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text: This punch uses the flavors of pears, cinnamon, and brandy to create a cocktail that screams autumn. It's slightly fizzy from the pear cider, has a touch of sweet spice from the cinnamon schnapps, and has a gentle bite from the Courvoisier. Serve it up or enjoy over ice at a Thanksgiving gathering or Christmas party.


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Israel Festival 2010
ISRAEL FESTIVAL 2010 from ISRAEL FESTIVAL on Vimeo.
Video: Preview of the Israel Festival 2010
As mid-May turns into late May here in Israel, spring is in full bloom. The sun is now everpresent, no longer occasionally blocked by clouds, and the days grow hotter. Rain showers are replaced by trickles of tourist groups, portending the forthcoming wave of summer visitors. And in Jerusalem, the Israel Festival opens, providing the season's freshest programming in theater, music, and dance.
The Israel Festival traditionally mixes some of the top names from the international arts scene with local favorites, and this year is no exception. The 2010 dance line-up promises a particularly diverse array of renowned artists hailing from around the world. Tangokinesis, based in Buenos Aires, brings a tantalizing mix of Argentinean tango and modern dance to Nuevo Tango. Shen Wei Dance Arts will arrive in Jerusalem from its home in New York, but the Chinese-born Wei's style is infused with elements of Chinese opera, and his work Re is colored by his travels in Tibet, Cambodia, and China. British choreographer Akram Khan is known for blending Indian kathak dance with more modern movement, and his Gnosis is inspired by the Hindu Mahabharata. And the masterful Bill T. Jones will take on American history in Serenade/The Proposition, which incorporates striking video art along with the choreographer's signature contemporary vocabulary.
Video: Bill T. Jones's Serenade/The Proposition
Joining these visiting troupes on the festival's stage is a hometown favorite, Vertigo Dance Company, which maintains a studio in Jerusalem as well as an innovative Eco-Art Village on nearby Kibbutz Netiv HaLamed-Hey. Vertigo will kick off the festival with two free shows of Noa Wertheim's landmark environmental work, Birth of the Phoenix, before performing Wertheim's White Noise and her most recent dance, Mana.
Vertigo Dance Company in Noa Wertheim's Mana. Photo by Gadi Dagon.
The 2010 Israel Festival runs from May 25 until June 11.
Related Articles on Dance in Israel
- Spring Festival Fever: The Israel Festival in Jerusalem (2009 Festival)
- Vertigo Dance Company: Art, Environment, Community
- Vertigo Dance Company in Noa Wertheim's Mana
- Curtain Up 2: Vertigo Dance Company and Noa Wertheim Host Elad Shechter
Related Links
3 comments
How is it possible to buy tickets to the dance festival performances?
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I don't trust the memory of my future self. I learned this the hard way many times. So I write notes to…ME…in all our cook books. Surely I'm not the only one?
Below you can tell which pieces were fried after I figured out the missing ingredient in this recipe. Both are fried, but the left side is more my style.


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Coffee chocolate chip shortbread cookies
Three exams done three more to go, so what do I decide to do half way through my exams? Bake a batch of shortbread cookies! These shortbread cookies are little different to your regular ones as first of all they have coffee in them and secondly they contain dark muscavado sugar which gives them a really nice treacly taste.
When I first made these cookies I took them to work and since my colleagues and I wake up at 5:30 in the morning these were a real treat! They all enjoyed them ( I mean how can you not like coffee and chocolate??) and since they are super quick to make I decided to make some today for the family to enjoy, and for myself of course ;)
Since these were for the family I cut down on the amount of chocolate chips, as I said before a lot of people in my culture are not a fan of chocolate as much as I am. I used 50g of chocolate however you can add as much as you want, in the recipe I put 100g but if you want to add more or less feel free to do so.
Makes around 3 dozen
Unsalted butter, 227g (1 cup)
Plain flour (all-purpose), 256g (2 cups)
Caster sugar, 67g (1/3 cup)
Dark brown muscavado sugar, 73g (1/3 cup)
Instant coffee, 1 tbsp
Semi sweet chocolate cut into small chunks (or chips), 100g
- First dissolve the coffee with a teaspoon of hot water, leave to cool
- Cream the butter and sugars until smooth
- Add the coffee and beat till mixed in
- Add the flour and mix until incorporated (don't over mix)
- Fold in the chocolate chunks/chips
- As the dough will be sticky and soft chill it for atleast 2 hours or more
- Preheat your oven to 160 degrees celcius and prepare a baking tray with grease proof paper.
- Using a cookie scoop or a table spoon, scoop the dough and roll into a small ball. Place the balls onto your prepared baking tray and just press them gently to flatten them a little (only a little)
- Place in the oven for 15-20 mins or until slightly golden around the edges. Leave them to cool on the tray for 5 minutes then place on a cooling rack to cool down completely. Serve with a hot cup of tea or coffee :)


