text: HKSS.com | Community > Discussion Forum > View topic - What makes a good 'Leader'? Home Community Superstars Music | What's New | Help HKSS | Search* Discussions | HKE Chat | Reflections of Life | Virtual Cards | Member Galleries Please excuse our mess. HKSS is currently under re-construction and some links/sections don't work yet. What's New: Latest updates | Member Galleries | Music | HKE Chat | About HKSS.com Community Discussions HKE Chat Reflections of Life Member Galleries Virtual Cards* Play Music Superstars Profiles* Galleries* Reviews Gossip & News Other Privacy Policy Terms of Use Link to HKSS* HKSS.com What's New About Contact* Advertise* Help HKSS Links YesAsia yuenStudios Do you like HKSS? My Watched Topics | My Favorites | My Profile Private IMs Register Log in Help | Stats | Members | Groups Search Forum What makes a good 'Leader'? HKSS.com Forum Index -> Reflections of Life View previous topic :: View next topic Author Message Mikey_Life is good. Be inspired.Joined: 04 Oct 2003Posts: 1322Location: Fountain Valley, California (USA) Posted: Wed May 10, 2006 8:57 pm Post subject: What makes a good 'Leader'? If you want to become a better leader, this thread may be of use to you. Here I am sharing some of the things I have been reading about. There are several models for effective leadership. Here's the Kouzes and Posner model, as outlined in their book, "The Leadership Challenge". The Leadership Challenge Model Five Practices of Leadership - Model the Way - Inspire a Shared Vision - Challenge the Process - Enable Others to Act - Encourage the Heart These five practices come with 10 Commitments as follows: Model the Way - Find your voice by clarifying your personal values. - Set the example by aligning actions with shared values. Inspire a Shared Vision - Envision the future by imagining exciting and ennobling possibilities. - Enlist others in a common vision by appealing to shared aspirations. Challenge the Process - Search for opportunities by seeking innovative ways to change, grow, and improve. - Experiment and take risks by constantly generating small wins and learning from mistakes. Enable Others to Act - Foster collaboration by promoting cooperative goals and building trust. - Strengthen others by sharing power and discretion. Encourage the Heart - Recognize contributions by showing appreciation for individual excellence. - Celebrate the values and victories by creating a spirit of community. And Steven Covey's model. He also has a book, titled "The 7 Habits of Effective Families." The 7 Habits of Effective Leaders - Habit 1: Be Proactive: Principles of Personal Vision - Habit 2: Begin with the End in Mind: Principles of Personal Leadership - Habit 3: Put First Things First: Principles of Personal Management - Habit 4: Think Win/Win: Principles of Interpersonal Leadership - Habit 5: Seek First to Understand, Then Be Understood - Habit 6: Synergize: Principles of Creative Communication - Habit 7: Sharpen the Saw: Principles of Balanced Self-RenewalLast edited by Mikey_ on Wed May 10, 2006 9:02 pm; edited 1 time in total Back to top Mikey_Life is good. Be inspired.Joined: 04 Oct 2003Posts: 1322Location: Fountain Valley, California (USA) Posted: Wed May 10, 2006 9:02 pm Post subject: I find Kouzes and Posner's model very, very useful. It's definitely worth checking out and with sufficient practice, many of the commitments can become a habit. Leadership skills can also help you get the confidence to be a stronger person. Try it Back to top LexiLunaticJoined: 25 Jul 2004Posts: 185 Posted: Wed May 10, 2006 9:12 pm Post subject: I had a HUGE crush on one of my teacher's in high school and I can remember reading that Steven Covey book in a futile attempt to impress him. Ha! I won't even go into my lame schemes to get a 28 year old man to notice a geeky, 14 year old me. I'll post more some other time about what I thought about the book but I am glad that you are reading it. These days I would read that books simply for pleasure. I highly recommend it. bye! c Back to top Mikey_Life is good. Be inspired.Joined: 04 Oct 2003Posts: 1322Location: Fountain Valley, California (USA) Posted: Wed May 10, 2006 9:13 pm Post subject: Sleep well. You've been up for 20 hours today, no? Michael EDIT: I had a crush on some professors/teachers in the past too It's only natural... Back to top LexiLunaticJoined: 25 Jul 2004Posts: 185 Posted: Thu May 11, 2006 10:22 pm Post subject: Thanks, Mikey. The way you say that makes me feel as if you are tucking me into bed or something. Wouldn't that be nice? Anyway, I can't sleep, my friend. Not tonight anyway. I have a lot on my mind and I had way too much fun this evening. I'm usually in bed by now since I tend to wake up so early to do homework or read work related material or exercise. I'm just kind of wide awake this evening. I like the leadership challenge model that you posted. It's actually very factual and I agree with it whole heartedly. Some of the five practices are really hard to implement. Wouldn't you agree? Other factors come into play and kind of muddy the waters. I really believe in the practice of challenging the process and I see the value in enabling others to act. Those two principals, in particular, have received quite a bit of attention in the world of management. See ya later! Back to top Mikey_Life is good. Be inspired.Joined: 04 Oct 2003Posts: 1322Location: Fountain Valley, California (USA) Posted: Fri May 12, 2006 2:46 am Post subject: Being tucked in is always nice, but for an odd reason, I personally prefer NOT to be tucked in (well, maybe once in a while.) Cuddling and listening to your significant other's peaceful breathing is nicer (as long as the weather isn't too hot) So, what do you do when you can't sleep? I couldn't sleep well last night either -- quite a lot of things on my mind as well, but it's been taken care of As my professor said about "knowledge is power" -- many managers make the mistake of hogging all the information to themselves. This has many disadvantages: 1. Doesn't give the workers enough information to do their job right. 2. Doesn't give the workers enough information to do proper decisions or make their own decisions. 3. Doesn't allow the workers to grow and learn from past decisions they may have made. Managers often feel that the more information you withhold, the more important you become and the more secure your position will be. It's also a simple power play (with men usually.) Our professor pointed out that no matter what happens in your team, the manager will always get the credit or blame. So, by sharing the information with your team, they can make better decisions, grow professionally and personally, and in turn complete projects more successfully. And who would still get the credit? The manager. So, why withhold information? If you play the cards right, your team will not grow to the point where they would surpass your management position. I absolutely agree with that. I believe that a manager should be a mentor. I believe in challenging the process big-time as well. In fact, I have been doing that quite a bit at work. Nobody else in the team really bothers to because they are either too busy, are too afraid to lose their jobs (they all are married), or because the manager wouldn't listen or would even retaliate. Me? I don't have a family yet. So, I'll keep on pushing until things improve Sleep well, if you haven't already. Michael Back to top LexiLunaticJoined: 25 Jul 2004Posts: 185 Posted: Sat May 13, 2006 9:58 am Post subject: Hi, I am a restless sleeper most of the time and though I enjoy being tucked in, I usually don't stay tucked in for long. And yes, cuddling is the best, especially if you can stay the whole evening and wake up in the morning next to your partner. I love that. Hot weather does but a damper on things. During the summer months, I can not exist without the AC on full blast. When I can't sleep, I usually go outside for a walk. Fresh air does wonders for me. Sometimes I will put my running shoes on and go for a jog on my treadmill or around the block. Othertimes, I will simply turn on the television. Sometimes taking another quick shower helps me to fall asleep. To be perfectly honest, I don't really sleep much to begin with. I can get away with 3-6 hours of sleep a day. There are days however, like a few nights ago, that sleep escapes me completely. I usually make up for it a few days later by being really tired and sleeping for 10 hours straight. I have to say that I have been guilty of hogging information to myself before. I know that this is not good but sometimes sharing information is not that easy either. Sometimes giving instructions and sharing information falls on deaf ears. Have you ever had that happen? Where it's kind of like, "Forget it, I'll do it myself". I do know that this is not the best way to handle things and I am learning about strategies to cope with that. But my work requires me to have a great deal of deadlines and sometimes time for teaching is not written in my schedule. I actually was home for about a week to take midterms, look into some repairs that I had made to my house, and just take care of some things that I needed to. I dropped by my OC office. I had gotten a little fed up with some things that were going on there and I drafted and gave a copy of my resignation letter to my boss. I also placed a copy of my letter in our director's mailbox. My director saw my letter before my boss did (he was out sick...again) and she came running to my office to tell me that we needed to talk. We went out to lunch to discuss my reasons for leaving. That's the first time that I have ever done something like that. My director and I talked and she asked me to reconsider. We talked at length at some of the things that were bothering me. She seemed to understand where I was coming from. You know Michael, I can understand if a person does not know how to perform a certain task. I've been there. Heck, I'm still there. There are plenty of things in my job that I still don't have down 100%. I love to learn and I am enjoying learning those things that I don't know. What I can't understand is if you don't understand something and you are not doing your job well, why you wouldn't do everything in your power to fix that. I have people that I work with who just don't want to help me make things go smoothly. Anyway, my director (my boss's