text: Should I Remove My Wisdom Teeth? Wisdom tooth removal has become a common practice in dentistry nowadays. Many wisdom teeth are removed even before they erupt. Some patients that have had them removed have never even felt any pain from them. So why have them removed? This is a tricky question. Most dentists will advise you to have you wisdom teeth removed as a preventive measure. If the wisdom teeth will create a reasonable risk for future pain or problems, most dentists will recommend removing them proactively. You may not be experiencing pain or problems currently. However, do you really want to wait and find out if you'll be one of the lucky ones to experience wisdom tooth pain? Also, are you willing to risk losing years and years of orthodontic treatment to straighten your teeth only to have them misalign again due to wisdom teeth eruption? It's definitely worth it to give wisdom teeth removal heavy thought if removal has been recommended by your dentist. Many patients who leave their wisdom teeth will often experience: Damage to adjacent teeth Jaw damage Sinus issues Swollen or inflamed gums around the wisdom teeth or adjacent teeth Cavities on the wisdom teeth or adjacent teeth Bothersome food collection and difficulty cleaning around the wisdom teeth Cheek or tongue biting Tooth misalignment Cysts or other pathology developing around stuck wisdom teeth Pain, swelling, pressure, or infection And more! We encourage you to visit our dentist at Prestige Dental in Pasadena to discuss whether or not to remove your wisdom teeth, as every patient is unique. In certain situations, properly erupted wisdom teeth may be beneficial and are treated like a regular set of teeth. Based on your dental history and jaw structure, our dentist will evaluate the risks, benefits, advantages, and disadvantages of removing your wisdom teeth, and will be able to give you a more educated answer. Contact us today at Prestige Dental in Pasadena for a consultation. We look forward to seeing you! Location: 1060 E Green St #203, Pasadena, CA 91106 Back to Articles


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01 of 11
Making Soap with Beeswax and Honey
George Mallory, the English mountaineer who took part in the first three British expeditions to climb Mount Everest in the early 1920s, was once asked "Why do you want to climb Mount Everest?" to which he answered, "Because it's there."
Making soap with beeswax is kind of the same.
Beeswax adds some hardness to the soap bar, but too much in the soap recipe causes "drag" on the soap and reduces the lather. Plus, there are other ingredients that you can use/add to still get a nice hard bar of soap.
You can also add beeswax to combat ash in your soap recipes. And there are some unsaponifiables (not affected by the lye) in beeswax, but nothing that's really going to be special for your skin.
So why use it? Well...other than "because you can" or "because it's fun to try new ingredients in soap recipes," by far the best reason to incorporate beeswax into your soap recipe is the label/marketing appeal. It just sounds cool to have beeswax in your soap - it sounds natural, and beeswax connotes warmth and hard working bees and the scent of honey.
So let's make a batch of soap using beeswax as one of the ingredients. And while we're working with the beeswax theme, we'll add some honey too, and use a mold technique to make the top and bottom of your soap look like a honeycomb.
With the beeswax, you can use anywhere between 1% and 3% of your total oils. Be sure to include it as one of the oils in your recipe when you are calculating your recipe.
As for the honey in the recipe, about 1 Tbs per pound of oils seems to work well. So for this batch, which had a bit more than 3 pounds of oils in it to make about 4.3 pounds of soap, there were:
- 13.5 ounces olive oil
- 13.5 ounces coconut oil
- 13.5 ounces beef tallow
- 2.4 ounces castor oil
- 4.4 ounces almond oil
- 1 ounce of beeswax
- 6.8 ounces of lye (a 5% lye discount/superfat)
- 14.5 ounces of water (more water than I normally use in recipes, but the extra water helps things not get to trace so quickly)
- 2 ounces of fragrance or essential oil - but be sure to use one that you know will not accelerate trace!
If you're creating your own recipe or scaling your recipe down, here's the same recipe in percentages:
- 28% olive oil
- 28% coconut oil
- 28% beef tallow
- 5% castor oil
- 9% almond oil
- 2% beeswax
Beeswax (and honey, to a lesser extent) tends to really accelerate trace - so we've got to add the ingredients a bit differently than we normally would.
But first, we're going to include a neat mold technique that goes along perfectly with our beeswax theme.Continue to 2 of 11 below.
02 of 11
Honeycomb Mold Technique
Here is a mold technique that you can use on any soap recipe, but it seems just perfect for a recipe that uses beeswax and honey.
Cut two pieces of bubble wrap the same dimensions as your soap mold. Place one of them on the bottom of the mold, with the bubbles facing up, and save one for the top. It will create a nifty honeycomb pattern on the top and bottom of the soap.
It's purely aesthetic, but while were going on the beeswax and honey theme, let's go for it!Continue to 3 of 11 below.
03 of 11
Adding the Beeswax to the Melted Oils
Measure out and begin to melt your soap making oils like you would in any other cold process soap recipe. However, the melting point of beeswax is about 145° (F), so you're going to have to bring your oils to a higher temperature than you normally would.
And then let them cool back down.
Once your oils are heated, add in the beeswax and stir well until it's completely melted.Continue to 4 of 11 below.
04 of 11
Cooling the Heated Oils in a Water Bath
If you don't want to wait for your oils to cool down by themselves, you can cool them in a water bath by putting your soap pot into a few inches of cool water in the sink. You'll start to see the oils start to solidify around the edges of the pot. Just stir the oils to keep them melted.
Once the oils are down to about 120°, take them out of the water bath. That's about as cool as you can go without the oils starting to thicken.Continue to 5 of 11 below.
05 of 11
Adding the Honey to the Hot Soap Making Oils
Normally, you would just add the honey at a light trace. However, because we know that the beeswax is going to accelerate the trace, we're going to add the honey to the soap oils before we add the lye.
Separate out some of your soap oils and add the honey. Blend it in well. Because the honey is water-based, it's not going to blend completely with the oils...but do the best you can with a few blasts from the stick blender.Continue to 6 of 11 below.
06 of 11
Adding the Honey-Oil Mixture to the Rest of the Soap Making Oils
Add the honey-oil back to the pot and blend the whole mixture of oils, beeswax and honey very well. Because you're working with a wax that wants to harden, and honey, which wants to separate out from the oils, you want to make sure the whole mixture is very well blended before you add the lye.Continue to 7 of 11 below.
07 of 11
Add the Lye, Stir Gently and Get Ready to GO
With the oils, beeswax, and honey blended well, it's time to go.
Add your lye to the oils and stir gently - just with a spatula or the end of your stick blender. You'll see it start to thicken right away...even not turning the stick blender on.
After you've stirred the soap a minute or so, and the lye and oils are well blended, slowly add your fragrance oil and give the soap a few short blasts with the stick blender. This will probably be all you'll need to get to trace - and your soap will be ready to pour into the mold.Continue to 8 of 11 below.
08 of 11
Cover Soap with Bubble Wrap for Honeycomb Effect
Once your soap is poured into the mold, cover it with the other piece of bubble wrap you cut to the size of the mold, with the bubbles facing towards the soap. Make sure the bubbles are pressed down fully into the soft soap.Continue to 9 of 11 below.
09 of 11
Super Hot Gel Stage in the Soap Mold!
The combination of beeswax and honey is going to give you a super hot, full gel stage in the mold.
Here is the soap after about just 45 minutes or so. It's nearly 200° (F) at the center!
Sometimes in super hot gel stages like this, you'll get a layer of oil on the top of the soap. It will seem like the soap is separating. I've found that just leaving it alone is best. The oil will re-incorporate back into the rest of the soap as it continues to saponify and cool. That happened with this batch - and it was gone by morning.Continue to 10 of 11 below.
10 of 11
Unmolding the SoapAfter that super hot gel stage, all should be cooled down by the next morning. Pull off the bubble wrap, take the soap out of the mold, and cut it. You can see the cool honeycomb pattern/effect created by the bubble wrap.Continue to 11 of 11 below.
11 of 11
Finished and Cut Beeswax & Honey Soap (with Honeycomb Pattern)
Here's the finished soap cut into bars. The honeycomb pattern is on the top and the bottom of the bar of soap. You could choose to just have it on one side by not using one of the pieces of bubble wrap.
So...was it worth it to go through the extra trouble and steps to use the beeswax? You'll have to be the judge of that. As for the label appeal, you can't beat it. And like many of the soap making techniques, ingredients and methods - it's always fun to try something once!