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This Website was paid for by -
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The essential tasks for the researcher of English and Welsh ancestors are to identify, from American sources, the immigrant ancestor's name, date of birth or marriage, date of immigration, and precise parish of origin. Because of the abundance of genealogical sources available in the British Isles and at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, many researchers have an excellent chance of extending their genealogies beyond the immigrant. This guide offers a brief overview of some of the Allen County Public Library Genealogy Department's English and Welsh sources which may assist in that search.
^ Back to Top
There are several ways of identifying books on England and Wales in the library's online catalog at www.ACPL.Lib.in.us . For example, look under England or Wales, followed by the name of a record type. One can also search under a subject or record type followed by England, Wales, or a particular shire or parish.
The online catalog allows for flexible keyword searching, and includes most of the book and periodical collection. Dial-up access to the ACPL online catalog is available at (260) 489-7087. Do not overlook important sources available only on microfilm or microfiche. Be sure to check the microtext catalog drawer labeled "International" for a list of holdings. Also check the Family History Library Catalog at www.FamilySearch.org for information on the extensive English and Welsh holdings of that library. Researchers with further questions about the collection or catalogs should ask a librarian for assistance.
Genealogical guidebooks which focus on various aspects of English and Welsh research offer an excellent starting point for the genealogist. Most contain bibliographies for further reference.
Bevan, Amanda. Tracing your ancestors in the Public Record Office. 5th rev. ed. Richmond, Surrey: Public Record Office, 1999. /Gc 942 T673/
Blatchford, Robert. The Genealogical Services Directory 2000: With British Local History. York, England: GR Specialist Information Services, 2000. /Gc 942 B613g/ Lists addresses of
societies, museums, and record offices.
Cheney, C.R., ed. Handbook of Dates for Students of English History. London: Royal Historical Society, 1961. /Gc 942.002 C42h/ Includes information about monarchs' reigns, saints' days and festivals, and legal chronologies.
FitzHugh, Terrick V. H. Dictionary of Genealogy. 4th ed. London: A & C Black, 1994. revised by Susan Lumas on behalf of the Society of Genealogists. /Gc 942 F578d/ A guide to English research arranged in dictionary format.
Gibson, Jeremy S. W. Gibson Guides. A collection of short guidebooks on a variety of subjects, including muster rolls, quarter sessions records, poll books, and probate records. Check the online catalog under the author's name.
Herber, Mark D. Ancestral Trails: The Complete Guide to British Genealogy and Family History. Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publishing, 2000. /Gc 942 H414aa/
Kitzmiller, John M. In Search of the Forlorn Hope: A Comprehensive Guide to Locating British Regiments and Their Records. Salt Lake City: Manuscript Publishing Foundation, 1988. 2 vols./Gc 941 K65i/
Marshall, George. The Genealogist's Guide. 4th ed. Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1980. (1903) reprint. /Gc 016.942 M35gea/ An index to published pedigrees. Continued through 1975 in two supplements by Whitmore and Barrow.
McLaughlin, Eve. McLaughlin Guides. A collection of short guidebooks on a variety of subjects, including wills, parish registers, and censuses. Check the online catalog under the name of the author.
Morgan,T.J. and Prys Morgan. Welsh Surnames. Cardiff: Univ. of Wales Press, 1985. /Gc 929.4 M822w/
Rowlands, John R. and Sheila, ed. Welsh Family History: A Guide to Research. 2nd ed. Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1999. /Gc 942.9 W461a/
_______.Second Stages in Researching Welsh Ancestry. Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1999. /Gc 942.9 R791s/ The most comprehensive set of guides on the subject.
Thomson, T. R., compo A Catalogue of British Family Histories. 3rd ed. London: Research
Publishing Co., 1976. /Gc 016.92912 T38ca/ Bibliography of published genealogies.
West, John. Town Records. 2nd ed. Chichester, Eng.: Phillimore, 1983. /Gc 941 W52t/
_______.Village Records. London: Macmillan, 1962. /Gc942.007 W52v/ The above two works discuss the use of town and village records with emphasis on the medieval period.
Passenger lists and emigration records sometimes provide specific information about an immigrant's place of origin in Britain. A large number of English emigration lists have been published; many are found on the resource list titled "Passenger Lists." Passenger lists from U.S. ports, beginning in 1820, are relatively complete and available on microfilm.
Banks, Charles E. Topographical Dictionary of 2885 English Immigrants to New England, 1620-1650. 2nd ed. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co. (G.P.C.), 1957. /Gc 974 B22t/ Includes townsof origin in England for many of the early settlers to New England.
Coldham, Peter Wilson. Several volumes of emigration records from the 17th and 18th centuries. Check the catalog under the author for a complete list.
Filby, P. William, ed. Passenger and Immigration Lists Index. Detroit: Gale Research Inc., 1981- present. /Gc 929.11 F47p, Gc 929.11 F47pa, Gc 929.11 F47pab/ Indexes published passenger lists, including many 17th and 18th century English lists.
Roberts, Gary Boyd. English Origins of New England Families. Baltimore: G.P.C., 1984-85. 6 vols. in two series. /Gc 974 En3/ Reprinted articles on the origins of early settlers.
Smith, Frank. Immigrants to America Appearing in English Records. Salt Lake City: Everton Publications, 1976. /Gc974 C93eng/
Waters, H. F. Genealogical Gleanings in England. Baltimore: G.P.C., 1969, /Gc 929.12 W31ge/
Withington, L. Virginia Gleanings in England. Baltimore: G.P.C., 1980. /Gc 975.5 W77v/
Maps and gazetteers can help the researcher locate an ancestral town in England and Wales and
determine the relevant record-keeping jurisdictions to which it belongs.
Eckwall, Eilert. Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Place-names. 4th ed. Oxford: Clarendon, 1960. /Gc 942.003 Ek8col/ Alphabetical list of towns with respective counties.
Humphery-Smith, Cecil. Phillimore Atlas and Index of Parish Registers. Chichester, Sussex, England : Phillimore, 1995. /Gc 942.003 P54a/ Excellent maps showing villages (1834) and parish and probate boundaries (pre-1832). Lists of parish registers, dates covered and availability.
Lewis, Samuel. Topographical Dictionary of England. 5th ed. London: Lewis & Co., 1842. /Gc 942.003 L58t/ Descriptions of parishes, towns and villages in 1842.
Ordanance Survey of Great Britain, England and Wales, Indexes to the 1/2500 and 6-Inch Scale Maps. Montgomeryshire, Wales: David Archer, 1991. /Gc 941.003 G79o/
Smith, Frank. A Genealogical Gazetteer of England; an Alphabetical Dictionary of Places, with Their Location, Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction, Population, and the Date of the Earliest Entry in the
Registers of Every Ancient Parish in England. Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publishing
Company, 1968. /Gc 942.003 Sm5g/
There are also a number of very good Internet sites for locating town and parish names. The UK and Ireland web page is one such site: www.genuki.org.uk/big/parloc/search.html.
The Genealogy Department houses numerous published extracts of English church records, the bulk of which date before 1750. Other works offer guidance in finding vital record sources in England and Wales. Check the online catalog under the specific name of a parish or shire. Most of these extracts are included in the International Genealogical Index at www.FamilySearch.org.
Clifford, D.J.H., comp. My Ancestors Were Congregationalists in England & Wales: With a List of Registers. London: Society of Genealogists, 1992. /Gc 942.004 M99/
International Genealogical Index. Salt Lake City, UT: Genealogical Department of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. /microfiche and CD/ A collection of birth and marriage records dating primarily before 1837. Check the "Parish & Vital Records List" at the beginning of the set to determine which parishes and years have been indexed.
National Index of Parish Registers. London: Society of Genealogists, 1967-, vol. 1-. /Gc 016.942 St3n/ Lists of registers by region as well as volumes with general articles on topics such as nonconformist genealogy.
Rawlins, Bert J. Parish Churches and Non-conformist Chapels of Wales: Their Records and Where to Find Them. Salt Lake City, UT: Celtic Heritage Press, 1987-, vol. 1 -. A comprehensive guidearranged by shire.
Smith, David M. Guide to Bishop's Registers in England and Wales: A Survey from the Middle Ages to the Abolition of the Episcopacy in 1646. London: Royal Historical Society, 1981./Gc 016.942 Sm5g/ Bishop's registers contain vital records and sometimes can substitute formissing parish registers.
Tate, W. E. The Parish Chest: A Study of the Records of Parochial Administration in England. 3rd ed. Cambridge, Eng.: Cambridge Univ. Press, 1969. /Gc 942.004 T18pa/ Introduction to the use of parochial records, including parish registers, accounts, and poor law records.
Williams, C.J. and Williams, J. Watts, Cofresti Plwyf Cymru: Parish Registers of Wales. Aberystwyth,
Wales: National Library, 1986. /Gc 942.9005 W67c/ A list of more than 1,000 parish registers and bishop's transcripts, with inclusive dates.
Many of England's earliest wills have been either indexed or abstracted, and published. They can offer an important record of family relationships, especially where parish registers are lacking.
British Record Society. Index Library. Hertfordshire, Eng.: British Record Society, 1888-, 104 volumes. /Gc 942.0004 B77i/ A series of county record indexes, including wills and administrations, for every county in Britain, spanning from the 14th century to 1700.
Camp, Anthony. Wills and Their Whereabouts. London: The Author, 1974. /Gc 942.0004 C18wi/ A useful general guidebook for locating wills in the British Isles.
With the exception of the 1881 census, the Genealogy Department has very few census records for the British Isles. Directories often serve as valuable census substitutes since they provide names and addresses, usually in cities and towns, for specific years.
Crockford's Clerical Directory. London: Oxford, various editions. /253.058 C87/ A directory of parishes and addresses for the Church of England.
1881 British Census and National Index: England, Scotland, Wales, Channel Islands, Isle of Man, and Royal Navy. Salt Lake City, UT: Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1999. Availableat www.FamilySearch.org and for on-site researchers as a link from the library's E-Resourceswebpage.
1881 Census Transcription Project. Birmingham, England: Federation of Family History Societies, 1993-1995. /microfiche/ An everyname index to the 1881 census, covering England, Wales, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islands.
English Census Directories Project. 67 vols. Melbourne, Australia: Kingsley & Hall, 1992. /microfiche/ Reprinted county directories for most English shires, covering various years from 1828 to 1900. Because many English censuses are not indexed and persons are listed by street address, directories of names and addresses make useful guides for census research.
London City Directories, 1677-1823. /microfilm/ Useful as a census substitute.
The Victoria History of the Counties of England, begun in 1900, covers many English counties. Highly regarded for their detail and scholarship, the volumes often contain material on local families. Check the online catalog under Victoria History of... In addition, the department houses numerous other local histories for England and Wales. Check the catalog under the name of the place.
Many pedigrees of English and Welsh nobility and gentry have appeared in print. Some are more
reliable than others; a sample of notable works is listed below. Records of herald's visitations date from the medieval period and contain numerous pedigrees, although they are sometimes inaccurate. If interested in coats of arms for a particular surname, consult the Heraldry Index, /Gc 929.6 H412/ volumes 1 and 2.
Boyer, Carl. Medieval English Ancestors of Certain Americans: Many of the English Ancestral Lines to 1300 of Those Colonial Americans with Known Royal Ancestry but Fully Developed in All Possible Lines. Santa Clarita, CA: C. Boyer, 2001. /Gc 929.72 B695m/
Burke, Sir Bernard. Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Landed Gentry of Great Britain and Ireland. London: various editions, 1879-1939. /Gc 929.7205 B91g/
Burke's Peerage, Baronetage, and Knightage. London: more than 100 editions. /Gc 929.72 B91/ Contains thousands of pedigrees.
Cokayne, G. E. The New Complete Peerage. London: St. Catherine's Press, 1910-59. 13 vols. /Gc 929.7201 C66c/ The best-documented source on titled families.
Faris, David. Plantagenet Ancestry of Seventeenth-Century Colonists: The Descent from the Later Plantagenet Kings of England, Henry III, Edward I, and Edward III, of Emigrants from
England and Wales to the North American Colonies before 1701. 2nd ed. Boston, Ma: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1999. /Gc 929.7201 F22pa/
Domesday Book. ed. by John Morris. Chichester, Eng.: Phillimore, 1975-. 34 vols. /Gc 942.0001 D66d/ Record of land holdings for noble and gentry families in England, ordered by William the Conqueror in 1086. Includes new indexes.
Harleian Society Publications. (1st ser.) vols. 1-117,1869-1977; (2nd ser.) vols. 1-, 1979- . /Gc 929.72062 .../Series includes most published visitations.
Keats-Rohan, K. S. B. Domesday People: A Prosopography of Persons Occurring in English Documents, 1066-1166. Rochester, NY: Boydell Press, 1999-2002. 2 vols. /Gc 942 K2296d/
Roberts, Gary Boyd. Royal Descents of 500 Immigrants to the American Colonies and the United States. 2nd ed. Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publishing Company, 2001. /Gc 929.7 R54ra/
Weis, Frederick Lewis. Ancestral Roots of Certain American Colonists. 7th ed. Baltimore: G.P.C.,1992. /Gc 974 W43an/ Documented descents from English and European nobility. Be sure touse the most recent edition.
_______.Magna Charta Sureties, 1215. 5th ed. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1999. /Gc 929.7202 Ad17ma/ Documented descents from the barons who signed the Magna Charta.
The department houses a large collection of English and Welsh periodicals, including county record society publications, and family history society journals. Check the PERiodical Source Index (PERSl) under the name of the family or locality for citations to relevant articles. For additional references, check:
Federation of Family History Societies. Family History News and Digest. 1975-. /Gc 942 F21114/ Upto- date news, lists of publications and addresses for all member societies.
Mullins, E. L. C. Texts and Calendars: An Analytical Guide to Serial Publications. London: Royal Historical Society, 1958 and 1983. /Gc 016.942 M91t and M91ta/ A descriptive guide to articles appearing in record society publications to 1956; the supplement updates it to 1982.
Recorded lectures on English and Welsh genealogical topics given at national genealogical
conferences can be checked out at the reference desk by any patron with valid identification. Check with a librarian if you want to learn more about these tapes.
"Discovering your roots just got easier!"
© 2010-2018 ACPL The Genealogy Center. All Rights