boss) spoke candidly to me about what she perceived to be the problem. She acknowledged some things that I was surprised to hear that she knew about but that I knew were true. All in all, we had a good chat. I withdrew my resignation. I didn't tell her this but in my heart I knew that not even she was capable of changing some of the behaviors of certain individuals in our office. My temp promotion in Sacramento is still good for now but I am now aggressively looking for a new job in the OC or LA county or city governments. Particularly in LA county if in December (when I graduate with my master's) UCLA accepts me to the Ph.D. program. UCLA has conditionally accepted me to their program. I'm still waiting to hear from UCI. All of that is still a BIG maybe. If I can't complete the Ph.D program while maintaining my job and/or it interferes with work and disrupts my life too much, I won't do it. I am happy with simply earning my master's and being done with the education thing. At this point in my life, a Ph.D would be nice to have for personnel reasons but I feel that I have enough education under my belt and I am more interested in cementing my career. I also want to relax, enjoy and have a personnel life. Go to the beach, take a vacation, eat... yumm, I love to eat. So yeah, even though I would live to be called Dr. Aguirre, the Ph.D. thing is a big maybe. I plan to dedicate my whole summer to interviewing for other positions. I hope that I didn't make my work environment sound too bad cause it's not. Just like in any organization it has its pros and cons. I still like my job or perhaps I should say I like the field that I am in. I love my job. There are simply mitigating factors that I am looking to change about my job and I have come to the conclusion that I would like to start from scratch some place else. I am not running just looking for a change. Leadership-I enjoy learning about how to be a good leader. I know that personnally, I have a lot to learn and could benefit from more leadership training. One of my classes is about organizational management and leadership skills that managers should acquire. I've picked up a few tips from this class. Management. Fascinating stuff, isn't it? I hope you have a great weekend! I hope you and your mom have a great Mother's Day! Ciao! Back to top Mikey_Life is good. Be inspired.Joined: 04 Oct 2003Posts: 1322Location: Fountain Valley, California (USA) Posted: Wed May 17, 2006 1:09 pm Post subject: The AC definitely is nice, but I tend to leave it off and use a fan instead. Topless is the way to go Just drink lots of ice-cold water... I can see the frustration in giving out instructions and they not being followed. From the person RECEIVING the instructions' point of view, I often am inclined to verify with the person that I understood his/her request correctly (particularly with my IT Director... he's got a lousy communication problem.) This can help ensure that you will carry out whatever the supervisor wants you to do. It also allows you to clarify what exactly he/she wants. The "Forget it, I'll do it myself" attitude isn't the best approach in terms of leadership. It puts the trust AWAY from your constituents, thus negating the "Encourage the Heart" and "Enable Others to Act" portions of the Leadership Challenge model. One approach you may be able to try is to ask them to verify that they understood your instructions correctly and by when they estimate that they could be completed by. Then hold them accountable for missing the deadline. It's important that you don't micro-manage. Most people hate being micro-managed or constantly looked-over-the-shoulder with (I hate it myself!) Of course, time is always an important factor. Deadlines sometimes dictate that you take a more serious approach, but what can be done to encourage employees to meet those deadlines? Incentives. Why SHOULD they meet those deadlines? Inspire a Shared Vision (Leadership Challenge Model) and Encourage the Heart (Rewards/"genuine" Recognition -- note that I added "genuine".) If they don't share the same vision as you, then they'd just be automatons. You can usually inspire a shared vision by discussing with them what your vision and values are and getting their input. Perhaps formulate a new, modified vision that everybody agrees on. After all of that is done, what's important is that you be CONSISTENT with actions and words to follow that vision/those values... inconsistency brings upon confusion and ill thoughts. A noble cause tends to help with the vision as well AND encourages the heart. If people aren't meeting deadlines, you may also want to evaluate YOURSELF. What can YOU do to improve yourself? Better planning? Better communication? Often, leaders think they are doing a GOOD job when in fact their constituents are thinking the total opposite (as in my IT department's case -- manager thinks he's the BEST leader possible, but everybody in the department thinks he's a LOUSY, LOUSY manager.) Taking the time to teach people, though time consuming, can have positive, long-term results. For example, by them doing their jobs better, you'll have an easier time. Your department will also look better. And as their leader, guess who'll still get the credit? Be careful though. As a Chinese saying goes, the master will never teach the student everything he/she knows. There'll always be one thing the master will keep to himself in case the student turns against him. Wow, it's been that bad in the OC office huh? I'm glad the director knows about the issues and is trying to work on them. Perhaps it's not such a bad idea to stick around for a while longer. Some people will not help you do your job better for many reasons. One of which you already mentioned: "I'm not getting paid to teach her." - Do they have the time and/or energy to teach you? - Are they afraid that your talents could become a threat to them? - Do they like you? - Are you some little "punk" kid who thinks she knows or wants to know everything? If yes, why? Is she trying to show off? Take over our jobs? Perceptions can sometimes be different from reality. - Are they letting you learn it the hard way? I prefer learning it the hard way rather than people showing me how to do something -- that is, if there's sufficient time available. Learning things this way will allow you to go through the positives and negatives of that journey, thus helping you learn other things along the way. If I don't know how to start at all, then yes, I'd appreciate someone showing me the basics. I tend to take it to new heights from there if it's something I'm interested in. A Ph.D. can be intimidating to some guys. It's a macho thing. Some are put off by a woman being perceived as "smarter" than they are, though a degree simply means that you took an educational path rather than the other paths that are available. To me, it still comes down to how you USE that education. I could care less if you are a Ph.D. if you don't know how to put that knowledge into good, practical use. Management definitely is fascinating (one of the reasons for my taking the MBA.) There's soooo much to learn, but it's definitely interesting. I still regret not having paid so much attention in college, but then again: my goal at that time was to just graduate and make lots of money. The priorities have changed since. Have an excellent week! Michael Back to top LexiLunaticJoined: 25 Jul 2004Posts: 185 Posted: Thu May 25, 2006 9:15 pm Post subject: You are so funny! Yeah, I guess you are right. Topless is the way to go. My roomie sometimes complains that I like to keep the condo too cold and so oftentimes I just turn off the AC and compensate for the loss of cool air by sleeping in nothing but a t-shirt. I just wanted to say that I have enjoyed reading this topic. My workplace in OC has really been a bad place to work lately. This is true for a variety of reasons. I do have to say that things are getting better. When I return full time to the OC, I am confident that some of my problems at work will be gone. I know that I have a great deal to learn to become an effective leader. I know that there are strategies that I could adopt that would not only help me but my team as well. I am working on implementing things that I learned in business school and I know that I have a great deal to learn. The deal at my work is that my immediate supervisor is a dingbat. I swear, it's true. He's impossible. He was promoted by a office politics fluke a few years ago. He is unqualified to do the actual work that we do. Unfortunately, in the public sector it is very difficult to fire or demote an employee for poor performance. It is one of the reasons why government workers get such a bad rap. We have very antiquated HR rules that are strongly supported by a very politically connected union. I get really frustrated at times with a whole skew of things. I don't mean to be cruel, condesending or rude sounding but my supervisor is completly unsuitable. His expereince, his employment background if you will, is actually in construction. He would be more suited to be outdoors mixing cement or laying bricks than in an office environment. He knows it. I know it. Our director knows it. We all know it but there is precious little that we could do about it. He's worked for local government for 31 years and in government terms, he's untouchable. Public sector is not the same as private sector when it comes to things like this. We basically just have to wait for him to retire when he is ready. He can be transferred somewhere else but his reputation is so bad that no one will accept him. My director has already tried that strategy. Anyway, I am not into dwelling on things that I can not change. It's not that I am unhappy at my OC job, it's just that it's time for me to go. Like I said, I am not into racking my brain trying to change impossible situations. I'd rather chalk this up as a learning experience and just kind of glean whatever useful information that I can from this. I hate to sound gossipy. But I speak the truth on this. My boss is having an affair with his asssistant. His assistant has recently accepted a position at another government agency and so when I return, things will be a little bit better for me without her there. I always found his assistant to be difficult to work with. I think that she thought that my boss had a thing for me. He is sooOOooOoo gross and looks