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I have had Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) since March 2002. Both of my sons also got ME/CFS at ages 6 and 10. Our younger son fully recovered after 10 years of mild illness. Our older son still has ME/CFS and also has Lyme disease plus two other tick infections. This blog is about how our family lives with chronic illness, with a focus on improving our conditions and enjoying our lives in spite of these challenges.
Friday, July 27, 2012
New Diet Countdown!
Our new gluten-free, dairy-free diet begins with dinner tomorrow, when our kids will return home from a week with their grandparents. I am worried about how this will go for my 17-year old son, Jamie, but am hopeful that perhaps it will make a difference for him. I really appreciate all the fabulous tips and advice you've been leaving for me on my last post on this topic - it's all been so helpful in my crash course to learn what I need to quickly! I still have a few questions, though, plus a bit more information to share.
I should have mentioned in my first post that this whole thing would be no big deal if it were just me. I recognized my own dairy intolerance many years ago and adjusted fairly easily. I wouldn't even be bothering with substitute products if it were just me - I'd just eliminate foods with gluten. However, Jamie is a typical teen boy, whose tastes aren't as broad as mine and whose favorite foods all feature gluten or dairy or both! He loves pancakes (especially pancakes), bagels and toast, pizza, ice cream, peanut butter sandwiches, and cereal with milk.
He eats whatever vegetables we have for dinner but only because he knows they are good for him, not because he enjoys them. He does love all kinds of fruit, mashed potatoes, and a good steak, but otherwise, his favorites are almost all now on the no-no list. So, that makes this all especially challenging, and I know that the only way he will stick to it for very long is if I can find or bake some reasonable substitutes for at least some of his fave foods, at least until he gets used to this more.
My husband and I went shopping yesterday, stopping at Trader Joe's and the new Whole Foods store located about a half hour from here. We filled our cart with gluten-free items, including cookies, bread, bagels, English muffins, and other things our son is going to crave. I know from all of your wonderful advice that some of these products might not be great, but it's a starting point.
To make matters worse, I have learned that oats are also off our list. I was hearing contradictory information on oats - some sources said they were gluten-free but prone to cross-contamination so had to be avoided (unless labelled "gluten-free"); other sources said they were to be avoided completely. I checked with our dietician who cleared it up for me. She explained that although oats do not contain gluten, they do have a protein called gliadin which is a very similar molecule to gluten and that someone with such severe metabolic problems as Jamie needs to avoid oats as well. That's bad news because Jamie and I both love our oatmeal!
She also added as an after-thought, "best to avoid corn and soy, too." What?? You've got to be kidding. What's left? I was already counting on subbing soy milk for milk and corn tortillas and chips for flour tortillas and other salty snacks. Then, today, I received her full set of dietary recommendations, which also limits certain fruits and veggies and recommends avoiding peanuts at first. If I take the poor boy's peanut butter away, there'll be nothing left for him that he likes to eat! She agreed that this can be done in steps and that eliminating gluten, casein, and oats are the most critical first step, so that is what we'll be focusing on.
I also bought lots of different baking products to try last night, though I don't always have the energy to bake homemade stuff. I got pancake mixes and brownie mixes (two top priorities!) to try, plus several different types of flour substitutes and gluten-free flour blends.
Lunch is easy for me - I normally have leftovers or eggs - but Jamie's lunchtime favorites are peanut butter and banana sandwiches, whole grain bagel with peanut butter, pizza, and (the only remaining option!) one brand of split pea soup that he likes. I've heard that most of the GF breads aren't all that good on their own or for sandwiches. Lunch ideas for a teen boy??
Dinner will be easy - our dinners rarely include gluten now, and I eliminated dairy from most of our dinners when I stopped eating it. The one exception is pasta, which we probably only eat once or twice a month, and we bought several GF pastas to try. But I would appreciate hearing what others on a gluten-free/dairy-free diet eat for breakfast and lunch. Thanks again for all the help - I couldn't do this without you!
25 comments:
- Sarah Dawneé said...
I'm interested to hear about how this goes for you both.
I've considered trying gluten free, but I just don't think that would work with my family dynamics. But, I do have a resource for you.
One of the bloggers that I follow has quite a few gluten free (and some dairy free too) baking and meal recipes.
Here is a link:
If you scroll down there on the page are links for the gluten free recipes and the dairy free. I hope that may help a little.
Also, for a time I didn't drink milk and I found almond milk to be a wonderful substitute!
- Sue Jackson said...
Thanks for the link, Sarah!
- Renee said...
I think if you go in thinking you will try it for a month or two and then see how you feel.....feeling better will out weigh the losses. I would recommend Almond Milk, vanilla flavored or Soy Delicious coconut milk....many different brands. I eat eggs for brk or almond flour quick bread with almond butter on it. I also eat pancakes made with just three ingredients....egg, almond butter and a mashed banana and i use almond butter and blueberries on top. Those are even very sweet for me since I have not had sugars for so many years. I often eat veggies for brk..roasted ones, and I put broccoli in my scrambled eggs for variety. Brk. is the hardest! There are gluten free granola bars Jamie might like. We ALWAYS toasted our bread made with br. rice flour and often still toast our paleo breads. Just makes it easier. Joel was and is eating gluten free...our Lyme doctor too and she eats the Red Mill gluten free old fashioned or steel cut oats. I think it would depend on the person maybe. It is why I went paleo though...the cross contaminated and the genetically modified grains. I truly have so much more energy and less stomach issues being totally grain free. sure hope this all goes well BUT it takes time, Sue. Hard at first, but like anything we adjust. So many blogs that write about being gluten free and have great recipes. Wishing you well.
- Cottage Tails said...
As I said for US it has worked easier to work out what we can eat more than not eat.
Breakfast is eggs or fruit.
James is highly allergic to eggs so he has rice bread or left overs.
I find I cook a bit more each night and that is bags often by the first kid.
Soup, rice for breakfast - I know I know way different than wheat products....
Breakfast I have always found the hardest.
I'm with you I'd hit wheat out of the diet first - hopefully jamie will see and feel better - then when he has a little bit he will feel also how unwell it can make him.
Love Leanne
- LifeTrek said...
Nuts and fruit! I'll eat two apples and some berries and 2 servings of nuts. But I LOVE fruit - if I could survive on that alone I would!
I often get Bob's Red Mill oats, I just couldn't give up my oatmeal.
Veg and homemade hummus or and I like this best Broccoli dipped in olive oil and balsamic (if you can tolerate vinegar).
For lunch I often do the wraps I mentioned in the last post(they are corn free as well as gluten free). However lately I have been just having the lunch meat by itself. But I was trying to reduce calories.
I'll often have dinner leftovers for breakfast, I don't do mornings so I cook a bit more for dinner to eat in the morning.
Eliminating corn means popcorn too, yikes!
- ME CFS Self-help Guru said...
Buckwheat pankakes made with soya milk are good. I often eat refried beans with eggs and a couple of rice or corn cakes for breakfast. Or if I have the energy I make a flat bread with ground up seeds (linseed or flax seed with sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds) and gram flour mixed with a little olive oil and water, rolled out then pan fried without oil.
I don't know whether it would be to Jamies taste but I find a great picknick food to be onion bhaji's and pakora made with gram flour. Mix the flour with curry spices and water to make a thick and glupy batter then add finely sliced onions or a mixture of grated vegetables and deep fry for a few minutes(or shallow fry and turn over half way through) I usually bake them for 10 minutes aswell for best results. You can make a big batch and freeze the after frying then bake them when you take them out of the freezer.
I've heard Mozzarella cheese is one of the least harmful cheeses, so a Pizza treat once a month or so with a gluten free Pizza base might be a good reward and worth the sin.
Good luck!
- Char said...
The breakfast problem was solved in our house by using breakfast shakes - very quick, easy and they hold you til lunch. You can substitute in which protein source works for you. In blender add almond milk, 1/2 banana,almond or peanut butter and ice cubes. Or make a fruity one with OJ, frozen fruit, 1/2 banana and protein powder(I use Standard Process Complete bc organic and loaded w veggies too.)When teenager was fussy, I even made chocolate(soy, rice or almond milk) - banana- peanut butter combos. The advantage of a breakfast shake is :easy, quick, extra fluid and they go down quick with a straw. Be sure to rinse out blender if using protein powder as it dries on if left for awhile and the shakes are best fresh. For those not dairy free yogurt is a great addition too.
- Char said...
Another snack for teenagers is Rice Check trail mixes that you can make. Recipes on box- my girls liked the one make with nut butter and dark chocolate of course. I'm not saying that its healthy but it was quick and easy and their friends liked it too which made it good to share.
- Sue Jackson said...
Ah, yes, Renee...once again, if it were just me...Jamie says (vehemently) that he HATES almonds and coconut...so that is why we need the soy milk in his diet for now.
Thanks so much for all the great ideas!
- Sue Jackson said...
Thanks for all the great ideas! I will definitely be eating plenty of nuts...but Jamie only likes peanuts! And even then, he claims to only like peanut BUTTER, not peanuts - LOL! I can sometimes slip some finely chopped nuts into various dishes but he'd never eat them whole or plain. Teenagers!
But I am definitely going to order those wraps you mentioned!
- Sue Jackson said...
Buckwheat doesn't have gluten??? Woohoo! Sure enough, I looked it up and read that buck WHEAT is a misnomer - it is gluten-free. I LOVE buckwheat pancakes! That's great news.
I appreciate all the ideas - you guys are just full of wonderful information!
- Sue Jackson said...
Char - You read my mind! I was just thinking about breakfast shakes/smoothies (lying in bed at 6 am this morning unable to sleep!). That's a great idea, and my kids love smoothies. And I thought that the soy yogurt might work well for smoothies, even though it doesn't taste very good on its own.
I will definitely try some of your suggestions - thanks!
- Sue Jackson said...
Great idea! I did buy a box of Rice Chex this week. I used to love it when I was a kid. Not much fiber in it, but tasty!
- upnorth said...
Can you find Pamela's baking mix? You can use it for a number of things but we absolutely LOVE the pancakes and the waffles you can make from it. THey probably sell it at whole foods or maybe a co-op if you have one. A must for pancake lovers and WAY easier than mixing your own what with the 700 ingredients that must go in a gluten free baking mix (wait, I may be exaggerating a bit)
Michael gets a dairy free break every couple of weeks - that seems to help. Our next door neighbor makes a gluten, dairy free chocolate cake that is unbelievably good.
I like smoked salmon. Works well for a snack or breakfast or lunch. High protein, no gluten, no dairy, no corn, no soy. Other fish works well too, like tuna.
Can he eat rice? I like cream of rice instead of oatmeal. Add some cinnamon and it's sweet. Add some veggies and it's savory.
Beans with veggies are also good for filling up on.
I think the key is to not think of certain types of foods as being breakfast or lunch foods and just eat whatever food is on your diet for any of the 3 meals. That works for me at least.
- Sue Jackson said...
I will look for it! It's Sunday morning which means pancakes at our house, so I am going to try out 2 versions of gluten-free pancakes this morning - one from a pre-made mix and a simple homemade recipe from one of my blog readers.
Wish me luck!
- Sue Jackson said...
Good idea, Faith! And I would love that chocolate cake recipe!
- Sue Jackson said...
Good advice!
- Baffled said...
Bear with me this is going to be long.
Milks: rice, almond, coconut, soy (but not recommended since unfermented soy is difficult to digest and some camps say is outright bad for you). Soy DOES screw with hormone levels so it really isn't a good choice. Make sure the milk substitute doesn't have added sugars or carrageenan in it which is another nasty chemical. Nut milks and coconut milk can be made at home with organic ingredients and no sugar or chemicals and it is easy to do. Let me know if you want the instructions.
Breakfast: Eggs, steak, bacon, sausage, fruit smoothies with protein added as either nut butters or rice protein powders, fish(shrimp and salmon are my favs), hot cereal made with other grains such as buckwheat groats, teff, rice or amaranth, muffins made from alternative flours, make a vegetable stir fry to go with the eggs, onions, mushrooms, leaks, bok choy, asparagus, scallions are all great.
Peanut butter alternatives: almond butter, cashew butter, sunbutter, applebutter. Keep them in the fridge after they are opened since the oils can go rancid in the hot weather.
Since you are eliminating most grains, you will need to add good fats back in to your diet so that you will feel full. The best fats are saturated animal fats from pastured animals. Check with your nutritionist and see if she will let you use organic Ghee. It has the casein removed so is often tolerated by people who normally can't do dairy. Otherwise, get some 100% grass fed suet from Whole Foods meat department. You can call and order it. It is cheap and then render it down so that this becomes your primary cooking oil. This is easy to do and only needs to be done once every few weeks. It keeps for months in the fridge or freezer so if you made a large batch conceivably it can be made only twice a year. It can also be purchased from US Wellness Meats but they have a minimum purchase of 7lbs & $70 so you can't just get lard/tallow if you put in an order.
- Baffled said...
Try to get your carbs from fruits and vegetables instead of grains. Have lots of fresh fruit and nuts available for snacks. Easy to grab and no prep work involved. I also had rice cakes on hand when I first went GF but I don't eat them anymore. Envirokids makes some nice GF "granola" bars.
As far as lunches go:
Invest in some smallish containers and put together a variety of things making sure there is protein, fat and carb. Fruit with nut butters. GF crackers, muffins, cookies. Anything that goes into a sandwich can be eaten without the bread: chicken salad, egg salad, tuna salad, ham salad, rolls of lunch meat such as ham, beef or turkey with a little mustard for dipping. Pepperoni slices, salami slices, beef jerky. I used to buy wraps and then eat the innards tossing the wrap in the trash. I used to call these "wrap gut" lunches. Vegetable sticks with salad dressing for dipping.
Here is a great resource for recipes and ideas:
just type in breakfast or lunch into the search box and tons of stuff will show up. It is basically a collection of recipes from Paleo/Primal bloggers so you will end up all over the web and discover all sorts of neat sites. Paleo is no grains and no dairy so anything there is automatically GF and DF.
A few words on the psychology of things. I found that since my body is incredibly reactive I've had to make the dietary changes slowly. Pick something once a month to concentrate on changing. If you have to go cold turkey then make an agreement with yourself, I will do this for one month with NO cheats. Then try a small snack of the pure food and see if you feel like crap. More often than not the reaction will be bad enough to keep you on the strict diet. However, this will not work unless the offending food is out of your system for four weeks first. Even small cheats will negate the elimination protocol. It is much easier to think in 30 day chunks. Your brain can wrap itself around it easier.
Also while you are eliminating foods out of your diet try adding new ones in. Bring home a new fruit or vegetable to try once a week. I've been pleasantly surprised many times and this has given me more foods to work with.
I've also had to add activated charcoal and bentonite clay into my supplements in order to help my body detox from the foods that got eliminated. If you are having trouble with the detox process, the diet eliminations can cause a severe herx reaction (as I found out the hard way). If the herx reaction lasts more than a week try some activated charcoal. If that doesn't work see your nutritionist. You might have to back off and do one food a month so the herx isn't as bad.
Lengthy comment, i know, but this is a difficult and long process. If you have any questions at all just ask. I have tons of resources, vendors, cookbooks, blogs, etc I can recommend. Just ask.
- Annie said...
Renee..awesome sounding pancakes...must try those!
- KipperCat said...
We love trail mix for breakfast. We make our own, from 1/2 various nuts and seeds & 1/2 dried fruit. We started this for something easy. It's actually the best breakfast I've tried as far as feeling satisfied & not running out of energy for a few hours. I love it with Greek yogurt, but am reconsidering the whole dairy thing.
- KipperCat said...
I munch on rice cakes a lot - still grain, but not a lot. They are very good spread with peanut butter. I also sometimes spread peanut butter on a banana and eat it with no bread.
Hi - I'm from the UK so can't recommend specific products for you. however my miracle ingredient is xanthum gum, if you can get it. It allows you to make decent cakes.
Before I go on let me said that gluten free not only gave me my life back for about 5 years (until excessive exercise caused more problems) I also found that many people with gluten problems can tolerate dairy when their gut recovers from the gluten. You have to be really strict and if you don't see an improvement after 4-6 weeks it probably won't help. However if you do see an improvement it will continue to improve.
Back to diet help - http://www.piginthekitchen.co.uk/ is a good website and recipes can probably be adapted for the US. If you son will accept gram flour I sometimes use gramflour flatbread like a pitta wrap. Gram flour can be used as an egg substitute. I'd also suggest checking out coeliac websites and vegan websites for cooking ideas . http://www.celiacsociety.com/
Good luck. If it doesn't help look into gut acidosis and maybe fecal bacteria transplants.


