has always been a wired-in cultural trait. These readers may also imagine a time when scientists wielded enormous influence over federal budgets.
In addition, they may be led to believe that economists were able to forecast tremendous "technical spinoffs" from space discoveries that would lead to medical and microelectronic revolutions. Realization that Earth was a tiny, fragile world was going to totally revolutionize humankind's view of the world they lived in. Further, there was the enticing possibility that resources of value might be located and profitably exploited.
Cynics, meanwhile, can be forgiven falling for the equally seductive myths of "bread and circuses" in space as a distraction from domestic woes, or the outgrowth of a short-lived spasm of machismo from a president embarrassed by the failure of foreign adventures, a project that was fulfilled after his tragic assassination for mainly sentimental reasons. It was also a "moondoggle" of literally astronomical proportion when it came to allocating funds to states and congressional districts whose leaders needed rewarding or influencing.
All these and other motivations were fulfilled by Apollo's success, to be sure. And the ideas were part of the contemporary debates as well. But political historians know that none of them were persuasive when it came time, year after year, to vote more billions of dollars from the federal budget.
Funding from fear
Something else was strong enough to swing those votes: fear. Pure fear was the key to the treasury, and that was exactly as it should have been.
Three presidents, hundreds of members of Congress, and the government and private teams assigned to the project were afraid of the kind of world that would result if the United States did not succeed at the manned lunar landing. Specifically, they were not afraid of aliens, or of epidemics, or of economic depressions — they were afraid of the adjusting alignments in a world in which U.S. technology and leadership came to be thought of as second-rate, and where the United States wasn't everyone's partner-of-choice in business, in culture and in security.
Moscow's triumphant string of firsts in the space race had made an enormous impression on public opinion, and on the views of government officials, business leaders and intellectuals all around the planet. If the Soviet Union could solidify its superiority in outer space, the symbol of the future, it would strengthen its influence on the hearts and minds and hopes of billions of people. The communist way of life would become a more attractive model for new nations.
This would have profound diplomatic and commercial consequences, none of them to the benefit of the United States. The cost of such a world — from lost trade to lost resources to lost allies — would be vastly greater than the money to be spent on Apollo.
But it didn't happen. When Apollo succeeded in its mission — when American astronauts walked on the moon — Apollo also succeeded in its purpose. The Soviet space program, overstretched and underorganized, faltered and failed. Bold promises from Moscow were exposed as bluster, and high-tech space vehicles turned out to be junk. And the whole world saw it.
Two decades later, the credibility that Apollo had bestowed upon American space technology scored its most important triumph when the Soviet Union collapsed. Historians still debate the combination of stresses and lucky breaks that ended the Cold War, but an undeniably major theme was the threat of an American space-based missile defense shield.
Badly burned by their underestimation of American space technology in the 1960s, Soviet leaders in the 1980s can be forgiven for being skeptical of experts who declared that the new U.S. space goal was impossible. Many of these same people had said the same things about the Apollo program. Unable to compete, and contemplating their budget-busting investments in weapons systems that might soon be rendered impotent, Soviet leaders lost faith in their own historical inevitability — and the rest is history.
What now?
Advocates of new space visions and strategies, including a variety of proposals for a human return to the moon, seem to be still stuck on all the pseudo-motivations of Apollo. We will satisfy our curiosity ("science"), or our greed ("resources"), or our geekiness ("new gadgets"). While all of those things — and more — doubtlessly would follow such a project, they are no more capable of mustering political support for it now than they were for Apollo forty years ago.
Meanwhile, there are plenty of things to be afraid of these days, and many of them do indeed appear susceptible to space-based solutions. Since the primary purpose of a government is to protect its citizens — not amuse them, or enrich them, or even raise their consciousnesses — perhaps this line of justifying arguments will have more traction.
First, space exploration has taught us to be afraid of our ignorance about our neighborhood. It can be argued that the cost of not knowing about external threats and internal natural processes could be very high. At the very least, reliable warnings can forearm us. At best, technology-based countermeasures can be developed, validated and applied to mitigate such threats.
Second, space exploration now goes on in an international environment, not a bipolar space race. Cynics were correct when they claimed that adding partners made the international space station program slower, costlier, less capable and more dangerous than going it alone, exactly the opposite of what NASA had promised. But despite its faults, the program has shown a remarkable ability to surmount tensions and squabbles among its partners. It has been an effort bigger than any single country, and that concept has taken hold, even among many of the cynics.
Imagine the cost of a world without such projects — antagonistic splintering of alliances, rising walls of secrecy against technological espionage, distrust of ambiguous intentions and resulting counteractions, collapse of domestic space capabilities in nations unable to afford stand-alone programs, cultural polarization. Then consider the trends that an ambitious new space vision could encourage. One doesn't have to be fully taken in by wish-fulfillment and rose-colored glasses to understand that however distasteful and wasteful grand international space efforts may be, most alternatives (that is, not doing such projects) may be far more unattractive.
When you add up the fear of the outside unknown universe (the "cost of not knowing"), plus the fear of our own inner demons (the "cost of not distracting them"), plus a history-based confidence that all the secondary benefits stand a good chance of being satisfied (with other totally unexpected benefits showing up as well), the case for sending humans beyond low Earth orbit, to the moon and/or elsewhere, can be confidently argued.
Maybe someday, just maybe, when televised images of footsteps in moondust again are displayed to earthlings, it will be in time for some men who have already been there to see. And maybe it will be in time for all of us, too.
NBC News space analyst James Oberg spent 22 years at NASA's Johnson Space Center as a Mission Control operator and an orbital designer. This is an updated version of a report that originally appeared July 19, 2004.
More on Apollo 11 | Project Constellation