at anything in a skirt and so I don't entirely blame her for her fears. I always got the vibe that she resented me for having to spend so much time with her little loverboy. She also resented and rejected what I brought to the division with regards to professional research. She just hated me. Little did she know (because I don't talk about my personal life with coworkers other than the general stuff) that up until 6 months or so, I was still grieving for Tim and would have never even so much as looked at her little loverboy's way. I also believe in information sharing and enabling others. If she had half a brain, Michael, I would have been willing to work with her on research projects rather than retreating into my office and simply churning out quality reports and grants as needed without her input. She and I could have been a good team but she was just too ridicules for me and our work relationship began to suffer almost from the very beginning. So anyway, office politics... Don't you just love it? I am not as unhappy as I sound at the OC office. I make a decent salary and for the most part, I am treated very well at my work. I am just looking for a change. I am applying for all kinds of stuff in city governments in and around OC. I have a couple of interviews next month. Wish me luck!! Some of the things that you mentioned in your last post are very true. I think that at times, I am seen as the young kid who wants to come in to "fix things taht are not broken." There is still a great deal for me to learn and I am grateful for any chance that I get to learn and grasp new skills. I actually have not mentioned to anyone at home or at work that I am trying to go for my Ph.D. At work, I won't mention it for the reasons that you stated. A Ph.D is intimidating to some and I feel that it would not be in my best interest to advertise my academic achievements at work. I will eventually tell my family, but not yet. I want to be fully accepted into the program first. I will be persuing a Ph.D for personnel reasons. I've always wanted one. I know that it does not seem like it with some of my previous soul baring messages but I am a extremly private person. No, I won't be advertising my doctorate to anyone except when it is appropriate, for example, during a job interview. Besides, I think the same way that you do in this topic. I could care less if someone has a Ph.D. I'd rather work with someone who was uneducated but yet capable than with someone who had received a great deal of training and was useless or lazy. I'm sleepy, Mike. I have to be up early tomorrow. I'll come back in here some other time. Thanks for letting me vent. Hope you have a wonderful weekend!! Cynthia Back to top Mikey_Life is good. Be inspired.Joined: 04 Oct 2003Posts: 1322Location: Fountain Valley, California (USA) Posted: Mon Jun 12, 2006 1:55 am Post subject: I have heard that in governments, if you don't like someone, you could reassign that person to something where the person would eventually quit... How have your interviews gone thus far? Michael Back to top Display posts from previous: All Posts1 Day7 Days2 Weeks1 Month3 Months6 Months1 Year Oldest FirstNewest First HKSS.com Forum Index -> Reflections of Life All times are GMT - 8 Hours Page 1 of 1 Jump to: Select a forum Entertainment----------------All EntertainmentReviewsGossip and NewsIdol DiscussionsMusicMoviesTV Shows Non-Entertainment----------------General DiscussionsNew MembersFun and GamesReflections of LifeHobbies, TravelFood and CookingHelp!Websites HKSS.com----------------Announcements/ What's New?Help HKSS.comFeedback/ Contact HKSS.comWishlist You cannot post new topics in this forumYou cannot reply to topics in this forumYou cannot edit your posts in this forumYou cannot delete your posts in this forumYou cannot vote in polls in this forum Back to top Copyright © 1996-2014 HKSS.com™. All Rights Reserved. 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Time Running Out for Veterans' Fertility Bill | Environment
Title (Max 100 Characters)
Air Force Times by Rick Maze
The clock is running on a $568 million Senate bill that would expand infertility treatment for veterans, including vitro fertilization treatments at an estimated cost of $15,000 per user.
If the bill doesn't pass the Senate and House by year's end, it will vanish on Jan. 3 when a new session of Congress convenes. Legislation left hanging from a previous Congress dies when the new session begins.
The Women Veterans' and Other Health Care Improvements Act of 2012, passed by the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee in September and awaiting a vote by the full Senate, would break new ground in providing fertility assistance in cases where a veteran has suffered service-connected injuries that make natural reproduction difficult or impossible.
It would cover assisted reproductive technology, such as vitro fertilization, including both the treatments and delivery of an infant if the treatment is successful. Female veterans, the spouses of veterans and surrogates would be eligible.
The per-pregnancy cost of the proposed benefit would be high, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. It estimates that about 560 pregnancies a year, at an average cost of $52,000 each, would result from the assisted reproductive treatments. About one-third of those receiving the treatment would become pregnant, according to the CBO cost estimate.
In addition to fertilization treatment, the bill, S 3313, would pay adoption costs for severely wounded veterans with service-connected disabilities related to infertility. Veterans would receive reimbursement for costs associated with up to three adoptions as long as the expenses did not exceed the expense of one cycle of vitro fertilization or another assisted reproductive treatment. That would be about $15,000.
The provisions would not take effect right away. If the legislation passed now, the first fertility treatments would not be covered before late 2014 because the Veterans Affairs Department would have up to 18 months to establish program rules.
A companion bill, HR 6527, was introduced in the House on Sept. 21 by Rep. Rick Larsen, D-Wash, where no action has occurred. Even if the measure somehow passed the Senate before the end of the year, it could easily die from inaction in the House, according to congressional aides tracking veterans' legislation.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Shameless Swanley. Ever seen a mindless thug push a bespectacled, grey-haired, 25-stone man to the floor before kicking him ferociously in the head until he was senseless? Try an early evening in the Lullingstone Castle.
Perhaps such barbaric acts are normal for 6.45 on a Tuesday evening in this particular Swanley boozer.
Certainly no-one in the pub seemed concerned, even at the height of the attack, the pool balls were still being potted, mindless conversations continued and the kids didn't even look up from their homework.
Maybe it's just me, but the idea that so many children were in the bar to witness such gratuitous violence at first hand left me feeling distinctly uneasy.
But no-one else seemed to bat an eyelid. The Chelsea shirt-clad thug got another pint in, pulled up his Chelsea tracksuit bottoms, had a fag break and continued to joke along with his pals. In fairness, these pals did finally step in during the worst part of the attack to protect the victim from worse punishment.
Remembering the hostility I encountered almost a year ago during my previous visit to this appalling hellhole of an establishment I found it difficult remembering why I'd chosen to give it a second chance.
The ale on offer certainly hasn't improved, although signs stating "Cheers George, 1p off a pint of beer" are clearly visible.
The other thing clearly visible are the CCTV cameras adorning the bar. Mind you, given what I'd just witnessed, perhaps I shouldn't have been surprised there are seven cameras on bar alone – yes, go in and count them if you dare, seven.
So, had anything improved since my last visit? The atmosphere may be more jovial, following the assault anyway, but you're still going to attract the vacant gazes of the resident Neanderthals.
If I'm not much mistaken, the toilets have had a makeover – I'd have hated to write a whole article without finding something positive to say.
As the ancient songs from the vintage TV blared out, covering most of the obscenities and violence, I couldn't help but overhear one conversation behind me.
He (the instantly likeable chap) said: "Well, should I come round yours or not? If I'm on for some then I'll come, if not I'll stay and get pissed."
She (the one with dyed red hair) said: "I've got to make tea and put the kids to bed. I was thinking of watching a DVD."
He said: "Look, am I on or not, cos I can always stay and drink."
She said: "You really don't know me yet, do you?"
And off they went into the night with her two kids, though the same door which the man beaten senseless had finally managed to drag himself through some minutes earlier.
Ah, the Lullingstone Castle, Swanley – how lovely.
PS. Even if the barmaid's poisonous explanation for the attack is true, it's still no excuse for such a sickening attack.
Lullingstone Castle, High Street, Swanley.
Decor: ** (toilets better than the rest of the place)
Drink: ** (still no decent ale, but other basics are present)
Price: **** (not bad at all, £3.53 for a pint of San Miguel)
Atmosphere: (terrifying)
Staff: *** (kept smiling)
Click here to read what PubSpy made of Lullingstone Castle a year ago.
Update - Redhead responds
A fight, the offer of sex and a packet of Monster Munch.
I thought I'd seen it all at the Lullingstone Castle, and then my editor says: "Have you seen this complaint? I think we need to publish it."
Well, whatever she might say, I can assure you I reported the conversation accurately. I can't for certain say what happened later – I'll leave that to your imagination.
Here's what she said:
"Hi i am the red head woman mentioned in this report i am simply fumming because the conversation what happened between my friend and i was not as it was written there was no conversation of him (my friend ) saying if i am in for a promise then i will come back to your place and if not i will stay here and get drunk (these comments were not even said ).
"There wasnt any kids doing home work they were just playing with friends.