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Netflix takes leading role in D.C.
Now starring in its own Beltway drama: Netflix.
The TV and movie giant long ago piqued Washington's interest with its "House of Cards" series and Hollywood star appeal. But the company, which has only a small office in town, is now taking a leading role in D.C.'s biggest tech policy debates. Netflix has become a vocal opponent of Comcast's bid for Time Warner Cable, and it's pressing the FCC to enact stronger net neutrality rules that ensure all Web traffic is treated equally.
While Netflix has notched a modest lobbying win in the past — shepherding a video privacy reform through Congress in 2012 — its recent aggressive push on major issues presents the company with a new kind of political challenge, pitting it against deep-pocketed Washington veterans with experience navigating the corridors of power. Comcast, for example, has more than 100 lobbyists deployed here, dwarfing Netflix's tiny two-person shop.
( Also on POLITICO: Net neutrality: 5 questions about Internet's future)
Netflix hasn't said whether it plans to ramp up its D.C. operation. For now, it's relying on brand recognition rather than brute force to convey its message. And its willingness to embrace strong positions on the Comcast deal and net neutrality, at a time when many other Web giants remain quiet, has earned Netflix early praise from public interest groups that share its convictions.
"It's really helpful to have Netflix on our side," said John Levy, campaign director at Free Press. "It means a lot Netflix is willing to go out there and speak up for itself."
But those who know Netflix well say it's ill-equipped for the kind of extensive — and expensive — ground game in Washington required to build a case with regulators and lawmakers.
( Also on POLITICO: Full coverage of the White House Correspondents' Dinner)
"Here they are jumping in, making a big stink in D.C. about net neutrality and Comcast," but they "don't really have a team to match that voice in Washington if they think they're going to get something done," said one former Netflix lobbyist.
The company declined to comment.
Netflix last month became the first major Internet player to declare opposition to Comcast's $45 billion plan to acquire Time Warner Cable. CEO Reed Hastings charged the combined company "could control high-speed broadband to the majority of American homes." And Hastings also expressed dissatisfaction that Netflix had to pay Comcast for an "interconnection" deal to improve the speeds of its movie and TV streams — sparking pushback from Comcast, which stressed it was Netflix that initiated the talks.
The company also dove head first into the brewing Washington battle over net neutrality. FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler's controversial proposal, first detailed last month, would empower Internet-service providers like AT&T and Verizon to cut deals for faster delivery of content. That possibility drew a terse, critical response from Netflix.
( WATCH: Best of presidents' WHCD speeches)
"Netflix is not interested in a fast lane; we're interested in safeguarding an Open Internet for our members," a spokesperson said in a statement.
The company, which hired its first Washington lobbyists in 2005, typically maintains a lower profile. It spends about $300,000 per quarter on lobbying — a fraction of what Internet giants Google and Facebook as well as telecoms like Comcast, AT&T and Verizon spend on such activity.
Still, Netflix has shown in the past it's capable of getting things done in Washington.
In late 2012, the company helped push through changes to a 1980s privacy law that stood in the way of its integration with Facebook. The Video Privacy Protection Act, enacted after Robert Bork's video cassette rentals were published by a newspaper during his Supreme Court nomination hearings, made it illegal to share those histories without a customer's explicit permission. Netflix called the law outdated, saying it prevented users from posting information about the movies they stream on social media, and it backed a measure to allow more seamless sharing.
( Also on POLITICO: WHCD weekend party list)
During that time, Netflix brought on outside lobbyists, invited members of Congress out to California to meet with Hastings and launched a political action committee, FLIXPAC, which donated to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.), who now leads House Judiciary. Leahy took home a $2,500 Netflix check for his leadership PAC, while Goodlatte received a total of $7,500 from the company for his leadership PAC and reelection campaign, according to federal records.
Both chambers ultimately passed the Netflix-backed reform measure, and President Barack Obama signed it into law in early 2013 — a notable achievement given that many tech-related bills have stalled in recent years.
After that legislative victory, Netflix donated again to Leahy and Goodlatte, but it largely ramped down in Washington, terminating all of its outside lobbying shops, according to disclosure forms. Its Washington operation today consists of two registered lobbyists: Christopher Libertelli, a former FCC adviser and Skype lobbyist, and Corie Wright, a former senior counsel with Free Press.
But Netflix has sought to remain a visible presence in Washington beyond the fictional "House of Cards." It teamed up with Google to host a show-themed D.C. bash Friday, the day before the White House Correspondents' Dinner.
Hastings himself has retained a high profile in the capital, attending White House meetings on surveillance reform. The Netflix CEO contributes to lawmakers, mostly Democrats. In 2013, he donated more than $10,000 to the leadership PAC of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and more than $5,000 to Reid directly, while writing checks to newly elected Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.). He also has donated to the Democratic National Committee.
Even as it takes on the Comcast deal and net neutrality, the company probably won't boost its lobbying by millions of dollars, following the path of Google and Facebook, according to former Netflix employees. Instead, they say, it will likely continue to rely on its prominent name to drive broader interest in policy.
"I don't think they're going to win or lose because of having consultants; they'll win or lose because these are big issues in Internet architecture," said another former Netflix lobbyist.
"While Netflix has become a face of this," the departed aide said of the Comcast and net neutrality battles, "it's become bigger than one company."