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"As pharmacists take an increasingly active role in health care and medication counseling, we now recognize that many 'medication problems' are, in essence, communication problems. Motivational interviewing allows pharmacists to communicate with their patients in a clear, concise, and structured way. Pharmacists and pharmacy students in any practice setting will benefit from implementing the tools and techniques in this book."--Ernest J Dole, PharmD, ABQ Health Partners, Albuquerque, New Mexico, and University of New Mexico College of Pharmacy"In this era of evidence-based practices in health care, practitioners still face the vexing question: Will my patient actually follow the procedures known to be efficacious? This book assists health care professionals in maximizing their effectiveness. An evidence-based practice in its own right, MI facilitates cooperation and compliance with treatment regimens. If you are a health care professional or a mental health professional consulting in a medical setting, and have ever wondered what to do with a seemingly 'unmotivated' patient, this is the book for you."--Barent Walsh, PhD, Executive Director, The Bridge of Central Massachusetts"This is an immensely useful text for teaching students and professionals how to help patients adopt health-promoting behaviors; for example, dieting, exercising, or attending follow-up appointments. Most such education concentrates on what to tell patients; this text concentrates onhowto guide patients so that they will hear and implement the 'what.' As an MI trainer, I will be using this resource with a range of health care providers."--Robert G. Rhode, PhD, Department of Psychiatry, University of Arizona "This book delivers what it promises: practical, effective, and efficient strategies for producing more productive interactions with patients about behavior change. The authors, who are largely responsible for originating and refining MI, have translated this powerful evidence-based intervention into a set of core competencies and skills that can be easily understood, learned, practiced, and, most importantly, integrated into real-world clinical practice."--Michael G. Goldstein, MD, Associate Director for Clinical Education and Research, Institute for Healthcare Communication, and Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University"Many of today's leading causes of death are significantly related to modifiable health behaviors. This book provides a critical approach for helping patients change their behavior. Motivational interviewing (MI) provides a new alternative to the outdated direct persuasion approach, bringing a breath of fresh air to the conversation between health care providers and those with chronic diseases like diabetes and obesity. Practical examples and exercises make this book a powerful tool for use in educating medical students, nurses, and other health care professionals about encouraging patients to make healthy choices."--Robert Gabbay MD, PhD, Executive Director, Penn State Diabetes and Obesity Institute, Pennsylvania State College of Medicine, Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, Hershey, PA"This practical guide moves motivational interviewing (MI) into the realm of everyday health care practice. Specifically, the book addresses the 'why' and the 'how-to' aspects of having conversations about behavior change. It helps clinicians learn to hear what their patients are really saying, and how to guide them through resolving ambivalence about behaviors. Relevant examples from various fields of medicine are provided. The chapter featuring extended examples of how to integrate MI into everyday interactions is particularly helpful. I see this as a useful resource for physicians, nurses, physician assistants, and other clinicians, as well as clinician educators involved in training students and residents."--Carol R. Schermer, MD, MPH, Department of Surgery, DivisionRollnick, Stephen is the author of 'Motivational Interviewing in Health Care', published 2007 under ISBN 9781593856120 and ISBN 1593856121.[read more]
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OK, I started this quite a while back and then dropped the ball, but I'm going to try picking up the 30 Day Song Challenge again as a weekly project.
Song Challenge Week 14 — A Song That No One Would Expect You To Love
"Alla Luce Del Sole," Josh Groban
Somebody asked me recently what kind of music I listen to. I had no idea.
At this point, I really couldn't say. If I have a norm, I'm not sure what it is. I could tell you things I don't like, but not really any unifying guides for what I do. (Save that, in general, the artists I like, regardless of genre, tend to be songwriters.)
Without a grasp of the rules, I don't know the exceptions. I asked Rebecca, and none of her surprising songs seemed surprising at all — Shawn Colvin's cover of Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy," any Indigo Girls, "Lose Yourself" from 8 Mile. "Crazy" (the original at least) and "Lose Yourself" were big hits, and everybody in college when I was knew Indigo Girls.
So for the sake of argument, I'm going with Josh Groban. To some, it might be seem less surprising — I wouldn't be shocked to discover people would be less surprised by the high-brow stuff than all the low-brow stuff I like, but there you. But, to me, Josh Groban is a women's singer, and so liking one of his non-English songs seems kind of outlying to me.
And, after all, the only Tenacious D song I would actually post on my blog is too mainstream to qualify.
Filed under: Entertainment | Tagged: 30 Day Song Challenge, Alle Luce Del Sole, Josh Groban, music, songs | Leave a comment »


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LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. – A portion of Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom, including some rides in Tomorrowland, was evacuated Saturday night because of a prank call.
The Orange County Sheriff's Office would not specify what was said in the call.
Deputies said the evacuation was precautionary and lasted for a couple of hours. The affected areas reopened before the park closed.
Other parts of Disney World, including the rest of the Magic Kingdom, were unaffected, Orange County deputies said.
Officials said they do not yet know where the call originated.
No charges have been filed, but an investigation is ongoing.