"I think the lully is a friendly pub there just happened to be a disagreement on that day with a few people,i will keep this as my local. Bar staff are friendly and welcoming i would appriciate a written appolagy". (sic)
- PubSpy is asked to queue politely for a pint - and is completely baffled
- PubSpy has given up sobriety and is back - at the Trafalgar Tavern in Greenwich
- Looks can be deceiving for Pubspy as he tries this Greenwich pub
- PubSpy visits Eltham GPO but is this old post office a first-class boozer?
- PubSpy may have found a new favourite boozer - and it's in Bexley village


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Tonight, the Knicks overcame an early deficit and rallied to defeat the winless Wizards 99-96. Melo was the star tonight with 37 including the game winning three with fifteen seconds left on the clock. The Knicks front court made the difference tonight as the Knicks guards, minus Shumpert, were outplayed by Washington.
Here are some notes from the game:
- Shumpert made the difference. I usually do not give a lot of merit to the +/- stat in the NBA. However, tonight the +/- ratio for two particular Knick guards is very telling about how the game went. Starting point guard Toney Douglas played only 12 minutes and was a -12 on the night. Rookie Iman Shumpert played 37 minutes and was a + 20. The Knicks level of play overall was much higher when Shumpert was in the game as opposed to when Douglas was in the game. Douglas could not stay with John Wall but Shumpert pretty much shut Wall down. I thought the offense had nice flow to it when Shumpert was running the point and I thought the defense played more energized as well. Douglas was not good tonight. He was 0-5 and only played 12 minutes. I think right now, Douglas will be better suited off the bench for when Baron Davis comes back.
- Melo was unstoppable. Carmelo Anthony tonight showed why the Knicks gave up everything in New York short of Spike Lee to get him. He had 37 points on 33 shots tonight. That doesn't sound great but watching the game, Melo dominated whoever the Wizards tried to put on him. Melo had a few of his shots blocked but I didn't think that was a huge deal. He was fantastic as he drove two spectacular "and-1" fouls. Obviously when you take 33 shots, some blocked shots will occur but overall I thought Melo was excellent tonight.
- Knicks miss Jeffries. Yes I know his limitations offensively but right now this team is missing him. Chandler and Stoudemire had to play big minutes again tonight and I think that is the wrong idea. I agree that the Knicks need to play with each other more in order to fully develop a chemistry but that being said, D'Antoni has to be very careful with his star's minutes.
- Stoudemire was lost again on offense tonight. His jump shot continues to fail him and he had 5 turnovers tonight. One positive for the Knicks is that Stoudemire was active in attacking the rim tonight. He was 7-7 at the rim tonight and 2-14 on all other shots. Right now, STAT is just in a funk but I was encouraged by seeing his activity down low tonight. He also recorded 12 boards which was huge.
- Chandler seems to be settling in at center. He recorded 12 points and 15 boards tonight. If the Knicks get 12 and 15 from Chandler every night they will win more games then they lose. Chandler wasn't real active in the pick and roll tonight but he kept a lot of balls alive, got to the free-throw line, and scored some second chance points. This is what the Knicks paid for. Chandler will continue to play like this in my opinion and tonight was a nice night for him.
- There was a Bibby sighting tonight. Bibby dusted off his seemingly lost jump shot and hit some big shots for the Knicks tonight. He was 4-6 overall and 3-3 from beyond the arc. If Bibby can continually hit his 3 pointers, he will be a valuable addition off the bench.
- Unfortunately, Bibby did tweak his back in the game tonight…
- So did Melo… but Melo is expected to play tomorrow versus Detroit.
- I noted before the game that the Knicks needed to play solid transition defense against John Wall tonight and they did anything but that. Washington's offense was fueled by Wall's continuous ability to get baskets in transition, especially early in the game. He absolutely ate up Douglas tonight. Shumpert faired far better against Wall in terms of just not letting him get to the hoop so easily. The Knicks were outscored by the Wizards in transition 31-15.
- Bill Walker did have a nice dunk tonight but then offset that by having at least 3 or 4 other really bad plays.
- Steve Novak recorded 0 minutes for the second straight game. I imagine he will get some run tomorrow against Detroit since the Knicks will be playing the second game in a back to back.


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Director: Charles Shyer. With Hilary Swank, Jonathan Pryce, Adrien Brody, Simon Baker, Christopher Walken, Brian Cox, Joely Richardson. (120 min.)
Sterritt ** Check off the ingredients for an old-fashioned historical melodrama: an orphan with noble blood, a secretly sinful churchman, an imperious queen, a mystic who may or may not know the future, and a piece of spectacular jewelry that becomes the center of an explosive 18th-century scandal. This sort of material goes back to D.W. Griffith and beyond, and Swank's persona seems too modern to compete with Lillian Gish on her own turf. The movie has almost enough corny appeal to offset its lack of originality, though, and Walken is fun as Cagliostro, the court's great prognosticator and all-around weirdo.
Director: John Moore. With Gene Hackman, Owen Wilson, David Keith, Joaquim de Almeida. (105 min.)
Staff ** See review, page 15
Director: Peter Weir. With Richard Chamberlain, David Gulpilil, Olivia
Hamnett. (106 min.)
Sterritt **** A corporate lawyer in Sydney, Australia, agrees to defend a group of Aboriginal men against a murder charge, only to find that his clients are reluctant to discuss some aspects of their lives. Probing deeper, he learns that tribal mysteries aren't as absent from the modern Australian city as he thought, and before long his findings take on increasingly apocalyptic implications. Weir had a truly magical touch in early films like this 1977 masterpiece, which offers a transfixing excursion into the "dream time" of Australian myth.
Directors: Charles Broune Jr., Joel Holt. With Jayne Mansfield, Mickey Hargitay. (90 min.)
Sterritt * Oddity alert! Made in 1968, not long after Mansfield's death, this tacky exploitation flick combines promotional footage shot during the actress's career - most of it during a European sightseeing tour - with coy shots of
"shocking" material (stripteases, drag queens) and a minidocumentary about the car crash that ended her life. The results are unbelievably tedious, but Mansfield buffs may find it intermittently worthwhile.
Director: Jean-Pierre Jeunet. With Audrey Tautou, Mathieu Kassovitz, Rufus, Arthus de Penguern. (121 min.)
Sterritt *** Amélie is a waitress who anonymously becomes an eager do-gooder for people who never asked her to barge into their lives. Jeunet is never happy with a scene until he's directed it half to death with manic camera work and editing. But Tautou's acting is amiable enough to shine through any cinematic fuss. In French with English subtitles
Staff ***1/2 Unconventional, delightful, mischievous, visually stunning.
VS/N: 8 scenes with implied sex, innuendo and brief nudity. VV: 4 mild scenes of comic violence. VP: None. VD: 9 scenes with alcohol, 1 scene with a cigarette.
Director: Gil Junger. With Martin Lawrence, Tom Wilkinson, Marsha Thompson, Vincent Regan. (95 min.)
Staff ** Jamal (Martin Lawrence), a dispirited worker at Medieval World, a run-down amusement park, reaches for a medallion in the park's moat and hurtles back in time to 14thcentury England. There, his street smarts and a previously hidden streak of courage mobilize a ragtag bunch of rebels to depose the corrupt king. The movie is a lot better than you think it's going to be, thanks to Lawrence's energy, witty lines, and a good-natured take on old clichés. By M.K. Terrell.
Director: Chris Columbus. With Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Robbie Coltrane, Maggie Smith. (150 min.)
Sterritt *** This richly produced fantasy stays true to the letter and spirit of J.K. Rowling's novel about an 11-year-old boy who discovers he's a natural-born wizard. The picture's best assets are its marvelous special effects and superbly chosen cast. Its worst liabilities are John Williams's bombastic music and a too-long running time that could have used an extra wave of the film editor's wand.
Staff **1/2 Stirs childhood memories, a bit ordinary, enchanting, top-notch effects.
VS/N: None. VV: 8 scenes, quite intense for small children. VP: 1 mild expression. VD: 1 scene with alcohol.
Director: David Mamet. With Gene Hackman, Rebecca Pidgeon, Delroy Lindo, Danny DeVito. (107 min.)
Sterritt *** An aging thief (Hackman) assembles his accomplices and wife for an ambitious crime. It's fun watching the master criminal turn his worst mistakes into crafty comebacks, just as Mamet turns the most familiar ingredients into unpredictable jolts and reverse-twist surprises.
Staff **1/2 Inscrutable, crisply directed, tired plot.