subset: commoncrawl


text: Usually hearing about breathing exercises one thinks Yoga, Qigong, Tai Chi or styles of Kung Fu. When I heard about the Russian Martial Arts using breathing I was skeptical about how useful any of it would be. I was very surprised when after reading the book and trying a few breathing exercises, jus..read more >>


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Tony Stewart back racing sprint cars after wreck
Tony Stewart was back in a sprint car on Friday night, the same series he raced in when he broke two bones in his right leg.
It was unknown if this is Stewart's first sprint car race this season because he didn't announce when he'd compete. Stewart is available because the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series is off this weekend.
Stewart's runs were posted on Facebook and Twitter. Dirt track star Dustin Daggett tweeted a photo of Stewart's No. 14 car at Tri-City Motor Speedway in Auburn, Michigan. Daggett also tweeted, "Raced hard in heat against Tony Stewart! But we got him, now for the Feature!"
Stewart crashed last Aug. 5 at Southern Iowa Speedway in Oskaloosa, where he flipped his 360 winged sprint car while leading with five laps remaining in the 30-lap feature. He missed the final 15 Cup races last year after breaking his leg in two places.
Stewart posted several pictures to his new Twitter account in May of a car he drove for a test session.
May 27, 2014
He also posted that the car had safety improvements to the torque tube to prevent an injury such as the one he suffered.