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Pregnant Woman Killed by Snow Plow in Brooklyn
Tragic news from Brooklyn: This morning, a pregnant woman was killed by a snow plow in Brooklyn's Sunset Park neighborhood.
The woman was struck by a private plow in the parking lot of Fei Long Market, on Eighth Ave., near 63rd street, FDNY officials told the New York Post.
According to the Post, the 36-year-old victim's baby survived the accident but is in critical condition at a nearby hospital.
UPDATE 3:54 pm: From the Post:
Min Lin, 36, was struck shortly before 11 a.m. by the privately owned vehicle that was clearing snow from the parking lot of the Fei Long Market on Eighth Avenue, near 63rd Street, police said.
She was nine months pregnant.
Cops roped off the lot and the Bobcat S250 that hit the woman. The unidentified driver, who was driving in reverse when the accident happened, was spotted in the lot hours later looking despondent


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Roger Corman
Date Of Birth:
5 April 1926
Place Of Birth:
Detroit, Michigan
Best Known As:
"The King of B-Movies"
Often called the King of B-Movies, Roger Corman has been making low-budget movies since the 1950s. A screenwriter, producer, director and distributor (and sometime actor), Corman is considered the godfather of independent moviemaking, known for tiny budgets, assembly-line production (some of his movies were shot in two or three days) and his reputation for making a profit. He made movies with a little sex and a little violence and some sort of gimmick: from gangsters, bikers and hippies to women in prison, monsters from outer space and creatures from beyond the grave. His filmography includes cult classics such as The Little Shop of Horrors (1960), Caged Heat (1974), Death Race 2000 (1975, with David Carradine and Sylvester Stallone) and Android (1982). Among the many who started out with Corman: actors Jack Nicholson and Peter Fonda, and directors Martin Scorsese and Francis Ford Coppola.
See also:
Here are the facts and trivia that people are buzzing about.
Copyright © 1998-2018 by Who2?, LLC. All rights reserved.


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Aquarise Expansion and Contraction
AquaRise, a hot and cold potable water distribution system for commercial, industrial and high buildings. Based on over 15 years' experience designing and manufacturing industry-leading CPVC systems, AquaRise offers numerous benefits over metal with a system that's fully-approved for noncombustible applications. AquaRise also comes with technical support and jobsite trouble-shooting – all from one reliable supplier.
Visit our new AquaRise website featuring additional resources, installation best practice and design calculators to support you on your next project. You also have the ability to submit a question or sign up for a lunch & Learn with your IPEX representative.
Profit from a NEW Connection and visit http://www.ipexaquarise.com/


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Someday on AAO is Here!
Two major announcements today.
1. Changes to AAO development cycle
It's no secret that AAO development has been stagnant. Time for that to change! Unas has recently made some behind-the-scenes changes that mean development can move forward! The highlights are as follows:
- Enthalpy can now accept changes to the website, and when they are ready, send them to Unas to put them on to the site
- Enthalpy can now make changes to music, sprites, ect.
- Enthalpy is joined by kwando1313 and ThePasch, working on changes and reviewing others' changes
- It's now possible to "test" changes to AAO before they go live
If you're interested in more technical details, see the topic in the Developer's Corner. We hope that forum will be more active soon. If you're interested in contributing, we'd love to see you there!
2. Changes to AAO server
It's no secret either that, since AAO was forced to move to a new server a year ago, the ride hasn't been extremely smooth, with regular unrecoverable crashes that left the site down until Unas was able to issue a manual restart action.
After a year spent trying to investigate the issue and tweak settings with little to no effect, Unas has decided this June to take measures against that.
Since even the latest attempt to fend off the issue, by setting up an additional server mid-June to absorb part of the load, has failed to prevent crashes from occurring, Unas suspects some kind of hardware fault and a full move to a different server is required to try to get away from it.
The new server was chosen and installed last night. It will in theory offer more performance (with twice the amount of RAM and thrice the CPU cores), even though part of this power is shared - as it is also a virtualised environment (instead of the current server which is a fully dedicated machine).
The move of AAO data should take place tonight or tomorrow (ie some time between June 29th 8 PM CEST and June 30th 6PM CEST).
During the actual move, which should last for around two hours (more or less), AAO will be unavailable. But with that we hope to get a more stable environment for the Game Jam in July !


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French Toast Mini Bagels
Awaken your senses with a French toast breakfast bagel. Vanilla extracts, whole milk, maple syrup. Yum!
4 Thomas'® Plain Mini Bagels, split
4 large eggs
1/2 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter
Optional: maple syrup
Whisk together eggs, milk and vanilla in a shallow dish until combined well. Soak bagels in mixture, turning occasionally for bagels at least 8 to 10 minutes, until softened but not falling apart.
Heat butter in a 12-inch, heavy, non-stick skillet or griddle over moderately high heat until foam subsides. Transfer soaked bagel slices to skillet cut sides down with tongs and cook until golden brown on both sides, about 2 minutes total. Serve with maple syrup if desired.