VS/N: 1 scene of implied sex. VV: 2 scenes. VP: 92 harsh expressions. VD: 15 scenes with cigarettes, 3 scenes with alcohol.
Director: Irwin Winkler. With Kevin Kline, Kristen Scott Thomas, Hayden Christensen. (124 min.)
Sterritt *** A lonely, eccentric architect (Kevin Kline) is diagnosed with terminal cancer. To atone for a lifetime of mistakes, he builds his dream home, enlisting his estranged and rebellious teenage son and the help of his ex-wife. Building the house becomes a metaphor for a life rebuilt and relationships restored. The lead actors give credible, real, meaningful performances. By Steven Savides
Staff *** Enriching, sad but inspiring, preachy.
VS/N: 9 scenes of sex and graphic innuendo. VV: 2 scenes. VP: 31 harsh expressions. VD: 1 scene of alcohol, 4 scenes with cigarettes, 4 scenes with substance abuse.
Director: Joel Coen. With Billy Bob Thornton, Frances McDormand, James Gandolfini. (116 min.)
Sterritt **** Thornton gives an Oscar-worthy performance as a 1940s barber who's unhappy about the affair his wife is having. The plot thickens when he arranges a blackmail scheme to take revenge. This is an affectionate homage to the "film noir" genre, acted to near-perfection by a choice cast.
Staff ***1/2 Sustained tension, well-paced, impeccable acting, atmospheric.
VS/N: None. VV: 3 scenes, including graphic violence. VP: 38 mostly mild expressions. VD: 5 scenes with alcohol, 32 scenes with cigarettes.
Director: Pete Docter. With voices of John Goodman, Jennifer Tilly, Billy Crystal, Steve Buscemi. (90 min.)
Sterritt *** The setting is a monster-populated city where the monsters are more scared of kids than kids are of them. The characters are as sweet as they are ridiculous, and the story is told with gentleness and tact. But many of the story's grownup touches - a monster love affair, references to old movies - are more calculated than clever.
Staff ***1/2 Warm and fuzzy, Not as good as "Toy Story," inventive, well-voiced.
VS/N: None. VV: 10 scenes, of comic violence. VP: None. VD: None.
Director: David Atkins. With Steve Martin, Laura Dern. Helena Bonham Carter. (95 min.)
Staff **1/2 There is comedy in "Novocaine," a film-noir tale about a dentist who becomes a murder suspect, but it's pitch black. One immediately empathizes with him during his plight as he runs from both cops and the real murderer. This is an unconventional film, but director Atkins manages to get the difficult tone right. By Stephen Humphries
Director: Penny Marshall. With Drew Barrymore, Steve Zahn, Brittany Murphy. (132 min.)
Staff **1/2 Barrymore plays an ordinary teenager who becomes pregnant at 15 and reluctantly marries her young lover. The film is a touching look at the relationships and events that shaped one woman's life. By Steven Savides
Staff *** Full of pathos, satisfying, well-acted.
VS/N: 2 scenes of innuendo. VV: 4 scenes, including a mild fight. VP: 15 expressions. VD: 7 scenes with alcohol, 7 scenes with cigarettes, 3 scenes with drugs.
Directors: Peter Farrelly, Bobby Farrelly. With Jack Black, Gwyneth Paltrow. (110 min.)
Staff ** The main character judges women by their physical beauty, until a self-help guru makes him blind to everything but a person's inner worth. Under this spell, Hal thinks overweight Rosemary is gorgeous until reality kicks in again. Usually we view her through Hal's idealizing eyes, contradicting the movie's effort to convey an enlightened message. In all, this comedy is sheer compromise, only half as funny and constructive as it wants to be.
Director: Edward Burns. With Edward Burns, Heather Graham, Stanley Tucci, Brittany Murphy. (107 min.)
Staff * Edward Burns's latest film lacks an anchor and a rudder as he follows the romantic liaisons and infidelities of an assorted group of New Yorkers. It's all meant to give an insight into the complexities of love, but, by the film's end, even Burns admits that he doesn't have any answers. So why bother? By Stephen Humphries
Director: Tony Scott. With Brad Pitt, Robert Redford, Catherine McCormack, Omid Jalili. (126 min.)
Staff ** On the verge of retirement, veteran CIA man Nathan Muir (Redford) discovers that his protégé Tom Bishop (Pitt) is about to be executed in China. Worse, the CIA aren't going to save their operative. While trying to mount a covert rescue operation, Muir stalls for time by telling his superiors about how he trained Bishop. These flashback scenes, though an intriguing indictment of the CIA's methods and assassinations, detract from the tension of the main story. But Redford's old-school, Cary Grant-like charm will keep audiences engaged. By Stephen Humphries
Director: James Wong. With Jet Lee, Carla Gugino, Delroy Lindo, Jason Statham. (80 min.)
Staff **1/2 According to the plot of "The One," there is a parallel version of each one of us in 125 parallel universes. A megalomaniac decides to gain power by killing his alter egos. As the action hurtles toward a predictable conclusion, you may have to look hard for a spiritual dimension, but it's there. By M.K. Terrell
Director: Steve Beck. With Tony Shalhoub, Embeth Davitz, F. Murray Abraham, Shannon Elizabeth. (90 min.)
Sterritt * A single dad with two kids inherits a house populated with multiple spooks, each trapped in its own chamber by magic spells. Pandemonium soon breaks out. The thriller's one good performance is given by the house.
Director: Antoine Fuqua. With Denzel Washington, Ethan Hawke, Scott Glenn, Macy Gray. (120 min.)
Staff *** Nothing can prepare ordinary cop Jake Hoyt for what he endures on his "training day" as he shadows a veteran narcotics cop in Los Angeles. This is a gripping thriller in which both moral and immoral actions have consequences. By Stephen Humphries
Staff *** Sweaty, disturbing, a moral struggle.
VS/N: 3 scenes of implied sex, 1 scene with nudity. VV: 12 often gory scenes. VP: 268 harsh expressions. VD: 4 scenes of alcohol, 9 scenes with cigarettes, 2 scenes with drugs.
After running in theaters, foreign and independent films may be available on home video. Good sources include Facets Multimedia at www.facets.org; Kino International at www.kino.com; and www.Reel.com.
Director: Michael Tolin. With Freddie Prinze Jr., Jessica Biel, Bruce Davidson, Brian Dennehy. (108 min.)
Staff ** When Ryan Dunne isn't mowing the lawn of his rich girlfriend, Tenley Parish (Jessica Biel), he's playing on a Cape Cod League baseball team. This story about falling in love and finding yourself has its share of bad acting. But "Summer Catch" turns out to be a well-meaning, light, and fluffy comedy with plenty of good giggles. By Deborah Henderson
Director: Michael Bay. With Ben Affleck, Kate Beckinsale, Cuba Gooding Jr., Josh Hartnett. (182 min.)
Sterritt * Two high-flying pilots and a spirited nurse are among the Americans whose lives are disrupted by the Japanese air attack that brought the United States into World War II. This complex historical subject is played entirely for action, romance, and spectacle, reducing cataclysmic world events to guts-and-glory clichés.
Staff *** Disappointing, overlong, engrossing.
Director: Jafir Panahi. With Fereshteh Sadr Orafai, Maryiam Parvin Almani. (91 min.)
Sterritt **** A pregnant woman in despair, two women running from a prison sentence, and a grandmother who dreads her family's reaction to the birth of a baby girl are among the main characters of this suspenseful and ingeniously directed drama about problems of women in Iran today. In Farsi with English subtitles
Staff *** Naturalistic, unsettling, unsentimental.


text:
- About us
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During the month of June the following information was obtained from Glastopf installations worldwide
Geographical spread
10 most popular injected files during the period
Short introduction to RFI: Read more »
During the month of May the following information was obtained from Glastopf installations worldwide
Number of alert for the period: 1859863
Filenames (RFI) - 10 most popular during the period:
During the month of April the following information was obtained from Glastopf installations worldwide
Number of alert for the period: 1325919
Filenames (RFI) - 10 most common during the period:
We where glad to announce yet another tool during our annual workshop in San Francisco. Glaspot is the third version of the web application honeypot Glastopf and it come with some very powerful new features:
Before we are getting worse than Duke Nukem Forever, we decided to finally release the next generation of the web application honeypot Glastopf, aka GlastopfNG! Read more »
Today I make a retrospection on my work on the Glastopf Web Honeypot during the Google Summer of Code Program. My goal was to push forward the development on a Honeypot for an attack vector in web security which is really underestimated in current discussions. The main objectives could be merged into one intention: Increasing our attractiveness and answering every request as close as possible to a real world system. This got achieved with the new PHP file parser and the dynamic Google dork list which we provide for the Google crawler. Read more »
The number of attacks against the Webhoneypot depends strongly on his PHP parser. So keeping the pattern matching mechanism up to date was one of the major future works. One of my goals for the Google Summer of Code time is to improve the parser and to reduce upcoming changes in attack patterns. The old parser was very simple: collect all lines containing echo calls, look for known patterns and generate the appropriate response. Read more »
Last saturday I've finally released a new Glastopf version. There are some new features and many changes under the hood. Read more »
Hello, this initial blog post is used to introduce me and to provide a brief overview of my GSoC Project.
