text:
How I deal with users who stealBy Philip Kaplan
I built an online service called DistroKid that makes it easy for musicians to get their music into iTunes, Amazon, Spotify, and Google Play.
It costs $19.99/yr for musicians to use, or is free if you refer 5 new users. The referral system works well, and is responsible for about 30% of daily new users.
Some users fake it though. They "refer" 5 people by making 5 bogus DistroKid accounts using the referral link we give them.
It's pretty easy for us to detect when a user does this. But we let them get away with it because I love seeing people use the system, whether they've paid for it or not. It's one of the most complex things I've ever built and I'm really proud of it. And there's nothing like telling a musician, "Congrats! Your music is in stores." Plus we get to send people money (100% of royalties) when someone buys their music. And sending people money they've earned is always a nice feeling.
Even when the user thinks they've scammed a free account out of us.
What's more, these sneaky users get the same level of service that legitimate users get. That means we respond to their customer service emails, work with stores if there are any problems with the music they've uploaded, and pay royalties monthly (all the accounting and finance happens on our end — it's a beast.)
But I was recently inspired by a story I saw about a police officer in Florida. She caught a woman shoplifting from a grocery store. Turns out the woman, who had no criminal record, was broke and didn't have food for her kids. So instead of taking the shoplifter to jail, the officer bought the shoplifter $100 worth of groceries, charged the woman with a minor misdemeanor, and let her go.
It's possible some of the musicians who want free DistroKid access can't afford it. Or maybe they're unable to get a credit card.
I'm happy to give these musicians the opportunity to get their music into stores. And maybe they'll even earn a living from it — the best art comes from struggle.
So today we're launching "Scholarship" accounts. When the system detects that you've just created 5 bogus referrals, you'll be presented with a notice that we caught you, but here's an option: Either pay the $19.99/yr, or sign up for a free Scholarship account if you can't afford it.
I think musicians will give these options some thought and choose the one that's right for them.
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An interesting approach to the problem. I like this guy.
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Google calendar support in Gnome 3 evolution ?
During my test and discovery phase of Fedora 15, I noticed that Evolution doesn't support anymore google calendar... is it on purpose ? why ?
Or do I need to install some other package ?
I found this feature in Fedora 14 something very useful !
I hope this is something that will be fixed in the final release.
In Fedora 14 (evolution-2.32.2-1.fc14.x86_64) :
In Fedora 15 :
Gnome 3 and my favorite window focus and raise behavior
Yesterday night I installed Fedora 15 Alpha to see and test the gnome-shell (gnome 3) improvements.
I stopped to test for one reason: I was not able to setup my favorite behavior for window's focus.
What I like (this is mandatory, that's also the one major reason why I don't use Mac OSX daily) is that the focus follows the mouse but doesn't raises the window !
After having "googled" a bit, I tried to install gnome-tweak-tool... but it didn't help for this task... :(
The solution is to use gconf-editor and changing the default value (click) of /apps/metacity/general/focus_mode to sloppy.
Now I'm very happy and I can continue my tests of Gnome 3.
MySQL facter
Yesterday I started to play with mcollective
I added some agents like service and facter.
I really liked the facter agent.... and then I decided to add facts for MySQL.
Of course I needed to learn some ruby first :-)
A fact is created for the version and all other MySQL facts come from the SHOW STATUS statement.
All the new facts start by mysql_
I plan to add new facts related to the replication like Seconds_Behind_Master
The current version is available on github here
Some usage examples:
with facter:
[root@delvaux facter]# facter mysql_version 2>/dev/null 5.5.10 [root@delvaux facter]# facter mysql_max_used_connections 2>/dev/null 3
with mcollective:
[root@delvaux facter]# mc-facts mysql_version Report for fact: mysql_version 5.0.51a-24+lenny5-log found 1 times 5.5.10 found 1 times Finished processing 2 / 2 hosts in 64.36 ms [root@delvaux facter]# mc-facts mysql_open_files Report for fact: mysql_open_files 16 found 1 times 18 found 1 times Finished processing 2 / 2 hosts in 2418.13 ms [root@delvaux facter]# mc-facts mysql_open_files -v Determining the amount of hosts matching filter for 2 seconds .... 2 Report for fact: mysql_open_files 16 found 1 times delvaux.maladree.be 18 found 1 times debian1.maladree.be ---- rpc stats ---- Nodes: 2 / 2 Pass / Fail: 0 / 0 Start Time: Sat Apr 02 00:11:46 +0200 2011 Discovery Time: 2001.84ms Agent Time: 1344.24ms Total Time: 3346.08ms [root@delvaux facter]# mc-facts mysql_threads_connected Report for fact: mysql_threads_connected 2 found 2 times Finished processing 2 / 2 hosts in 3270.86 ms [root@delvaux facter]# mc-facts mysql_threads_connected -v Determining the amount of hosts matching filter for 2 seconds .... 2 Report for fact: mysql_threads_connected 2 found 2 times debian1.maladree.be delvaux.maladree.be ---- rpc stats ---- Nodes: 2 / 2 Pass / Fail: 0 / 0 Start Time: Sat Apr 02 00:12:47 +0200 2011 Discovery Time: 2001.73ms Agent Time: 50.43ms Total Time: 2052.15ms
April 1st
My contribution to this heavy day for our rss readers is:
The April's Fool Centipede !
.:/ .:/ .:/ ,,///;, ,;/,,///;, ,;/,,///;, ,;/ o:::::::;;///o:::::::;;///o:::::::;;/// >::::::::;;\\\::::::::;;\\\::::::::;;\\\ ''\\\\\'" ';\''\\\\\'" ';\''\\\\\'" ';\
beware, don't believe all news today :)
Puppet and 64bits packages
Since I use puppet to manage my machines (and the machines of customers), I noticed that I had more packages installed then before, I noticed also obviously the same behavior in packages to update and bandwidth consumption during updates.
I realize that on 64bits machines, most of the time, the 32bits version of the packages managed by puppet were also installed.
This is what I did in my recipes before:
package { "corosync": ensure => "installed", require => Yumrepo["clusterlabs"]; }
This kind of package declaration installed then the two version of the package, in this case corosync and the dependencies too.
To avoid this I added the fact hardwaremodel and used the alias to keep my recipes consistent:
package { "corosync.$hardwaremodel": ensure => "installed", alias => "corosync", require => Yumrepo["clusterlabs"]; }
Hope this could help people having noticed the same behavior... or not :-)
High Availability Open-Xchange Server
Since I tested it 4 years ago, I like Open-Xchange (even if I'm not a java app fan). I like the layout and also all the feature it provides. The calendar is very complete.
For a customer where I set it up 4 years ago, I've migrated this service to a cluster running the last version.
The machines are fully installed via kickstart from a pxeboot (using cobbler)
This post describes the solution. The setup is based on CentOS and use the pair corosync / pacemaker as cluster.
The solution consists in two nodes where only one machine provides the service.
The components are :
- one ip balancing between the two nodes
- apache running on the "active/master" server (the server providing the service)
- open-xchange running on one node at the time
- funambol running on one node at the time
- openldap running on both machines in mirroring
- cyrus running on both machines as master/slave
- mysql running on both machines as master/master replication.
This is an overview of the crm:
Most of the needed steps are put in some puppet recipes to help the provisioning (you can find them on my github account)
With the cyrus-imapd delivered by default on redhat/centos, when the cyrus master starts without the slave running, cyrus won't reply for a long time... the bug we are hitting here as been resolved in newer version. I use cyrus-imapd 2.4.6, package from Simon Matter. You can find the source of this package here
MySQL & Friends Meetup at Fosdem 2011
Like last year I'll be present at the MySQL & Friends Meetup on Saturday evening of the Fosdem.