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There's an apartment in Chicago to pack up, a new home in the Bay Area to find and a raft of boxes still waiting in storage in Columbus, Ohio.
But Jon Busch had something even more pressing at the top of his to-do list on Tuesday.
"I need sunglasses," Busch said, squinting from the noontime rays after finishing his first training session as a member of the San Jose Earthquakes. "I don't even own sunglasses, because I've never needed them before."
It's just the latest in a series of rapid adjustments Busch has had to undergo in the last week. The 2008 MLS Goalkeeper of the Year was unceremoniously waived on March 22 by the Chicago Fire, for whom Busch had started all 60 regular-season matches over the last two years.
"It's been an emotional week for both me and my wife," Busch said. "So just to get out here [to California] last night and to get out here today and get back to what I love doing is great. I'm excited to have a new challenge in front of me."
While Busch's wife Nikki was busy emptying out their Chicago place, the 33-year-old veteran was on the field for the Earthquakes' entire practice, and then stayed for an extra 15 minutes while Chris Wondolowski fired dozens of shots at him.
"That's how I am every day," Busch said of the work ethic. "If I don't get to go on the field, I kind of go a little crazy and my wife doesn't like me too much."
Busch said the contract is for one year, with options included to extend beyond the 2010 season.
The Earthquakes felt that since Busch will have a minimal impact on the team's salary-cap situation, he was too good of a value to pass up. But coach Frank Yallop made it clear that his depth chart still has incumbent Joe Cannon at the top.
"Joe's No. 1, yeah," Yallop said. "Joe's playing. Joe's not done badly. Right now, Jon's there to back up Joe."
The fate of Andrew Weber, suddenly dropped to third-string, will determined "further down the line," Yallop said, when the team decides if it wants to go with two or three keepers in the long term.
Busch showed no unhappiness with the arrangement. He arrived in Chicago from Columbus in 2007 as a backup to then-starter Matt Pickens and sat on the bench until Pickens tried his hand in England before the 2008 season.
"In 14 years as a pro, I've never said, 'I have to be the No. 1,' at any time," Busch said. "All I've said was: 'Look, I'll come in, I'll work my socks off like I've always done.' And if Frank and his coaching staff feel like I deserve a game, I deserve a game. But if not, Joe's a very seasoned professional, a friend of mine. We go back years from the national team camps. He's been there and done it all."
The Earthquakes have a bye this weekend, but return to action on April 10 in -- of all places – Chicago.
"It's crazy the way it works out," Busch said. "I guess that's karma."
Whether Cannon is so sanguine about the situation remains open to debate. The Bay Area native declined through a team spokesman to talk to the media Tuesday, leaving Busch with the last word.
"If Frank picks my number, great," Busch said. "If I stay here and I push Joe and help the team in any way possible, that's part of it, too. I'm completely happy with that. It's California. The sun's out. It's not Chicago weather."
Sunglasses are definitely in order.
Geoff Lepper covers the Earthquakes for MLSsoccer.com. He can be reached at email@example.com . Follow him on Twitter at @sjquakes.


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SAANICH, B.C. - Friends and family of murdered real estate agent Lindsay Buziak have held a memorial march in Saanich.
It has been five years since the 24-year-old woman was stabbed to death while showing a luxury home in the Victoria suburb.
Police believe she was lured to the vacant home and killed by someone posing as a buyer.
Her murder remains unsolved.
Her father, Jeff, says investigators have not kept him informed and he's grown frustrated that no arrests have been made.
Police say the investigation is active and they are pursuing thousands of tips. (CHEK-The Canadian Press)


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Last week, we asked all of you to tell us what instant throwbacks would make for the best Christmas gifts, because instant throwbacks are funny. Here's what you came up with, and a few that we thought of as well.
This could also go in our gift guide for people who are sad about the NHL lockout, but it's a great instant throwback, as nothing says "instant classic" like a commemorative patch for a game that will never be played. 2013 NHL All Star Game Commemorative Patch: $12.99 [SportsK]
Every Giants fan should have one of these on their Christmas list. Not only did Melky Cabrera help the team win a lot of games before he was suspended for using steroids, he also stayed out of the picture during the Giants' playoff run, so as not to sully their World Series title. Melky Cabrera Giants Jersey: $99.99 [Fansedge]
A great gift for any Marlins fan who wants to remember the good old days that never were. Fuck the Marlins. Jose Reyes Marlins Jersey: $247.97 [MLB]
I mean, this shirt really stands on its own merits, aside from its instant throwback status. Who wouldn't want a shirt that features James Harden with half of his face made out of an upside down Thunder logo? James Harden Thunder Shirt: $10.99 [Fansedge]
Arsenal's former captain may be playing for arch rival Manchester United now, but that doesn't mean his old jersey can't be worn with pride. Red is a great holiday color! Robin Van Persie Arsenal Jersey: $79.99 [Just For Soccer]


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I'm currently checking demo software prior to possibly buying for my deparment. One requirement we would need is the ability to present images in a self-paced reading experiment. Participants would see an image while reading a question stimulus which relates to the image. They would then provide an answer to the question. In demo I've been able to present image and auditory stimulus simultaneously, but can't find a way to devise the image+text+question design. is this possible?
Many thanks!!


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Spa Soak Chicago
"Spa Soak is a full service spa and salon located in the Bucktown/Wicker Park area. We provide a full range of treatments, each custom blended and tailored to your needs using the highest quality essential oils, plant extracts, vitamins and minerals. Come in and experience luxurious relaxation, while soaking your senses and soothing your soul."


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Korleon - Good Die Young [Unsigned Artist]
Korleon new video "Good Die Young" produced by Tombstone
Directed by EastEndQuack
(MADE MAN) the mixtape COMING SOON
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In an interview, Denis Dyack bemoaned the "staggering" layoffs seen in game development over the past 18 months, then went on to talk about how such attrition has helped cement Silicon Knights as one of the longest tenured studios left.
Speaking to GamesIndustry.biz, Dyack touted Ontario as a potential global leader in the games sector once the economy recovers, and rather pointedly mentioned the rarity of his own studio's lifespan and that it makes him a well-positioned survivor amidst the bloodbath. Said Dyack:
It's been really a rough year and a half for the industry as a whole. The number of layoffs in the industry has been staggering. As an external developer it's been tough. I actually don't know anyone who's older than us any more. There used to be four or five people I knew of but I feel right now that we're one of the last of the V8s. I've talked to a lot of people and I know a lot of people who have gone out of business.
What that means for us is we're really excited because we're going to be able to come out, and the industry is going to rebound and grow, and we'll be one of probably five companies in the world that has any serious business beyond ten years.
"Serious business beyond 10 years"? Is he talking about the development of Too Human?
Dyack: Developer Layoffs and Closures have been "Staggering" [GamesIndustry.biz]