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This is the end of MTV's Teen Mom. The original group, anyway. We still have Jenelle Evans and her buddies on Teen Mom 2 to
endure enjoy, as well as a new group to learn to love to hate on Teen Mom 3.
I'll admit – the Teen Mom series finale left me craving more Teen Mom; however, after watching these reunion "specials," I can honestly say I'm ready to move on. On Part One of the reunion special, which was taped the first weekend of March, Dr. Drew Pinsky talked to Catelynn Lowell, Tyler Baltierra, and Farrah Abraham.
Part two brings us the rest of the original cast. Well, almost. Amber Portwood is still at summer camp. <wink, wink>
Maci and Ryan… Sitting in a Tree…
Before Dr. Drew obsesses about Maci Bookout and Ryan Edwards living happily ever after, he asks Maci about college. She says, "I'm doing good now. After my first two years, I just realized how fast it was going by. I stopped making excuses. Aside from Bentley, that should be the most important thing." Maci adds she is done wasting her time and money. Also, she travels at least once a week to speak to teens about teen pregnancy.


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revisiting Marking Targets
I've not really changed my mind. I just ran into a situation with some pugs and friends combined and it's on my mind – again.
First – unless you are with a group that is your constant companions, mark. You might have someone who wishes the targets would be marked but isn't willing to speak out. (Healers are notorious for this.) You might be working with a group that has no clue how useful marking targets can be. Just… mark.
Second – while marking "the right thing" can be extremely useful, just marking ANY OLD WAY will help. Not least: adds. You've marked everything, and suddenly something is beating on your healer that ISN'T marked… the clarification helps. Especially if you're tab-targeting (just find the one that isn't marked and go.)
More useful – HUGELY useful – is getting everyone on the same sheet of music. A lot of old hands preach about working with a main assist (or what I call the kill team leader), but just using a constant kill order — everyone attacks this symbol till it's dead, then that symbol, then that one… — will reap large benefits. Add in a constant for crowd control (say, moon is always sheeped, square is always trapped, circle is always sapped) — and make sure the code matches the kill order (so Skull, X, Circle because sap is a one-time, …)
Mark because it will make your group perform better even if they're not communicating.
Now, choosing what to mark so you go from "better" to "outstanding" takes practice, and can be a bit of an art. And while I wrote a complex and long article on it, I can give you an intermediate level that's fairly simple.
Make the kill order based on ease of killing.
In other words, you're facing squishies and tanks. CC the tanks, kill the squishies, then kill the tanks one after another. If you KNOW that one of the squishies is a healer while the other is a DPSer, kill the healer first. If you don't know, don't worry about it.
Now, I'm going to point out that most people kill the hard target first. In the end, however, this is due to lazy thinking. They do it because the pullers don't want to do the extra effort necessary to bring the casting mobs into range. This… may take more persuasion on your part. But again, if you MARK the casters as first to die, the persuasion is easier. The eventual squabble (Hey, quit marking them first because we fight too close to the other mobs! Hey back, that's why we're supposed to bring them back HERE – first OR last!) will either cause everyone to bail, or massively improve everything. ummm, please practice tact — it'll make the latter result a lot more likely.
In sum, then:
Mark your targets, all the time. It won't really take that long, and actually will speed your group. And…
Until you're practiced, mark the squishies as "die first" targets. Yah, it feels weird sheeping the executioner and hitting the healer first, but trust me, you'll like the result.
Have fun.
8 Responses to "revisiting Marking Targets"
Mark because TJ pitches fits and has tantrums when you don't. That's what I hear, anyway.
*hands out cookies for the article*
Thank you. I'm directing some of my folks to this, as a followup on how nice it makes folks behave Even if the order is "wrong" and you skull the tough guys first and then the healers, at the very least, everyone coordinates on one target, instead of splitting things between those who "know" to hit the healers first, and the others who focus on the tough melee mob. Marks of any sort = Healer ❤
Yes, yes, yes! I'm not really as experienced as you (or most of your readership, probably). I'm new enough that I clearly remember my first venture into RFC. I was a hunter at the time, and the group's leader/warrior/tank marked *everything*. Everyone stuck–more or less–to the marks.
I was shocked at how easy things were. I had been hearing stories about pugs from hell, and this wasn't anything LIKE that, what were the storytellers talking about?
Since then, I've learned. I've gotten to the point where I don't even suggest marking until the second "let's kill everything" wipe, and reflexively make a note (at least) of people who suggest it before me. I've been cursed at for asking whether we can please mark after the third wipe, because 'we don't need marks, learn to play.' Maybe we don't need them, but it will probably make things go faster and with less stress. Maybe all we need is to make conscious effort not to go engage 9 elite mobs at once. If only there was a way to tell everyone which mobs to gang up on…
On a related note, does anyone know a polite way to say "Listen, if nobody here can tackle one of these mobs one-on-one, why the heck do you think the five of us can each handle three of them at once?"
To answer JC, i think it would go something like… "Can you refresh me on what mob i'm supposed to be focusing on? Normally in my guild, we use the raid icons for that, but i know there are other ways. I'm just not picking up on what you're using."
To digress, my guild consolidated our various ways of marking into a standardized kill order: star, circle, diamond, triangle. moon, square, and X are for CC (generally sheep/seduce, trap, sap/shackle respectively), leaving skull generally unused. I played in a couple of heroic pugs for the first time in, well, months last night, and imagine my surprise when people expected me to use the kill order "skull, X" (with apparently nothing in after that, so i appended "star, circle").
The reason we start with star is because, being listed first in the keybind/dropdown list, it just flowed naturally. If Blizzard was going to make a "skull", why the heck did they make it the LAST one instead of the first one? Damn.
hmm, I just remembered a run tht I did AGES ago where the marker was just unbelievably fast/good at his job. He attributed it to hard practice with Unreal Tournament (/spit) and good macro skills. seeing as you're on a macro journey at the moment, can you make any suggestions for macro'ing the marks?