My name is Lukas Rist (my personal blog) and I am currently studying Math and Physics at the University of Kaiserslauter in Germany. This is my first time in GSoC and I will be working with Thorsten Holz on Glastopf, a Web Application Honeypot. Read more »


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More swimwear like this...
All Australian parcels will be sent by Australia Post via an express shipping service and will be fully trackable to your delivery destination. Please allow 1-3 business days for your order to be processed & dispatched. All orders are estimated to arrive the next business day from your dispatch date. Please allow an additional 1-3 business days for delivery to rural or outer WA & NT locations. We offer free express shipping for orders over $100. All other orders within Australia, is charged at a flat rate of $9.95.All International parcels will be sent by DHL via an express shipping service and will be fully trackable to your delivery destination. More Shipping Information >
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A Greenpeace radiation expert checks contamination levels at the Minami Fukushima kindergarten (© Noriko Hayashi / Greenpeace)
The children of Fukushima City are due to return to their schools this week despite the continued contamination of school buildings by radiation from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.
Just over a week ago, our radiation experts found dose rates exceeding international safety standards at several schools, as well as many public areas in Fukushima City; this is why we are calling on Japan's incoming Prime Minister, Yoshihiko Noda, to keep the area's schools closed until they are properly decontaminated. No parent should have to choose between radiation exposure and education for their child – yet this is the decision facing thousands of parents.
The Greenpeace radiation monitoring team surveyed a high school, preschool, and childcare centre, along with several public areas in Fukushima City, and discovered high radiation rates at one school where they authorities had already carried out decontamination work.
Video of the press conference where our experts announced their findings
They also found radiation at rates that are dangerous for children at a park in central Fukushima City, and in other public areas.
While average dose rates remain above the international 1mSv/y maximum allowed in many places – including areas already decontaminated by the authorities - lower levels of radiation were recorded in locations where local communities taken the initiative to carry out their own clean up activities.
A notable decrease in radiation was found at a preschool in Fukushima City following decontamination efforts by community groups and NGOs, however, while this is positive news for the children, as the surrounding area has not been cleaned, the children remain at risk when outside the school, and the school itself is at constant risk of being re-contaminated.
What this highlights is not only that official clean-up efforts to date have not been enough to protect the health of children, but that the authorities are creating more work by conducting selective decontamination, and putting the people of Fukushima at greater risk by forcing them to take matters into their own hands.
Last week, the Japanese government announced a new clean up plan for the greater Fukushima area – but like many of its initiatives so far, this is too little and too late. Prime Minister Noda must delay the opening of schools, immediately relocate people who are in high-risk areas, and mobilise the huge workforce needed to get radiation dose rates as far below safety limits as possible.
This is the challenge for incoming Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda. He must move quickly to secure people's health, homes and livelihoods. Then he must secure his country's future by abandoning nuclear technology, and moving towards a future powered by renewable energy. Japan's parliament made the first move on this on Friday, but voting in a crucial and landmark renewable energy bill. This bill gives Mr Noda the chance to move Japan away from the risky and expensive nuclear path, to protect Japan's economy and the future for its people, and show the world what a true energy revolution looks like.
Find out more:
Greenpeace International's Fukushima nuclear disaster webpage
Energy [R]evolution - a detailed practical blueprint for cutting carbon emissions while achieving economic growth by replacing fossil fuels and nuclear power with renewable energy and energy efficiency
Raw data sheets from Greenpeace's radiation monitoring
Google map of locations and radiation readings
Greenpeace's letter to the Japanese national government calling for stronger protective and decontamination measures:
A detailed list of Greenpeace's demands
Justin McKeating has been blogging the meltdown of the nuclear industry for Greenpeace International since 2008. He is based in Brighton, UK.
(Unregistered) gonzedo
I like your activities and public comments. They are sorely needed to counter the "Powers of B".
Please consider adding my blog http:...
I like your activities and public comments. They are sorely needed to counter the "Powers of B".
Please consider adding my blog http://energymaters.com to your list of sites you like.
29 August, 2011 at 21:22
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(Unregistered) Dangaton Moss
"It's Fukushima fallout in rather toxic doses
even though the sound of it is something quite atrocious
If you say it loud enough you ...
"It's Fukushima fallout in rather toxic doses
even though the sound of it is something quite atrocious
If you say it loud enough you might get halitosis
Fukushima fallout in rather toxic doses....."
song by Minge & Thicket. It's on you tube.
Let's help nuclear power become a thing of the past.
30 August, 2011 at 12:51
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(Unregistered) Trojan Horus
Pity they didn't scrape the top 5cm off farming land too - but frankly trying to do something about fire protection after the house burns down is a ca...
Pity they didn't scrape the top 5cm off farming land too - but frankly trying to do something about fire protection after the house burns down is a case of too little too late. There are 30 odd different radioactive isotopes buggering up Japan as we speak. It's plain as day that "safe" and "nuclear power" can't co-exist and we all need to follow Germany and Austria's lead in reducing and ditching it as soon as feasibly possible. There is no winning strategy if you hold a hopelessly lost position, which is what trying to pretend that controlled nuclear explosions is a rational way to provide energy.
30 August, 2011 at 13:43
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(Unregistered) Alex
I will never buy Japanese product again.
1 September, 2011 at 7:00
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(Unregistered) Lucyjames
People in Japan deserve to be healthy, so I strongly believe that the new Prime Minister should take the risks into consideration and find a solution ...
People in Japan deserve to be healthy, so I strongly believe that the new Prime Minister should take the risks into consideration and find a solution to this problem as fast as he can.This is important for the environment as well.
2 September, 2011 at 17:11
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Your Caribbean Getaway with United Vacations®
Posted on 05/22/2018
Look, we don't want to throw around the word "paradise" lightly. But when you are talking about vacations filled with stunning beaches, beautiful tropical weather and a mellow mix of cultures, we're not sure there is anything else you can call the Caribbean. From electric nightlife in the Dominican Republic to the laid-back vibes of Jamaica to the beauty of Aruba, there are so many things to do and so many amazing resorts to choose from. So book a vacation package to the Caribbean islands today and discover your paradise with United Vacations®.
Jamaica- From the hip strip of Gloucester Avenue in Montego Bay to Seven Mile Beach in Negril, Jamaica offers everything you could ever want in a vacation. With unique culture, food and music combined with spectacular beaches and idyllic weather there truly is something for every traveler. The only worry is fitting everything you want to do into one trip. So take advantage of United Airlines® many flights to Jamaica and book your vacation package to Jamaica today.
Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands- Let's start here, with over 230 miles of the most extraordinary powdery-sand beaches in the world, no one would blame you for kicking back and relaxing oceanside the entire vacation. But if you do want to get out and explore, Turks and Caicos offers so many things to do for the adventurous traveler. Between scuba diving, snorkeling and delicious seafood, you'll find those heavenly touches that make a getaway truly special. Plus, with just a quick United Airlines® flight from the United States, getting there is a breeze. Book your all-inclusive vacation package today.
Aruba- You'll be hard pressed to find a better island for a getaway than Aruba. Interested in water sports and activities? Aruba is chock full of snorkeling, scuba, fishing, catamaran and windsailing tours. Want a spot to lay the day away? Eagle Beach is often rated as a top-10 beach in the world. Throw in an eclectic Caribbean culture, fantastic all-inclusive resorts and friendly locals and you have one of the best vacation spots in the world. Take advantage of United Airlines® many flights to Aruba and book your vacation package today.
United Vacations offers vacation packages to many great destinations in the Caribbean, so book you next vacation with United Vacations today.


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Fair to good bet
2055 Bishop St. (near de Maisonneuve St. W.)
Phone: 514-286-2776
Website: www.burritoville.ca
Licensed: Yes
Credit cards: Cash or debit
Wheelchair accessible: One flight up
Vegetarian friendly: Completely
Open: Mon.–Sat. 11 a.m.–11 p.m.