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800 Series Rate-of-Flow
The Nelson 800 Series valve can be equipped with the Rate-Of-Flow (Model D18) control to regulate the flow rate passing through the valve.
The Rate-Of-Flow works by means of a flow sensing paddle in the flow on the upstream side of the valve. It is a significant advancement in accuracy because it works independent of line pressure responding only to the flow velocity impinging upon the sensing paddle. This Rate-Of-Flow control is an option which can be combined with most other pressure and electric controls used on the 800 Series valve.
The main application for Rate-Of-Flow is during system fill to avoid unwanted water hammer or surges which can damage system pipes. The Nelson Rate-Of-Flow control has been designed for efficiency and causes insignificant pressure loss. The control has a calibrated adjustment screw for simple setting and can work over a wide range of flow rate. The Rate-Of-Flow Control is designed to fit into the valve but can optionally be located in an adjacent upstream section of pipe. Maintain stable hydraulic conditions with Nelson 800 Series Control Valves.
Nelson irrigation offers
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reliable Flow Sensing Paddle
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Accessories and related products
The Nelson ACV200 Air Control Valve is outstanding for controlling air in irrigation systems. The ACV provides all three types of air relief: air relief, vacuum air relief, and continuous air release under pressure.
4" Valve x 6" ANSI Flange and 6" Valve x 8" ANSI Flange Kits are available. Click here for lit. sheet.
Flange Adapter Kit
4" Valve x 6" ANSI Flange and 6" Valve x 8" ANSI Flange Kits are available. Click here for lit. sheet.


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Lost in Hawaii, found in Taiwan: Tourist's camera returned after 5 years in the Pacific
Few tourists are lucky enough to be reunited with lost items, especially if they've been lost while diving.
But U.S. tourist Lindsay Crumbley Scallan recently became an exception to that rule when, five years after losing it, her camera was returned to her.
Even better, the memory card was still functioning and she has been offered a round-trip ticket to Taiwan to retrieve it.
Scallan lost her camera during a night scuba dive in Maui, Hawaii, in August 2007. She returned to the beach the next day to look for it.
"Of course, we didn't find it, so at that point I just gave up," Scallan told Hawaii News Now.
"I was pretty disappointed because I had all my vacation pictures on there. Plus, the cost of the camera."
More than five years later and 5,000 miles away, presumably having bumped along the floor of the Pacific Ocean, it washed up on a beach in Taitung, on the east coast of Taiwan, and was picked up by two China Airlines' staff, Douglas Cheng and Tim Chuang.
More on CNN: 15 bizarre items left behind by travelers
It was covered in barnacles but to their surprise the camera, batteries and memory card were working.
The pair spent several hours studying the photos and traced a name on a catamaran, "Teralani 3," which, after further research, they discovered was registered in Maui.
The Taiwanese airline then created a Facebook page, "China Airlines is looking for you," with a few images of Scallan from the memory card. They also reached out to Hawaii News Now to help search for the owner.
The airline found Scallan two days later after a friend identified her.
"I just was floored that it was my camera and it was all my old pictures and it was amazing," said Scallan. "I just couldn't believe it had floated so far, so long ago and the memory card was still intact."
"We have a web conference with Scallan tomorrow," said a China Airline's representative. "We would like to invite her to Taiwan to collect the camera but she just started a new job so we're not sure how we can work out the time yet."
Thus paving the way for her new supervisor to become the best -- or worst -- boss ever.


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Cricket Wall Art - A3 Framed Poster - Iconography of Cricket.
Worry Less Design's version of popular terms in Cricket. The perfect gift for your pet cricketer.
The design is printed onto smooth heavyweight photographic paper. The frames are constructed from Black Polcore and have a brushed finish. Polcore is a recycled material, known for its consistent and clean finish producing sharp and even joints. It has a 2mm glass front and an MDF back with a hanger to allow for wall mounting
Also available in a mini print or our standard square size frame elsewhere in our Cricket section.
Sign up to our mailing list for 10% off your order: http://bit.ly/worrylessdesign
If you love this design, we have loads more for loads of different sports and activities (cycling, running, triathlon, golf, cricket and more) and most of our designs are available printed on a mug, magnet, greetings card, travel mugs, socks or prints - see the whole range at: https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/worrylessdesign
Shopping in the USA? Check out our sister store based out of Austin, Texas: https://www.etsy.com/shop/worrylessdesignusa/
UK customers: Standard shipping is 2nd class (1st class for cards and magnets). Please select UK Expedited shipping at check-out to upgrade to 1st class post. International customers: Standard shipping is Tracked and takes between 3 and 7 days (plus allowing for extra time to clear customs at busy times).
All our designs are original to Worry Less Design and are conjured up in our studio in the wilds of Hampshire, UK. All our frames are manufactured in the UK and the artwork is printed and assembled by hand in our studio.
Worry Less Design is a small family-run design studio, owned and operated by sisters Christie and Caroline and our Texan sister-in-law Nicky. We love our customers and our products and we try to share this love with you with every order that we send. In the event of any problems with your order please do get in touch and we will do our best to fix it.
Follow us on Instagram and Facebook for previews of new products, sports related memes, videos of Christie falling over and dogs sleeping in our office.
TRADE - we are stocked by some wonderful gift shops around the UK and Europe but are always looking for new retail outlets to share our products with. Please send us a message at contact [!at] worrylessdesign.com for a copy of our latest brochure.
Happy Shopping!
Copyright © Worry Less Design Limited. All rights reserved.
UK customers: Standard shipping is usually 2nd class post (except Greetings cards and Magnets which are shipped 1st class as standard) and aims to deliver within 2- 3 days. Please select expedited shipping if you would like to upgrade to 1st class.
International customers: We have upgraded all of our shipping to Tracked (except Greetings cards and Magnets). Your tracking number will be advised at time of shipping.
Just contact me within: 3 days of delivery
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But please contact me if you have any problems with your order.
Because of the nature of these items, unless they arrive damaged or defective, I can't accept returns for:
In the, hopefully unlikely, event that you are unhappy with your order, please let us know immediately and, at minimum, within 3 days of receiving your order.
Buyer pays return postage and the item should be returned in its original packaging (where possible). A refund of the order value will be issued on receipt of the returned item.
We regret that we cannot offer refunds for customised/bespoke items.
In the, again hopefully unlikely, event of damage to your order, please let us know immediately and, at minimum, within 3 days of receiving your order. We require that you either return the damaged item to us or send evidence of the damage in the form of photographs before we can issue a refund or send a replacement.
In case of any other problems, please contact us direct via the Etsy Conversation option or via email on firstname.lastname@example.com so we can reach a resolution.