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#1 Reid doubles down on slavery analogy12-08-2009, 10:39 PM
Teh Stupid continues...
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) on Tuesday defended his remarks from Monday comparing congressional Republican opposition to healthcare to the 19th-century debate over slavery, accusing his GOP critics of "distorting" his intent.
"At pivotal points in American history, the tactics of distortion and delay have certainly been present," Reid said. "They've certainly been used to stop progress. That's what we're talking about here. That's what's happening here. It's very clear. That's the point I made no more, no less. Anyone who willingly distorts my comments is only proving my point."
May the FORCE be with you!
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Harry needs to be beaten to death with a friggin' cluebat.
#3 yup12-09-2009, 12:17 PM
You gotta love how the republicans tried to stop blacks from not being slaves and then dared to step in the way of the civil rights legislation... Oh wait....
12-09-2009, 12:23 PMI feel that once a black fella has referred to white foks as "honky paleface devil white-trash cracker redneck Caspers," he's abdicated the right to get upset about the "N" word. But that's just me. -- Jim Goad
I can't WAIT to see him lose. :)
Last edited by PoliCon; 12-09-2009 at 04:40 PM.Stand up for what is right, even if you have to stand alone.
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Not just lose, lose BIG.He needs an old fashioned butt whipping. This would serve notice to practical, intelligent people. Liberals, naw, they'll blame it on something other than a direct message. They are predictable if nothing else.Education without values, as useful as it is, seems rather to make man a more clever devil.
C. S. Lewis
Do not ever say that the desire to "do good" by force is a good motive. Neither power-lust nor stupidity are good motives. (Are you listening Barry)?:mad:
Ayn Rand
12-09-2009, 04:22 PMRomans 6:18 You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.
Differences between Obama and God: God's plan to save us is actually written down for people to read. Rush Limbaugh.
My blog: How Things Look From Here Politics, religion, random stuff, now on Wednesdays!
Y'all are assuming there's going to be an election for him to lose - the way he, Antsy-pants Pelosi and Zero-bama are acting, they don't seem to think there'll be any more elections in their future.Neither a borrower nor a liberal be
--what B. Franklin really meant to say ;)
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On This Weeks Show:
This week the Sodshow goes exotic and Peter Donegan talks all things prickly with Michael Harrington of Harrington Exotics. Michael's passion for cacti, succulents and exotic plants in general started when he was given his first over 30 years ago by his son. Michael shares his story with Peter and also shares his top pick for starting off with cacti.
This week we also hear from David Corscadden who has come out of his cave and is out in the garden talking all things green and shares some top tips he has pick up from his very knowledgeable twitter friends. All that, so much only on Ireland's only [and award winning] garden radio show, The Sodshow.
The Sodshow is brought to you with thanks to by the very lovely Greensax.ie
Show Notes:
- Harrington Exotic:
- Address: School Road, Saggart, Co. Dublin
- Tel: 01 4587125 Mob: 087 2930326
- Email: email@example.com
- Interested in cacti and succulents visit The Dublin and District Cactus and Succulent Society
- David Corscadden Blog, Twitter, Facebook
- Top tip for protecting young cabbage plants
Listen to The SodShow:
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- Later As Podcast: The iTunes SodShow Page or right here


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Peyton "Pete" Dralle wasted little time after he learned doctors could do no more to treat his throat cancer. He took spur-of-the-moment trips, got his affairs in order and, when he finally agreed to care at San Diego Hospice, he documented his life story.
Using a technique called dignity therapy, psychologist Lori Montross interviewed Dralle five months before his death about meaningful life moments, lessons he'd learned and those he wished to pass on to loved ones. She transcribed their audio recordings, then read the transcript aloud to Dralle, who edited it to his liking. The resulting 14-page "legacy document" was bundled into a leather binder for him to bequeath to whomever he pleased.
Dralle's longtime partner, Lisa Amparan, remembers the sense of importance Dralle felt in being able to contribute something in his ailing state, and the relief he felt when it was finished, as though he'd gotten something off his plate.
"He got to tell his own story in his own words, and no one had to tell it for him," said Amparan, 48, who this month marks the first anniversary of Dralle's death. She keeps the binder, which she decorated with photos, on a bedroom bookshelf, and leafs through it when she misses him most.
Dignity therapy, an exercise that aims to give terminally ill patients a sense of meaning, closure and posterity in their final days, has experienced a surge of interest recently thanks to research showing it improves quality of life more effectively than other methods of end-of-life care.
A study published this summer in the journal Lancet Oncology found patients who underwent dignity therapy were significantly more likely to report enhanced sense of dignity, better spiritual well-being and feeling more helpful to their families than those who underwent standard palliative care or client-centered care, which is when clinicians work one-on-one with a patient on current issues.
Earlier studies have shown dignity therapy also provides comfort to grieving families.
Study author Dr. Harvey Chochinov, a Canadian psychiatrist who developed the technique a decade ago and holds annual training sessions in Winnipeg, Manitoba, said he added training sessions this year in San Diego and Australia to accommodate rising demand. In December he published "Dignity Therapy: Final Words for Final Days," the first book to lay out a blueprint for his technique.
Although hospices for decades have engaged patients in reflective "life review," what distinguishes dignity therapy is that it provides training and a framework for helping patients produce a tangible legacy document, and there's empirical evidence that it's beneficial, said J. Donald Schumacher, president and CEO of the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization.
"I think it's a very, very, very notable and useful technique, and I hope it does get adopted by many of the practitioners out there," Schumacher said.
Although published research on the effectiveness of dignity therapy has so far focused on patients with less than six months to live, a forthcoming study on the frail elderly shows similar outcomes, plus benefit to the health care workers who care for them, Chochinov said.
Chochinov, a psychiatry professor at the University of Manitoba, said he was inspired to learn more about the role of dignity in end-of-life care because Dutch studies had found "loss of dignity" to be the most frequently cited reason terminally ill patients pursued euthanasia to hasten death.
A host of factors can undermine dignity as people succumb to illness, including a loss of personhood, a loss of purpose and, prominently, perceiving themselves to not be appreciated by others, Chochinov said. Often there is fear that their lives won't have a ripple effect.
By asking probing questions — "When did you feel most alive?" "Are there specific things you want your family to know about you?" — trained dignity therapists aim to capture what really makes a person tick. They also focus on generativity, a psychological term that describes the desire to guide the next generation.
"You can be in conversations with people where they may in essence be speaking to great-great-grandchildren they will never meet," said Montross, who trained with Chochinov and now is assistant director of the Palliative Care Psychiatry Research Program at the Institute for Palliative Medicine at San Diego Hospice.
Unlike a lot of psychotherapy, which pushes people to confront painful issues of their past, dignity therapy meets people where they are, so they can address the topics they consider most pertinent and write their own stories.
Sometimes the conversations are heartbreaking. Chochinov remembers an elderly patient who said it was too late to ask for forgiveness after drinking away his relationships, but he wanted his grandchildren to know who he had been so that they could choose better paths. Another dying man wanted his wife to know it was OK with him if she fell in love with someone new.
Sometimes reconciliation is more important than facts. Montross remembers a patient who said nasty things about his estranged sister during their interview, but upon hearing his words read back to him, he revised his comments to be kinder.
Strikingly, the most prominent topic that graces every conversation is love, Montross and colleagues found in a study on the logistics of implementing dignity therapy in hospice communities, published last year in the Journal of Palliative Medicine. Another universal theme was lessons learned in life, the most common being to accept and acknowledge one's own imperfections, Montross said.
With the clarity that comes with having limited time left, memories from a lifetime are distilled into the most essential, Montross said. Legacy documents, written in Q-and-A format, average 3,000 words, or eight single-spaced pages, her study found.
Shortly after Montross delivered Dralle's freshly bound document, Amparan read it aloud to him as they lay together in bed. Initially nervous she might find out about some other woman he loved, Amparan instead got confirmation that this was a man she knew more intimately than anyone.
"It was like falling in love again and again and again, and remembering what the experience was," said Amparan, who has since shared the book with a few of Dralle's close friends.
Written just before his 75th birthday, Dralle's document tells of the wanderlust that prompted him to leave home at 15; the persistence that was his key to success as a salesman; and the irony that his impending death made him feel more alive, more attuned to the feel of the grass under his feet, than ever before. With a self-deprecating humor undiminished by his illness, the former Navy man and avid golfer counseled his loved ones: "Be a person of your word."
His parting thoughts may have left a greater ripple than he realized.
"To be honest," said Montross, who spent 10 hours interviewing Dralle, "he held more grace in his dying 90-pound frame than men twice his size or half his age."
Can family help?
While everyone should be encouraged to have meaningful conversations with loved ones, dignity therapy is a technique designed for trained professionals who can handle emotionally intense interviews and respond appropriately if a patient's sentiments are potentially hurtful to others, said its creator, Dr. Harvey Chochinov.
Not all patients should participate, Chochinov said. People who are so ill that it is affecting their cognition, or who are so severely depressed that it is warping their perceptions of themselves and their past, should not undergo dignity therapy because they could create distorted memories.
Peyton "Pete" Dralle wasted little time after he learned doctors could do no more to treat his throat cancer. He took spur-of-the-moment trips, got his affairs in order and, when he finally agreed to care at San Diego Hospice, he documented his life story.