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The question is starting to get old.
More than 50 times in the last week, I've been asked by exasperated foreigners: how could you Californians have voted down Prop 34, the repeal of the death penalty?
Of course, I'm in Montevideo, Uruguay, this week at a conference on ballot initiatives and referendum that has drawn speakers from more than 35 countries. So there are a lot of foreigners around. And I'm one of only a handful of Americans present, and the only person living in California.
U.S. & World
But the interest in Prop 34 is striking. The death penalty isn't much of an issue in the U.S.
Prop 34, after all, didn't get all that much attention in California; it was outshined by the competing tax measures, Prop 30 and Prop 38.
But it appears to have been closely watched around the world. And from my conversations, it's apparent that non-Americans of all political ideologies were expecting Californians to vote yes on Prop 34 and repeal the death penalty.
That's because most of the democratic world opposes the death penalty and it isn't even close. When I explained that most Californians (including your lead blogger) have no particular moral problem to the death penalty, they simply can't believe that a person who otherwise seems intelligent should hold such views. Their question to me is simply: how could you?
I explain that many people vote no on most ballot initiatives, that the measure did some weird things with the money saved, and that Prop 34 didn't get as much attention as it might have observed. But that only seems to leave them more puzzled and frustrated.
I got the third degree about Prop 34 from a senior aide to the leftist government that is currently running Uruguay, and from a top conservative legislator whose party is seeking to unseat the government. And from a host of conference attendees from Europe, Latin America and Asia.
They are so firm -- and so convinced that no civilized society would have a death penalty -- that I've begun to wonder if the campaign for Prop 34 didn't miss an opportunity. Ads that showed the received opinion of people around the world are an unusual strategy for a ballot initiative campaign, but there is real power in hearing from dozens of people, in every conceivable accent in which English can be spoken, that you're a total idiot for living in a place that still has a death penalty.
And I have new reason for giving the repeal of the death penalty new consideration: so that I don't have to hear about the subject whenever I travel overseas.


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Communications Service Providers (CSPs) have new opportunities to capitalize on the promise of the Pervasive Network by creating open, software-defined and programmable solutions directly linked to their differentiated market strategy.
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This obituary is protected by copyright by Vondel Smith Mortuary North. Proudly Serving the Communities of Oklahoma City, North OKC, Edmond, Bethany, Warr Acres, The Village, Piedmont, Mesta Park, and Nichols Hills . Vondel Smith Mortuary North is located in the state of Oklahoma, United States.
All rights reserved. This obituary is also archived at obittree.com
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Siniat Exhibition Stand Review
Tuesday, January 16 2018
*Review by confirmed client*
"Hi Sarah
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|Be Connected for older Australians with Leo
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Happy anniversary, Marathon!
Marathon was released on December 21st, 1994. That means the game turns 21 today - legally old enough to drink in the US (and it could probably use a drink after seeing Ling Ling's head).
I can think of no better time to share the work I've done with Better Bridges, which creates the illusion that Aleph One can do true bridges.
You may have already seen the screenshots from Halathon, but what I've done now is extracted out Better Bridges to work independently for any scenario that wants to use the technique. I've endeavored to make it as easy to use as possible.
Head over to Simplici7y to download the sample map and detailed user's guide.


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When it comes to literary characters to depict in LEGO, you can't beat Jones, the cybernetic, heroin-addicted dolphin from William Gibson's 1981 tale Johnny Mnemonic. Explains sculptor Cole Blaq:
What does a heroin junky dolphin do in Nighttown? Well I guess dreaming of electric sheep or riding the horse. But hey, what else could a wave-riding animal enjoy when being imprisoned in a technological cage. Inspired by Gibson's Mnemonic featuring Jones in his tank and Jones' cyberspace ego riding the crystal edges of the matrix.
Click on the above image to expand, and you can see more photos here. [Via Nerdcore]


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Sunday, January 08, 2012
Urbanisation, and a Japanese Curiosity
We did almost go the full rural route early on, and it hovered in the conversation until the mid-80's, but we eventually settled into a largely small-town/suburban lifestyle. We talk about whether moving back into the city would be reasonable for retirement, but there's a lot not to like about it. It depends on where and how, I suppose.
Thus it is with some reluctance that I am convinced by the argument that urbanisation in a country is a good thing, and that absent artificial encouragements by government (such as mortgage deductions, agri subsidies, grants and programs that prop up marginal endeavors), the natural flow of youth and talent is to cities, and that's a good thing. Less ecological disruption, efficiencies of scale, etc.
Note that in these discussions, it is often unclear whether edge cities are considered as part of the discussion or not, and that single factor changes nearly everything. Researchers whose conclusions seem planets apart might actually be in essential agreement, and arguments that have escalated to threat level might be about details.
Also left vague is what sort of countries urbanisation is good for: All of them? Third World? Free Market?
With that in mind, note that Japanese cities continue to prosper despite the birth dearth and the yearly predictions that the whole country is going to collapse. There are places in the provinces that are collapsing - and the pictures are a touch disquieting - but the Japanese don't seem to mind all that much.
It raises very interesting questions about what a "good" economy is. GDP is a measure of growth and fluidity, but may not capture the idea of stable wealth in a community, nor the technological improvements we all share but look like 0% growth.
5 comments:
- karrde said...
One difference: Japan is a culture that has a very strong sense of collectiveness.
This may be an Oriental (Japanese/Korean/Chinese) trait, and not just a Japanese trait.
But that cultural trait would promote bringing people into the big city, and care very little about dying/dead towns in the hinterlands.
- karrde said...
One stray thought: nearly a decade ago, I saw a series of photographs online.
The photos were likely taken during a bus-tour of Chernobyl, though the photo-taker claimed she had gotten permission to tour the area herself, on her motorcycle. (The photographer originally had a different website, but currently keeps a site at elenafilatova.com)
Those photos are more depressing than this photo series from Japan. But they have some similarities, in their exploration of things left behind in abandoned areas.
- Grandma Bee said...
The Nat'l Geographic had an article singing the praises of cities for the same reasons mentioned here. I see two glaring problems that the Nat Geo didn't address, and I'd like to know if somebody else has thought of these:
1. Where in a big city are children going to get free play in nature? You're not allowed to climb trees in most public parks, or dig for worms, or put in your own patch of tomatoes. Kids spend way too much time indoors as it is, with their butts planted in front of electronics. Kids desperately need to get out in nature and experiment. It's a matter of emotional and mental development that cannot be addressed in a school setting.
2. A lot of the people who point to Asian cities as examples are missing a serious cultural problem. Asian urban populations put tremendous amounts of pressure on kids in schools. The hellacious One Child Policy in particular puts tremendous pressure on kids because the kids carry the expectations of two parents and four grandparents. The school system drains the kids of energy; I know of a number of middle schoolers in Beijing who have maybe two hours a week to themselves, if it isn't full of homework. I know a lot of Chinese families and I see the heavy impact of the pressure of the Asian school systems and the family duties piled one one small pair of shoulders. The suicide rate among young people is a serious issue in these places.
So do the people singing the praises of these urban systems know what the hell they're doing to the kids?
- Assistant Village Idiot said...
Grandma Bee, anytime you start kicking NG here, you are going to get pats on the back and people willing to stand you a drink. Perhaps this is because so many of us loved what it was in our youth, and are sorry to see its decline into the Green Bible, Illustrated.
The pressure on Asian students is a cultural thing, and I find it a way they attempt to game the systems of school and work. They already have the smarts and the energy - most of the effort is wasted. Still, they are who they are, and perhaps that's how they got there over the centuries. You might find Steve Sailer interesting on that score.
As to children, I agree they are often subtly left out of these calculations. I'm not particular about the worms and tomatoes - any moving through space on one's own will do, I think. I grew up in a mill city and had plenty of that (plus worms). Being driven around in suburbs may be worse for one's independence of action (I had that, too). I'm all for the electronics, though.
- Texan99 said...
I lived my whole life in Houston before we moved to this semi-rural area about seven years ago. I worried at first whether I'd miss the big city. Houston's not a great example, of course, but there were restaurants, ethnic food, theaters, music, etc. Several years ago, I did take on some work that made it convenient to take an apartment in Houston for the many nights I needed to stay there during the week. The apartment was in one of the new "midtown" areas that have sprung up near downtown, with lodging above street-level shops and restaurants. It was pretty great to be able to walk to a variety of commercial establishments like that.
I still prefer it out here in the trees. I figured, if I missed that stuff all that much, I could make trips back. The urge hasn't overwhelmed me enough to make me forget the endless parking lots and ugly buildings. Even the siren song of San Antonio, an equally close city and much more beautiful than Houston, has proved easy to resist.