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The Men Behind the Magis Institute
Catholic entrepreneur puts his faith first in schools and think tanks.
IRVINE, Calif. — CNN's Larry King recently welcomed noted physicist Stephen Hawking on the air to discuss his new book, The Grand Design, in which Hawking opines that the universe did not need God to create it or establish its laws. There to challenge Hawking was Jesuit Father Robert Spitzer of the Magis Institute.
Magis is an apostolate founded and funded by Catholic businessman Tim Busch. It's headquartered in his offices in Irvine, Calif.
When you sit down and talk with Tim Busch, two things are readily apparent: He's a Catholic and an entrepreneur — in that order. In a professional career that has spanned more than 30 years, Busch has launched or been a part of many successful businesses that have given him the resources and opportunity to share and promote what is most important in his life: his Catholic faith.
"The focus of my life is getting myself to heaven and to help others get there too," Busch explained. "And that should be the focus of everyone else's life as well."
Busch grew up in Michigan. His father, Joe, was an entrepreneur, founding and operating Busch's Marketplace, a chain of 15 upscale supermarkets. It was because of his father that Busch wanted to own his own business.
"Working for someone else was never even a consideration," he remarked.
In search of a warmer climate and better business opportunities, Busch relocated to Southern California in 1982. He founded The Busch Firm, which specializes in high net-worth estate planning, real estate and business transactions, and tax law. Busch is also a C.P.A. and real estate broker.
Other businesses Busch founded include Pacific Hospitality Group, LLC, a hotel development and management company that manages five hotels; he also has holdings in real estate as well as public and private operating companies.
In 1985, Busch married his wife, Steph. When the couple's first child, Garrett, was a preschooler, the couple began looking for elementary schools. They were living in south Orange County, an hour or more drive from downtown Los Angeles, and there was a limited Catholic infrastructure in place. The Catholic parishes in their immediate area did not have schools, and the parochial schools a bit farther away were overcrowded. So, Steph recalled, Busch came up with a solution: "He came home one evening and said we'd start our own school."
In 1992, St. Anne's School in Laguna Niguel opened its doors. While its initial challenges were in finding land and building enrollment, the greatest challenge, recalled Busch, was in establishing and maintaining the school's Catholic identity.
"Some of our parents wanted a nondenominational school; some wanted a secular school," he said. "It took us some time to get its Catholic identity firmly established."
Today, St. Anne's serves 800 students.
Sleepless Nights
Busch undertook an even greater challenge in the decade following the opening of St. Anne's: the founding of JSerra Catholic High School in San Juan Capistrano. South Orange County had limited options for parents who wanted to send their children to a Catholic high school, so Busch and a few like-minded parents began the search for an appropriate site.
After looking at various sites, the founders settled on a location near historic Mission San Juan Capistrano. However, purchasing the land and establishing the school proved a monumental task. The city of San Juan Capistrano was cool to the idea of a nonprofit, non-tax revenue-producing organization being established on such a large plot. Neighbors said they'd miss the open space and were concerned about traffic. Building the school required the approval of many regulatory agencies. And, most frustrating of all, some members of the tribe of the Juaneno Band of Mission Indians, Acjachemen Nation, protested construction on what they declared a historic and sacred site. The "Juanenos," as they were named by the Spanish padres who founded the Capistrano mission, are descendants of the Indians who were once the sole occupants of Orange County.
Steph recalls that Busch endured many sleepless nights, wondering how he'd meet the challenges of his opponents, but he never wavered on his decision to found the school. Six times lawsuits were filed to stop construction, but JSerra prevailed each time. One hundred fifty-five students started school on Sept. 3, 2003.
Seven years later, the school educates more than 1,000 students, well on its way to a capacity enrollment of 1,450. Many in the community have come to accept and even embrace the school. JSerra has strong academic credentials as well as competitive sports programs. And, most importantly, JSerra is solidly Catholic. Its staff includes several Norbertine priests from St. Michael's Abbey in Silverado, which is known for its orthodoxy.
The Catholic identity of St. Anne and JSerra is of paramount importance to Busch. "If your kids finish school and don't have the faith, they leave with nothing," he explained. "The faith is the most important thing they can have to guide them through their lives."
Register correspondent Jim Graves writes from Newport Beach, California.