If you wanna share some experience around MySQL, please join !
You can register here
devops Meetup at Fosdem 2011
I will be present at the devops meetup of Fosdem 2011.
It will take place the Friday 4th February.
I hope to see you there if your are in the devops mind and if you wanna share some experience with us !
tomcat6 with APR on RHEL5.5
The other day at $CLIENT I had to install a webapp that needed tomcat6 and I found it was quite a hassle to install a packaged version on a 32bits RedHat RHEL 5.5.
During that painful process, lefred helped finding the magic package that solved it all so I felt it was only fair for me to publish the complete solution as a guest post on his blog!
devops... to package or not to package... this is the question !
During the Devopsdays in Hambourg, one of the most recuring discussion was about "packaging vs non-packaging, when and what?"
I won't try to convince people on what do do when, neither will I say I have the absolute best solution, this post just illustrates the solution I implemented with @zipkid.
Some points aren't finished yet, not implemented... or we have not yet decided which direction to follow.
First, let's start we the description of the environment:
A web based application (J2EE) with a MySQL backend, this product is delireved to us as a tgz package.
There are many interconections between gateways, applications, databases, map servers, etc... all these defined in configuration files.
We are using SLES from 10 to 11sp1 and we maintain a bunch of servers: physical machines of different types (dell, IBM blades,..) and virtual machines.
What tools do we use ?
- GNU Linux
- redmine + kanban board plugin to define the tasks
- a pxe installation system (autoyast in sles and cobbler in redhat/centos/fedora) to (re)install the machines
- puppet to deploy the configurations
- git to save all our configurations of puppet
- svn to save other things like specs files (this should be migrated to git)
- puppet-dashboard to have an overview of the deployed machines, an overview of puppet and define some variables we use in our recipes
- rpmbuild to ... euh... build the rpms :)
- jmeter to perform load test
- nagios to monitor the systems
What is the process then ?
To define the processe, we must first divide it in several categories :
- OS installation and maintenance
- "our business product"
To install a machine, we install a basic image on a machine (virtual or physical) via pxeboot using kind of kickstart files for redhat base system or autoyast for SLES.
We create the node in the dashboard, we add some variables if needed like ip, environment, task. We add the server in the autosign file of puppet.
In the dashboard and puppet we have several different environments that are linked to some git branches. This allow us to test recipes or settings without modifying the production.
Then puppet is started and takes care of everything : vlan interfaces, bonding the interfaces, dns resolving, install the needed package and change the configuration files via puppet.
Nagios checks are also configured by puppet.
For our product, we first create the package (rpm) from the tgz provided by the developers, and put it in our own repository.
After having installed it on the test servers we start some load test scenario.
Back to the big question then: do we package ?
The answer is definetively YES ! To keep a control of what is installed on the system (package version, release and not having orphaned files).
BUT the default configuration files are overidden by the puppet run. conf files, xml, shell scripts, cron jobs are indeed provided by puppet and available in git (which provides us version control too)
Of course puppet runs constantly on every machine to constantly guarantee the desired state, both on production and on the test machines!
This is only dangerous if you don't test your puppet recepies enough during the development phase.
We don't start the puppet client in deamon mode but we start the process via cronjobs to avoid any memory usage issues which we encountered with puppetd in daemon mode.
How to improve ?
We would like to improve the load test and automate the build, installation and test on the test server of "our product".
We plan to use hudson for the CI with jmeter for unit tests and why not tsung for bigger load tests ?
Some open question we still have if we deploy a CI system is how to link a build version with a puppet configuration ? Using a new branch in git linked to a new environment in puppet (and puppetdashboard) doesn't seem to be an optimal solution. We opted then with a git tag corresponding to the build release and only the last one in testing is deployed on the test machines. If needed we can rollback to a previous tag and package.
It would be also great to automatically test our puppet recipes with a tool like cucumber-puppet.
I think we are going in the right direction, but the road is still long to a fully automated processes with an overview control of all aspects.
But we all agree that puppet already helped us a lot to maintain all our servers.
This is a schema illustrating the process :
1. developers provides a tgz with their application (a java compiled application, they also use Hudson to test their package)
2. the "DEVOPS" machine is started ! Devs and Ops collaborate to write the specs for the rpm package and the puppet recipe (dependencies, configuration settings)
3. test the package build and the puppet recipe (with cucumber-puppet)
4. add the package to the rpm repository and commit the puppet recipe to git (and the rpm spec to svn in our case)
5. puppetmaster gets updated with the new recipes
6. this is only in case of a new machine, the machine is automaticaly installed via pxe
7. puppet client installs the needed packages and configure the system as needed
8. puppet also configures nagios and nagios automaticaly startsmonitoring the machine and the services, hudson also starts unit tests and load tests if needed
9. same as point 6
10. puppet installs the needed packages and configuration to the production machine. it also configures nagios to monitor the machine and its services

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Is California still golden?
Has the Golden State lost its glow for you? Have you been affected by unemployment? Have you lost your home? Do you trust your elected representatives to solve the many problems? Has your business suffered because of these problems? We want to hear your stories. Please write to us at email@example.com
In 2009, managers of FMI Products LLC in Santa Ana bought the company through the bankruptcy courts to save more than 150 jobs.
But California restrictions on wood-burning fireplaces in homes that go into effect next year could kill a big chunk of the fireplace manufacturer's business, said Chief Executive Mark Klein.
Fireplace manufacturers, including FMI, and trade associations have worked with federal, state and regional air quality agencies trying to meet stricter standards and still stay in business, he said. "We developed a fireplace that was even better than the government standard, and now they're talking about further tightening the requirements."
The uncertainty of continually changing regulations and lack of balance between what's feasible and the benefit regulators seek make doing business in California difficult, he said.
Klein and other local business owners were responding to It's Your Business questions about how California's government helps or hinders their ability to stay in business. Their responses emphasized the taxes and regulations that add to their costs and frustrations of doing business. No one came up with ways in which the state helps business.
"I'm not sure if it's a question of what California can do to help FMI succeed, but more of what California shouldn't do," Klein said. "California is chasing business away with taxes and regulation."
Even government contracts that would benefit business are elusive, several business owners said.
Santa Ana consultant Rachel Owens of Succession Strategies, wanted to become an expert in doing business with the state in order to help her clients. Many government agencies publicize potential contracts through small-business events and groups.
After attending four "doing business with the state" conferences, watching 15 webinars and reading dozens of "how-to" pages on agency websites, "I have not been able to figure out how to help our clients do business with the state," Owens said. "It is a huge bureaucratic maze. The inefficiency of multiple channels for purchasing must cost the state billions of dollars each year."
Mike Beard of Value Based Project Management LLC in Buena Park and Adrienne Escoe of Irvine staffing company Escoe Bliss Professional Resources both mention another problem with trying to win state contracts.
"If you're not located in Sacramento, getting work through the state is impossible if you are not the large prime contractor," Beard said.
State agencies insist on that geographic limit "despite the ability to perform the work elsewhere in the state," Escoe added.
Small-business owners and entrepreneurs are in survival mode because they expect higher taxes, Laguna Hills accountant Mervin Anderson said of his clients. "Any increase in personal income tax rates also increases the tax burden on these business owners. One annoyance is the $800 minimum tax on all corporations, partnerships and LLCs doing business in California even if they are losing money. Does that make sense?"