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Posts Tagged regime
Bloody Bahrain — Where is USA's Support?
Posted by angelapagano in Uncategorized on 22 May 2011
"We yelled, 'We are peaceful! Peaceful!' The women and children were attacked just like the rest of us," he said. "They moved in as soon as the media left us. They knew what they're doing."
(Mahmoud Mansouri, a protester, in reference to his experience with the police)
"They were beating me so hard I could no longer see. There was so much blood running from my head," he said. "I was yelling, 'I'm a doctor! I'm a doctor!' But they didn't stop."
(Sadek Akikri, a doctor, in reference to his experience with the police when giving medical attention to sick protesters at a medical tent)
Non-violent pro-democracy demonstrations have been held in Bahrain. They've demanded for fair elections and equal rights for all. The army locked down Bahrain. Police, via orders from the Bahraini government, responded to the demonstrations with violence — and lots of it. There's been reports of severe injuries, torture, murder.
Those on the receiving end of the attacks have not had the medical attention that they require, as the Bahraini government made orders prohibiting it. There have been reports of ambulance paramedics and doctors being attacked by Bahraini police for treating protesters — some have even been killed. Activists who have been brought to trial were additionally denied contact with their lawyers.
Military aid from the U.S. in the amount of roughly $20 million was given to Bahrain in 2010. The program it was through is specifically for helping foreign governments to purchase American-made weapons, services and training; and thus, some of the military equipment that's been used in this situation likely came from the U.S.
The Bahraini government is a monarchy. The al-Khalifa family have ruled Bahrain for almost 230 years. While the protesters want an end to this, the U.S. has interest in it being kept in place so that the benefits, such as military power and oil supply lines, from the relationship are kept in place as well. This relationship is placed above the lives of the Bahraini people who are calling for equal rights and political change — even when they are being attacked, tortured and murdered for doing so. Thus, U.S. support is not placed with the demonstrators; it's placed with the Bahraini government, who responded with deadly force to peaceful protesting.
The U.S. doesn't want to 'cross the line' where the established relationship is damaged. While the decision to do so could happen, it would only be as an effort to protect other interests/relationships/benefits that may be lost as consequence for not doing so. Decisions in this system are based on self-interest, not common-interest in the way of that which is Best For All Life.
In this current system, the strive for money, power and control takes priority. There is more concern over 'making a killing' than the real killing going on. The atrocities in this world are just disregarded, and belief and desire take the lead within humanity — where mere ego has been placed above LIFE. This is completely unacceptable.
It is time to put an end to the atrocities in this world — an end to abuse in all forms, an end to separation, corruption and destruction, an end to delusional belief and value systems, an end to the reign of ego. It is time for a new system; a system that actually makes this possible, a system that focuses on what really matters.
The Equal Money System has a solid foundation, a solid core principle that leaves no potential–and no tolerance–for abuse. Life is placed as priority. No need to demand equal rights in an Equality System.
It is the self-honest, commonsensical solution for this planet.