Price range: Dishes $4–$8, trios $13–$14, desserts $2
I caught my first glimpse of Burritoville from the window of the 105 bus, not long after it first opened a tiny storefront on Sherbrooke St. in 2005. Cute name, I remember thinking as we inched past, I wonder if they serve margaritas, too? I've been meaning to try it ever since.
The restaurant expanded four years ago with the move from N.D.G. to a brick walk-up on some prime downtown real estate. The three-storey building has gorgeous bones, particularly the dark wooden staircase with its turned balustrade, which leads from the main dining room to a second-floor coffee house area (more tables, piano, small stage for music and comedy shows) and art hall, to a lending library (3,000 titles, apparently, many of them English lit) and function space on the top floor. If you've ever spent time at a youth hostel, then you know the vibe. Those creaky floors, pockmarked plaster walls, and chairs with one wonky leg (three out of four ain't bad) invite you to linger while warming your hands around a pot of tea.
A stone's throw from the Concordia campus, Burritoville's mission of providing accessible, organic, nutritious food is very much in keeping with the university's culinary ethic. However, as a glance around the dining room reveals, it's not just crusty, consumer-conscious students who eat here, but a range of people looking for an alternative to mindless eating in the downtown core. With its emphasis on responsible sourcing, minimizing waste, and meatless Tex-Mex food, it's somewhat of an antidote to the yuppie burgers and food courts in the area. Owners Jono Aitchison, Steve Aitchison and David Tamas belong to a breed of socially engaged entrepreneurs: They walk their compost across the street to be brought out to Loyola, take on the cost of using environmentally responsible takeout containers made of sugarcane fibre or corn syrup, and make everything except the tortillas and nachos from scratch.
Meal service operates cafeteria-style, from a menu that reconfigures a few big-pot, bean-driven preparations into different formats — burritos, tacos, quesadillas or simply bowls. The cooking isn't pushing new creative directions territory, but it's done with care (vegan and gluten-free needs can be accommodated). The rootsy use of bulk ingredients promised to remind me of CEGEP roommates, whose cuisine I would describe as 50 shades of beige. The results were far more colourful, if still a bit of a nostalgia trip for me.
Once I adjusted my expectations of the mushroom and spinach quesadilla — losing the thought of finding woodsy and wild varieties inside the tortilla — I appreciated the copious greens, and the morsels of button mushrooms mingling with grains of rice.
The chili taco was exactly as I imagined, which is always comforting, with the bonus of melted cheese that had oozed out of the fold to sizzle up on the griddle. The chili itself — beans, carrots, celery, peppers, chunks of tomato — was more balanced than bold. Enter the army-size bottles of Valentina hot sauce.
The signature item is the sweet potato burrito, and it's very good. Somehow I'd anticipated caramelized sweet potatoes, but these had their own spot on the flavour spectrum, thanks to the cinnamony holiday seasoning perfect for this time of year. Another nice touch: what appeared to be chunks of potato but were in fact pieces of stewed apple. All that plus black beans, brown basmati and pico de gallo was tucked into a white-flour tortilla with the tail end wrapped in soy-based waxed paper. Easy to enjoy, and the most original dish we tried.
We rounded out our plates with quinoa, and a sprout salad in a nice zingy dressing. There was no guacamole left at supper hour, the counter guy explained to us, because they make small quantities from perfectly ripe avocados, which often sell out at lunchtime. To argue about how much I wanted guac would, I thought, made me seem grossly greedy.
For dessert, there were oatmeal-pumpkin cookies, carrot and pineapple cake, and a chocolate-zucchini loaf, the dryness of which could have been cut with a little fruit coulis, syrup or preserve.
As it turns out there's no hard alcohol, so this isn't Margaritaville. But there is beer, and it's McAuslan.
Burritoville seemed such a classic old-school vegetarian hangout to me — in fact, a retro film about vegetarians in love would scout a location like this — that I was surprised that it deliberately doesn't bill itself as a vegetarian restaurant. When I followed up with owner Jono Aitchison (the second owner of a vegetarian restaurant I've spoken to in as many weeks who is not vegetarian), he said they like to avoid the labelling.
"We get people who come in and say: 'Oh it's vegetarian? Well, I'm not a vegetarian.' " He added that some customers say they have not eaten a meal without meat in years, breakfast, lunch and dinner. "They don't believe nutritious good food can be filling with no meat," he said.
Well, believe it.
If I wanted a bit of creativity from the food at the restaurant, the fact is that it's more than a restaurant — and its comforts go beyond comfort food.
Feedback? email@example.com


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As girls, a group of 11 collegiate gymnasts spent many hours each week perfecting their sport in gyms with pits filled with foam blocks for protection. Now young women, they agreed to be tested in a new study that found that the flame retardants in the blocks can break down in dust and end up in gymnasts' bodies.
"We called it pit dust. It was all over the gym. You'd come out of the pit and you're covered with a film of pit dust." said Courtney Carignan, a former gymnast who's the author of the report, along with Heather Stapleton, a national expert on flame retardants at Duke University, and other scientists.
Published online last month in the journal Environmental Science and Technology, the report found that the level of one chemical in the flame retardant PentaBDE was six times higher in the bodies of the gymnasts in the study than in the average population. The average level of PentaBDE in the gym's air and dust was 200 times higher than that found in homes.
What that level of exposure – or any level – means for human health is something scientists are working to understand.
"We were really surprised to see how high the levels actually were, both in terms of the levels in the air – what was just in the dust – and the levels in the blood measured for the gymnasts," said Stapleton, an associate professor of environmental sciences and policy.
The study focused on exposure to PentaDBE, a flame retardant chemical mix that was phased out in the United States in 2005 but remains in the body for a long time. These and other flame retardants are still found in the foam cushions inside couches, casings in electronics, carpet padding and baby products. They are also in many of the foam cubes used as soft landings in gymnastics and at children's recreation centers.Studies have associated the chemical with reproductive problems and changes in thyroid hormones. Some recent studies have found possible links between heavy exposure before birth and brain development problems, including low IQ scores.
The studies don't prove that the chemical is the cause of all these problems, but their evidence is strong, Stapleton said.
The gymnast study concluded that the substance got onto gymnasts' hands when they touched pit cubes, landing mats and dusty surfaces in the gym, and then could be ingested or inhaled.
Carignan suggested that gymnasts wash their hands after practice and before eating. She doesn't recommend that gyms replace their foam yet because it's not clear what flame retardants new equipment might contain.
The authors of the study said their report was the first to look at gymnasts as a vulnerable population and that it showed the need for more investigation. The findings from 11 people at one gym can't be generalized to all gymnasts, they wrote.
Still, Carignan said in an interview, "There's a debate going on right now about how necessary are flame retardants and what can we do to reduce our reliance on them."She and the other researchers caution on a website, gymnastcollaborative.org, that no one should suddenly change gyms or quit the sport out of fear of flame retardants, noting the sport's health benefits and that the purpose of the foam equipment is for safety.
"Our goal is to provide information to help inform decision-making," they say.
Craig Tuller of Fuquay-Varina, N.C., said the findings raised concerns for him about his older daughter, Katie, 25, who started gymnastics at 7 and continued through her undergraduate years at Boise State University, and for his 9-year-old daughter, Grace, who's also learning gymnastics.
"Every gym I've ever been in has that kind of pit, and kids love to play in it," he said.
Tracie Shere of Apex, N.C., whose daughters, Tehya, 9, Lila, 7, and Kennedy, 5, have taken gymnastics on and off, said she hadn't heard of the study but that any exposure to chemicals for her children was a "huge concern," especially because her children were so young when they started jumping in the gymnastics pits.
The older girls started to take gymnastics when they were 3, and Kennedy tried it for a while before she was 2, their mother said. Every sport has risks, Shere said, but ingesting chemicals?
"That was one I never even contemplated before," she said.
Bryan Goodman, a spokesman for the American Chemistry Council's North American Flame Retardant Alliance, said the study didn't report on health hazards, and he noted that exposure alone doesn't mean that a chemical causes disease or other adverse effects.
He said companies evaluated new fire retardants for safety and efficacy and gave their evaluations to government regulators before the products were used.
But under federal law, there's no requirement that companies prove that chemicals are safe before they're used or that they label what flame-retardant chemicals are in commonly used products.
"It comes really difficult to try to understand the magnitude of exposure to all the different flame retardants and what the sources are so that you could potentially reduce your exposure to these compounds," Stapleton said.