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Mack 10 (Feat. Birdman & Glasses Malone) - Big Baller [Remix]
Video For Mack 10 "Big Baller (Remix) Featuring Birdman and Glasses Malone" Directed By Mr. Boomtown
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Travel to Ecuador
Jungles and volcanoes, mountains and the Galápagos
Sitting on the equator between Colombia and Peru, Ecuador may be the smallest Andean nation but it's packed with the most startling contrasts of scenery. With its astounding biodiversity, impressive historical legacy, stunning colonial architecture, bustling highland markets and diverse mix of people – blacks, whites, indigenous and mestizo – it's easy to see why this friendly and exotic destination is regarded as a microcosm of South America. From the icy pinnacles of Chimborazo, to the tropical forests of vast reserves like Parque Nacional Yasuní, to the palm-fringed beaches of the Pacific coast, Ecuador hums with life – all within easy reach of Quito, its jewel of a capital.
The steamy jungle wilderness of the Oriente and the mist-shrouded lowland cloudforests hold and protect just some of the country's mind-boggling array of flora and fauna: there are more bird species per square mile in Ecuador than any other South American country and more orchids than anywhere else on the planet. The country's greatest draw, though, are the captivating Galápagos Islands, nearly 1,0000km from the mainland, whose extraordinary wildlife inspired Charles Darwin and changed the world.
Ecuador's mainland divides neatly into three distinct regions running the length of the country in parallel strips. In the middle is the sierra, formed by the eastern and western chains of the Andes, which are punctuated by more than thirty volcanoes and enclosed by a series of high plateaux at around 2800m above sea level, themselves divided by gentle nudos, or "knots" of hills. This is the agricultural and indigenous heartland of Ecuador, a region of patchwork fields, stately haciendas and remote farming villages, as well as the country's oldest and most important cities, including Quito. East of the sierra is the Oriente, a large, sparsely populated area extending into the upper Amazon basin, much of it covered by dense tropical rainforest – an exhilarating, exotic region, though under increasing threat from the oil industry and colonization. West of the sierra, in the coastal region, banana, sugar, coffee, rice and cacao crops line a fertile alluvial plain that is bordered on its Pacific seaboard by a string of beaches, mangrove swamps, shrimp farms and ports. Almost a thousand kilometres of ocean separate the coastline from the Galápagos archipelago, famed for its wondrous endemic birds, mammals, reptiles and plants.
Ecuador's regions provide a home to almost fifteen million people, the majority of whom live on the coast and in the sierra. For the most part, they are descendants of the various indigenous groups who first inhabited Ecuador's territory twelve thousand years ago, Incas who colonized the land in the late fifteenth century, Spaniards who conquered the Incas in the 1530s and African slaves brought by Spanish colonists. Although the mixing of blood over the centuries has resulted in a largely mestizo (mixed) population, the indigenous element remains very strong, particularly among the Kichwa-speaking communities of the rural sierra and the various ethnic groups of the Oriente such as the Shuar, Achuar, Huaorani and Secoya, while on the north coast there's a significant black population. As in many parts of Latin America, social and economic divisions between indígenas, blacks, mestizos and an elite class of whites remain deeply entrenched, exacerbated by a slew of recurrent economic and political crises. Despite this, the overwhelming majority of Ecuadorians remain resilient, remarkably cheerful, and very courteous and welcoming towards visitors.
Planning your trip to Ecuador
Everything you need to plan where to go and what to do.
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Explore Ecuador
Your comprehensive guide to Ecuador.
Everything you need to know before you set off.
The Rough Guide to Ecuador & the Galápagos Islands
An in-depth, easy-to-use guide filled with expert advice.
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After Ecuador, where next?
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Protesters enter Mich. Capitol with court order
LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Hundreds of chanting and cheering protesters have streamed back into the Michigan Capitol after receiving a court order saying that the building must reopen.
The pro-union crowd walked in as lawmakers were debating right-to-work legislation limiting union powers. The Republican-led House subsequently passed the bill with no Democratic support.
They rejoined other protesters who were in the building when police temporarily closed it hours earlier because of safety concerns.
State police Inspector Gene Adamczyk says a judge ordered the Capitol reopened and authorities did so despite safety concerns.
Many of the protesters chanted "Whose house? Our house!" and stomped as they ringed the Rotunda.
Police earlier arrested eight people who tried to run into the Senate while it was in session.


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Organic Apple Peel Powder 8oz (227g) (3-Pack)
Health Ranger Select Organic Apple Peel Powder 8oz (227g) (3-Pack)
We are pleased to bring you the flavorful experience of organic apple peel in a satisfying, organic powder that is perfect as a phytonutrient-rich daily dietary supplement: Health Ranger Select Organic Apple Peel Powder. 100% grown in Canada!
Apple peels are the "superfood" part of every apple, and they make a powerful nutritional addition to any recipe. Use this delicious powder to naturally enhance the flavor of smoothies, sweeten tea, spice up your morning oatmeal or as a delicious addition to jams and jellies. Mix with organic fruits of all kinds for a natural snack.
Health Ranger Select Organic Apple Peel Powder is USDA certified organic and lab-tested for pesticides and heavy metals. It's made entirely without synthetic chemicals, artificial sweeteners, preservatives or additives of any kind (it's simply 100% organic apple peel grown in Canada).
The perfect "superfood" powder -- even for kids' recipes and smoothies -- our organic apple peel powder is rich in healthy polyphenols and flavonoids. It's a great source of vitamin C and A, and it's 100% sourced from Canada (nothing from China).
Health Ranger Select Organic Apple Peel Powder is processed at low temperatures (below 116 degrees Fahrenheit) to preserve those precious nutrients and enzymes. Our apple peel powder contains 2-6 times more nutrients than apple flesh, plus higher concentrations of phenolic, flavonoids, and quercetin than the apple flesh. It's low-temperature processed to retain its vital nutrients.
Learn more about Health Ranger's Apple Peel Powder!
- USDA Organic
- Kosher Certified
- Glyphosate tested
- Vegan
- Laboratory Verified
- China Free
- Grown Without Pesticides
- Non-GMO
Serving size: 5g (2.5 round teaspoons)
Serving per container: 45
Ingredients: Organic Dried Apple Peel Powder
Country of Origin: Canada
This product is verified A+ based on glyphosate analysis standards published at www.GlyphosateTested.com.
This means the product has been tested via triple quad mass spec (LS-MS-MS) and conforms to the glyphosate / AMPA limits required for an A+ rating as described at www.GlyphosateTested.com.
Low Heavy Metals Verified!
This product is verified A+ according to the heavy metals standards published at www.LowHeavyMetalsVerified.org
This means the product has been tested via ICP-MS and confirmed to meet the limits for an A+ rating as described at LowHeavyMetalsVerified.org.