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By Bronwyn Ormsby and Alan Phenix
Since their introduction in 1956, waterborne acrylic emulsion paints have been widely adopted by artists. These paints offer a range of technical differences in relation to traditional oil paints, including rapid drying, versatility, durability, and an ability to be thinned with water—properties exemplified in David Hockney's A Bigger Splash, where the paint was applied directly to bare canvas and could be repeatedly applied wet-on-dry in multiple layers to produce a crisp painting in pure, clean color.
However, as with all new materials used in art, targeted research has become increasingly important in order to determine appropriate conservation strategies, a fact not lost on Hockney himself:
Oil paint has been used by artists for six hundred years, so modern conservators have six centuries of experience to draw on and develop. Acrylics, on the other hand, are little more than half a century old. It is extremely important and very welcome that . . . research into the future conservation of these relatively new materials is being done now to ensure these artworks will be kept in good condition for centuries to come.¹
In contrast to traditional oil paintings, acrylic emulsion paintings are rarely varnished; as a result, airborne dust and dirt deposit directly onto the paint surface, building up over time. Eventually, this process may compromise the painting's appearance to such a degree that cleaning is warranted.
Surface cleaning of acrylic emulsion paintings can be difficult for a variety of reasons. Often the surfaces are delicately nuanced, and even the very slightest alteration—such as burnishing, tidelines, or a roughening of the surface—can critically influence appearance and coherence. These paints are generally soft at room temperature, and dirt can become firmly ingrained—in the worst case, possibly permanently embedded in the paint surface—hence the margin between successful dirt removal and damage to the paint film can be slim. Dirt deposition can also be exacerbated by greasy deposits on the surface, such as skin oils resulting from improper handling; indeed, the presence of tenacious dark finger marks is not uncommon with acrylic paintings. Artists' acrylic emulsion paints are also sensitive to a wide range of liquid agents commonly used for surface cleaning, and can be vulnerable to swelling and pigment removal. One of the key challenges, therefore, is to find cleaning agents which avoid or minimize this risk, but which are also effective at dirt removal.
In addition, conservators faced with cleaning acrylic emulsion paintings must consider important practical and ethical questions, such as the impact of cleaning treatments on any surfactants (detergent-type substances) that may be present as original constituents of the paint. The consequences of the removal of surfactant during cleaning have been explored to some extent; however, secure and consistent perspectives have yet to be developed. It is known that surfactant originally present in the paint can migrate and collect at the surface, where it may contribute to the retention of surface dirt, and that the removal of surface dirt can also result in the removal of this original surfactant material. Practitioners have not universally agreed whether this removal is desirable or acceptable. The long-term effects of such cleaning treatments remain uncertain.
In light of the complexities and difficulties confronting conservators working in this area, the Getty Conservation Institute (GCI) has embarked on several collaborative initiatives aimed at improving understanding of, and practical approaches to, the cleaning of works of art made from acrylic emulsion paint media. A partner in these efforts has been Tate in London.
Since 2003 scientists at Tate have been characterizing the surfaces of acrylic emulsion paints and exploring the consequences of surface cleaning treatments. A paper delivered by Tate and GCI scientists at the "Modern Paints Uncovered"² conference at Tate Modern in 2006 (coorganized with the GCI and the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC) presented observations on the gradual buildup of surfactant on paint surfaces over time and on its subsequent loss through light exposure and water-based cleaning treatment. Assessment of bulk paint film properties such as stiffness, softness, and flexibility demonstrated that these physical properties were not significantly altered by water-based cleaning treatments, and that non-water-based systems (such as simple hydrocarbon solvents) did not remove surface surfactant. More recent research forming part of the Tate AXA Art Modern Paints Project has involved evaluating the surface cleaning treatment of five paintings from Tate's collection dating from 1962 to 1973. Examination of these works of art has demonstrated that surfactant is not always present on painting surfaces, and that currently used cleaning systems will at least partially remove any surface surfactant present, often resulting in a slight increase in surface gloss.³
An opportunity to advance research into the cleaning of acrylic paintings arose in early 2008 when scientists at the Dow Chemical Company, based in Midland, Michigan, approached the GCI about establishing a collaborative research project on modern artists' paints. With the acquisition of Rohm and Haas Paint and Coating Materials in April 2009, Dow became one of the world's largest manufacturers of base latexes for acrylic house paints, as well as many other raw materials used in architectural and industrial paints, fine-art acrylic paints, cleaning products, and conservation materials. In spring 2008, GCI scientists Tom Learner and Alan Phenix began working with Dow research chemist Melinda Keefe and Tate conservation scientist Bronwyn Ormsby on a project to explore the potential of Dow's high throughput (HTP) testing and analysis facilities for developing cleaning formulations for the removal of dirt from artists' acrylic emulsion paint films.
The goal of the project with Dow is to contribute to the development of frameworks for the selection of liquid cleaning agents for the removal of surface dirt from artists' acrylic paints—specifically, to identify effective cleaning formulations with low damage potential (i.e., risk) to paints of this type. High throughput research at Dow involves automated material handling, data handling and management, statistical design, analysis methods, and visualization tools that are used in parallel to increase dramatically the speed and success of their research and development programs. This methodology has been applied in many areas of Dow's research and development activity, including identification of catalysts for the production of plastics, formulation design for paints, and cleaners for hard surfaces and fabrics.
The initial outcome of this collaboration has been the development of methodologies for the rapid discrimination and screening of the cleaning efficacy of possible cleaning liquids, and for the evaluation of the effects of these liquids on representative test samples of artists' acrylic emulsion paints. Broadly speaking, the test method involves a series of automated test functions, including:
- an automated HTP cleaning test device capable of simultaneously cleaning up to twenty-four separate areas of a reference paint film;
- automated image analysis, coupled with data mining, for determination of cleaning efficacy of test liquids;
- analysis of the effects of cleaning liquids on paints using atomic force microscopy (AFM) for visualization of surface morphology; parallel dynamic mechanical thermal analysis (p-DMTA) for monitoring changes in mechanical properties; and desorption electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (DESI-MS) for chemical analysis of extracted original surfactants and/or residues from cleaning liquids.
The first results and insights from the GCI-Dow-Tate project were presented at the general session of the American Institute for Conservation annual meeting, held in Los Angeles in May 2009.
To promote and develop specific technical skills for the cleaning of acrylic emulsion paints within the conservation profession, it was seen that some form of knowledge transfer vehicle was needed, in order to disseminate the findings of recent scientific research and integrate them with the latest perspectives on cleaning technology. As a first step toward developing an advanced training package on the cleaning of acrylic painted surfaces, in July 2009 GCI held a colloquium on this topic, conducted as a trial workshop for practicing conservators.
Participants at the colloquium—entitled "Cleaning of Acrylic Painted Surfaces: Research into Practice"—were invited specialists (conservators, conservation scientists, and conservation educators) with expertise relevant to the conservation of acrylic painted surfaces. The event was led by Bronwyn Ormsby, Richard Wolbers (Winterthur Museum/University of Delaware Program in Art Conservation), Chris Stavroudis (independent conservator, Los Angeles), and Tiarna Doherty (J. Paul Getty Museum), with Tom Learner and Alan Phenix. The colloquium provided the opportunity for specialists in the field of artists' acrylic paints to explore strategies for problem solving relating to the difficult technical and ethical challenges presented by paintings in this medium. Additionally, the colloquium enabled experienced practitioners to evaluate new cleaning substances and formulations, including novel cleaning agents that have emerged from the GCI-Tate-Dow project.
The colloquium and the other initiatives described above—along with work being conducted by other researchers and conservation practitioners around the world—will, it is hoped, provide useful frameworks for the conservation treatment and preservation of these relatively new materials. While a considerable amount of modern and contemporary art is neither built nor intended to last for centuries—a reality which presents conservators with huge technical and philosophical problems—acrylic emulsion paintings, on the whole, represent an important medium of artistic expression that, given appropriate care, have the potential to convey their message, as Hockney put it, "for centuries to come."
Bronwyn Ormsby is a senior conservation scientist at Tate. Alan Phenix is a scientist with GCI Science.
1 Hockney, email message to Thomas J. S. Learner, 2006.
2 B. Ormsby, T. Learner, G. Foster, J. Druzik, and M. Schilling, "Wet-Cleaning Acrylic Emulsion Paint Films: An Evaluation of Physical, Chemical and Optical Changes," in Modern Paints Uncovered: Proceedings from the Modern Paints Uncovered Symposium, May 16–19, 2006, Tate Modern, London, 187–98 (Los Angeles: Getty Conservation Institute, 2008).
3 B. Ormsby, P. Smithen, F. Hoogland, T. Learner, and C. Miliani, "A Scientific Investigation into the Surface Cleaning of Acrylic Emulsion Paintings," in ICOM [International Council of Museums] Committee for Conservation, 15th Triennial Conference, New Delhi, 22–26 September 2008: Preprints, 2:857–65 (New Delhi: Allied Publishers, 2008).


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By William Fisher
More than a quarter of a million security contractors have been deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan since 2002, and between them they have managed to "lose" at least $31 billion of the $190 billion spent on their contracts and grants, or approximately 30 per cent of taxpayer funds they received, according to a government watchdog commission.
The Commission on Wartime Contracting estimates that the U.S. contractor workforce has at times exceeded 260,000, outnumbering deployed
It charged that the $31 billion loss was "due to lack of oversight" over the private companies providing national security and support services.
The eight-member, bipartisan Commission submitted its last report to Congress this week.
The Congressionally chartered panel has held 25 hearings, participated in more than 1,000 meetings and has previously published two interim reports and five special reports to Congress. Many of the group's findings have indicated a lack of strict oversight in keeping track of the more than 200,000 contractor employees working in Iraq & Afghanistan.
The Commission members include: Michael Thibault and Christopher Shays, co-chairs; Clark Kent Ervin, Grant Green, Robert Henke, Katherine Schinasi, Charles Tiefer, and Dov Zakheim.
Commission Co-Chair Michael Thibault, former deputy director of the Defense Contract Audit Agency, said, "The government has known for 20 years that contractors would be a key part of any major response to large or sustained hostilities or major disasters. Yet the government was not prepared to go into Afghanistan in 2001 or Iraq in 2003 using large numbers of contractors, and is still unable to provide effective management and oversight of contract spending that will have exceeded $206 billion by the end of September. That has to change."
The Commission recommended reform objectives including improving federal planning for use of contracts, strengthening contract management and oversight, expanding competition, improving interagency coordination, and modifying or canceling U.S.-funded projects that host nations cannot sustain.
Co-Chair Christopher Shays, a former U.S. Representative for Connecticut, said, "The Commission finds the government is over-relying on contractors."
He added, "Some contractors have been performing tasks that only federal employees should perform, while others are doing work that is permissible but still too risky or inappropriate for contractors. And overall, there is simply too much contracting for the federal contract-management and oversight workforce to handle. From every angle, that's over-reliance."
The co-chairs said the biggest problem in wartime contracting is waste. Thibault said, "We have founds billions of dollars of waste stemming from a variety of shortcomings-poor decision making, vague contract requirements, lack of adequately trained federal oversight people in the field, duplicative or unnecessary work, failure to revise or recompete contracts, unsustainable projects, inadequate business processes among contractors, and delayed audits."
The Commission estimates that waste and fraud could possibly reach as much as $60 billion in Iraq and Afghanistan. The additional waste may develop if host countries cannot or will not sustain U.S.-funded projects and programs after the United States hands them over or reduces its support.
Shays said the Commission report lays blame at the doorsteps of both government and the contracting industry. "Many of the convictions and guilty pleas for bribery, kickbacks, theft, and other offenses involve federal civilians and members of the military," he said.
"Likewise, poor performance shows up both in government and contractor operations. We've had soldiers injured or electrocuted because of faulty wiring in base showers, and we've had federal officials tolerating a far greater supply of contract labor than was needed for military-vehicle maintenance. There is plenty of blame to go around." Shays called attention to a key paragraph in the executive summary of the Commission's final report. It said:
"Much of the contingency-contract waste and fraud could have been avoided. Unless changes are made, continued waste and fraud will undercut the effectiveness of money spent in future operations, whether they involve hostile threats overseas or national emergencies here at home requiring military participation and interagency response.
"Responsibility for this state of affairs lies with Congress, the White House, federal departments, the military services, agency leadership, contractors, and individuals who abuse the system."
Before President Eisenhower warned us about the military-industrial complex, Senator Harry Truman led a special investigative committee to go after war profiteers. Two years later, Truman's team discovered that aerospace firm Curtiss-Wright was delivering defective motors to the Air Force. While military officials denied the accusations, Truman took testimony from company employees and military officials confirming that the company was selling leaky motors to the government and covering it up with forged inspection reports.
While Truman's subject matter was different, the need now is even greater. The country has a compelling and urgent need for a permanent, dedicated, high-level, Congressionally-chartered watchdog unit capable of ferreting out waste, fraud and abuse, not in the past tense, as the current Commission was obliged to do, but in real time.
The military-contractor complex is likely to be with us for generations. And so is the need to continually look over its shoulder to ensure that taxpayer funds are going where they're supposed to go.
We have seen examples of the effective use of such units. Witness Stuart Bowen, the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction. Mr. Bowen is tasked with auditing and investigating the use of taxpayer funds appropriated for the Iraq reconstruction effort. Since 2004, he has produced over 350 audits and inspections, resulting in financial benefits in excess of $1.1 billion; his investigations have yielded over 50 convictions, with recoveries in excess of $150 million via forfeiture orders, fines, and seizures.
Stuart Ackerman of Wired reports that Bowen is being stonewalled by Hilary Clinton regarding State's contractor plans after US troops largely depart. There are also a few stealthy efforts by some in Congress to scuttle his whole operation. Yet it remains in place doing its job and doing it well.
Come to think of it, Stuart Bowen would be an ideal candidate to use his Iraq experience to head a new unit providing oversight of security contractors in both Iraq and Afghanistan. But a watchdog like Bowen can only recommend. He needs the cooperation of Congress. And it's up to Congress to act - to move aggressively against those who can be found guilty of waste, fraud and abuse.
Monday, September 12, 2011
Outsourcing War
Posted by Unknown at Monday, September 12, 2011
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glass o-chokko, a photo by tangerinee on Flickr.
I wanted to pass along a quick email to inform you of a great event coming up early next week.
Unfortunately, I can't make it, but I'm hoping some of you can.
Kingyo is featuring some new cool sakes with some seafood pairing fun!
Join, Mariko Tajiri, Sake Specialist for That's Life Gourmet, purveyors of fine wine and sake, at Kingyo for an educational and tasty evening.
Here's a list of what's in store:
Hakkaisan Sake (Niigata Prefecture) / 3 kinds of Carpaccio
Kuheji Sake (Aichi Prefecture) / Deep fried squid
Snow crab sushi
Beisuika Sake (Gunma Prefecture)/ Negitoro sushi
Price is $50 (not including tax and gratuities)
There will be lots of sake to taste!
Kingyo Izakaya
871 Denman Street, Vancouver
Call to reserve a spot: 604.608.1677
There's a maximum of 8 for this event, so call ASAP for a seat.