Comments are encouraged, but you must follow our User Agreement
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text:
The Professor just lined up some awesome new courses for the month of July and August, including our sixth WordPress Developer Course (July 31, Aug 1, 3, 4, 2012). We'll be hosting a special preview for the WordPress Developer Course on July 18th, so be sure to register and attend for a chance to win a free annual membership to WebDesign.com!
Here are just a few of the courses you won't want to miss:
Everything you ever wanted to know about Builder Child Themes
July 3, 2012 – Tuesday – 11am (CDT)
Overview: Whether you are a multi-year veteran or brand new to using the Builder theme from iThemes.com, this is one of the most important classes you can attend. Learn how child themes interact with the parent theme and what you can (and can't) do in a child theme. We'll also cover the best practices of working with Builder and child themes, with a sneak peak at some unreleased child theme codes.
Skill Level: Beginner to Intermediate
Requirements: Basic understanding of Builder
Register (free course)
How did they do that…
June 17, 2012 – Tuesday – 11am (CDT)
Overview: …and how do I do www.blacknegative.com on my site? The BlackNegative.com website has a very unique navigation and a parallax scrolling background. Learn how to integrate "touch" into your navigation to simulate the "pulling" and "pushing" of pages.
Length: 2+ hours
Skill Level: Intermediate
Requirements: Basic knowledge of jQuery, CSS, and WordPress
WordPress Developer Course PREVIEW
July 18, 2012 – Wednesday – 11am (CDT)
Overview: Join Benjamin Bradley as he talks about WebDesign.com's upcoming SIXTH WordPress Developer Course. Several new modules have been added to this new and updated WordPress Developer Course. Register and attend for a chance to win a free annual membership to WebDesign.com!
Length: 1 hour
Skill Level: Everyone
Register (free)
Build Your Own Server
July 24, 2012 – Tuesday – 5-7pm (CDT)
Overview: Get ready for an advanced server class that will take you deep into the belly of the server beast. Learn how to setup your very own VPS server that can run for $2/month. With a special deal through SSHVM.com, we will go through the process of preparing the linux installation, installing Nginx (instead of Apache), configuring PHP to run a special way so it talks better with Nginx, securely setup MySQL, harden your server with a firewall and get WordPress up and running. You won't want to miss this advanced premium class.
Length: 2+ hours
Skill Level: Intermediate to Advanced
Requirements: Basic understanding of linux commands
This summer is going to be a great opportunity to sharpen your web design and development skills, so mark your calendars for this new training from WebDesign.com. Check out the WebDesign.com events page for a full schedule and listing of the upcoming webinars.
All webinars (and recordings) are included in the WebDesign.com Annual Membership, so become a member today to get access to all of this great training!


text: Went to my first San Francisco Giants game on June 14! The day after Cain's perfect game. Everyone was still hyper from the night before so the atmosphere was electrifying. It was a bit unfortunate that we lost though. Before heading to the game, my sister and I decided to try the Porchetta sandwich from the Roli Roti truck. We heard great things about it and after seeing some pictures online we were dying to try it. After biting into it though, it was disappointing. The pork belly was dry and the onion jam thing was gross. The only good bits were the salty skin which we didn't really get a lot of. Maybe it was an off day but the Porchetta sandwich was a huge let-down.


text:
The streets of Darlinghurst are so green and full of lush plant life. I love these cascading planter boxes – aren't they stunning? ….got me planning all kinds of garden renovation when I get home!
Just a quick THANKYOU to all the Sydney folk for your wonderful suggestions and recommendations… had a fabulous day in Surry Hills / Darlinghurst today checking out all the good interiors shops (many of which were recommended by you!). Many photos and a little shopping guide to come next week! (would love to post it whilst I'm here but those shopping guides really take a lot of my time!).
Anyway, thanks again… I am here til next weekend so keep 'em coming!
Tomorrow you can look forward to some international news… just to shift the focus slightly :)


text:
Miss Law was listening to me and Snitch talking about how we'd like to be called into the office and caned by the headmistress. She likes the idea too! Miss Law suggested trying it in the changing room. She even told us to keep her waiting to any her. It was only a test but i sneaked two cameras in, although the angles aren't right but it still catches the fun and games. Not a planned out scene, but i love watvhing it so posted it. See it on www.strictladies.com
Miss Lisa dealing with Snitchington in her kitchen. We did two different versions of this film with different starts and finishes. See the lovely leggy and very heavy handed Lisa on www.strictladies.com
Jo gives Snitchington some good old fashioned home style discipline. She takes off her slipper and gives it to him hard. Then just for good measure takes a belt to him. See the stunning and very heavy handed Jo on www.strictladies.com
Jo gives Snitchington some good old fashioned home style discipline. She takes off her slipper and gives it to him hard. See the stunning and very heavy handed Jo on www.strictladies.com
Full film where Lisa deals with Snitchington at home across her knee. See the stunning and very heavy handed Lisa on www.strictladies.com
Lisa deals with Snitchington at home across her knee. See the stunning and very heavy handed Lisa on www.strictladies.com
Video of Beth belting the living daylights out of Donald, good and hard. See the stunning and very hard Beth on www.strictladies.com
Video pf Beth dealing with Donald, good and hard. See the stunning and very hard Beth on www.strictladies.com
Beth dealing with Donald, good and hard. See the stunning and very hard Beth on www.strictladies.com
The full film, Miss Carter really lets him have it. A really hard spanking then a good hard belting. See the stunning and very very heavy handed Miss Carter on www.strictladies.com
Miss Carter really lets him have it. A really hard spanking then a good hard belting. See the stunning and very very heavy handed Miss Carter on www.strictladies.com
Version 1 of the film of Miss Lisa on form up at her house. Now showing on www.strictladies.com
Miss Lisa on form today up at her house. Now showing on www.strictladies.com
Miss Lisa at a shoot that was done last year. She makes so many films with us that aren't planned or that are ones where she's wanted to stay and play "after work" and I just leave video camera's running. This is one such one where me and Snitch had been messing about all day and she says "I've not done with you two yet. on www.strictladies.com
Miss Carter turned me over her knee and gave me such a hand spanking. Harder than most women can do with a hairbrush. Note her having to trap me to keep me still. See the stunning and very very heavy handed Miss Carter on www.strictladies.com
Miss Carter turned me over her knee and gave me such a hand spanking. Harder than most women can do with a hairbrush. See the stunning and very very heavy handed Miss Carter on www.strictladies.com
Beth is similar to Miss Carter in a lot of ways. She's tall, well built and has good hand to eye co'ordination. Top that off with a willingness to lay it on hard and you have a great domme. Her belting and caning is really hard and she likes it. See the stunning and very hard Beth on www.strictladies.com
Beth is similar to Miss Carter in a lot of ways. She's tall, well built and has good hand to eye co'ordination. Top that off with a willingness to lay it on hard and you have a great domme. Her belting and caning is really hard and she likes it. See the stunning and very hard Beth on www.strictladies.com
Miss carter turns me over her knee for a good spanking on www.strictladies.com
Miss carter turns me over her knee for a good spanking on www.strictladies.com
Beth giving Snitch the hiding he deserves. A trip over he knee and a good hard belting...really really hard. See the stunning and very hard Beth on www.strictladies.com
Beth has been in today and laid waste to Donald and Snitch. I'd forgot how hard her hand was. On top of that her belting was awsome...really really hard. See the stunning and very hard Beth on www.strictladies.com
I really like filming Miss lisa, nearly as much as I like being her naughty boy. You always end up with ringing ears and a red backside. Full photoset and film now showing on www.strictladies.com
Anna always gets angry when she's punishing you. She thinks of a man who's pissed her off and punishes you for it. So it's always so real. I always forget how much her slipperings hurt too. I get over her knee then wham...ohh shit. Photoset video now showing..