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The White Sox expect to have a budget between $105-$110 million. General manager Ken Williams already has $80 million committed to 10 players. That list includes Bobby Jenks, John Danks and Carlos Quentin, who all will be eligible for arbitration.
BTW, the deadline for a club to offer arbitration is next Tuesday (November 23) and the deadline for a player to accept is one week after (November 30). Bruce Levine reminds us a club can re-sign a player it didn't offer arbitration to.


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Category: Awards
Josh Beckett: All-Star, World Champion, and Cy Young Winner?
A lot of attention has been given to the Red Sox's three MVP candidates: Jacoby Ellsbury, Adrian Gonzalez, and Dustin Pedroia. And while they deserve every bit of the attention they've been given, Josh Beckett could and should win the Cy Young award.
Josh Beckett went from a power pitcher to a complete pitcher this season. His average fastball velocity has dropped 0.7 MPH since last year and 1.5 MPH since 2007. Last season he threw a fastball 36.3% of the time. Yet, so far this season he has thrown it 34.6% of the time.
Beckett threw his cutter just 0.1% of the time back in 2007 and last season 16.2% of the time. This season though, Beckett has thrown it 20.4% of the time. As for his changeup, he threw it 3.8% of the time in 2007, 11.5% of the time in 2010, and so far 15% of the time in this season. For more, see the data bellow from Fan Graphs.
While people have been noticing Beckett's bounce back season, it doesn't seem like people are putting him in the same class with C.C. Sabathia, Justin Verlander, and Jered Weaver. But, Beckett's numbers are equal to Sabathia's , Verlander's, and Weaver's.
Some voters don't seem to care about wins anymore. Felix Hernandez won the A.L. Cy Young award last year with a thirteen and twelve record. In my opinion the best stats to judge a pitcher on are ERA, WHIP, Batting Average Against, Quality Starts, and K/9. Strikeouts per nine innings is a better stat than strikeouts, but isn't as important as the other four stats.
Here are the four Cy Young candidates' stats as well as where their stats rank among American League starting pitchers.
When you average their stat ranks, including wins and K/9, Beckett's average is eight, Sabathia's is 8.67, Verlander's average is 1.83, while Weaver's is 4.5.
Yet, when you average their stat ranks, without wins and K/9, Beckett's average is three, Sabathia's is 10.5, Verlander's average is 1.5, and Weaver's is two.
But, when you average their stat ranks, not including wins, Beckett's average is a five, Sabathia is a 10.2, Verlander's average is a two, and lastly, Weaver has an average on 4.8.
However, when you average their stat ranks, not including K/9, Beckett is a seven, Sabathia is an 8.6, while Verlander's average is 1.4, and Weaver has an average of 2.2.
What can you take away from this? Well, Sabathia hasn't been as good as he has been subscribed. He is just benefiting from playing in a large market. Verlander is first, every time you do it, but Weaver follows in at a close second and Beckett is at a somewhat distant third. If you value any three of the stats used above, than it is clear that Sabathia shouldn't win the award.
Yet, the voters look at more than stats. If you happen to be a big game pitcher that sure helps. When the Angels played in Detroit recently, Weaver and Verlander went head to head. Verlander carried a no-hitter into the eighth inning. Weaver on the other hand, gave up two home runs, lost his cool, got ejected and subsequently suspended. Weaver cracked under the pressure of having his team no-hit and going up against one of the best. To me, that moment showed that Jered Weaver is not a big game pitcher.
Josh Beckett on the other hand, has a record of three and zero in four starts against the rival, New York Yankees. In those four starts (twenty-seven innings) he has an ERA of 1.00 and an opponent batting average of just .170. Also, against the rival Tampa Bay Rays, Beckett has an ERA of 0.00 and the Rays are hitting just .038 off him this season.
So that leaves Beckett and Verlander. One thing that will help Verlander's case is his no-hitter this season against the Blue Jays (I guess Toronto forgot to steal signs that day). Yet, if I'm a voter I think the fact that Beckett has reinvented himself as a pitcher will impact my vote. Ohh, and pitching in a bigger market than your "opponent" doesn't hurt your case.
While the numbers say Verlander should win it, stats can't tell everything and besides, we still have over seven weeks of baseball to decide on who will be the 2011 A.L. Cy Young award winner.
* All stats as of Thursday, Aug. 11
Photo Credits


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Posts Tagged 'News Scandal'
Hello World!
My name 's Amy McCullough and welcome to my first blog ever!I'm currently in my second year at Kingston University(that's Surrey,not Jamaica unfortunately) and I've decided that as a Journalism student, I should probably have a blog to hone my writing skills.I've decided that 2010 is the year that I will start to make things happen for myself, take my degree seriously, learn to drive , get some sort of journo work experience and finally get some travelling done! As a 20-year-old my list of "Places I have Visited" is truly shameful.
We've all been told that online content is the future of Journalism, and many have predicted the death of print is nigh.I will be writing about Fashion news,scandals, events such as London Fashion Week and what's new in a high street near you.


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This Wall Mount Drip Tray Series is manufactured from 100% Stainless Steel. The DP-322LD comes is 16" wide and has a 14" high backsplash. This model does not require any drilling to install. This drip tray will hang directly off of the shank that is mounted through the wall or refrigerator door.
This model comes with 4 shank holes and is also available with no shank holes or 5 shank holes. The drain includes a pipe thread drain nipple (1 3/4" x 1/2" N.P.T) for use with 1/2" I.D. hose. This grill is detachable for easy cleaning.
|Average Customer Rating:
|(based on 5 reviews)
|Just what I was hoping for!
|Bret (07-20-2016)
Perrysville, Ohio
|Even after a long wait to receive it. I would buy again. It was just what I was hoping for. Looks great on the wall in my bar. Nothing to complain about. WORKS and LOOKs Great!!
|Bottom Line:
|I would recommend this product.
|Keezer Drip Tray
|Mad Dog Brewery (09-26-2014)
Woodstock CT
|Awesome looking drip tray for the Keezer. Actually mounted it behind the oak trim which the spouts hang a little past the middle of the drip tray but thats ok. Its to catch drips not full pours!
|Bottom Line:
|I would recommend this product.
|Pretty Good Drip Tray
|Phil (04-28-2014)
Hampton, VA
|I put this drip tray on my Keezer and it works great. It had a few scuff marks when delivered but no dents or anything like that. I gave it 4 stars because it's a little pricey.
|Bottom Line:
|I would recommend this product.
|Expensive, but solid construction.
|Bill (08-16-2013)
Northern Pennsylvania
|The item was a bit pricy, though of solid construction. I actually received a five hole tray, which was on sale at a lower price, but rather than force them to pay to ship the item two more times, at my suggestion customer service indicated that they would refund the difference in price, as well as provide a credit for a future purchase. While I would have preferred the 4 hole model, I was open to the compromise, and I feel they were responsive to my issue. The overall quality appears solid.
|Bottom Line:
|I would recommend this product.
|Paul (08-07-2013)
|It was pricey, but you get what you pay for. The quality is top notch. Very happy with my puchase.
|Bottom Line:
|I would recommend this product.
Be the first to ask a question.