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Scandinavian Princess Cake Recipe and Photos
Princess Cake Is a Special, Stunning Birthday Dessert
Amongst my group of friends, I am the birthday cake maker. Thus, when a friend told me she was hosting a "Swedish" dinner party to celebrate her 25th year, she asked if my contribution would be the cake. "Yes" was my immediate answer, and I suggested a princess cake.
A princess cake is no easy dessert; it involves six components: sponge cake, whipped cream, pastry cream, raspberry jam, simple syrup, and marzipan. But after extensively researching it and clearing away part of my weekend, I decided to give it a try. Luckily, the cake was a huge success! It was moist, delicious, and absolutely perfect.
Although I spent a lot of time worrying about it, each element of the cake was not that difficult. Since I've never worked with marzipan, rolling it out was the hardest part of the process. If you are an experienced baker looking for a scrumptious cake that will definitely impress, I suggest you make it. Here's the recipe and my photos.
Scandinavian Princess Cake
From Martha Stewart
- For the genoise:
Vegetable oil cooking spray
1 1/4 cups cake flour (not self-rising), sifted
6 tablespoons almond flour, toasted
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 large eggs
4 large egg yolks
1 cup granulated sugar
4 ounces (1 stick) butter, melted
For the pastry cream:
2 cups whole milk
1/2 vanilla bean, split and scraped, pod reserved for another use
Pinch of salt
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3 large egg yolks
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 ounce (1 tablespoon) cold butter
For the simple syrup:
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup Armagnac (optional)*
To assemble:
1/2 cup seedless raspberry jam
3 cups heavy cream
2 packages (7 ounces each) marzipan
Green food coloring, for decorating
Confectioners' sugar, for dusting
- Make the genoise: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Coat 2 rimmed baking sheets with cooking spray, line each with parchment, then spray parchment. Combine cake flour, almond flour, and salt in a medium bowl.
- Whisk eggs, yolks, and granulated sugar in a mixer bowl set over a pot of simmering water until sugar dissolves and mixture is warm to the touch, about 2 minutes. Attach bowl to mixer, and whisk on medium speed for 2 minutes. Raise speed to high, and whisk until mixture is pale and thick, 4 to 5 minutes. Sift flour mixture over egg mixture, and gently fold. When almost incorporated, slowly add melted butter, and fold.
- Divide batter between baking sheets, spread evenly, and bake until golden brown and springy to the touch, 8 to 10 minutes. Let cool. Run a knife around edges of pans, and invert onto a clean surface; discard parchment. Using an 8-by-3-inch cake ring, cut out 4 circles. Choose the 3 thickest cake circles, and reserve the fourth for another use.
- Make the pastry cream: Bring milk, vanilla seeds, salt, and 1/4 cup granulated sugar to a boil in a medium saucepan. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk yolks, cornstarch, and remaining cup granulated sugar to combine. When milk begins to boil, remove from heat. Slowly ladle half the milk into yolk mixture, whisking constantly. Pour mixture into saucepan, place over medium heat, and cook, whisking constantly, until mixture has thickened, about 30 seconds. Remove from heat, and whisk in cold butter. Strain into a medium bowl. Press plastic wrap directly onto surface, and let cool. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours (or overnight).
- Make the simple syrup: Bring granulated sugar and water to a boil in a small saucepan, stirring until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat, and stir in Armagnac if using. Let cool. (Syrup will keep, covered and refrigerated, for up to 1 month.)
- To assemble the cake: Place the cake ring on a 9-inch cardboard circle. Place 1 cake circle in ring, and lightly brush top with syrup. Using a small offset spatula, spread jam on cake layer. Whisk 2 1/2 cups cream until stiff peaks form. Cover jam with 1/2 cup whipped cream. Top with another cake circle, and brush top with syrup. Cover this circle with pastry cream. Place final cake circle on top, pressing down gently, and brush top with syrup. Spoon remaining whipped cream over cake, and smooth. Cover, and refrigerate for at least 4 hours (or preferably overnight).
- Whisk remaining 1/2 cup cream in a medium bowl until stiff peaks form. Remove cake ring, and coat sides of cake with whipped cream. Refrigerate cake until cold, about 30 minutes.
- Knead a golf-ball-size piece of marzipan with a couple of drops of green food coloring, adding more drops as needed to reach desired color (this piece should be a few shades darker than the final). Knead half the colored marzipan into remaining marzipan until color is evenly distributed. (Add remaining half if needed to reach desired color.) On a surface dusted with confectioners' sugar, roll out marzipan to a 14-inch circle, about 1/8 inch thick. Place marzipan over cake, smooth sides, and trim bottom edges. Refrigerate for up to 3 days. If desired, decorate with two roses.
Serves 8-10.
*I did not have Armagnac, but instead used Creme de Cassis.
- Category
- Desserts, Cake
- Cuisine
- Russian/Eastern European