It's his own fault really. Cheekiest sub I've ever seen. far worse than me and I'm bad. He can't keep his mouth shut so it goes from a hard spanking to a full on thrashing with the weighted priest belt. Photoset and both videos of the whole ordeal now showing..
Miss lisa, She loves turning me or Snitch across her knee. Even if Katie's over at her house and I go and pick her up, she'll spank me. Sometimes she'll ask me if I want spanking. Sometime's she'll just tell me to face the wall because I'm getting spanked. Like it or not. She's wearing the same dress as she wore one of those times.
Anna bends snitch over and canes him hard.
Lisa takes me to one side while Miss Strictland deals with someone else and puts me across her knee. The second of her wearing her new spanking vest that someone had done for her. Then doing just what it says on the shirt..
Lisa dealing with the second naughty boy. he must have really pissed her off because she took an extra heavy strap to him.
Lisa dealing with the first naughty boy. The scalding, foot tapping, spanking the slippered hard.
This nothing like a good tanning on the bare bottom from a woman who loves giving one...or two!
Miss Carter turning me over her knee and spanking the living daylights out of me.
Trisha takes her naughty boy across her knee and spanks his bare bottom hard.
Trisha takes her naughty boy across her knee and spanks his bare bottom hard.
Lisa taking me over her knee.
Elle making sure me and Donald can't sit down.
Elle making sure me and Donald can't sit down.
Miss Law slippers his bare bottom good and hard!
Miss Carter and Lisa take turns dealing with a naughty boy over at Lisa's house. Very hard hand spanking from two heavy handed ladies.
Miss Parker knows just how to deal with naughty boys.
Elle making sure Donald can't sit down on his way home.
Miss Law giving it Donald good and hard on his bare bottom!
Elle dealing with Donald the old fashioned way.
Lisa giving good hard bare bottom slippering!
The full HD film over Miss Law in action.
Miss Law slippers and belts his bare bottom good and hard!
She likes belting bottoms and she like doing it hard!
She likes tanning bottoms this one and there no complaints over how she dresses to do it!b
The film of Miss Lisa spanking and slippering me for saying no to her...she really made this hurt!b
Miss Lisa spanks and slippers me for saying no to her...she really made this hurt!b
Miss Law belts two naughty boys bare backsides!
Miss King practice=ing caning on me.
Ava gives it Donald good and hard.
Miss King giving a spanking and slippering in her panties and a vest top. We'd discussed a big step sister sort of spanking. Her idea was just dressed in her panties and vest top. I think it's realistic.
Bumper update of Ava and Miss Law, photos and videos.
Miss Law on the hottest day of the year, selects the XH strap and picks on Donald!
Miss Law on the hottest day of the year, giving a good hard over the knee spanking!
Miss King giving a spanking and slippering in her underwear. She's another pretty one that likes to lay it on hard. So when your filming with her a 5 minute over the knee hand spanking soon turns into 10 or 20 minutes of hand spanking then her trying different slippers and hairbrushes. A little jem she does is, spank you with something then after you've had it properly off her she decides that she wants to see if it's better with something else! Lucky us!
HD video of Jo spanking and slippering.
Jenna dressed in her pyjamas slippering her naughty boy hard.
Jenna gives a good old fashioned spanking dressed in her pyjamas.
Two hot strict women take turns with the hairbrush.
Two hot strict women who like putting men across their knee.
Anna on strictladies.com. time for the severe caning that Donald knew would come..
Anna on strictladies.com. Her thing is real severe punishment. So when the idea of a reformatory scene came up she couldn't wait. No one ever sits comfortably after meeting Anna. Donald knew her was in for for her severest punishment (as usual). She started with the Glasgow strap but we all knew a caning was coming too, but it was clear how much she made the strap hurt from watching Donald..
Either one of these means a sore arse. But the two of them at once!
As if her hands not hard enough she has to start with the slipper. ooOOOWWW.
Miss Parker on strictladies.com she's stroppy, she's heavy handed and we think she's ace.
Full HD video of Miss Lisa giving a hairbrush spanking.
Miss Lisa in leggings giving a good old fashioned spanking across her knee.
Miss Parker on strictladies.com doing her sitter act, that means bare bottom over her knee with her crossing her legs to raise the bottom.
Miss Lisa making sure I remember this trip across her knee on strictladies.com
Miss Parker on strictladies.com
Miss Parker on strictladies.com
Anna on strictladies.com giving Donald a hard slippering across her kne then belting him hard.
Anna on strictladies.com. You know for a fact that once Anna's got you, you wou't be sitting down after. Donald knows this and always asks for her severest caning. Which she's always delighted to deliver..
Anna on strictladies.com giving Donald a very sore backside.
She was only playing but still laid it on severely making sure it hurt like hell.
A slippering off her is bad enough, but a hairbrush is just awful painful punishment.
It's fairly hard to explain how much being slippered across Miss Lisa's knee hurts. Also a few people don't believe me, but it does. It's really really painful and she just holds you down and gives it to you.
Miss Roberts on strictladies.com
The lovely Miss Lisa giving a good old fashioned spanking across her knee.
Miss Roberts taching me a lesson. See Miss Roberts on strictladies.com
Trisha on strictladies.com. Looking fantastic in that retro underwear and giving it hard to the naughty boy across hid bare bottom. See the very buxom Trisha on www.strictladies.com
The lovely long legged Lisa making sure I don't sit down after seeing her.
Miss Roberts giving a good old fashioned bare bottom spanking. See Miss Roberts on strictladies.com
Trisha on strictladies.com. Looking fantastic in that retro underwear and giving it hard to the naughty boy across her knee. She slippers, hairbrush spanks and paddles him very hard. See the very buxom Trisha on www.strictladies.com
Miss Robert's first appearance on strictladies.com. If there was a prize for the woman who liked spanking mens bottoms over the most. She'd definatly be in the running! See Miss Roberts on strictladies.com
Trisha on strictladies.com. The buxom bottom whacker giving it hard, spanking, slippering and belting photos and full video. See the very buxom Trisha on www.strictladies.com
Trisha on strictladies.com. She loved the idea of giving a spanking to man for staying in the pub all night. So she's sat on the sofa waiting. I made her wait a bit longer than she liked to wind her up (cause I'm all about the method acting..lol) Result, a right ear bashing and pulled over her knee. See the very buxom Trisha on www.strictladies.com
The lovely leggy Yorkshire lass gives Donalds backside a damn good hiding.
Trish on strictladies.com. She was in the studio this afternoon. She wasn't even there to give any spankings. She's a friend of one of our main women and had spoke to her about spanking men. So asked Katie if she could "Tan a mans arse". She's a stroppy madam and my arse is still hurting because of her. See the very buxom Trisha on www.strictladies.com
Anna on strictladies.com thoroughly enjoying herself at the expense of poor Donalds backside.
Ava knee on strictladies.com. Having just had this particulat naughty boy over knee, decides it just wouldn't be right if she didn't give him the full benefit of the full swing of her right arm. See the magnificent Miss Ava spanking on strictladies.com
Going over Ava knee on strictladies.com. Ava loves spanking and slippering and no matter how big you are, she'll put you over and spank your bottom. See the magnificent Miss Ava spanking on strictladies.com
Anna on strictladies.com If he wasn't already crying he soon would be. She loves caning and is always very cruel. When she see's it hurting it brings a huge smile to her face.