subset: commoncrawl


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Ireland v France, Six Nations Championship, February 7
Tillous-Borde gets the nod for France
February 3, 2009
Tillous-Borde in action against the Wallabies last year © Getty Images
Sebastien Tillous-Borde will be Lionel Beauxis' half-back partner for France in their Six Nations opener against Ireland in Dublin on Saturday.
The Castres scrum-half gets the nod over Morgan Parra and will play for the first time alongside Beauxis for Les Bleus. Elsewhere, there are recalls in the back division for in-form Toulouse team-mates Florian Fritz and Clement Poitrenaud, at centre and fullback respectively.
Poitrenaud's inclusion means Maxime Medard moves to the wing where he displaces another Toulouse player, Cedric Heymans, who is on the bench. In the forwards, Imanol Harinordoquy has been named at number eight at the expense of Louis Picamoles, while Sale's Sebastien Chabal retains his spot at lock where he will partner captain Lionel Nallet.
Nicolas Mas is surprisingly left on the bench, with Benoit Lecouls preferred as prop.
Despite several untried combinations Lievremont maintained that France were fielding a strong side for the trip to Dublin.
"The strongest team is always the one you have at that time, because you have to work in the parameters of injuries," said Lievremont. "But there are no massive injuries at the moment and for the first time, we have been able to select the team that we wanted. And that is really satisfying. We can especially count on a very competitive bench in the course of the match."
Lievremont was also pleased to be able to call on Beauxis at fly-half, having been denied his services during the autumn internationals due to injury.
"It is an untried half-back pairing for us because it is the first time that we have been able to include Lionel Beauxis, who had to pull out of the November Tests," said Lievremont. "He is perhaps the great French number 10 for now and for tomorrow. Out of all the fly-halves we have, he is the only one who is a little Anglo-Saxon, with a great temperament and an excellent kicking game."
More free-flowing however is the returning Clement Poitrenaud, whose propensity for high- profile mistakes looked to have ended his hopes of a prolonged international career.
"He is a player in form that we want to see again at this level," said Lievremont. "He is more aggressive now and has been exemplary under the high ball - and there will be plenty of them in Dublin. We are delighted to have him back.
"We want to win by scoring tries. We want to attack and we are going to Croke Park looking for the win with a team that is sure of itself and what it is putting in place."
France team to face Ireland in the Six Nations at Croke Park on Saturday:
Clement Poitrenaud (Toulouse); Julien Malzieu (Clermont-Auvergne), Florian Fritz, Yannick Jauzion, Maxime Medard (all Toulouse); Lionel Beauxis (Stade Francais), Sebastien Tillous-Borde (Castres); Lionel Faure (Sale), Dimitri Szarzewski (Stade Francais), Benoit Lecouls (Toulouse), Sebastien Chabal (Sale), Lionel Nallet (Castres, capt), Thierry Dusautoir (Toulouse), Fulgence Ouedraogo (Montpellier), Imanol Harinordoquy (Biarritz).
Replacements: Benjamin Kayser (Leicester), Nicolas Mas (Perpignan), Romain Millo-Chluski (Toulouse), Louis Picamoles (Montpellier), Morgan Parra (Bourgoin), Benoit Baby (Clermont-Auvergne), Cedric Heymans (Toulouse).
© Scrum.com
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The bad posture of the body does to be sure influence breathing and lung capacity. They tried drooped seating, ordinary seating, standing and a unique stance that copies standing spinal arrangement (WO-BPS). This stance includes tilting the base of a seat with lumbar help—with the spine "against the back piece of the seat without ischial [sitting bone] bolster."
They found that drooping delivered the most exceedingly terrible lung capacity and expiratory stream (LC-EF). Nothing unexpected there. Typical sitting was better. WO-BPS was far and away superior—at times on a par with standing stance in both lung capacity and stream.
Drooping in a seat creates terrible outcomes, yet so can slump or adjusting your shoulders while standing. Sitting or standing straight for a couple of minutes in the wake of slumping the greater part of your life isn't sufficient to fix the bad posture. Your muscles, ligaments and tendons wind up noticeably prepared by steady slumping. You have to prepare them with a completely new propensity. You have to make another "upright" way of life.
Tips to help keep up great stance
1. Sleep on the mattress that supports your spine because too soft mattress is not good for your back.
2. Try to maintain normal weight according to your height to fix the bad posture. If you have a excessive fat across the belly then it's difficult to stand upright position and cause back pain.
3. Do exercise regularly to maintain your body weight and keep your muscles toned and flexible that helps to correct body posture easier.
4. Keep a solid spine. See your chiropractor consistently for spinal acclimation to address misalignment and keep your spine flexible. Any torment that creates here will make it extremely hard to keep up adjust pose.
5. Good vision. On the off chance that you have issues seeing, it may make you slouch over to see all the more clearly. Make certain to have your eyes checked frequently.
6. Make certain everything fits you legitimately. Appropriately fitting garments can help with good back posture. Likewise, make certain your seat at work is at the correct stature. On the off chance that your legs dangle, get a hassock to keep the abundance weight off your legs.


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Throughout history, you would be hard pressed to find something else that has enjoyed the popularity that the Internet has enjoyed. Regardless of your personal tastes or your interest, there will be a website for you. And should you wish to build a site of your own, you have tons of options once you learn a bit about designing a site. The following suggestions will help you achieve your goals. Web Design
Don't try to fit too much onto one page when you're designing a website. If your page is too busy it will take a lot longer to load and can overwhelm visitors. When you're going to be putting up a lot of content, create pages for everything you can to reduce the clutter on your page.
Your visitors should be able to see your content regardless of the browser they are using. Test your pages with different browsers to make sure it is displayed properly. Your content may show up fine in Internet Explorer, but it may be unreadable or badly displayed in Chrome, Firefox or Safari. Check how each page displays in the major browsers before your site goes live. Web Designers
Don't disable the visitor's right-click functionality. Some sites do this in order to prevent people from copying and pasting text or saving images from the site. The thing is, it doesn't work and disables other useful functions. OCR can be used to capture text from such sites, and grabbing images is as simple as taking a screenshot. Web Design Company
To help your web pages load quickly, you should compress all the images on the website page. If you have images that are compressed then pages will load much faster. Nothing is more frustrating to viewers than waiting for a 250k graphic to load when it should really only be 20k.
Creating your website is easy when you know how. Your site will get better and better as you develop your web design skills. Use this information to come up with a great website. Web Design Firm


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PSL 20th match Karachi Kings vs Islamabad United PSL today match prediction Feb 26th, 2017. Who will win KRK vs ISU today match? You can get PSL live match score ball by ball.
Karachi Kings vs Islamabad United match preview is that previously Kings played their last match against Qalandars that was a do-or-die match for both the teams but finally Karachi managed to win this important match. Karachi Kings won the toss and the elected to bowl first and they really bowled awesome to restrict the Qalandars to just 155 runs but they chased that total in a very much difficult way and strengthened their position and Pollard was the key player in that match who scored 10 runs in last 2 balls and was player of the match. While United player their last match against Gladiators which was one of the best match of this PSL 2017 season because United batted first and scored a decent total of 165 runs with a sparkling half-century bu debutant Talat Hussain but another batsman not performed really well. As United got the early wicket of Shafiq but Shahzad and KP batted awesomely but in the end, there was a great twist in the last over Gladiators only needed 5 runs but Muhammad Sami bowled exceptionally great and helped his team to win by 1 run. Yet Kings is at 4th position with 6 points and United team is at the 2nd position in the points table with 8 points. You can also check Pakistan Super League 2017 Schedule.
Here on CricFrog.com free cricket prediction platform, we are providing sure shot cricket prediction of today PSL cricket match. KRK vs ISU 20th T20 match scheduled at Dubai International Cricket Stadium at 20:00 local time (16:00 GMT | 21:00 PKT). Get today PSL Cricinfo, today toss prediction and today match prediction. United team is leading by Misbah who is a much experienced captain. while Kings is leading by Kumara Sangakkara.
Karachi Kings vs Islamabad United Head to Head
Who Will Win Karachi Kings vs Islamabad United PSL Today Match Prediction Feb 26
Who Will Win Karachi Kings vs Lahore Qalandars T20 Toss – United
Who Will Win Karachi Kings vs Lahore Qalandars T20 MATCH – Kings
Islamabad United Squad
Misbah-ul-Haq (Captain), Amad Butt, Asif Ali, Samuel Badree, BM Duckett, BJ Haddin, Hussain Talat, Imran Khalid, Khalid Latif, Mohammad Irfan, Mohammad Sami, Rumman Raees, Saeed Ajmal, Shadab Khan, Sharjeel Khan, DR Smith, Shane Watson, Zohaib Khan.
Karachi Kings Squad
KC Sangakkara (Captain), Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, RS Bopara, CH Gayle, Hasan Mohsin, Imad Wasim, DPMD Jayawardene, Kashif Bhatti, Khurram Manzoor, R McLaren, Mohammad Amir, KA Pollard, Rahat Ali, Saifullah Bangash, Shahzaib Hasan, Shoaib Malik, Sohail Khan, Usama Mir, Usman Khan.


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About Me
Hi, I'm Rafael Mejia, a Senior Web Developer specializing in multiple web technologies such as PHP, HTML, CSS, jQuery, and React. I've had over 10+ years of experience in web development. I'm also a co-founder and lead developer of Brands & Things, a design and advertisement agency providing services such as web design/development, print, film, and social media.
Nerd at heart! I'm into graphic novels, adventure video games, puzzles, and social media. Constantly reading technology news. Sucker for great, simple, and clean design. Apple enthusiast. Pin collector ( and seller ). Oh, and I love movies.
Web Development
- HTML5, CSS, SASS, Bootstrap, Javascript, jQuery, React
- PHP: Wordpress, MODx, Zend
- Version control: Git, SVN
- Flat File CMS: Grav
- NoSQL, MySQL, MS SQL, MongoDB
- MVC Architectural Pattern
- Agile environment, Scrum workflow
- API/Cloud Solutions: Sailthru, Socialflow, DISQUS, Cloudinary, Rackspace, Edgecast, Chartbeat, AWS (SQS, S3), Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, etc.
- Other tools: Command Line, Grunt, XAMPP, Vagrant, Ghost
- SEO awareness
- Clean and simple design
Team Lead and Project Management
- Team Lead for the WebCore Team at Complex Media
- Remote management of a small development team from Argentina (ElPixel)
- Project Management, tools include: JIRA, Trello, Redmine; minor experience with Redbooth
- Agile methodologies, Sprint and daily scrum meetings
Other skills & interests
- Commonly used tools: Sketch, Google Web Designer, Adobe XD, Slack, Photoshop, Illustrator
- Past experience with: C++, MS-SQL, Processing, AppleScript, Paypal API
- Past experience: After Effects, Processing, xcode
- Game Design
- Toy Design
- Fully bilingual: Spanish/English
Stuff I've worked onStarmark (2017 - Current) Complex (2010 - 2016) Brands+Things (2009 - Present) Oddcast / Sitepal (2007 - 2008) Other Projects
Master of Fine Arts in Communication Design and TechnologyParsons School of Design - New York, NYGraduation: May 2007AwardsBest Visual Design - Mobile Game Mosh Competition 2006.Team Name: Oh My Mosh!Position: Programmer.Software: Game Maker.ExhibitionsParsons The New School for Design 10th Annual Thesis Exhibition.Location: The Chelsea Art Museum, New York.Project Title: El Rompecabezas: An Interactive Puzzle Installation.
Bachelor's Degree in Computer SciencesUniversidad de Puerto Rico - Bayamon, PRGraduation: 2004