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Former Gov. Jim Thompson said Tuesday he considers state Rep. Aaron Schock, R-Peoria, the kind of person who can return lost strength to the state GOP.
Former Gov. Jim Thompson said Tuesday he considers state Rep. Aaron Schock, R-Peoria, the kind of person who can return lost strength to the state GOP.
"The Republican Party in the state of Illinois desperately needs a future," Thompson told reporters at The Sangamo Club, where he appeared for a $125-per-person fundraiser for Schock, who is running for the GOP nomination for the U.S. House from the 18th Congressional District. "And it needs young men and women of courage and vision and fortitude and an appetite for the campaign trail, as well as clear-headed thinking about what to accomplish in public office once elected. Illinois has rarely seen the kind of candidate that Aaron Schock represents."
Thompson said Schock works harder than any candidate in his memory and would be an "extraordinary representative" in Congress.
Asked about Schock's early campaign position that included the possible sale of nuclear weapons to Taiwan, Thompson said it would have bothered him had Schock not taken that back.
"I admire candidates who, on further reflection, either refine their position — not flip-flop — refine their position, and after thinking about it are courageous enough to say, 'You know, maybe I shouldn't have said that,'" Thompson said.
Thompson's Chicago law firm, Winston & Strawn, represents Democratic Gov. Rod Blagojevich's campaign fund, but Thompson doesn't think that should diminish his ability to promote Republican candidates of his choice. He said the firm has no political or other litmus tests, represents a wide range of clients, and the representation "has got nothing to do with my political views."
He did not discuss any specifics of the representation of the Blagojevich fund.
"I don't think it would be ethical or appropriate of me to discuss a client's business in public," Thompson said.
Schock is running against former Peoria City Council member John Morris and Jim McConoughey, who runs a business umbrella group in the Peoria area, for the GOP nomination for the seat now held by U.S. Rep. Ray LaHood, R-Peoria, who is not seeking re-election.
No Democrat is on Tuesday's primary ballot, though Democratic Party leaders can later name a candidate to the November general election ballot.
Bernard Schoenburg can be reached at (217) 788-1540.


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Facebook members hate change. Every time the company tweaks even something minor on the social network, it raises a great big hue and cry.
Remember Timeline? Some members acted like an asteroid was about to hit Earth. They started Facebook pages calling for the company to "change it back" and threatened to quit – until they got over it.
Well, get ready for more hue and cry: Facebook this morning invited reporters to a news conference next Thursday at its Menlo Park headquarters to "come see a new look for News Feed."
This figures to be a big announcement. Changing News Feed won't be like tweaking the Share button, or adding a live ticker of friends' activity running down the right side of the page (yes, folks complained about that).
Since its introduction in 2006, News Feed has been the centerpiece of Facebook, the place where members see a constantly updated stream of their friends' shared activities, whether it's interesting news stories they've found or a photo of the beef enchilada they ate for lunch.
Facebook has been constantly tweaking News Feed ever since – like in 2011, when it added ways to sort the feed for important or recent posts.
And in its constant quest to avoid becoming the next Friendster, Facebook is always tinkering with something, like Graph Search.
But as the cryptic words "new look" in the invitation seem to imply, Facebook's planning a major change to the main pages that all of its 1 billion members see.
The company has been experimenting with adding advertiser-sponsored messages to the News Feed, both on its website and, more importantly, on its mobile apps. Mobile advertising went from zero to 23 percent of Facebook's ad revenues in less than a year, so changes that make those sponsored-messages more seamless across mobile and Web would benefit the company's bottom line.
Moreover, the company said members seemed to be reacting well to those News Feed ads, which were showing a better response than the older display ads that appear on the right side of the Web page. That could mean the News Feed could take over more of the website's screen territory and become more photo-centric.
Indeed, TechCrunch's Josh Constine in January reported seeing a "radically visual" redesign of the mobile News Feed with big photo tiles, evoking the look of the Google+ iPad app or the magazine-style news aggregation app Flipboard.
So let the speculation begin. And get those new "I hate Facebook" pages ready to go.


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Item #2016
Annual. Goldilocks would have to don sunglasses if she ran across these flowers in the bear's garden! Larger-flowered than Teddy Bear, the Goldy Honey Bear has thick, sturdy stalks that stay upright without staking. Green centers are revealed as the 5" - 10" flowers open. As they mature, the blooms become fully double, solid gold, and surrounded by sun-like ray petals. In ideal conditions, these nearly pollenless flowers may grow so large that just one will fill an entire vase! Long-blooming display for a flower border, hedge, or screen.
Seedling Image
Full sun
Blooms summer
4'-6' tall
Days to Emerge:
Seed Depth:
Seed Spacing:
When to sow outside: RECOMMENDED. 1 to 2 weeks after average last frost.
When to start inside: 2 to 4 weeks before average last frost. For best transplanting, use paper or pulp pots.
Artist: Carolyn Crawford
Item #2016
25 seeds
These are some simple techniques you can use to extend the life of your cut flowers from days, to over a week.
1) In the morning or early evening,…More…
Sunflowers grow best in full sun, getting 6+ hours per day. They will grow in just about any type of soil, but because they have deep roots and are…More…


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Tomorrow I am going to Bristol. This, in itself is not unusual, my other half is from Bristol so we're down there quite a lot. What is unusual is that I am travelling down there by coach.
I don't travel by chauffeur driven cars or catch black taxis all around London, I have neither a private jet nor a helicopter, all that aside I have to admit that I've never really considered National Express a viable travel option. 'Cheap travel' for me is a super saver return on Great Western and, even then I don't like choosing my return journey in advance.
It's all different now however, because now we're budgeting. We've come to the shocking realisation that there's not much money down the back of the sofa, my furniture and clothes are of little value, and I would quite like to keep my organs rather than sell them on the black market.
After years of earning a more than decent salary it's a rude shock to discover a) that I have saved very little, and b) I fritter money away on all sorts of rubbish. This is the kind of thing that budgeting makes you aware of.
I've realised that, while I'm no Immelda Marcos, I think nothing of buying a pair of shoes in my lunch break. I'm not a caffeine addict yet I probably spend at least £30/week in coffee related retail outlets. I like to think of myself as immune to cheap retail advertising tactics but can't deny that I'm a glutton for the variety of 'buy one, get one free' offers that line the queues at supermarkets. Add to that the fact that I'm almost incapable of spending less than £30 a time when I go into chemists (even though I only went in for £2 toothpaste), budgeting is more of a struggle than I initially expected.
It's all quite a novelty at the moment – watching what I spend – and I would go so far to say that I'm secretly enjoying myself (within reason), I do however see the not so enjoyable in my immediate future:
- Bringing in packed lunches to work
- Getting the bus to work (as opposed to the tube)
- Getting the bus home after a night out (as opposed to a taxi)
- Not going on a night out
- Saying (after a meal) I'm only paying £x because I had the cheapest thing on the menu
- Asking "how much?????" when paying for my groceries in the corner shop
- Not going to the corner shop
- Digging clothes out the back of the wardrobe and claiming that it feels like "shopping in your own bedroom"
- Looking up where the local Lidl is while forgetting what my favourite aisle in Waitrose looks like
- Checking how many minutes I have left with my mobile network provider before picking up the phone
All this is about as familiar to me as the Koran is to the Chief Rabbi, and some of it (notably #1 and #5) fills me with horror. Luckily I have two things in my life that will spur me on. One is that I have the most frugal partner in the world, an expert in eating for free, with the patience (of a saint) to the get the bus between Hackney and Chelsea every day. Two is a 3 storey townhouse in St Ives which overlooks the ocean.
I'm finding out that having a really good reason for making the effort is all it takes. Things that have always been under the 'No, Never!' list suddenly don't seem that much of a trial. After all, we need to be able to pay that mortgage when we eventually get down there and if that means sacrificing a few coffee shop coffees, and missing out on a few dinners then so be it.