Madam on strictladies.com giving an after shoot thrashing. She wasn't happy that I'd not been thrashed during the days shooting. So Ava ordered me over the desk for a good hard dose of the strap and cane.
Miss Lisa on strictladies.com giving Donald just what he deserves. A hard slippering across her knee followed by a damn good caning.
Anna on strictladies.com. Anna is hard, very hard and likes to lay it on very severely so she see's them cry.
Carmen on strictladies.com. We made this about 7 years ago and filmed it in full HD. Great footage that has been on the site in a small mp4 file since it was first posted. Now in big clear 720HD. The spanking and slippering is on now, the caning video which shows a great view of her walking up the stairs will be up later this week. Thats ontop of the normal updates every 3 days!
Ava on strictladies.com. Making sure this miscreant leaves with a very sore behind.
Anna on strictladies.com. This is Donalds second meeting with Anna so he knew what he was in for. Harsh words and a very sore behind.
Ava on strictladies.com. he's not so lucky now. She thrashed the living daylights out of him. That slipper doesn't look much, but it's got a really dense sole and hurts like you wouldn't believe. That belt, although only narrow, it's another that hurts badly. In Ava's hands it's an ordeal. See the magnificent Miss Ava on strictladies.com
Again!...Thats Donald, getting to go over Ava knee on strictladies.com. Ava loves spanking, you can just tell when your watching her. So it's no surprise that she's so good at it. See the magnificent Miss Ava spanking that lucky little swine on strictladies.com
Anna on strictladies.com. We've known Anna for a while now so we know whe's severe and only let hardened subs who genuinly want thrashing in to her shoots. This one got thrashed and then thanked her afterwards. She went balistic because she likes to see us sorry, made him go back over and started again. A really really strict woman.
Ava on strictladies.com What a magnificent strict lady. She loves giving punishment and is damn good at it as Donald finds out in his first. This was done about more or less straight after she arrived. We were sat down having a coffee talking about stuff in general and what was going to happen and she puts Donald across her knee. No cameras are set up at this point so I ask her to wait if she's going to spank him so I can film it. So it take me a bout 10 minutes to set up the camera's and she begins. Brilliant across the knee action from a magnificent domme.
Anna on strictladies.com caning the living daylights out of one of her naughty subs. She's utterly cruel with him canes him well past that point of him being in tears.
Madam Ava on strictladies.com today. This is something that she just did off the cuff. About 5 minutes earlier just as she was about to spank Don. I had to interupt the start because I'd done something that needed fixing first. She remembered and called me out from behind the camera after and put me across her knee.
Anna on strictladies.com picking the biggest brush "Mmm, this looks fun". For her it might be!. This sub is a tough customer and she really hurt him.
Madam Ava's section opens on strictladies.com today. She's intelligent, well spoken and very strict as lucky Don finds out.
Lisa thoroughly enjoying herself and laying it on hard. See Lisa on strictladies.com
Anna on strictladies.com caning naughty Donald to tears. Anna's such a severe punisher that Donald is terrified of her.
Anna on strictladies.com belting the living daylights out of naughty Donald.
Anna on strictladies.com giving slippering. She always punishes for genuine reasons. In this case the sub wasn't the person who'd annoyed her but her got punished for...and then some. The slipper is just the start.
Miss Newman laying it on and making sure he won't be sitting down any time soon, on strictladies.com
Scarlotte giving the hairbrush on strictladies.com
Miss Newman dealing with her sub on strictladies.com
Lisa laying it on hard. People always seem to under estimate her ability to punish hard when they meet her. I think it's because she's so nice and down to earth. But she's got a no nonsense side to her and if your there to get punished, thats just what you get. See Lisa on strictladies.com
The cane is Lindsay's particular favourite when it come to discipline. She lays it on hard and always gets the result she's after. See Lindsay's on strictladies.com
Lindsay's on strictladies.com taking a slipper to this mans bare backside and laying it on hard.
Lisa on strictladies.com I really should learn to keep my mouth shut. Talking on the way over to the studio, I mentioned it had been a long time since I'd had the hairbrush from her. Lisa chose the ebony one. Doesn't make much sound but hurts more than any other. when those pictures were being taken i really wished I'd not mentioned it.
Anna on strictladies.com giving giving a hard over the knee slippering. She'd already given me a slippering in this outfit but it was while she chatted with Katie. So she wanted to give me a "short sharp shock". She amazes me, how she can go from nice and calm to blazing anger in the blink of an eye.
Lisa on strictladies.com at home and about to her naughty boy across her knee.
Anna on strictladies.com disciplining a sub very severely. This woman is so strict and severe and has so far broke every subs she's punished.
Lisa on strictladies.com taking a hapless man in hand. Starts with the slipper then fetches the cane.
Anna on strictladies.com She's now well established as a very severe caner so her severity in this comes as no surprise.
Anna on strictladies.com giving a slippering that he'll never forget.
Miss Lisa on strictladies.com taking a cane to her naughty boys bare bottom.
Lisa on strictladies.com gets a visit from aunty Mel. That means someone is going to get a very sore bottom. Lisa and Aunty Mel get him in the kitchen and take turns putting him across their knee. Aunty Mel starts off, preferring to use her hand. When it's Lisa's turn she ask's Aunty Mel to fetch the punishment slipper. Which Aunty Mel is only too keen to do. Anyone who's been slippered by Miss Lisa knows how much it hurts. She pins you down on her knee and inflicts unbelievable pain onto your bare bottom. No matter how much it's hurting you and how much you beg her to stop. It only stops when she's happy.
Lisa on strictladies.com takes her naughty boy into the kitchen, puts him across her knee and spanks his bare bottom.
Lisa on strictladies.com I visited her today and she really let me have it. I supposed to have done housework for her, then get spanked after she inspected it. I never got chance. She had me across her knee almost from the second I arrived.
Anna on strictladies.com giving hard punishment caning.
This is a good half an hour before the shoots starts. They were there to do a fem sub shoot with Tamara punishing Miss Carter and Monroe. They were sitting down having coffee and chatting about nail varnish or shoes (or what ever women talk about) Then carter pipes up, "Lets tan his arse". I was getting cameras ready so asked if they could just wait until I set some up to catch it. Miss Carter nice woman that she is says "Hurry up or else!" See the pair of them on strictladies.com.
Kim giving a hard bare bottom hairbrush spanking and caning on strictladies.com.
Over Anna's knee on strictladies.com
Lindsay's on strictladies.com She's known for being a really severe caner. With a hand like her's though and the will to spank so hard, I think she'd also be a popular spanker. My trip across her knee genuinely hurt and she made a point of keeping me there longer than she did with her own sub. She said because it was my first, I needed it harder and for longer.
Anna on strictladies.com. Anna always picks the slipper that hurts the most. So a trip over her knee is a very painful experience, which is just what she wants.
Anna on strictladies.com. The very first stroke I felt her give with a cane, I knew she was a good caner. Since then she's got better and better. Very hard and accurate. She also genuinely loves it. You can see a sadistic joy like smile as she's caning a mans bottom. Anna also punishes for real transgressions. She asks what you have done wrong. If you can't think of anything she punishes you for something that has effected her in real life. She doesn't make it up, it's always something that's pissed her off. This caning was for not taking his shoes off when coming into her house and trampling mud in. She thrashes the living daylights out of him. She started the caning with her heels on but took them off because the arm of the sofa was too low to get the best swing onto his bottom. Once the shoes were off, she was brutal.