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New year's day was the NHL Winter Classic in Boston's Fenway Park. Hockey in an outdoor baseball stadium. It was the NHL's 3rd New Year's Day outdoor hockey game, and 4th outdoor game overall. At one time I thought every year would be too much, but it has proven to be one of the most exciting days of the year in the NHL. I'd much rather watch this game than a nondescript college football bowl game. It has truly carved out a niche in New Year's Day tradition. This year's game was again full of spectacle, history, and really turned out to be an exciting game. Just another great event.
Each year I get to thinking about the event in Minnesota, and how much fun it would be to go to that game. Now that the Gophers new football stadium TCF Bank Stadium is open and the Twins new ballpark Target Field is less than 100 days away from opening, we finally have 2 great venues that could host the game. The latest I have read is that the Wild is pitching TCF Bank Stadium to the NHL. Not much is known about that proposal and I have to believe that the Wild would be interested in holding the event at Target Field as well. Assuming that the Wild get the Winter Classic in the next couple years, and assuming that both the U of MN and the Twins are interesting in hosting the event in their respective buildings, here's a breakdown of how I see where the game should be played…
In all of these outdoor games, the sightlines for hockey definitely seem to be of secondary importance. Of the 4 outdoor games, 2 of them have been in football stadiums, 2 in baseball stadiums. If the game were at Target Field, seats would be great behind home plate because the rink is laid out from 1st base to 3rd base, but in the outfield not so much. It would seem that a football stadium, being of rectangular or oval uniformity, would lend itself better to being able to see the action on a hockey rink.
Advantage: TCF Bank
The Wild have spoke of this event to include college and possibly high school games as well. Makes sense, because this year Boston College and Boston University will be playing at Fenway (Friday Jan 8th 6:30PM NHL Network). Obviously Minnesota's event would include the University of Minnesota Gophers, probably both Men's and Women's teams. That being said, it would make sense to have the Winter Classic at TCF Bank, because it's on the U of MN campus and they could continue the college vibe. The NHL could focus it's tradition theme on college players in the NHL. And maybe it could be some sort of MN college showcase. Bring in MN Duluth, MSU Mankato, St. Cloud State, and Bemidji State to join with the Gophers and you've got a tremendous event. Actually, the more I think about that the more I like it. Hope Wild PR Guy Billy Robertson reads this!
Advantage: TCF Bank
Secondary Money
This one is the most controversial, because it is about alcohol. Current policies at TCF Bank Stadium do not allow alcohol to be sold anywhere in the building. It's a weird state legislature thing where the U of MN wanted to sell it only in the club areas, the state got involved and said either everywhere or nowhere, and the U went with nowhere to avoid sending a bad message about college kids drinking. It's noble, but it also comes at a price. Revenue. When a glass of beer is $7 you're giving up quite a bit of potential profits when you decide not to offer it in a stadium. Profits of which the NHL would get a piece. Do you think they'd want to give it up?
Across town at Target Field, there's plenty to go around. Budweiser is a major sponsor, there are I think 4 different bars/restaurants, there are specialized concession stands dedicated to beers from the state of Minnesota, and then there's the Budweiser Rooftop Party Deck, complete with a gas firepit . Add to this the fact that NHL fans enjoy a beer or two as part of the experience, and that a little libation may help to keep the body warm at an outdoor hockey game.
Many may not believe this is something that should matter, but I think it will be the deciding factor in where the game is played.
Advantage: Target Field
My personal opinion here. Sightlines are secondary in this event. It's about the pomp and circumstance, the vibe, and just the awesomeness of an outdoor game. The beer thing plays into the party vibe. I'm not a Gopher hockey fan, but I am a huge Twins fan, so I guess Target Field wins my bid. For the history perspective the NHL is looking for, the teams should be Wild v. Dallas Stars. The college game(s) should include UMD at the very least, and preferably all the D1 teams in MN since I just thought of that great idea.
So how bout it Commissioner Bettman? Who's next?
What do you all think about Minnesota's Winter Classic? Post in the comments!


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Past Finalists 2017
Contribution by a Public or Private Organisation
Engineering Heritage WA
For more than 30 years, the Engineering Heritage committee of Engineers Australia's WA Division (EHWA) has provided leadership in the protection, conservation and recording of our engineering, industrial and technological heritage.
EHWA continues to celebrate and promote the significant contributions of WA's engineers and their works through the Engineering Heritage Recognition Program, with twenty-five sites now officially recognised and seven oral histories recorded by eminent WA engineers.
Find out more about Engineering Heritage WA.
National Trust WA
Through its activities, the National Trust connects Western Australians with rich and diverse stories about its natural, Aboriginal and historic heritage.
The Trust enhances people's understanding of why heritage is important and how it enables us to explore our identity and our place in the world. The Trust achieves this by conserving the places in its care, by educating and raising awareness of people about heritage, and how it contributes to a sense of wellbeing in society. The Trust works to preserve and protect important places, customs and values so they can be enjoyed by present and future generations.
The National Trust of WA has had several of its projects recognised as finalists in the 2017 WA Heritage Awards, including the Australian Heritage Festival, Old Perth Boys' School, Sound from the Ground, and Gallop House.
Find out more about National Trust WA.
State Library of Western Australia (Storylines Project)
Storylines is a digital platform providing learning and access to heritage collections including photographs, oral histories, video recordings, and genealogical information. It connects these collections with thousands of Indigenous clients across the State and enables the State Library to facilitate the protection, collection, and return of Aboriginal heritage collections to individuals, families and communities.
This innovative project is proving to be a driver of change, stimulating creative practice, fostering tourism enterprise, harnessing multi-generational engagement, as well as creating new skills while preserving culture, language and history.
Find out more about the State Library of Western Australia.


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Get affordable fares for Amritsar to Dalhousie taxi at Bookcab that starts from Rs 3804. Minimum charges per km ranges between INR 9.5 and 13.0. No hidden charges and transparent pricing policy at Bookcab. Clear breakup of extras. Bookcab provides 40 different types of cars with best taxi fares. Our car fleet ranges from Tata Indica to Rolls Royce and their charges can be found here. Bookcab's online cab booking system is convenient and the best cost-effective. Find premium and luxurious cars and their charges from Amritsar to Dalhousie here. Amritsar to Dalhousie route is spread over a distance of 191 km. The approximate travel duration is 3 hours 48 mins.
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Current print subscribers extend your subscription two years. Save 12%.If your subscription lapsed and you want to receive issues you missed, click Add to Cart and then use the Order Notes box to let us know that you want us to backdate your subscription. We'll re-start your subscription where it left off and send you the issues you missed at no extra charge.


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In seeking a path to safety in an alien and hostile world, Hannah unknowingly embarks on a path of self-discovery that forces her to question the values she once held true and the righteousness of a country that politicizes faith.
So. This book was published in 2011, but it's pretty on the nose in terms of the current political climate. A new political party called the Trinitarian Party has taken power, and the separation between church and state has been completely dissolved and Roe v. Wade overturned. As the book opens, we learn that Hannah has discovered as she wakes up that her skin has been turned red, which publicly designates her as a murderer. In this case, she has had an abortion and has refused to publicly identify the baby's father.
Because "chromes"--those whose skin has been changed colors in accordance with their crimes--have a difficult time surviving in the real world, Hannah goes to a halfway house run by a very fundamentalist religious group, who seems intent on shaming Hannah in order to get her to "walk the narrow path", and I'd argue that her experience there was filled with really disturbing mental and emotional abuse. Later, she ends up connected with a group of militant feminists who are attempting to help Hannah escape to Canada to have her chroming reversed.
Regardless of your politics, the first half of the book is a strong dystopian novel that's reminiscent of both The Scarlet Letter and The Handmaid's Tale. However, the second half of the book missed the mark for me--it felt cliche, designed almost entirely to give women in book clubs something to talk about. Click the Show/Hide button below if you don't mind a few spoilers that describe what I'm talking about more specifically.
Crisis of Faith? Check. Radical Feminism? Check. Lesbian sex scene? Check. Kidnapping to be sold into the sex trade? Check
It wasn't a *bad* book, it was just off to such a strong dystopian start that the second half really felt that much more cliche and awful. So, while the first part of the book started out as a 5 star book for me (you all KNOW I love dystopian lit), by the end I was feeling much more like:
Just read The Handmaid's Tale instead. For real.