For her own children, ages 2 and 4, she tests materials in her lab and avoids those with the chemicals.
"Other people don't have that luxury," she said.
Carignan, who's now a postdoctoral researcher at the Children's Environmental Health and Disease Prevention Center at Dartmouth University, is the mother of a 2-year-old. She recently started teaching her son gymnastics, using a mat she bought that was labeled flame-retardant-free.
For people who wish to limit exposure, options have been limited.
A 1975 California rule required that foam in furniture meet flammability standards. So manufacturers filled it with flame retardants. Rather than make separate furniture for California, flame retardants were put into products to be sold everywhere.
California changed the rule last month by eliminating the flame test for foam. Now furniture makers may use a smolder-resistant covering or a layer under the upholstery. The change opens the possibility for flame-retardant-free products to start to appear in stores. Compliance with the new rule will be indicated with labels that say Technical Bulletin 117-2013.
Bob Luedeka, the executive director of the Polyurethane Foam Association, said foam makers would have no problem meeting future orders that didn't require flame retardants, and that there'd be no change in price.
Meanwhile, Stapleton and other scientists keep testing products and chemicals. The chemical mix that was phased out, PentaBDE, was better understood than some of the newer flame retardants, she said. And despite the California rule change, flame retardants will continue to be widely used in offices, airplanes and other public places, and they'll remain in older couches, televisions and other products now in use, she added.
In the gymnast study, scientists also detected chemicals from two other types of flame retardants that are still commonly used in polyurethane foam.
One of them, TDCPP, is listed by California health authorities as a suspected carcinogen. It's the same flame retardant that was used in children's pajamas in the 1970s until it was banned. It still shows up in other products and in people, as well.
"We see it in everyone," Stapleton said.
The other is Firemaster 550.
Last year Stapleton and Heather Patisaul, an assistant professor of biology at North Carolina State University, released a study looking at Firemaster 550 exposure in pregnant rats. Up to that point, the public information on potential health effects was very limited, Stapleton said.
Their study found that Firemaster 550 exposure resulted in thyroid hormone changes in the exposed rats and extreme weight gain, early onset of puberty, cardiovascular changes and increased anxiety in their offspring. Scientists need to know more about the health effects and are following up with more studies, Stapleton said.
"We know almost the entire country is exposed to this chemical at some level," Stapleton said. "We just don't know what level causes effects."
Stapleton's lab recently tested 42 children's products for the Center for Environmental Health, an advocacy group in California. The center said in a news release Nov. 20 that the lab found flame-retardant chemicals in 38 of the items. Twenty-two of them contained Firemaster 550. Two contained TDCPP. Two other flame-retardant chemicals were detected, as well.
Congress has held hearings in recent years on updating the 1976 Toxic Substances Control Act. Stapleton was invited to testify at one last year.
The act set up a way for the Environmental Protection Agency to regulate new commercial chemicals before they enter the market and existing chemicals when they pose an unreasonable risk.
Some members of Congress and the EPA itself would like to see the act strengthened to improve protections from exposure to harmful chemicals.
Unlike laws that apply to drugs and pesticides, the Toxic Substances Control Act doesn't have a mandatory program that would allow the EPAt
o determine whether existing chemicals are safe. The law sets high hurdles before the agency can require companies to submit data on the health effects of chemicals, though the companies may do so voluntarily.
The EPA also has found it difficult to ban chemicals under the law. For example, the agency banned asbestos but a federal court overturned that decision, saying it didn't meet the requirement of the law.
The law grandfathered in 60,000 chemicals that existed when it was passed.
In 37 years, the EPA has required testing on about 200 out of 84,000 chemicals that have been inventoried under the law and has regulated five.
James Jones, the assistant administrator of the EPA's Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention, testified before a subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee in November that the toxic substances act was "an important step forward" in its day.
"But over the years," he said, "not only has TSCA fallen behind the industry it is intended to regulate, it has also proven an inadequate tool for providing the protection against chemical risks that the public rightfully expects."


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How are these balls reflected after they hit each other?
I was wondering what sort of physics equations would I need in order to build a top down billiards game? I tried using Box2D (a 2D physics engine for games) but it has issues with objects going through other objects when the velocity is too fast. So I decided to do all the physics by scratch.
So, what would be all the physics I need to create a top down 2D billiards game?


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"We are so impressed with the NPTI graduates we have hired here at the World Gym. They are so knowledgeable and always have new programs to keep it fresh with their clients. Their ability to retain clients is something that makes them stand out compared to trainers from other backgrounds, and it is because they understand the entire business of training and have the knowledge...
The demand for educated and certified personal trainers has never been greater:
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NPTI Colorado has been licensed by the Colorado Department of Higher Education, Division for Private Occupational Schools (DPOS) since 2003. Over 2,300 students from 21 different countries have attended NPTI Colorado in Lakewood and Colorado Springs. NPTI Colorado is dedicated solely to personal trainer education.
At NPTI CO, we train our students comprehensively for industry certifications, like the ACE, NASM, or NSCA Certified Personal Trainer (CPT) certification.
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Registration Appointment and Class Schedule
How to view your enrollment appointment? - MySJSU Navigation steps
Registration - Appointments and Class Schedule
Do your research and plan your schedule
Check your enrollment appointment on MySJSU.
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A feeling of home
Hästens, a luxury bed company, recently opened up a new store in Stockholm. The stunning lighting solution is the result of a successful cooperation between Hästens and Fagerhult. The lighting design is cosy, almost private using controls in an advanced way. With only 4,7 W/squaremeter this Hästens store is one of a kind.
The objective with the Hästens store was to create a space as inviting as your own home. A homely and cosy feeling where you can sit down, have a coffee, read a book or even fall a sleep in one of their comfortable beds.
This shop should feel like home but also reflect our history, says Linnea Blank Concept Designer at Hästens.
Hästens started back in 1852 in the small town of Köping, Sweden. Chosen elements in the design of the shop are made in materials that inspired by the original factory.
The lighting is of great importance for the interior design. It makes the shop feel exclusive and homely at the same time. The shop has two floors. The entry level is bright and open but if you take the stairs one level down you will enter a dark and cosy environment. The lower level is created to increase relaxation and an intimate feeling for customers to feel comfortable to try the beds.
The lighting in this concept is central for the feeling of the brand we want to create, says Linnea. It enhances the luxurious feeling of the store.
The lighting solution
Since Hästens is an exclusive shop with few customers at the same time, it is fairly easy to create a lighting solution with controls and movement sensors. A few activities are also programmed according to what time of day it is.
The low ceiling height of the basement floor welcomes a solution with our LED mini-spotlight, Relay*. The Relay fixture consists of a track with three spotlight heads.. These units create just the right cosy and intimate feeling Hästens were looking to achieve for trying out beds. The Relay spotlights consumes only 6-7 watt compared to that of a regular one with 17 watt. With this lighting solution we are able to keep the consumption down to an amazing 4,7 W per m2.
Using that kind of narrow beam spotlights with such low output was not obvious for us. It meant taking a chance, to try something new. We tested it thoroughly before installing it, says Paul Esplana Lighting Designer at Fagerhult.
This intelligent lighting design also contributed to the low energy consumption, only 4,7 W/m2.
At the entrance floor is brighter and has a welcoming feeling. The lighting solution is created to lead the customers into the store. There are a few exclusive beds for display and areas for discussion and relaxation. The lighting solution has a high level of comfort, which can be achieved by putting capcones on the spotlights. The spotlight used here is Zone Evo LED.
The lighting solution in the stairs leading to the bottom floor is created to make it feel luxurious and create curiosity, not to be mistaken for personnel or warehouse stairs.
The light control system
The control system is based on five different scenes. Amongst the functions there is a possibility to lower the accents- and integrated lighting in selected areas. This is very useful, especially when it comes down to trying out the bed that is right for you without the risk of blinding.
A sensor is placed so when some one is entering the door the accent lighting at the demo bed is lit up to create attention to the bed. There is also a night-light in the shop perfectly balanced with the streetlights outside. The outside logo sign is programmed to switch one hour before sunset and to switch off one hour after sunrise.
A consious company
As a conclusion Hästens is really satisfied with the solution, which is both energy efficient, coherent with their brand and future proofed since there are more control options. Hästens has a strict environmental policy. They use mainly material from the surrounding area like Swedish pine and steel. All textiles are eco-certified. Sustainability and local production is central for Hästens why they choose Fagerhult as a lighting partner to provide a creative and very energy efficient lighting solution.
*Relay Spot G2 is no longer in production.