Anna on strictladies.com. This was at her first shoot and it was this scene when I thought to myself "this woman really likes it". If I'm getting punished by a woman I always give them some cheek and try and piss them off so they will go harder. With Anna though I really regretted it because she was already hard, but just went ballistic. I'm sure she was trying to knock me over the chair with the slipper. Anyway Anna is a great disciplinarian and this is a great domestic discipline feature.
Lindsay's on strictladies.com caning her sub, showing no mercy to his bare backside.
Kim on strictladies.com.
Anna on strictladies.com. This woman likes spanking and you can tell. You tell how much she enjoys it. If your across her knee and you can tell from the way she grips your waist and lands her hand heavily. if your watching her you'll see, even if she's angry you'll see satisfaction written all over her face.
Lindsay's on strictladies.com giving her sub a caning session he won't forget. As usual Lindsay's thrashes the living daylights out of him knowing no mercy to his bare backside.
Anna is the newest lady on strictladies.com. As I've already said Anna really likes giving punishment. You can see it, not only when she does it, but also when she's getting ready for it. This is a memorable trip over her knee. It was long and very painful but memorable in the general way she carried it out. When we discussed the scene before. Anna asked if she could use a real reason that someone needed punishing for. I said yes, brilliant do it, you've got total control. With that her face and attitude sort of changed from her normal friendly smile to a quite angry look. Then she say's "You trampled on my flower bed's". What followed was shouting and pain. I got genuinely spanked because I think someone has trampled on her flower beds because she was truly angry. The video is 8 or 9 minutes. it would have been about 5 but after she'd finished she decided she hadn't finished at all and pick up another brush.
Anna is the newest lady on strictladies.com. Out of all the women I've been caned by (that's a lot). She gave me one of the hardest first time caning's I've had. {Meaning it was her first time caning me}. Some women just happen to have all the things that make good caners. Good hand to eye co ordination, good smooth arm movement. Not least, a willingness or true desire to lay it on hard. Notice her knee's bending as she brings it down. Like a few of our other ladies. She's also naturally strict. I tried playing up a few times today and she had none of it. Only one person was in charge and it wasn't me. Not only was she great at punishing. She even had her own scenes in mind. Anna see's herself as a woman who deals with young thugs. Her idea is that she deals with them instead of dishing out asbo's (for those outside of the UK and asbo is an order that gets put on petty criminals to restrict their movements and such).
Kim is the new lady on strictladies.com. She liked that paddle and made the most of it and clearly enjoyed giving every single whack.
Kim is the new lady on strictladies.com. She's strict and knows how to deal with men who need punishment.
Lisa on strictladies.com dealing with her one of her naughty boys at home.
Lindsay's on strictladies.com She's really into severe caning and comes here about once a month to be filmed. When you here about lifestyle disciplinarians, she's the real deal. When ever her boyfriend does something wrong she doesn't get mad. She keeps her cool and says "Go and fetch the cane". When you see her caning, you can tell she means it. It's total real punishment. She's not a model or a prodomme. Just a young lady who gives hard corporal punishment. Her boyfriend is hard as nails and he takes some really severe caning's from cold, but she never stops until he cries and he always does. After this wanted to do some spanking so told me get over her knee. Apparently spanking isn't something she does too much off. She says she enjoys putting a man across her knee and really likes to spank his bare bottom, but caning always comes first.


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Word: Quatre-Colonnes
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Pronunciation in French [fr] Back to French
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Quatre-Colonnes = Four Columns
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Diner dArgento
26784 US Rt. 33
A retro silver diner that serves American and authentic Italian cuisine. Casual, sit down dining serving lunch and dinner. All food is made fresh to order; we are not a fast food greasy spoon diner. Serving flame broiled half pound burgers, soups, salads, grilled sandwiches and Italian entrees. Try our hand-filled cannolis and Italian gelato! Dont forget to take a spin on the jukebox while dining. Family owned and operated since 2008. Open Thursday - Monday 11am-7pm. Closed Tues and Wed


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- sally ali
- Port Said
- Egypt
This conversation is closed.
Can we transfer our DNA to a sound and then discover its language?
we all know what our DNA is composed of, and also know that we can, by using spectroscopy technique, get spectra of chemical compounds which is specific of each of them... SO, by binding these two ideas together, we will have spectra for A,T,C,G The 4 nucleotide in DNA, transferring them into sound by taking their frequencies and put them into a PC program of sound, then we get sounds describe the sequences of our DNA nucleotides.
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Apr 4 2012: I do agree with Felipeve,
except from scientific reasons we all live in a musical world, the music comes out of our personality,thinking and behavior..in this regard there is a post in following blog which I read and became quite fascinated
hope you read and like it.
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This 5-5-5 portal is destined for anchoring in the energetic structures of major change, both on a personal and planetary level. It is a bridge for the changes at both the Cosmic/Galactic level and the Gaia/Planetary level through the portal of the Divine Human.
Your body needs to be prepared to be the physical anchor for this major change to pulse through the conscious living cellular structure of your body matrix. Your center point, the heart, which is the true bridge for all conscious change on this planet.
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One of the most exciting things so far, and there have been a lot, while still in the energies of the Spring Equinox and the New Moon, a Planetary Parallel Reality collapsed on Saturday March 24, 2012! This is exciting news! What does this mean? It means that a parallel hologram, another 'play' if you will, that many on the planet were participating in energetically, shifted to collapse or merge into this reality. We as a collective group of Light were strong enough in this timeline to pull in and merge that parallel, which allows the potential for us to merge aspects of our self into this expression and bring more of our essence into wholeness in this timeline.
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Sit quietly, call forth all your own unique frequency/energy, clear it through a beautiful filter or ball of Divine Full Spectrum Light, asking that all distortions and unwanted frequencies be cleared and release throughout all time and space. Then merge it directly into your heart and disperse it throughout your systems and matrix. Ask for all memory and wisdom to come into your conscious awareness with ease and grace.
Many ask how I know this. This is the kind of information I receive as part of my 'job' is to assist with this type of energy work on the planetary and galactic levels. I have assisted for decades by opening planetary portals of Light, collapsing discordant parallels, merging planetary grid systems and helping to align the planetary matrix for moving into the next age of awakening.
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How Often Do You Host Dinner Parties?
In case you haven't noticed, we're talking about entertaining and parties all month at The Kitchn. I love to throw a good dinner party, and I'm curious as to how much this enters into other cooks' habits and cooking. For the purposes of discussion, a dinner party is having others outside of your family over to eat — from casual last-minute pizza parties, to sit-down Christmas suppers for 12. How often do you host and cook for others?
Personally, I tend to have people over at least once a week, and to take food to a potluck every week or two as well. Does this sound like a lot? Not enough? How often do you entertain, and if you don't very often, what holds you back?
Related: Are Dinner Parties Dying?
(Images: Sara Kate Gillingham-Ryan; Faith Durand)
19 Comments
Can we have a 4th option: I'd love to but I live with a really unsociable type?
The only parties I have hosted in several years is my daughter's birthday party! I used to have casual get-togethers fairly often. Nothing fancy but lots of fun. I enjoy cooking for my friends. One of our best parties had some pretty bad food--it was the Experimental Tapas Party and all were welcome to bring an appetizer they'd been thinking of trying for a party but didn't have the time/cash to "test" first. Some were good and several were flops but it was a hoot all around.
Then I need a 5th option: I'd love to, but it just never seems to happen.
I need an option between 1 & 2: about once a month. Less often than weekly, but more than several times a year.
Who are these people hosting dinner parties every week, and why aren't we friends yet?