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This Tamale Roll Party menu features all the fun a group tamale roll party can offer! The class will start at 11 AM giving plenty of time to watch the mass ascension. We will be
making appetizer to dessert tamales and share lots of good fun and conversation. We will start with Perfect Guacamole and then we will roll traditional beef tamales,
blue corn green chile chicken tamales, green corn tamales and dessert tamales with some Perfect Margaritas to sip with the finale of tamales.
This Event is no longer available for registration.
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We're leaving Chiang Mai (and Thailand) for Laos early on New Year's Day, taking a two day journey up north to Luang Nam Tha, where we hope to do some trekking. Laos is going to be a different experience: no ATM's, few western toilets, likely many less phones and internet but also hopefully a lot less touristy. It's an experience we've heard good things about and are looking forward to.
As a result, we wanted to wish everyone an early Happy New Year and hope 2006 brings whatever makes one happy.
Brian & Becca
(we've added two new entries below this as a new years gift to you :-) )
Friday, December 30, 2005
Happy New Year 2006!!!!
Popular Thai Food...Not Spicy!
A couple last notes from our stay in Chiang Mai
-- It is almost impossible to get away from the touristy areas, though we did try. The food cart pictured to the left here might be one of our favorites though. Can you be appealing any more to the non-adventurous?
-- One of the things you quickly become very aware of is how much bigger we are than the Thai people. The message gets communicated in many ways. 1) In the cooking class they were talking about Thai garlic or other ingredients (which is different than the western version because it is smaller). 2) When you pass people on the street, you tower above them. 3) Perhaps the most humiliating, when you try and buy clothes. Personally, my self-esteem loves it when I can't fit into the extra-large men's clothing. (I didn't even bother trying on any of the women's styles). At least I wasn't trying to buy a new bra..... Meanwhile, Brian has been trying to buy a new pair of shoes (since 6 months of wearing them everyday has worn his hiking shoes out) and a new hat (since his got lost in Lyon). Unfortunately, Thai feet don't come in size 12. And no one (not even the stores in Europe) seem to carry a hat big enough to fit his noggin. We're thinking of seeing if one of the suit tailoring places can make him one...
-- It was very strange for Brian spending Christmas here. As well as being the first year he wasn't with his family, it is sunny and hot in a Buddhist country. Hard to get less Christmasy than that. There are some trees and decorations scattered around for the tourists, but it wasn't the same. Instead of a big family meal for Xmas eve, we ended up eating street-food pad thai (though granted it was the best pad thai we've ever had and we've gone back there twice) on the sidewalk facing the 7-11 and trash bags. Not the most atmospheric of meals. (or incredibly atmospheric, depending on how you look at it). Since Hannukah started on Christmas this year, I found us a Christmaskah tree to decorate so that we had a little bit of holiday cheer in our dark guest house room.
-- Speaking of guesthouses, we learned a lesson there too. We had originally booked at the Pun Pun Guesthouse, which came recommended in the guidebook. When we got there we discovered that though the staff were very nice 1) it was much farther out of the main downtown area than we had realized (about a 20 minute walk), and while we usually don't mind walking, there are hardly any sidewalks here and we were frequently concerned with being hit; 2) the place was dead...by 9 pm all the lights were out and there was no group of fun travelers hanging around to talk with and learn from and have fun with.; 3) we didn't sleep very well there as the noise from the road, the apparent dog kennel next door, and our neighbors came right into the room (as the top of the wall on each side (including to outside) was just mosquito netting). All that being said, it was only $7/night and was nicer than the hostel we stayed in in Phitsanulok for $10/night. Still, after 3 days of scary walks, depressing evenings, and no sleep we decided to find someplace new.
-- We ended up just around the corner from the cooking school's downtown location and restaurant at the Smile House. Though we now had to use shared toilets/showers instead of having one attached, we had a bigger room, with much more comfortable bed and quieter atmosphere; there was a whole indoor/outdoor hanging out area downstairs where we have been drinking beers and swapping tales with other travellers from Sweden, Ireland, Switzerland, and home; they have cable tv to catch english premier league football matches, HBO movies, and CNN news; and there is even a pool(!)...not that we have gotten in it, but we have enjoyed sitting in the chairs and couches around it to read, write in the journal, and play cards. Best of all, it's right in the middle of everything so that if we want to come back in the middle of the day and just chill for an hour or two we can, instead of having to be out and about all day. All that, and the room is just $5/night. Sometimes you just have to love travelling. (And it taught us a good lesson too about waiting to get a room until you can check it out in person instead of reserving it ahead of time).
-- English signs in Asia crack me up. This one was very zen though...
We're off now to finish our prep for our Laos adventure and to check out New Year's eve in Chiang Mai. Should be a trip. Check back later for observations on travel in Laos, including what it feels like to be a walking piggy bank (there are no ATMs in Laos so we have to bring in all our money with us.
Happy 2006!
Cooking up a storm...
One of the things that we have tried to do on this trip is to dig a little more into local cultures. We try and pick up as much of each language as we can (which has ranged from almost nothing to a pretty decent mini-vocabulary/conversation ability), we try and meet local people and talk to them, and we try to experience local life/see local traditions. In the Czech Republic and Italy, that meant going to low-level league soccer matches and being the only non-natives in the crowd. In Spain that meant going to a bull-fight in Madrid and observing all the people coming in their sunday best and participating in the ritual. In Thailand, whose culture revolves around the social aspects (and aesthetic pleasures) of a meal, that meant learning how to cook Thai.
Thai food was already one of our favorites back home, but aside from a couple of fish curry dishes, we never cooked it at home. Given that we are likely going to be on strict restaurant rationing when we get home, it was important to us to learn how to add this cuisine to our repertoire. The popularity of thai cooking and cooking classes for tourists has exploded, so it seems like every tom, dick, and guesthouse is offering a cooking course. After reading a bunch of reviews and scoping out websites, we decided to do it right and went with one of the original Thai cooking schools here in Chiang Mai, the Chiang Mai Thai Cookery School. While it was more expensive than many of the others, it looked liked it offered a lot more in terms of hands-on cooking (versus just demonstrations) as well as the number and variety of dishes to be prepared.
The school offers 5 different one day courses and then master classes. Being relative culinary novices, we thought master classes might be a little beyond us, but we also wanted to do more than just dip our toe in the figurative ocean of thai cooking, so we signed up for 4 days of cooking classes. (This is one of the wonderful advantages of being on a long term trip. Almost everybody else we met in the classes were just taking one day because that's all they could fit into their 2 week vacation across Thailand.)
The school runs like a well-oiled machine. Each day starts with an activity: we did vegetable carving, introduction to thai ingredients, tour of thai markets, and making curry from scratch . Then you start cooking. Every dish is demoed for you, you taste the instructor's version so that you know whether you need to dial up or down the spiciness, sweetness, saltiness, etc in yours, and then you return to your individual workstations and cook your version of the dish, adjusting it to your tastes. The schedule goes: demo, cook, eat, demo, cook, eat, demo, cook, demo, cook, eat the two dishes for lunch, demo cook eat, demo cook eat dessert. The afternoon dishes tended to be very quick and require more mixing than actual cooking, which was good as we were usually approaching food coma by that point.
In addition to the importance of fresh ingredients and quick cooking, one of the most emphasized points was that of presentation. For each dish, the instructors would show us how to garnish and dress it to (in their words) "get more money from the customer". They would show us a dish they had just cooked and say "this is 80 baht dish". They'd add some curled chives, a pretty cluster of basil, some shredded kaffir lime leaves, and/or a tomato flower and then say "now, 150 baht." We were encouraged to do the same. Little things like making patterns in the top of dark mushrooms took just a couple of seconds, but looked very nice in the finished dish .
It was great to learn how to cook all of our favorite thai dishes like tod mun plaa (fish cakes), spring rolls, pad thai and chicken green curry , etc., and also be introduced to new dishes that were just as good or better: chiang mai curry, fried fish with chilli peppers , roast duck red curry, and steamed banana cake with coconut. You can be sure that we will be cooking those when we get home.
Ironically that's one of the things we're a little bummed about. After 4 days of getting these techniques ingrained on us by repetition, we are all psyched to start using them and to start perfecting these dishes. In reality, it will be at least 8 months from now before we'll have the chance to be in our own kitchen cooking. I made lots of notes in the recipe margins, so hopefully we'll be able to remember enough. Once we have them figured out, we will be happy to be making these dishes for you all, though they may be a little spicy....
Other great things about these classes, which we highly recommend to anybody visiting Chiang Mai, were the instructors, the setting, and the other people you meet in the class. The school is offered in two locations: downtown behind the restaurant, and about 20 minutes out of town at the facility Sompon (the chef) built next to his home. We HIGHLY recommend you choose that location if you have the option (they drive you out and back) as it was much prettier, more spacious, more relaxing, and more pleasant. You are on open (covered) verandas looking out at palm trees and the herb garden in quiet country environment. The instructors are great too. If you are out at the house, then Sompon himself will teach a couple of the dishes or techniques, but the rest of his staff is equally good, energetic, and fun. There are tons of them too, so you always have somebody keeping an eye on your wok and making sure things are going ok, and as we have since discovered, they are jacks of all trades, also driving the cars for pickup, working in the office, and even washing the cars. Finally, we loved meeting and getting to know the other people in the class. Each day it was different mixture of people evenly spread across countries. We cooked next to folks from Ireland, England, Australia, Germany, Hong Kong, Sweden, France, Japan, Korea, the States, and Switzerland. It was a great way for us to get travel advice for future parts of our trip and to make new friends.
All in all, the 4 days exceeded our expectations in almost every way. The only downside was the food coma at the end of the day from eating so much food, but on the positive side, it did mean that we saved money by not needing dinner! Not only did it improve our cooking skills in general, and provide us with recipes for dozens of new dishes, but it gave us a nice little insight into an important aspect of Thai culture. You can't ask for more than that!
Here's to further culinary adventures......
Wednesday, December 28, 2005
Thailand: The land of friendly people and whiskey... is that a good thing?
No, we haven't be captured by Thai rebels or stomped by any elephants. Instead we're just rising out of our food stupor created by our four days learning Thai cooking. Plenty of exciting stories and pics and the secret to Thai cooking, but I leave that for another entry from my now gourmet cook wife.
Instead, I bring you completely unsolicited thoughts, opinions, observations on Thailand. Well Thailand from Bangkok north to Chiang Mai. No touring the beaches for us; we decided we'd much rather explore the north and if there's time to visit the beaches in the south at the end of our travels so be it. So with no further ado....
- For anyone who's ever thought about traveling to Thailand but is concerned about coming because of language differences, cleanliness, etc. don't be. It's just as easy traveling here as it was traveling Europe. Even easier in some places. My impression is this is easily the most accessible to people on a short vacation.
- Most of the ease in travel comes from the Thai people. Everyone we'd talked to before we'd visited had gushed about their friendliness and general goodnatureness. We'd certainly agree. Plenty of smiles, eye contact (a pleasant surprise after many European countries) and overall goodwill.
- The Thai goodwill is a double edged sword in the more populated tourist areas. A large number of the Thai are involved in the tourist industry. Our hostel has it's own cooking school next store, sells bus and flight tickets, runs a number of treks and for all I know has i's own brothel. In short, everyone provides everything. Heck even the Pad Thai food stand might have a suggestion of who to tour with if you asked them. Talking with the teachers at our cooking school was informative as many of them served as guides or did other tours in their spare time to earn extra cash. As a result, it's nearly impossible to find an objective opinion about any of the local attractions, treks, routes out of town or even where to get a decent pint from the locals which had been our strategy to this point of the trip. Lends to more blind decision making and a lot more desire to be in hostel type situations where we can pick the brains of fellow travelers.
- Walking is not big here. In fact it seems to be actively discouraged. Tuk-Tuks and Scooters rule the day. Becca and I have explored our stops (including biggies such as Paris) on this trip almost exclusively on foot. However in Thailand it's an adventure. What little sidewalks there is typically are filled with street vendors, leading to two directions of people trying to get through the same hole. Walking along the edge of the street is even more adventurous as even if you think you have some space, you're more than likely to have a scooter come buzzing from behind a truck or car. And even if after all that you're still willing to walk, the Tuk-Tuk drivers are trying to get your fare about every 10 ft. When you tell them "mai chai khrap" (no), they look at you like you've had a "happy" pizza or something.
- Along those lines, crossing the street is like the old Frogger game. They don't stop, even if you've somehow secured a crosswalk AND a green walk sign. Even the locals drop into a full sprint when necessary. Our solution: find the local, let them get between you and the traffic and move on their cue.
- TV's are prevalent in a large percentage of shops throughout Thailand. You can be walking down the street, look into a store and their heads are looking up at whatever is on. Makes sense for those whose workplaces are merely the front of their residence but there's something amusing about watching someone watch TV in an empty bank after hours.
- One funny note. In the Thai language there are different words for women and men to use to end their sentences. For the men, it's khrap. I've lost count the number of times I've said something to someone in Thai (we've gotten up to about 30 words/useful phrases) forgotten khrap, only to utter the American version halfway down the road. Occasionally I even utter it quick enough for me to prevent offending whomever it was I'm talking to.
- Finally, the Thai have pretty decent beer (Singha and Chang are ours favs) but they love their whiskey. I'd be curious as to how much of Johnnie Walker's business is done here as we've seen it just about everywhere and plenty of Thai's downing it in large amounts. Of course, they also have their own local brands (like the firewater I had courtesy of an Irish duo we met) but JW Red and Black (with soda water) just seems to be a normal part of the Thai daily meal. Curious to see how the Lao Lao (a evidently very potent rice wine from Laos) is in comparison...
So there you go. Thailand has been a great way to start the adventure of SE Asia and comes highly recommended for anyone looking for an initial trip to this part of the world. Great people, cool touristy things to see and just a very accessible entrance to a different way of life. That being said, the amount of tourism is a bit overwhelming at times. We've enjoyed the more off the beaten path locales on this trip so we're looking forward to continuing our adventure over the border and into the slower (and less developed) country of Laos. We've been told multiple times that Laos is like Thailand 20 years ago. We're looking forward to it.
Saturday, December 24, 2005
Happy Holidays!
Just wanted to wish everyone a happy holiday season!
Hope that you're able to spend the time with the ones you love and matter most. It's hard for us to be away from our respective families this time of year (amazingly this is my first year away for the holidays) but we wouldn't pass up the experiences we've had over the past six months for anything in the world. Even for those tasty little xmas nougat candies that I (Brian) eat by the kilo every year. :-)