text: Mini E (2008) The Mini E program marked the first time BMW offered an EV to the public. More than 600 hit the road in the United States and Europe in what was essentially a real-world EV R&D program for the technology. Based on the diminutive hatch that proved Americans would pay a premium for a plush compact car, BMW throttled that mindset by requiring early adopters to shell out $850 a month (which did include a charge station and insurance) for the privilege of driving this rolling testbed. But with a 35 kWh lithium-ion battery pack taking up all the trunk room, even the 200-hp electric motor was barely enough to motivate this 3,600-pound retromobile. Lithium-ion battery packs were finally implemented, boosting range and performance in the process, and special charging stations available to owners were able to top up the cells in around three hours to provide a theoretical range of 155 miles (real-world use was closer to 100 miles). The data it gleaned from these field trials began to prove the efficacy of EVs as day-to-day vehicles, and nearly all this tech made its way into the first BMW-badged EV.BMW 325 Electric (1992-1997) BMW loved to put the always popular 3-Series under the knife to see what kind of crazy things it might come up with. And for the better part of the 1990s, engineers developed 25 experimental 3s to test a variety of electric drivetrain components with backing from the German Federal Ministry of Research and Technology. Some electric 325s were fitted with sodium-nickel chloride batteries, while others used newly developed nickel-cadmium cells. Electric motor output shot up to as much as 45 kW (60 horsepower), quick charging batteries allowed drivers to get to 75 percent capacity in as little as 40 minutes, and engine and brake regeneration could boost range by up to 20 percent. Many of these modified 325s were employed both by BMW and government officials, and much of the technology filtered up to BMW's first commercially available EV.BMW E1 (1991) If there's one car you can point to as the predecessor to the i3, it's the E1, BMW's first ground-up electric vehicle. Designed from the start as an EV, the E1 was designed to be a versatile and efficient city car, with a compact footprint, room for four people and their stuff and a range of around 100 miles in city driving. Thanks to an aluminum shell, recycled plastic body panels and an evolution of the NaS battery pack developed for the 325 ix electric, the E1 was a lightweight compared to other EVs. A second version was developed with a new "ZEBRA" battery using sodium-nickel chloride (NaNiCl2) for extended range, improved performance and better service life. And unlike other concepts from the era, the E1 was functional. So what happened, BMW?BMW 325iX (1987) The relaunch of the Mini brand was BMW's first foray into front wheel drive (there's talk of a front-driven BMW coming, but try to forget about that for the moment), but BMW experimented with it in the late 1980s and, what's more, it was electric. The Germans took eight all-wheel-drive 325iX coupes and converted them to FWD, then gave them all battery packs developed by Asea Brown Boveri. The packs used maintenance-free sodium-sulphur (NaS) cells with three times the energy density of lead-acid batteries. They also were much lighter and dramatically smaller, allowing the minimal fleet of 325s to go 93 miles on to a charge. They were so good, in fact, that the German postal service used a touring model. The rest were handed to government workers. Lucky dogs.BMW LS Electric (1975) Using the lessons learned from the 1602, BMW's boffins nabbed an LS bound for the crusher and fitted it with a new DC motor from Bosch and 10 Varta lead-acid batteries. This time, they had the smarts to equip it with a plug. The bad news: it took 14 hours to charge, saddled the car with an additional 700 pounds of batteries, was even slower to 31 than the 1620 and would go just 19 miles in city traffic. It was such a disaster that BMW didn't bother to include a picture in its EV retrospective.BMW 1602 Electric (1972) Go read the late David E. Davis Jr.'s review of the original BMW 2002. It's okay, we'll wait. Done? Now you know why the 2002 remains an icon, and the car that put BMW on the map in the United States. Davis' piece in Car and Driver solidified the brand's reputation as the ultimate driving machine long before marketing flacks even dreamed up the tagline. The 2002 was countless forms of awesome. Now imagine it in electric form. Wait. Don't. BMW tried to do just that, developing the 1602 ("16" refers to the smaller displacement engine) Electric as a technological showpiece for the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich. Too bad it was a complete dog. With a 32 kilowatt (42 horsepower) DC motor in place of the 1.6-liter four-cylinder engine, it was never gonna be quick. And like nearly every EV that's come down the pike in the past four decades, it was hampered by battery weight — 772 pounds of lead-acid cells, to be exact. This baby was all show and no go. It needed eight seconds to go from zero to 31 mph, and only got around 20 miles on a charge. However, the batteries were mounted on a tray in the engine bay, allowing them to be swapped out with ease (a good thing, since there was no way to plug in), and even in the early 70s, the electric motor doubled as a generator, regenerating power for the pack. We're scouring Craigslist now for a suitable donor to create our own neo-1602 Electric.Never let it be said BMW cannot develop electric vehicles. The company may not like selling electric vehicles — both the Mini E and Active E were available only through wildly expensive leases — but it seems to like building them. It's been doing so for 40 years, after all. You probably didn't know that. It's not like BMW has made a big deal of cars that were nothing more than experiments. But now that BMW is on the cusp of launching the i3, its first electric vehicle under the new "i" brand, BMW is reminding folks that it's been churning out fully-functional EVs for years. Forty years, to be exact. The i3 is about a year from appearing in driveways, but that isn't keeping BMW from throwing open its archives and providing a glimpse at its electric lineage.BMW Active E (2010) The Mini E begat the Active E, an electric version of the 1 Series coupe. It was OK, as EVs go, but it completely killed the infinitely fun, absurdly chuckable nature of the smallest Bimmer. Adding 800 pounds of batteries and electronics will do that. But with 125 kW (167 horsepower) and 184 pound-feet of torque, rear wheel drive, a perfect 50/50 weight distribution and a nine-second run to 60 mph, the Active E had a modicum of performance cred. It even had a range of 100 miles. BMW leased 1,000 of them in the United States and Europe, providing invaluable insights that will make the i3 that much better.All images courtesy of BMW


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As Matthew Stone has reported, a new study grading state's education innovation came out recently. The study, conducted by the Center for American Progress, the American Enterprise Institute and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. The study explored how well states fostered innovations such as charter schools, use of technology, and transparency to name a few criteria. Massachusetts ranked first. Kansas came last. How did Maine rank?
Maine did rather well in some categories. Maine received a B on staff hiring and evaluation as well as preparing students for college or the workforce. The second is perhaps most important of Maine's high marks. Since one of the goals of K-12 is to prepare students to jump straight into the labor pool or (hopefully) head to college we should be proud of this grade. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce congratulates Maine for offering high school diplomas with specializations, effective high school exams on college and career readiness, and on offering high school courses that also count as college credit. 60% of schools offer AP course in Maine. With our extensive laptop programs and great ITV system in K-12 and the UMaine system we should continue to expand that number to 100%. Giving Maine students a leg up so more a likely to seek degrees beyond high school should be one of our priorities. We have the technology. Let's use it.
Maine ranked among the middle of the pack in two areas. Maine received a C, or average score, in financing and on how difficult it is to fire ineffective teachers. The study found Maine's funding mechanism to be simple and effective. They likely were suffering to the Essential Programs and Services funding model. While budget reports are available, they could certainly provide more information. There are no budget reports online after 2006-2007. It would also be handy if district budget reports were collected here as well. Steps like this could be taken, making it significantly easier to follow the money. Maine also took a hit for neglecting performance pay (or merit pay) for teachers.
I saved the worst news for last. The study gave Maine a D in three areas: school management, data, and technology. "Technology? Really?" you may be asking. "I thought we had this famous laptop program?" You're right. I believe we do have one-to-one laptops in a higher percentage than any state. You can have a Hi-Def big screen, but if your still just rocking an antenna what's the point? We have the technology, but if kids are just typing or doing research at Wikipedia (God help those students) then why bother spending the money? The study specifically cited lack of computer based assessment, lack of required tech testing for teachers, and poor evaluation of how well our tech investments are panning out. Again, we have the technology. Now let's put it to work.
Our longitudinal data systems were criticized for not following the P20 model recommended for the Race to the Top. The P20 data systems (PDF warning) collect student data on a variety of subjects in order to inform teachers, parents, administrators, and policy makers a student's progress on college readiness and reports to catch problems with material early. A system like this would be absolutely beneficial to the Maine education system, so I can understand the D on data.
Maine nearly failed in school management for two reasons. According to the study, 93% of Maine's teachers say that they are bogged down by paper work and other routine duties. Maybe some teachers out there can confirm this? It would seem to me, that our students would be best served if teachers were freed from these tasks. They would be left with more time for student interaction, learning new methods and innovations, and well…teaching. The study slammed Maine for lacking any sort of charter school law.
This is only one study. Considering it comes from a team of a liberal institute, a conservative institute, and a government organization, this may be one study Maine policy makers should pay attention to. The study has posted their own list of recommendations. With still looming budgetary issues, suggestions like funding reform and school management reforms should be looked into. One suggestion made by the study should not be ignored here: High-tech tools are of little use unless teachers in the trenches can take advantage of them. And yet again Maine takes a beating for not even considering charter schools.
Maine is at a crossroads in many ways. Education is among the top concerns. We have an opportunity to make a real investment in innovation, in technology, and most of all Maine students. As in so many other areas, the world is moving forward. We can move ahead too, and take the lead. Or we can fall behind. Considering who will be left behind I don't think that can be an option.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tagged: American Enterprise Institute, Center for American Progress, charter schools, Education Innovation, funding, performance pay, Public Education, Technology, U.S. Chamber of Commerce |