I answered mostly at major holidays, although recently I purchased a rather small home which has made it more or less impossible to have my extended family over at the same time. So, it isn't that I don't have the inclination - I really am lacking in space to entertain. Just a small living room, modest dining room and a kitchen on the ground floor. No finished basement for all the kids to hangout in either. I'm hoping that when my backyard gets renovated this summer that may change a bit. At least there will be room to relax outside with more than 6 people lol.
I live in a pretty tiny apartment with a very impractical kitchen for cooking large dinners... I lovelovelove throwing parties, but they rarely involve an actual "dinner". Instead I make a bunch of small hor d'oeuvre type things and set out a cheese board and a punch bowl... and maybe a couple pitchers of margaritas.
I'd love to throw a real dinner party this summer, though.
I'm in awe at Faith's comment that she has people over weekly and attends others gatherings once/twice a week as well. I'm exhausted just thinking about going out that much. Call me a homebody if you must but I live on the west coast and work east coast hours so I am an early to bed/early to rise kind of gal. Combine that with a husband who works a more normal schedule and a 3yr old daughter means that we host people just a handful of times throughout the year, holiday or not. As much as I'd like to, and given my anal tendencies, I just don't have the energy for much more than that.
@rosebud yes no kids in the picture YET - so interested to see how that changes things! (I can guess.... :) But most of my own dinners are fairly casual, laid-back, and end earlyish.
The post includes casual pizza party gatherings to fancy shindigs.
I have to say I'm one of those people that has people over ALL the time (including last night). I also probably go over to friends houses at least once a week. I think it's one of those things you gradually get into. If you don't have people over a lot I think it's overwhelming and stressful, but once you get used to having people over your house all the time you don't even worry about it. Also, people become used to coming over your house. You really have to let go of being OCD about the way everything looks, what everyone is supposed to do, making the PERFECT food, being the PERFECT hostess, etc.
Also and related - I LOVE my apartment and my furniture, decor, dishes, glasses, cloth napkins, etc. and I like having people over to use my stuff - that's why I bought it, right? I also love cooking and cooking for 1 person often is just a waste.
Plus, I have several friends with tots and having people over to your house and vice versa is just easier. Everyone can hangout and have fun, the kids can go to sleep in a bedroom, and it all works out.
I'm generally a messy person and I have a maid come every other week, but having people come over frequently REALLY forces me to keep my house clean.
I, too, am a 'less often than weekly, more often than several-times-a-yearly' person. How often I host also varies with the seasons. I teach and so don't have the time or energy to host dinner parties toward the end of the semesters. But during breaks and at the beginning of the semesters, I'll often have friends over once every 2-3 weeks.
I don't call them "dinner parties" but we do have other friends who have young children over for dinner about once every other week, more if one of us has a spouse out of town. There's nothing fancy about it though - it's the same fare we'd could every night with a few added plates and a chance to let the kids run themselves out in the back yard.
Pre-baby: Once a week at least!
Post-baby: Once a month if we're lucky!
Also, this is easier than coralling an active 2 and 5 year old at a restaurant! And if your friends also have kids, then hopefully they won't be uppity about a few dishes in the sink and some toys on the floor.
I love throwing "dinner" parties though they range from serve yourself left overs/pass the takeout chinese menu to a few courses served on the "good" china (do people who live in apartments have room for good china?)
in the past week I have attended a passover in CT, hosted an easter for 6 at my house (turkey, lamb, 2 type potato, bacon wrapped asparagus), brought a left over "takeout" easter v2.0 to a sick friends house (turkey mashed & gravy), a casual dinner for friends (chicken "ratatouille" over quinoa), 2 "cooking" nights where you grab whatever scraps I have decided don't make the cut for the "real" company been part of a potluck picnic (roasted veggies, grilled chicken, chopped caprese salad and salsa verde) in the park and then a passover for 12 (red &white horseradish, eggs, matzah ball soup, brisket, roasted chicken, potato kugel cups, roasted sweet potato coins, curried roasted cauliflower, balsamic green beans, chocolate caramel matzah and flourless chocolate cake)
that being said I think my boyfriend/ dishwasher has banned me from having any friends over till friday (when my parents arrive for a weekend stay...and we are making dinner friday night..brined stuffed pork loin?)
I have friends over about once a week. Sometimes I go to a friend's house and cook for a group of people. It's cheaper than eating out and most folk seem to enjoy it. Although--I do keep $20+ on hand to order-in in case it all goes wrong.
We have people over at least a couple times a month, as much as we can fit them in.
Hosted a small one last night -- a visiting colleague of my husband's. It was mid-week, and we were only back a day from vacation, so it was a bit frantic, but hey, that's life.
We have friends who throw dinners on the spur of the moment -- very casual, simple dinners, low-hassle. I still haven't quite gotten the hang of those (I need some more easy sure-fire menus that I can just knock-out for those... or a barbecue)...
I'd say once every two weeks; more near the holidays, less the rest of the year.
I don't know about the "kid" comments. I have a 14 months son, and I tend to entertain at home much more. We used to dine at restaurants quite often with our friends, but now, I find it much easier to entertain at home. My son is asleep, I have cooked maybe an hour in the afternoon, and my girl friends help me in the kitchen for another 30 minutes, which I find a lot of fun. I tend to host parties much more now that I am a mom !
I probably have people over for food anywhere between twice a week, to once every couple of weeks. I live by myself, so for me doing this is an easy way to see my friends all in one place and make dishes that aren't appropriate or worthwhile to cook just for myself. I often get kind of lonely living on my own; I love cooking, and I love making people excited and happy about food, so for me having people over for dinner is a totally relaxing and pleasurable event.
Once a month. And while it's soul-nurturing to eat and laugh with my friends and to revel in the relationships we've created with one another I have to say the VERY BEST PART of my dinner parties is sitting down with my new husband, having a drink and recounting - a little boozily- how much fun it was and who we're having over next. How's that for a run-on sentence?


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Top 20 Reasons Moms of Kids With Special Needs ROCK
Love That Max's Ellen S breaks it down:
1) Because we never thought that "doing it all" would mean doing this much. But we do do it all -- and then some.
2) Because we've discovered patience we never knew we had.
3) Because we are willing to do something 10 times, 100 times or 1,000 times if that's what it takes for our kids to learn something new.
4) Because we have heard doctors tell us the worst, and we've refused to believe them. Take THAT, naysaying doctors of the world!
5) Because we have bad days and breakdowns and bawl-fests, and then we pick ourselves up and keep right on going.
6) Because we gracefully handle the stares, the comments, the rude remarks. (Well, mostly gracefully.)
7) Because we manage to get ourselves together and get out the door looking pretty damn good. Heck, we even make sweatpants look good!
8) Because we are strong. Man, are we strong. Who knew we could be this strong?
9) Because we aren't just moms, wives, cooks, cleaners, chauffeurs and women who work. We are moms, wives, cooks, cleaners, chauffeurs, women who work, physical therapists, speech therapists, occupational therapists, teachers, researchers, nurses, coaches and cheerleaders. Whew!
10) Because we work overtime every single day.
11) Because we also worry overtime, but we work it through. Or we eat chocolate or Pirate's Booty or gourmet cheese (which aren't reimbursable by insurance as mental-health necessities, but should be).
12) Because we are more selfless than other moms. Our kids need us more.
13) Because we give our kids with special needs endless love, and then we still have so much love left for our other kids, our husbands, our families. And our hairstylists, of course.
14) Because we inspire one another in this crazy blogosphere every single day.
15) Because we understand our kids better than anyone else -- even if they can't talk; even if they can't gesture; even if they can't look us in the eye. We know. We just know.
16) Because we never stop pushing for our kids.