Thanks to everyone for all the postitive thoughts, emails, comments and otherwise general good karma. We'll be thinking of everyone as we're learning vegetable carving in day one of our Thai cooking class!
Brian & Becca
PS Amazed we were able to find an actual xmas tree here. Guess that's what happens when you go wander through one of the swanker places in Bangkok.
Thursday, December 22, 2005
Chiang Mai bound
Hopping the train to Chiang Mai in a bit, but time for a couple of firsts:
-- First elephant of the trip. A teenager was just riding the small elephant down the side of the street here in Phitsanulok like a bicycle. He even had a blinking red light tied to its tail.... (To all the kids out there that we know, none of the pictures we took of it came out, but we will do our best to send you pictures the next time we run into elephants.)
-- First cockroaches of the trip. Two big ones skittering around our room last night. Okay, so they weren't the giant ones, but at 2-3 inches long they were big enough for me. We finally got them (leaving a nice cockroach guts design on the wall of the room) with our shoes, but it did make sleeping a little harder. I kept imagining things crawling on us. Ah, the joys of budget travel.
-- First songthaew ride of the trip. Songthaews are pickup trucks with rows of benches in the back that act as buses or taxis around Thai towns. We caught one from the old city in Sukhothai 14 km in to the bus station, crammed in with students in uniform coming home from school, two little old ladies (one with her basket of laundry and one with her pole with baskets hanging off each end (don't know what that's called....) who kept smiling and laughing at us, and one drunk peasant who the lady running the ride kept trying to shoo out the back. I'll post the picture later if I can. It looked like one of those clown cars in the circus with people stuffed in and hanging off the ends.
-- First two open-air aerobics classes of the trip. In both Bangkok and here in Phitsanulok, we have run into these end-of-the-work-day extravaganzas with several hundred people kicking and bouncing to the beat. In Bangkok it was in a park, but here it was just along the riverside, spreading up and over the sidewalk. Men and women both, all getting down to "and a one, and a two" in Thai. They appear to be free, all-comers events...kinda like the exercises you see the Japanese or Chinese workers doing in documentaries except for more music and jiggling...
-- First bad meal of the trip. Up to this point (and especially in Bangkok), the food has been amazing. We have been eating at local dives (that look like places I'd be too nervous to go into at home) and we have just revelled in the tastes. Yesterday on the outskirts of the Sukhothai old town we grabbed a bite at a more touristy places (with pretty wood tables and plants) and were very underwhelmed in the tasteless (or bad tasting) dishes we were served. Just goes to reinforce our general strategy of following the locals.
Enjoy the double holiday weekend!
Wednesday, December 21, 2005
Random cleanliness thoughts
Sunday, December 18, 2005
Postcards from Bangkok
Impressions of Bangkok
(have attached a couple of pics, will try and load more into flickr soon...)
-- First of all, we both like the city far, far more than we were expecting to. (Then again, our expectations were pretty low). We have spent most of our time walking the streets or riding the rivers in between seeing temples and palaces or shopping, and it just doesn't feel like a city of 6 million people. It helps that our hotel (New World Lodge Hotel, no where near as fancy as this makes it look) is on a little canal, away from the commercial nightmare that is Khao San Road (the budget tourist/backpacker capital of the city) and far away from the ritzy commerce of the area around all the upscale hotels (The Oriental, Shangri-La, etc.).
-- We are captivated and fascinated by the markets lining the streets, especially all the food vendors. Walking down the street you pass by cart after cart with exotic looking fruits and soups and meats and noodles, and catch whiff after whiff....some familiar, some strange, some drool-inducing, some repulsive...and the sheer number and variety just makes your head spin. That more than anything has probably given me the "I guess we're not in Kansas anymore" feeling. It's like walking through a postcard or documentary.
-- While we haven't eaten anything off of the street carts yet, I have no doubt that we will. (Though we will choose carefully to try to avoid paying for it later.) Actually, our culinary adventures have been a huge success so far. While we haven't quite made it to the street vendor stage, we have stayed far away from any restaurant aimed primarily at tourists. Ironically while we have been following some of Lonely Planet's recommendation, we have seen very few other westerners at the restaurants. But the recommendations have been good ones as most places have been packed with Thais, with tables spilling out down the sidewalk. Our favorite local dive (Jeh Hoy, on Th Samsen) is actually an open air restaurant, with the kitchen outside on the street corner and the woks and knives flying constantly. We've pretty much loved everything we've eaten and most dinners have been under $6 (for both of us). After wincing each time we paid for food in Scandinavia, this is more like it.
-- One of the things I like the most about being here is the friendliness of the people and the fact that when you are walking down the street and you smile at somebody, they smile back. I hadn't realized how much I had been missing that.... Plus we have gotten lots of smiles and giggles from out attempts to speak a (very little) Thai and to wai (bow with hands folded) at the right moments. Hopefully in the coming weeks we'll be able to add a few more words to the vocabulary.
-- Of course, the Thai reputation for friendliness is also a downside, because it makes it very hard to figure out whether somebody is genuinely being friendly, or is trying to scam you. I think as we get farther into rural areas, the ratio will fall shift firmly into the genuine category, but for the moment over half the people who approach us are actually trying to con us into going on a tour with them, taking their tuk-tuk to destinations unknown or buying something... We're trying hard not to let it turn us cynical, but it does get old at times.
-- The river taxis are fantastic and we highly recommend them for anybody visiting the city. While their greatest benefit may be the fact that they let you avoid the terrible city traffic and (most) of the exhaust pollution, they are also a great way to see the city and commute to places with Thai people instead of only on tourist-mobiles. They are also very easy to figure out and use, once you past the initial awkwardness of transferring between dock and boat (the boats stay in dock just long enough for people to get on and off so you have to be pretty quick jumping)
-- We have of course gone to many of the requisite places and seen the first set of what I'm sure will be many, many, many exquisite temples. Favorite sights and moments so far...appreciating the detail and decoration on the building housing the emerald buddha, being impressed by the sheer size of the giant reclining buddha (finally, someone with bigger feet than Brian!), getting a better sense of the king and royal family walking through an exhibit of the king's personal photography, and sitting at the back of a temple soaking in the ambiance as 30 monks chanted their evening prayers.
-- One of the more interesting cultural items has been learning and experiencing how reverent the Thais are about the monarchy. We had read that saying bad things about him can be a criminal (and in fact jailable) offence, but we weren't prepared for the pictures of him everywhere: shopfronts, intersections, schools, office buildings, ATM machines, etc. And these aren't small framed pics on the wall, like you often see other places, these are billboard-sized photos dominating the landscape. We have also caught a glimpse of this national reverence at 6 pm on a few of the days. At this time, everything stops and the national anthem is played (at concerts, events, movies, on the street, etc). Once we were out walking and heard the music and noticed that people at the bus stop had all stood up so we stopped and stood too, and then last night we were actually watching a football match on tv and it broke into the programming to play the anthem, complete with patriotic images and the words scrolling across the bottom (all that was missing was the little bouncing ball).
-- Finally, our shopping woes continue. After 6 months of wearing almost the same things every day our clothing is growing a little ragged. So we have been trying to replace a couple of items for a while. In Europe the last 3 months we struck out because we were looking for warm weather clothing (short sleeves, etc.) and shops there were all full of winter gear. Now here we are finding more weather-appropriate clothing, but now we're running into the problem of size, as Brian's head and feet and my general body are a little bigger than your average Thai. Sigh.... Wish us luck!
Tomorrow we head north to Sukhothai and Phitsanulok for a few days and then will continue up to Chiang Mai.
By the way, a few days ago was the six month mark since we landed in Belgium to begin this adventure.....wow. Still going strong, though.
Wednesday, December 14, 2005
Sawatdee from Bangkok!
Couple of quick thoughts:
Tuesday, December 13, 2005
We're Off!
Heading off in a couple of hours to the airport for our trip to Bangkok! (Though unfortunately we added 4 hours of flight time by having to go west from Copenhagen to London before heading east to Thailand).
We're all packed and ready, or at least as ready as we can be at this point. After a little more than four weeks of staying with friends, I think we're starting to feel a little soft. We'll have to crank it back into gear again to be on the lookout for pickpockets, clean toilets and places to lay our head at night.
Though we do feel a little bit out of the travel groove, we can't overstate how wonderful and helpful this break has been for us. Many of you have asked if we have gotten homesick at all or sick of travelling. And while we are still loving the trip and looking forward to continuing it, the answer is (not surprisingly): yes, we do get burned out and tired of being "on" all the time. You want to be sure that nobody is stealing anything from you/hustling you, you want to be sure that you are making a good impression, you're concentrating to try and pick up words in languages you don't know, you're paying a lot of attention to different cultural cues, you're thinking about where your next meal will come from and if you can afford it and where you will sleep the next night, and you're out and moving almost the whole day, almost every day. That definitely wears you down. That's why having a home again has been so very nice.
We also get asked what we miss the most. Excluding the obvious answer of our friends and family, I'd say this is our top 5 list:
It'll be interesting to see how this list changes after travelling in Asia. My money is on clean, western-style toilets moving to the top of my 'missing' list!
Next post from Asia!
Thursday, December 08, 2005
Living la vita dolce in the Cinque Terre
Last but not least on the tale of our Italian tour (in fact, it was actually the first place we went to with Earl and Elaine.....) is the national park of the Cinque Terre, or 5 lands. This park, in the Liguria region of Italy, encompasses five villages perched on or between cliffs along the sea: Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, and Riomaggiore. These towns are connected only by train and by boat (there is a highway up above from which you can with difficulty reach the towns, but it doesn't go through (or very near) them. Thus the towns have a peaceful, car-free, "old-time Italy" feel. Vernazza was our favorite town, as it had the best combination of small town feel and amenities.
This was probably our favorite place in Italy (though we liked Tuscany a lot) and we highly recommend it for any one to visit with a couple of important caveats.
- We were there at the end of shoulder season: end of Oct/beginning of November and it was crowded enough for me. I can't imagine it during the height of the tourist season and I believe it would likely be difficult to see the cities' charms through all the people. October is much calmer, and the weather (if you have good luck) is still beautiful and warm during the day (though quite cold at night).
- If you have physical issues with hills and stairs (LOTS of them and STEEP), then unfortunately this is not the vacation locale for you. There was simply no escaping the climbing up and down and up and down. On the flip side, it made us feel a whole lot more virtuous with all the pasta and gelatto we were eating.
Highlights from our stay in the Cinque Terre include:
-- Relaxing out in the hanging garden of the Trattoria Gianni Franzi hotel gazing out to sea...It's an incredible spot, just carved out of the cliff
-- Hiking between the towns of the Cinque Terre, between olive groves (with the cool way that they harvest olives) and vineyards, and at each corner oohing and aahing at the view. It's actually kind of brutal for picture-taking, because you keep thinking it can't get better and then 5 minutes later realizing it IS better and you have to take another picture.
--Watching the Halloween festivities in Vernazza. (Yes, I am writing about Halloween in December. So I'm a little behind....). We had seen a riot of scary commercial Halloween decorations in every store in Lyon, France earlier, reminiscent of the commercialization of the holiday that we see at home. (Which was a surprise to me (and further proof of the Hallmark-ization of the world) because when we lived in Belgium in the late '70's, no one had heard of Halloween) Upon arrival in Vernazza we had noticed several carved pumpkins around the town (often with the ubiquitous cats curled around them), but hadn't thought that much about it. But at dusk on the 31st we walked down the street to see what Halloween must have been like in the States 30 years ago. All the children (and it was only young children) were either dressed up as witches (complete with pointy black hat and long wig) or as ghosts (complete with white sheet). No cartoon or movie characters, no pop culture references, no toy tie-ins. And they seemed genuinely pleased to receive something. Earl ended up raiding his snack sack when he saw them coming which is how I ended up distributing granola bars to a number of bemused young Italians.
-- Discovering that anchovies can actually be good! Yeah, we didn't believe it either...but they catch them and serve them fresh that day, with a little bit of lemon, and they're YUMMY. Who knew?
-- Sitting out by the harbor in the morning with a pastry and the Gazetta della Sport (Italy's soccer newspaper which actually outsells all other newspapers of any kind in Italy) and watching the locals stroll by, or sitting watching the sunset enjoying a gelatto
All in all...a destination that has made its way onto our greatest hits lists.
Monday, December 05, 2005
From pickled herring to pad thai...
Greetings from Copenhagen!
We were bemoaning the icy, rainy, blustery 30ish degrees here until we were not so gently reminded by our Minnesota brethren that it was -10 to 2 degrees there. Yeah....this'll work. And 80-90 degrees in Bangkok next week will work even better!
That's right, we finally have a plan and more importantly, a plane ticket! I have to admit it was a strange conversation at the travel agency:
-- Hej. Hvordan kan jeg hjælp dig?
-- Hej. Jeg vil gerne ha et ..... Um, we'd like to buy a ticket please.
-- <seamlessly switching into flawless English...I hate the Danes> Yes, where would you like to go?
-- Well, we were thinking Bangkok.
-- No problem....
-- And then maybe Hong Kong....and then Sydney....a side trip to Auckland....maybe to Indonesia...back to Australia....then towards the States?
-- No problem, I have just the ticket program for you here. <and gosh darn if he didn't have exactly the type of routing and overland trip options we were looking for>
-- Um...wow...okay. Yeah, that would be great. We'll take it.
-- And when would you like to leave?
-- In two weeks. <which is high season to go to Thailand, btw...>
-- <masterfully manages not to blink> I think we can make that work. There. <and upping the ante...> And as you get one more stop for this price, why don't you break up the trip home with a stop in Fiji....
-- Um. Yeah. Ok. <Brian and I are wondering if this question is in the dictionary under 'No-Brainer Decisions'>And then some paperwork later we walked out of the office, considerably lighter in the checking account (though not really considering all the places the ticket is going to) but holding tickets to get us all the way back home again at the end of next summer. I must admit it's not everyday that I just make that kind of major purchasing, life-affecting decision so casually, but the planning process for a trip like this really warps your brain.
The Eurorail pass in Europe starts the change in thinking. As you have the ability to get on any train going anywhere, you begin to relax your itinerary and be open to more spontaneous decisions about destinations. The logical end to this train of thought occurred as we were planning the Asian leg of our adventure. There are many places we want to see and definitely not enough time to dive deep into them all. As we have decided that we don't want to rush around the area, that meant we needed to make some choices, leading to the following email conversation (paraphrased slightly).
Thursday, December 01, 2005
Quick Poll
You the readers:
Knowing that this blog serves as a journal for our travels as well as entertaining reading for those of you at home, are there any particular opinions as to what (if anything) we can do to improve the site?
Are the blog entries too long?
Would you rather read descriptions of our travel vs. quirky opinion pieces?
Other thoughts?
Mainly we just wanted to get people´s opinion of the site to date. If you have opinions as to how it might be improved, send them our way via the comments link below. Or if you think it's too personal (aka Brian's writing sucks), send it to us in an email.