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Bing Redesigns to Split Out Details and Social Into Their Own Panes
Microsoft today is changing up its Bing search interface to separate out a lot of the information it had previously packed directly into the core list of search results.
The new Bing features a three-panel layout, with the left-most a pared-down list of straight search results. The second column appears when users hover over a certain result, and shows dedicated visual results for 150 different categories like restaurants, transit, movies and hotels that include maps, ratings and other information.
This "Snapshot" screen tries to help users take action on those results — for instance, to make a restaurant reservation or check availability at a certain hotel — without leaving the Bing page.
The third column is the most radical change from the traditional search layout — it's a social friend list and feed that stays on the page at all times over to the right. For each query, Bing will automatically suggest Facebook friends who know about a topic as well as relevant experts from Twitter, Foursquare, Quora, LinkedIn, Google+ and Blogger.
When a user asks one of those people to help with a query, the conversation shows up in an activity feed on the sidebar and also back on Facebook.
Microsoft had considered giving users the option to broadcast — with their permission — all their Bing search queries to Facebook through its Open Graph API. That would have been super controversial, and it was dropped from the release over the last couple of weeks.
Bing search director Stefan Weitz told me that there are a couple of goals for this launch. The first is to show users that "Bing is for doing stuff." And the second is to acknowledge that search has become too crowded, with additions like social seeming to randomly sprinkle Facebook profile photos throughout the results page.
The new interface's three panels are, in order, "what the Web knows," "what Bing knows," and "what friends know," Weitz said.
One thing that's not clear to me is how a three-panel design that's dependent on hovering will work within the constraints of small mobile touchscreens. Microsoft is demoing that and more at a San Francisco launch event that's being live-streamed here.
Update: Qi Lu, Microsoft's president of online services, replied at the event that the three-panel approach should actually ease translations to various form factors, including phones and Xboxes.
"Separating aspects allows us to customize for different form factors, so the experience can be consistent," he said. Lu added that hovering would be replaced by swiping between panes on mobile devices.
The new Bing won't be available to all users immediately, but people can sign up to be notified about it here.


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Learning Biblical Greek
When I was a sophomore in college, I remember going through a Bible study workbook called Men of Faith. One of the most memorable lessons from this workbook was a chapter on the Apostle Peter. This lesson focused on the exchange between Peter and the resurrected Jesus in John 21. In this chapter, Peter has just denied Jesus three times—after fervently promising that he would stand by Jesus to the bitter end. Now, Jesus gives Peter three chances to reaffirm his love by asking the question "Do you love me?" Each time, Peter responds by saying, "I love you."
Straightforward enough, right? However, at this point, the author pointed out something that fascinated to me. While most English translations only use one word for "love" here, Jesus actually asks his question using a different Greek word for "love" (agape) than Peter uses in his response (phileo the first two times, agape the third time). Now this is where it gets exegetically tricky. The author argues that agape is a stronger word for love that refers to a committed love and phileo is a weaker form of love that merely implies a friendly love. If true, this would dramatically change the dynamic that is taking place between Jesus and Peter, in which Jesus would be asking "Peter, are you committed to me?" and Peter deflects the question by saying, "Yes Lord, I'm your friend." However, many scholars say this exegetical comparison of agape and phileo is at best an oversimplification, and at worst completely inaccurate. In fact, my Greek professor in seminary argued there is almost no difference whatsoever between agape and phileo.* Regardless of who is right, the fact remains that without looking at the Greek in this passage, we would never even know to ask the question.
For many of you, this example from John 21 is not breaking news. However, for a college guy who read my English Bible like it dropped out of heaven on a magical golden pillow, this was groundbreaking. It was as if the scales had fallen from my eyes and I suddenly realized for the first time that my English Bible was, in fact, a translation. That is the day I decided that I wanted to learn Biblical Greek.
After three years in seminary, I can tell you that this example from John 21 is only the tip of the iceberg. Being able to do Greek word studies and understand the relationships between Greek words has been invaluable to my study of the New Testament. I owe much of this to Dr. William Mounce, whose textbook, Basics of Biblical Greek, served as my guide through three quarters of seminary Greek. I am not alone—Basics of Biblical Greek has helped over 200,000 students learn Biblical Greek in colleges and seminaries all over the world.
This is why we are so excited to bring you the Mounce Greek Study System: Learn Biblical Greek with Accordance. This amazing set includes over 9 hours of easy-to-follow video lessons from Dr. Mounce, including Accordance screencasts for each lesson. The set also includes the Mounce Reverse-Interlinear New Testament with enhanced phrase tagging and Mounce's Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words. Dr. Mounce has added the first video lesson to his website for free viewing, so you can start your first lesson in Biblical Greek today!
Lesson One Lecture: Why Learn a Little Greek
Lesson One Screencast: Why Learn a Little Greek
Buy the Mounce Greek Study System
*One devastated student responded by throwing his hands in the air and saying, "But they have to be different, I preached on this!"
Archived Comments
Rick Yentzer
This really is exciting. I don't have access to seminary so this is the next best thing. Dr. Mounce's works are top notch scholarship and he has worked hard to teach Greek as simple as can be. The incorporation of these resources into Accordance is astounding.
Is there a possibility for a Hebrew version as well?
Darin Allen
Good question on the Hebrew Rick. It has been discussed, and would just take the right partner.
Gary T Meadors
For Hebrew... talk to Ted Hildebrandt at Gordan. He did an audio on Hebrew for Baker years ago and is tech savy.
Thanks for updating BBG to the 3rd Edition!!!!!!!!!
Your Mounce's "DVD" offering is a bit expensive, esp. when one could go to Amazon and purchase the three books and save $61.53:
Mounce's: "Greek for the Rest of Us" is listed at $25/$16.24 @ Amazon; Expository Dictionary: $30/$19.89 @ Amazon; Interlinear: $50/$31.29 @ Amazon.
$105 listed /Amazon: $67.47(savings off Accordance's offering: $150/right now: $130: $61.53...expensive "DVD"!)
Helen Brown
Jimmy: these are far more than books. They are tightly integrated into Accordance, each other, and the texts of the Bible. The grammar comes with audio clips of each vocabulary word. All the books have specific links to search accurately for the word in question in the Bible texts. Dr Mounce has worked closely with us to produce a system for hands-on learning Greek that beats anything outside a classroom, and probably inside many classrooms, too.
The new DVD lectures are like having a personal Greek tutor at your side. It's all extremely good value for money, in fact, if you want to learn Greek, priceless!
Wayne Stewart
> The grammar comes with audio clips of each vocabulary word.
How do you get that to work?
Rick Bennett
Wayne: if you didn't already find an answer to this, check out the blog post that we just posted, and the screen cast showing of this new feature.


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CRC Huntingdon Open Day – October 15th 2019
Come and talk to our expert tutors, meet our friendly staff and students and tour our amazing facilities. Our Open Days are a great opportunity to see what it is like to study at Cambridge Regional College, Huntingdon Campus
We have a wide range of full-time, part-time and higher education courses available, from Construction and Engineering to Media, Computing Technologies and early years. We are also one of the largest Apprenticeship providers in the Eastern Region with many opportunities to join great companies.
Find out more about a vocational route to a great career or higher education.
Our Open Days are very busy, so pre-registering is advised. Please note only the prospective student looking to study at the college needs to pre-register. All friends and family members are welcome to attend, but are not required to register online.
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