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Number of known GM dismissals reaches 8 out of 15
to the
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DETROIT (Reuters) -- More names of ousted General Motors Co. executives have begun to emerge -- eight of them so far, including at least one vice president and two directors -- for their roles in the still-unfolding drama over deadly ignition switches in older GM cars, according to people familiar with the matter.
Michael Robinson, vice president for environmental, sustainability and regulatory affairs; Gay Kent, general director of vehicle safety and crashworthiness; and M. Carmen Benavides, recently reassigned as director of product investigations and safety regulations, were among 15 employees dismissed from GM, according to the sources.
They said others dismissed were William Kemp, a senior attorney responsible for engineering and safety issues; Lawrence Buonomo, head of product litigation in GM's legal department; and Jennifer Sevigny, an attorney who heads GM's field product assessment group.
GM CEO Mary Barra on Thursday said GM had dismissed 15 people, including engineers Ray DeGiorgio, designer of the defective switches linked to at least 13 deaths, and Gary Altman, chief engineer for the Chevrolet Cobalt and Saturn Ion, which used those switches.
Barra said "some were removed because of what we consider misconduct or incompetence. Others have been relieved because they simply didn't do enough: They didn't take responsibility (and) didn't act with any sense of urgency" to investigate causes of fatal crashes and inform senior management.
Barra declined to identify the 15 who have left and a GM spokesperson reiterated the company will not provide the names.
Attempts to contact Robinson were unsuccessful. Kent, Benavides, Kemp, Buonomo and Sevigny did not respond to telephone requests for comment.
Several of those dismissed worked on the GM legal staff under General Counsel Michael Millikin, who was one of several top GM executives cleared by investigator Anton Valukas, the chairman of GM's outside counsel Jenner & Block, in an internal probe that was released Thursday.
Prior to heading environmental and regulatory affairs, Robinson held several positions on the legal staff, including general counsel for GM North America.
As head of FPA, Sevigny often worked with the legal staff on lawsuits and legal claims.
Kent and Benavides were top safety officials who sat in on a number of internal meetings on the defective switches, according to the report.
Kemp sat on an important legal review committee that discussed lawsuits and was authorized to handle settlements up to $1.5 million.
The committee was chaired after March 2012 by lawyer Buonomo, the Valukas report said. Some members of the legal team thought the committee could serve to give GM early warnings of safety trends and issues of concern, such as the defective ignition switches. But Buonomo told investigators that he disagreed with this approach and that spotting trends was not the committee's function.
In addition to those dismissed, Barra said five employees were disciplined but would not discuss details.
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I blew it, but let me explain.
Every July for the past three years, I've volunteered to host Mixology Monday, which has usually occurred just before or immediately following Tales of the Cocktail. And every year, once the bustle and liquored-up frenzy of Tales rolls around, I ask myself, "What the hell was I thinking?"
The same goes for 2009. Too busy preparing for Tales to adequately promote it, Mixology Monday caught up with me while I was still trying to recover and get caught up from the event. And so it rolled on by….
Anyway, apologies to all for the MxMo-free July, but I'm thinking it might not be such a bad idea to take July off in the years to come.
And so, moving into August — here comes MxMo XLI. Our kind host for the August 10 edition is Amelia at Felicia's Speakeasy, and for this round the topic is — ready for it? — VODKA IS YOUR FRIEND. Yes! We've dismissed it, we've disdained it, we've smeared its name across the Internet; now it's time to take a step back and see what we can do. As our host explains:
The theme of August 10th's Mixology Monday is "Vodka is Your Friend." The recent high profile bashings of vodka interspersed with a few weak "yeah, buts…" left me wondering, is vodka the axis of evil, our most dangerous enemy? While it may not be the life of the party, experts agree: Vodka's obituary does not have to be written just yet.
So suck it up, people, and let's see if we can make something respectable out of the best-selling spirit in the U.S. (and, I dunno, probably lots of other places as well). Here's how to participate:
- Find or create a cocktail that contains vodka as one of its ingredients.
- Email the host a link to your post before midnight on Monday, August 10 (amelia AT atomicloungeithaca DOT com) –or- post a link to your blog as a comment on the host's announcement post.
- Post your recipe and reasonings on your blog along with a drink photo. Make sure to include a link to Felicia's Speakeasy (our host) and Mixology Monday, as well as the MxMo logo.
See you there–


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The world depends on mariners. Mariners depend on SCI. And we depend on you.
Photos from a trip aboard AmherstMadison's MV O. Nelson Jones, taken in October 2011.
Photos by Gregory Thorp.
The Seamen's Church Institute cares for the hardworking men and women of maritime commerce, but our mission would not be possible without the help of individuals, churches, corporations and foundations that work with SCI to meet their needs.