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commercials properties for sale in alpandeire
Click Here!
Commercial Property
Casa del Llanete (the house of the flat place) is a beautiful large 18th Century reformed Spanish Villa, retaining several original features. Large wooden doors, old tiled floors. This is a large property which has been used as a successful guest house for up to 8 people and as a family home. The house has double glazed windows and a large terrace on the 2nd floor with views down the valley. The main house has 4 bedrooms, 3 ensuite and two reception rooms, kitchen and an office. Attached to the main house there is a very old stone cottage with a stable and a totally reformed studio flat. This part can be reached by a separate gate or through the house and inner courtyard. Both houses have new rooves in keeping with the style of the property with chestnut beams and clay tiles and fully insulated, with modern plumbing, wiring and connected to mains electricity, water and sewage systems. Both houses also have wood burning stoves and low consumption electric radiators for winter months. The big house has a very large attic space, which has been used as an arts studio and for art courses. The property has a walled garden with Olive, Orange and Lemon Trees. There are several other spaces which could be reformed into ensuite rooms.The house is in the pretty white village of Alpandeire in the Genal Valley,12 miles from the historic city of Ronda and an hour from Marbella, 1.5 hours' drive from Malaga and the airport. The village is at the head of the valley with stunning views down to the coast and Morocco on clear days. Alpandeire has a well-known restaurant and hotel, and three other bars, two which serve tapas and main meals. There is a pharmacy and two shops and a large swimming pool with a bar which is open during the summer months.Casa del Llanete is ideally placed for day trips, as a base from which to visit the national parks of The Alcornocales, Sierra de Grazalema and Sierra de las Nieves as well as the cities of Ronda, Seville, Cadiz, Gibraltar and the coast and as a base for trips to Morocco.Reformed areas:Attic/workshop area 61.75sqmSmall house flat/studio 34.50sqmFirst floor consisting of 3 double bedroomsTwo shower/wc en-suite and/or shared 60.74sqmGround floor consisting of 1 double bedroomEn-suite/shared shower/wcOffice, guests lounge/additional bedroomMain lounge, large kitchen 96.40sqmSemi-reformed areas:Semi-sotano open fronted to the garden 41.00sqmUn-reformed:Small house used as almacen 35.42sqmSmall house stable 24.00sqmMain house stable 22.00sqmTotals:Reformed 253.39sqmSemi-reformed 41.00sqmUn-reformed 81.42sqmInterior 375.81sqmGarden 136.00sqmFirst floor terrace 40.00sqmSmall house patio 10.00sqmSmall house breakfast terrace 4.00sqmExterior 190.00sqmPlot area 377.00sqm