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There are lots of memoirs about starting over after tragedy, about overcoming grief and forging a new life. This is not one of those memoirs. Blue Nights is about loss, in all its forms.
On Dec. 30, 2003, Joan Didion and her husband, the writer John Gregory Dunne, came home from visiting their daughter in the intensive care unit, where she was in a medically induced coma. That night at dinner, Dunne died suddenly from a heart attack. Less than two years later, their daughter, Quintana, died, just after her mother's most famous book was published.
Didion won the National Book Award for "The Year of Magical Thinking," her unsparing, lucid examination of her grief and tangled thought processes in the months after Dunne's death. If you've lost a loved one since 2005, the odds are good that someone has lovingly pressed a copy into your hands. Turning her investigative journalist's eye inward, Didion's ability to scrutinize her own consciousness to chronicle that raw time spoke directly to thousands of people reeling from loss.
That willingness to wield her honed talent on herself, as well as to look unflinchingly at a subject most Americans shy away from, are again on display in her elliptical, devastating new memoir, "Blue Nights."
The book's title comes from the French word for the gloaming. In a preface, Didion writes, "This book is called 'Blue Nights' because at the time I began it I found my mind turning increasingly to illness, to the end of promise, the dwindling of the days, the inevitability of the fading, the dying of the brightness. Blue nights are the opposite of the dying of the brightness, but they are also its warning."
"Blue Nights" opens on July 26, 2010, on the anniversary of Quintana's wedding day. Didion shares glimpses – the "peach-colored cake from Payard," the red soles of her daughter's Christian Louboutin shoes. Quintana herself remains elusive, seen in snatches and scraps of her mother's memory. "Quintana is one of the areas about which I have difficulty being direct," Didion writes.
She and Dunne adopted Quintana and brought her home from the hospital on March 3, 1966, when Didion's career as a journalist was taking off. (She almost took the baby to Saigon, shopping for parasols and pastel dresses for them both. Happily, the trip was canceled.) When Quintana was small, the three traveled to New York, Honolulu, and Paris, staying in hotels while Dunne and Didion worked on screenplays like "The Panic in Needle Park" and profiled the band Chicago. The five-year-old learned to order triple lamb chops from room service and sign for Shirley Temples.
Didion is oddly defensive about the question of "privilege." It may not have been a conventional upbringing, but it sounds like the trio had a lot of fun. And who's to say "Bambi" isn't more scarring than the "Nicholas and Alexandra" screening Didion took her daughter to?
"'You have your wonderful memories,' people said later, as if memories were solace," Didion writes. "Memories are not.... Memories are what you no longer want to remember."
Didion blames herself for many things: for not realizing the depth of Quintana's fear of abandonment and for her own terror of not knowing what to do as a mother. "Once she was born I was never not afraid," she writes, in what may be the book's saddest sentence. When Quintana got her first loose tooth, her panicked mother nearly took her to the emergency room. "What I would not realize for another few years was that I had never been the only person in the house to feel the fear."
One of the things Didion approaches obliquely is what she calls Quintana's "depths and shallows," which were diagnosed first as manic depression, then obsessive compulsive disorder, then something else Didion couldn't remember. It didn't matter, she writes, because that was soon replaced with another "diagnosis." "I put the word 'diagnosis' in quotes because I have not yet seen that case in which a 'diagnosis' led to a 'cure,' or in fact to any outcome other than a confirmed, and therefore an enforced, debility," writes Didion, who details her own bouts of ill health and inconclusive diagnoses in the book.
Frailty is a theme running throughout "Blue Nights." In addition to Quintana, Didion writes about the death of Natasha Richardson, whom she had watched grow up. And she discusses the physical cost of "maintaining momentum" and her own growing shakiness. At one point, during rehearsals for the play of "The Year of Magical Thinking," she can't bring herself to get up off a metal folding chair. Didion details days spent in hospital waiting rooms, trying to figure out who to put down as her emergency contact. She works on gaining weight and momentum. "Meanwhile ... I memorize my child's face."
Didion once famously wrote that "We tell ourselves stories in order to live." In "Blue Nights," her aim is a poignant variant. She wanted to prove "that my frailty has not yet reached a point at which I can no longer tell a true story." Not by a long shot.
Yvonne Zipp regularly reviews fiction for the Monitor.


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Fernandina Beach
Fernandina Beach, Florida, is a quaint beachfront community with very historical roots. Located just 22 miles from Jacksonville, FL, the city has more than 13 miles of pristine beaches. Those wanting to attend college do not find any institutions in town, but the town's location offers many great opportunities in the area. In Jacksonville, students find the University of North Florida, offering one of the best values in higher education and a college known regionally for being the best. Jacksonville University offers 70 majors and programs, master's degrees, and Doctor of Nurse Practicing degrees. At Edward Waters College, operated by the African Methodist Episcopal faith, students can earn degrees bachelor degrees in science and business. Students in the area also can attend Florida Coastal School of Law, one of the most innovative law schools in the nation; Florida State College at Jacksonville; Art Institute of Jacksonville; Jones College; one of the 14 Florida campuses of Keiser University; Sanford-Brown Institute; or Trinity Baptist College. Fernandina Beach is located in Nassau County. Small businesses rule supreme throughout the entire county. The largest employer is the Nassau County School Board, with 1,500 employees spread among all its campuses, including four campuses in Fernandina Beach. The second-largest employer in the county is Nassau County Government, with 670 employees. The next two largest employers are the Omni Amelia Island Plantation, with about 630 employees, and The Ritz-Carlton, with about 560 employees.
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Yammer Adds SAP to the List of Business Software It Supports
Social enterprise start-up Yammer will announce today that its service now works with software giant SAP's main software for running businesses.
The move is the latest by Yammer to integrate with other third-party software. Last year, Yammer raised eyebrows a bit by integrating Salesforce.com's competing Chatter social enterprise service into its own software. Later, it integrated Box.net and a batch of other services, like Microsoft SharePoint and NetSuite.
Yammer didn't work directly with SAP on the integration but instead turned to an SAP developer called Freeborders to build a plugin that companies using SAP can install into Yammer. They call it the Yammer SAP Connector.
SAP's main business is around Enterprise Resource Planning, or ERP software, which companies use to plan and operate their business. In SAP's case, ERP is run as old-school, on-premise software rather than in the cloud as a software-as-service approach. SAP rival NetSuite sells its ERP software in the cloud.
The big deal about social enterprise software — which includes not only Yammer, but the recently IPOed Jive Software, Salesforce's Chatter, and VMware's Socialcast — is that collaboration across a department, a division, an entire company, or between a company and outside partners can be as easy as the social experience on Facebook or Twitter. It's a big craze in enterprise software circles right now, spurred in part by overflowing and inefficient email in-boxes, and the Facebook generation entering the workforce.
I talked with Yammer CEO David Sacks about this yesterday, and he told me that one important aspect of the plugin is that it adds a "follow" button to SAP. So, if you're an SAP user inside a particular company, you can follow a piece of data or a project or an event in SAP as readily as making a friend in Facebook.
The Connector plugin sends events from SAP to the Yammer ticker, which looks suspiciously like a Facebook activity stream. If something important to you happens in SAP, you'll see it in Yammer first, and a link will take you directly to the SAP record.
SAP isn't the only product being integrated into Yammer today. Yammer added five others: GageIn, a business content aggregation platform; Kindling, which bills itself as an ideation company; Moreover Technologies, a media monitoring concern; Planview, a portfolio management product; and SparqLight, which is used to manage workflow in the cloud.
By my count, that makes 15 different services that work with Yammer. The next logical one, on my scorecard, is Oracle. I asked Sacks about that. "It's definitely on the road map," he said. Yammer's strategy is essentially to be a "social Switzerland" that works with all the important business software, whether it runs in the cloud or on-premise. "We're not going to be beholden to any one technology," Sacks told me. "We want to be the social layer that lays on top of all the important enterprise applications."
Whatever Yammer is doing, it appears to be working. It finished 2011 with more than four million end users at 200,000 companies, and late last year it lured a key senior executive away from Salesforce. It is also said to be close to landing a $50 million investment, at an implied valuation variously reported to be between $500 million and $1 billion.
Sacks had nothing to say on the subject of raising money. Last year, Yammer raised $17 million from Chamath Palihapitiya's Social+Capital Partnership; in 2010, it raised two rounds, a $25 million Series C led by US Venture Partners, and a $10 million B round led by Emergence Capital. But something tells me this is going to be a big year for Yammer.