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The Harlem Globetrotters' Corey "Thunder" Law set a new world record for longest basketball shot, swishing it from 109 feet, 9 inches from the basket at U.S. Airways Center in Phoenix on Thursday.
"I didn't know what to think at first, because I had never tried a shot from that distance before," Law told the Globetrotters' official website. "It seemed nearly impossible."
Law and two other members of the Harlem Globetrotters alternated taking shots on Thursday for an hour before he made it.
Law stood sideways, took two steps with his left foot, then hurled the ball toward the basket with his right arm, breaking the previous record of 104 feet, 7 inches, which was set in February 2011.
Andy Kaufman alive? Jerry Lawler hopes so
Kings goalie Jonathan Quick has groin strain


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I was just thinking about all the diets that I have tried over the last 20 years and there seems to be a lot. Here is a sample:
Weight Watchers (like a zillion times)
Easy Slim
Gloria Marsall
Jenny Craig
Cohen's Lifestyle Diet (this one was one of the hardest that I attempted)
Acupuncture Diet
Admin Censored
Lilel Cordel's Weight Drink
Ultra Slim (drinks)
Cabbage Soup Diet
For all the money that I spent on these "fad" diets - I could have paid for liposuction ..LOL
What are some of the diets that you have all tried? Anyone else attempted the Cohen's Lifestyle diet? Let the discussion begin (told you all that I liked chatting .... )


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No matter how much food you can get away with eating in your youth, a slowing metabolism in your older years will stop you dead in your tracks. Surprisingly, a person's metabolism starts slowing down around the age of 20 [source: Medline Plus].
Torpid metabolism increases with age, which is why its effects accumulate over time. A slowed metabolism makes it easier to pack on pounds and bolsters risks for health problems associated with weight gain, such as heart disease and diabetes. This is why doctors monitor cholesterol and blood pressure frequently in older patients, even if they've been eating the same things for years without harm. As you can imagine, metabolism issues also make weight loss and gain harder for individuals who are overweight and underweight. Metabolism isn't known to be associated with urinary or bowel problems; rather these issues result from underlying health problems and muscles in the digestive system growing weaker with age [source: Mayo Clinic staff].
With age, you also might find it harder to get the sleep you need. Contrary to what some believe, older adults still need between seven and eight hours of sleep per day [source: American Academy of Family Physicians]. Our bodies' circadian rhythms and sleep cycles get thrown off with age for many reasons, including napping and insomnia.
But like other health-related changes we've discussed, hormones play a large role in metabolism and sleep-cycle adjustments. For sleep in particular, scientists think a decreased production in growth hormones and a sleep-related hormone called melatonin cause this age-related trend.
Oral health matters with age, too -- dentures or not. Head over to the next page to read more.


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A Taste of Power: A Black Woman's Story
Pantheon Books, 1992 - Social Science - 452 pages
I have all the guns and all the money. I can withstand challenge from without and from within. Am I right, comrades? With these words, Elaine Brown proclaimed to the assembled leadership of the Black Panther Party that she was now in charge. It was August 1974. The Panthers had grown from a small Oakland-based cell to a national organization that had mobilized black communities throughout the country. The party's achievements had won the support of millions of white liberals, but the violent assaults on the party by the police had brought death or imprisonment to many of its prominent members. Now its charismatic leader, Huey Newton, heading for refuge in Cuba, asked Elaine Brown to hold together a party threatened by internal conflict and the FBI. How she came to that position of power over a paramilitary, male-dominated organization and what she did with that power is an unsparing story of self-discovery. Growing up in a black Philadelphia ghetto and attending a predominantly white school, Elaine Brown learned firsthand the pain and powerlessness of being black and female. The Panthers held the promise of redemption. Elaine's account of her life at the highest levels of the Panthers' hierarchy illuminates more than the pain of sexism and the struggle against racism: The male power rituals she recounts carried the seeds of the Black Panther Party's destruction. Nowhere was this undertow more evident than in the complex character of Huey Newton, who became Elaine's lover and ultimately her nemesis. More than ajourney through a turbulent time in American history, this is the story of a black woman's battle to define herself. Freedom, Elaine Brown discovered, may be more than a politicalquestion.
What people are saying - Write a review
A TASTE OF POWER: A Black Woman's StoryUser Review - Kirkus
Engrossing, jolting, behind-the-scenes memoir by the woman who led the Black Panther Party to mainstream power-brokering without giving up the guns, and who ended up fleeing its violence: a stunning ... Read full review
Taste of Power: A Black Woman's StoryUser Review - Not Available - Book Verdict
When most people think of the Black Panthers they think of Huey Newton, Bobby Seale, or Eldridge Cleaver. Yet Brown worked for several years behind the scenes of the party, and when Newton fled to ... Read full review
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We Are the Girls Who Dont Take No Stuff
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America arms asked assassination baby became began Bert Schneider Betty Van Patter Big Bob Black Congress Black Panther Party black students Bobby Seale Bobby's Brothers Brown Bunchy Bunchy Carter California called campaign Central Committee chapter City Center colored comrades David door Elaine Eldridge Eldridge Cleaver Ericka Huggins everything eyes face father felt Fred Fred Hampton freeway fuck gang Geronimo ghetto girls guns Gwen hand head Huey Newton Huey's John Jordan Downs Karenga knew Larry laughed leadership Lionel Lionel Wilson listened lived looked Malcolm X Masai meeting mother motherfucker moved never niggers night Oakland organization party's pigs police prison revolution revolutionary seemed Shetterly Sister smiled songs Steve talk telephone tell thing thought told tried walked wanted week West Oakland woman women York Street


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Australian Adam Shot blows a four-shot lead to to give Ernie Els the British Open as the South African shoots a final-round 68 to finish on seven under par.
Australian Adam Scott came second after bogeying the last four holes to miss out on his first major championship.
"I'm very disappointed but I played so beautifully for most of the week," Scott said afterwards. "I certainly shouldn't let this bring me down."
Els, who won his second Open title and his fourth Major Championship, admitted he was fortunate to claim the victory.
"I feel for my buddy Adam Scott," Els said. "I feel very fortunate and you're going to win one of these, you have to much talent."
Fourteen-times major champion Tiger Woods finished tied third with fellow American Brandt Snedeker after his chances were wrecked by a triple-bogey on the sixth hole.
It was the first time since playing at The Open in 2003 that Woods had hit a triple bogey at a Major Championship.
Results from the British Open at the par-70 course on Sunday in Lytham
273 Ernie Els (South Africa) 67 70 68 68
274 Adam Scott (Australia) 64 67 68 75
277 Tiger Woods (U.S.) 67 67 70 73
Brandt Snedeker (U.S.) 66 64 73 74
278 Luke Donald (Britain) 70 68 71 69
Graeme McDowell (Britain) 67 69 67 75
Sports >


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RadioEyes84 wrote:Thank you Adam, I will now be obsessively checking every bite of cereal I consume from here until eternity.
I wasn't feeling too good anyways and that made it so much worse. Bad Adam!
But, not bad you, bad cereal. That ..is so gross. Poor thing, gonna be okay?


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Bands - Patrick Fontes
Pat Fontes Art Photography & Video
All photography by Patrick Fontes, PhD
prints available call or text 559.724.1757
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Walking Gaudalajara
Turner's Auto Wrecking
Fresno Brewing Company
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Bands, gigs and Rock n Roll photography samples
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The healthcare management world is filled with clinicians.
Unlike the corporate environment where most are trained and obtain a management
degree in business, the healthcare hierarchy is built on direct care providers.
Though direct knowledge of healthcare is a huge asset, most managers, once they
transition into this role, do not feel the necessity to grow as leaders. As
healthcare is becoming more structured, it is essential for management,
including Directors of Rehabilitation and Nursing to be committed to grow as
leaders and determined to build effective teams.
The ever-growing requirements of our governing bodies, such
as CMS and our professional organization, rarely complement requirements
mandated by our organizations. Many times this issue is further exacerbated for
Directors of Rehabilitation Services when one works for a contract company with
expectations not clearly aligned with in-house policy and procedures.
Most of us have worked for a boss that likes to hear themselves
talk, as well as the one that assumes everyone will just self-organize and just
"get things done." As I transitioned from being a staff physical therapist to
managing the department, I craved to work for a manager that can also lead. I
wanted to learn from that, be inspired and grow as a manager.
Initially, I struggled to find peers in the same positions
to bounce ideas off of. Most of them, though great clinicians, were managing
therapy minutes and not at all focused on growing and developing employees. I
knew how to maximize Resource Utilization Groups (RUG). I really wanted to
learn how to lead my team.
With seven successful years under my belt, I would suggest
taking the following steps for those managers seeking to train as leaders:
1. Know thyself. Recognize your weaknesses and have
measurable, timely goals to eliminate them. If you know your emotions take over
when you strongly disagree with a team member, learn how to minimize the
negative effect of adrenaline on your body. In the modern world, some of our
most important battles are fought with colleagues and even loved ones. Thus, we
need brain power. Not only know what helps you communicate most effectively,
but dive into questions such as: "Am a leader or a dictator?" "Do I delegate?"
"Do I speak more than I listen?"
2. Ensure you have great people as your key staff.
Know natural instincts of your subordinates and develop them accordingly. Many
research-based tests exist, as simple as a work performance questionnaire to
Myers-Briggs. Use this set of data to understand your team better.
3. You must know your stuff. Just like a project manager for an IT team,
DOR and DON must know the specs of their jobs and the jobs of their
subordinates. This includes knowing the CMS lingo, guidelines and requirements
and knowing how to maximize revenue. If you don't know, please don't act as if
you do; most of your staff will read through you, and you will spend great
effort rebuilding respect.
4. Have a plan if you want to succeed. What are the
goals for your organization, your team, your individual staff members and yourself?
Is the goal to start an outpatient clinic in your facility, to reach out to
community by providing better resources, to maximize communication between
departments? How do you get there?
5. Focus. Learn to prioritize.
6. Action is the key to take your achieve your goals.
Don't delay
Ineffective communication among healthcare providers leads
to disasters. Studies have shown that lack of effective communication leads to
serious mistakes in the healthcare world, yet evidence-based leadership and
communication training is hard to find. In fact, The Joint Commission in
America has reported that the primary root cause of over 70% of sentinel events
was communication failure (1). Moreover, The Department of Veteran's Affairs
(VA) National Center for Patient Safety in America has identified communication
failure in healthcare as the primary root cause of 75% of more than 7,000 root
cause analyses of adverse events and close calls (2, 3).
In healthcare, effective communication requires a wide range
of skills such as assertiveness, active listening, etc.


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What determines gold coin prices? The answer is complicated. Certainly market forces of supply and demand come into play. In addition, smaller gold exchanges often raise their gold coin prices to compensate for low sales volume, and larger gold exchanges charge gold coin prices close to or higher than retail. This of course depends on the integrity of your dealer, and illustrates the importance of buying gold from an exchange or dealer with a track record and expertise in the precious metal market.
What are the most commonly-traded gold coins? First is the Krugerrand, the coveted and most widely-held gold bullion coin, with 46,000,000 troy ounces in circulation. Other common gold bullion coins include the Australian Gold Nugget, Austrian Philharmoniker, Canadian Gold Maple Leaf, Chinese Gold Panda, French Coq d'Or, Mexican Gold 50 Peso, British Sovereign, and the American Gold Eagle.
What else can affect gold coin prices? The condition of the coin, its overall weight, and its rarity. For example, you could well pay a premium for collectible coins. The value of collectible coins is determined by two things. Firstly, the value of the gold itself, and second the value of the desirability, or collectability of the coin. These two factors may have nothing in common with each other. Thus, if the value of the coin you are considering buying is a result of its 'collectible' factor, you need to decide whether you want to invest in gold, or any of a host of other 'collectible' items on the market.
Because gold coin prices are subject to common market forces, and gold coins - unlike gold bars -are readily available, there is a danger in buying fake gold coins. Many dealers, large or small, honest and dishonest deal in the sale of gold coins. Fake gold coins are produced from gold-plated lead, and can be difficult to detect if you are not an expert. That is why it is important that you buy your gold from a gold dealer with a reputation for honesty and integrity. Certainly price alone should never be the determinant for buying gold coins.
An experienced and reputable gold broker will not just be seduced by short term gold coin prices. He or she will help you choose the right gold product mix for your portfolio, ensuring the prices you pay are in line with market expectations and your long term goals. In addition, a reliable, quality firm will not vanish one day like a ship in the night. The right firm - one built on solidity and longevity - will most likely be around to help you liquidate your gold assets when you decide it's time to let them go.
Discerning investors who want to know about gold coin prices and anything else having to do with gold depend on the quality of information and advice at goldprice.net to provide them with high quality analysis, market updates and gold details quickly and efficiently.
With gold coin prices around the world, market research, and direct access to a precious metals trading platform, http://www.goldprice.net/ is the website of choice for gold investors everywhere.


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Monday, July 5, 1999 Published at 14:39 GMT 15:39 UK
NHS under threat - doctors' leader
Dr Ian Bogle
The NHS may no longer be able to provide comprehensive healthcare, the leader of Britain's doctors has warned.
He also accused the government of setting out to deliberately undermine the public's confidence in doctors.
He said initiatives such as walk-in centres and the telephone helpline NHS Direct also posed a serious threat to the continued role of the GP.
Frightening pace of change
The pace of change was "frightening", Dr Bogle said, and doctors were "apprehensive and fearful for their future".
He also rounded on the government for leaking stories to the media before consulting the medical profession.
"It seems a government that puts public image ahead of policy initiatives that are properly planned and evaluated has failed to appreciate the consequences of its actions," he told the conference.
"The mismatch between patient demand and available resources is calling into question the ability of the NHS to provide comprehensive healthcare.
"Walk-in clinics may pander to public demand for 24-hour access to the NHS. But will they relieve pressure on an understaffed and under-resourced service?
"Will they undermine the GPs' gatekeeping role, which could alter the fundamental basis of general practice and have horrendous financial consequences for both secondary and primary care?"
Dr Bogle accused the government of being obsessed with waiting list targets that distorted clinical priorities to the detriment of patient care.
"As a result, hospital doctors are working at greater intensity than ever before as they struggle to cope with rising emergency admission and lengthening queues for outpatient clinics."
Morale is low
Doctors were becoming increasingly "disheartened and disillusioned", he said.
The problems had been compounded by the way the government and the media had overreacted to the Bristol heart babies scandal, Dr Bogle said, giving the impression that poor practice was far more common than it actually was.
"Many doctors feel increasingly unable to cope with the demands made on them by their professional lives," he said.
"They are being pressurised into working at ever-increasing intensity, often in order to meet imposed and irrelevant targets.
"I've bee a GP for 37 years. I still think it is the best job in the world, but if I were starting my carer now I would be thinking twice before signing up for the abuse, exploitation and oppressive bureaucracy that seem to have become part of a doctor's job description."
Health Contents
Background Briefings
Medical notes


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hello to all;
just bought this item ; claimed to be an original "factory made" item , a ball peen hammer / crowbar combination tool for, un crating you new slot machine when you receive it.
Totally unmarked & this one is chrome plated (for unknown reasons).
So, anyone heard of one before , or did I just bend over.... ? I didn't pay much for it.
Seller claims to have another one but , in "brass" with the Jennings logo on it. So far no photos of that one yet.
jeff H.


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A couple new things going on here at the world headquarters of Inky Obsessions -- aka -- my basement! I recently sold my much loved but sadly under used PanPastels and parlayed that money to buy myself a new webcam. Ustream here we come, and there goes the neighborhood! As some of you know, I was messing with my new Ustream account and seeing if I could hook up my camera, and literally before I knew what was going on, I had 15 friends online chatting with me and helping me figure out how this stuff works. The camera test turned into a bit of an impromptu show and tell session. That helped me get used to how to hold things in focus with the camera and in frame. I ended up dragging out my lampwork jewelry and doing a little show and tell about my previous life as a lampwork artist and jewelry designer. Sadly, I didn't record that session, but I promise I'll figure out how to do that before the next Ustream. Thanks so much to you guys -- you know who you are! It was a great help to me and I really appreciate you spending your time with me.
I also created a new Inky Obsessions FaceBook page for us. I hope you'll check it out and and 'like' it to keep up with everything going on with me that pertains to my art, YouTube videos, Ustream, and this blog.
I've also started following Twitter on a more regular basis since some of my ladies on the Ustream encourgaged me to. I'm @plynnt411 on Twitter. Hope to see you there too!
Most of you probably know that I've been a little obsessed with making gelli tape. I decided to try full sheets of tape on my 8x10 and 12x14 gelli plates. They turn out really cool. I made a book cover out of the 12x14 piece for one of my gelli journals. Here are some pics of what I've been playing with:
You may recognize these from my recent YouTube video -- the failed punch attempt? LOL
There's aluminum foil behind the blue/green sheet, and I used a couple colors of pearls behind the black/red/gold sheet. Really different looks.
These pics are from the print I made on the 12x14 gelli plate...
I love making these -- but be warned -- knowing when to stop is the tricky part! Still learning that one.
Ready for the big reveal!
Not being all that smart, as I've outlined many times prior, I missed taking pics of the full sheet pulled off and the application of the foil! The foil part was simple, I just used my bone folder to smooth out the foil as much as possible and was very careful about laying the print on it foil. Its only adhered by the stickiness of the tape that remains exposed, however, you need to be careful about the edges that are not sticky. I had to go back and add a bit of glue to stick those areas to the foil. It didn't seem to matter in the middle of the sheet. I used watered down Elmer's to glue the foil to the folder and to adhere the edges of the print that didn't stick to the foil.
I used a heavy duty manila folder to cover with the tape, same as I used to make my Gelli Journals.
Here's the full cover once adhered.
This was the only fabric that was close to the paint colors I used for this one, so it ended up being the cover for the interior.
Love the bright silver flash of the foil.
These are some random recent gelli prints from my playdate with my good friend Jodi Kinney. I was trying to use colors that I normally don't gravitate towards -- except for a couple -- like this first one! LOL
This was a clean up print. I had ghost images from prior pulls on the plate and used Golden Fluid Acrylic in Indian Yellow Hue and Quin Nickel Azo Gold.
More Quin Nickel Azo Gold on the chevron design. I'll be using this more now.
I love this iStencil I used for the pop of black on this one. It really gives a 3D look.
One of my favorites!
Love me some Pebeo shimmer!
I love the translucent gold layer over the top of these two pulls. I got this idea from the first Gelli Arts video I ever saw. Really beautiful in person.
I cleaned up the leftover gold on the plate with this print. I like the ghostly, scattered bits of gold you see on it.
That's it for now folks! I'm heading back to Canada again for work this Saturday morning, returning Thursday night. Last (known) travel for a while now, so I'm hoping after this trip we can explore more on Ustream. Don't forget -- if you want to follow me on Ustream, please join my crowd so you'll get the notifications when I plan to broadcast.
Have a great weekend and happy arting!!!