17) Because we never stop hoping for them, either.
18) Because just when it seems like things are going OK, they're suddenly not OK, but we deal. Somehow, we always deal -- even when it seems like our heads or hearts might explode.
19) Because when we look at our kids, we just see great kids -- not kids with cerebral palsy/autism/Down syndrome/developmental delays/whatever.
20) Because ... well, you tell me.
Courtesy: Love That Max.
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text:
Ratings based on 2,083 Verified Reviews
They paid and stayed. We double-checked.
4.2 Room cleanliness
4.2 Service & staff
3.6 Room comfort
3.8 Hotel condition
They paid and stayed.
We double-checked.
We double-checked.
for Everyoneby A verified traveler from Alberta, Canada
Reasonable value considering location.Posted Aug 30, 2014
Pros: Location, location.
Cons: -
Location: Great location for those interested in a shopping experience.
It is well located for anyone participating in the SF Marathon events. Reasonable value for a great location.
by A verified traveler from Alabama
This block does not work !!Posted Aug 28, 2014
Pros: Location
Cons: See above comments.
Location: Downtown in the city. Tour pickups were convient.
While this hotel was ok in cleanlyness, it lacked common items that we take for granite. One ice machine for nine floors. One beverage area for nine floors. No snack machines on any floor. Very small rooms or at least the one we had. I was told upon checking in that this room was an "upgrade". I would spend a little more and try to enjoy comforts while on vacation. I would not stay again or reccommend this hotel.
Comment from Hotel Management
Sep 20, 2014 by Manager, Hotel Management
Dear Bert, Thank you for your recent stay with us and I appreciate your feedback. I'm pleased you enjoyed our convenient location in the heart of Union Square along with the cleanliness of our facilities. Please accept my apologies for failing to meet your expectations regarding the size of your room and access to ice and snack machine, which are located on the lobby level. We value your business and would welcome the opportunity for you to stay with us in the future. Sincerely, Bertrand H. Newson General Manager King George Hotel
for Everyoneby A verified traveler from San Diego
Lots of SF CharacterPosted Aug 25, 2014
A great boutique-y hotel for the price. It had a lot of San Francisco character to it and it was in a convenient location to Union Square. Don't come here expecting large rooms (although that really goes for all of SF), but you definitely feel like you are in the city. They had a small bar with a happy hour and prompt service.
Comment from Hotel Management
Sep 3, 2014 by Manager, Hotel Management
Dear Jen, Thank you for your recent stay with us. We're pleased you enjoyed the charm and warmth of our location as we sit in the heart of the Union Square shopping and restaurant district. I'll be sure to share your kind comments with my team! We'd welcome the opportunity to accommodate you in the future! Sincerely, Bertrand H. Newson General Manager King George Hotel
for Everyoneby A verified traveler from Moscow
Near the Hotel there is nice cafe MasonPosted Aug 22, 2014
No condition, general condition works all night and prevent good sleeping.
by A verified traveler from Irvine, CA
Could do better, but at higher cost.Posted Aug 20, 2014
Pros: Reasonable price compared to surrounding larger hotels.
Location: Excellent location within easy walking distance of Powell BART station, Union Square, Chinatown, and F tramway line.
We stayed for two nights. We had room 818, which is right over the exhaust fan of the diner adjacent to the hotel. This created continual noise and smells. The room had one king size bed and two nightstands, no other furniture. No drawers other than in the nightstands. No place to open suitcases other than on the bed. However, room was clean and renovated.
Comment from Hotel Management
Aug 27, 2014 by Manager, Hotel Management
Dear Guest, Thank you for your valuable feedback regarding your recent stay with us. I'm pleased that you enjoyed the value we offer and our centralized location in close proximity to public transportation, Union Square and Chinatown. I appreciate your comments regarding your room and I'll follow up on the observations for a more efficient room layout. My apologies for the noise you encountered. Please rest assured, this issue is being addressed as part of our ongoing renovations. We hope to have you as our guest again soon. Sincerely, Bertrand H. Newson General Manager King George Hotel
for Business Travelersby A verified traveler from Victoria, Canada
Close to Union Square, offering tourist facilitiesPosted Aug 19, 2014
Pros: It was clean and our maid service was good. Coffee was made available in the lounge early in the morning.
Cons: Pricing.
Location: Just off Union Square - it has lots of restaurants, a food and beverage store close by. Walking distance to cable car. It's busy and can be noisy.
The one downside of our stay was that the twin-bedded room we had booked (and paid for) had been "given away" when we arrived, and a queen bedded room was substituted; this shocked us but seemed to the hotel staff to be entirely acceptable practice. The queen room was deluxe which was supposed to make up for what we had specified as important to us - 2 beds. That problem was handled by giving us a "free" cot in the queen room for one night till "our" room was available, and the rest of our stay was fine. SF hotels are expensive but this one seems overpriced for what it offers. Small rooms, with poor closet space, for instance. However, we found it just fine for our purposes --basically a bedroom while attending a conference. Instead of air-conditioning, the room had a good ceiling fan, meaning we could keep the windows closed at night, useful because the hotel is in a busy and thus potentially noisy area.
for Everyoneby A verified traveler
Great location in downtownPosted Aug 16, 2014
Pros: Its location.
Cons: Opaque curtains in the restroom (no-brainer)
Location: 5 minutes walk from cable car.
Its location is both a curse and a blessing. It is in the heart of downtown at walking distance from the Moscone convention center. It is also close to several convenient public transportation stations to explore the rest of the city. However, this makes the prices in the "very fancy" range, and the hotel does not provide the luxury typically associated with 200 and up $ /night rooms. Indeed, although the room had plenty of space and a nice "old-times" feel to it, there was no "opaque" curtain for the restroom, which means that anyone in the parking structure in front could look at us go to the restroom at their leisure. In addition, the TV listings are among the worst I've seen (barely basic cable-level). The parking is in front of the location (a public parking structure) and costs about 35-40$/day with taxes. The hotel will sell you a pass for slightly more which will allow you to go in and out of the structure as you please (but then, who wants to drive in downtown SF?) So all in all, the place is totally fine, but do not expect any kind of luxury, even at 200-300$/night.
Comment from Hotel Management
Aug 21, 2014 by Manager, Hotel Management
Dear Guest, Thank you for your recent stay with us and we're happy that you were pleased with our centralized location to the renowned Union Square Area and within walking distance to Moscone Center. We understand that overnight lodging costs in San Francisco can be expensive, which is why we offer prices that are very competitive as compared to our competing hotels in the area. I appreciate your feedback regarding curtains in the bathroom and will follow up accordingly. We'd welcome the opportunity to accommodate you in the future! Sincerely, Bertrand H. Newson General Manager King George Hotel
by A verified traveler
Not what is advertisedPosted Aug 7, 2014
The rooms are extremely small, and the hotel is very outdated. We had two rooms for five people (one was a 15 year old) and it was very cramped. We had to request a roll away bed four times before we received one. They did waive the $20 fee for the bed because of the long wait. The bathroom sinks were cracked, and the paint was peeling. There was no air conditioning that we could find and only one room had a window that would open.
for Everyoneby A verified traveler from Fresno, Ca.
anniversary tripPosted Aug 4, 2014
Pros: It is clean, quiet, & perfectly located. The staff are courteous & knowledgeable. Also, it is tastefully decorated, without excess.
Cons: Maybe an extra hook on the bathroom wall, & the little shower caps that I always forget, would be nice. Nothing major.
Location: There is a Biscuits & Blues just a few doors down, with spicey-good food and great music. Then there are wonderful art galleries very nearby.
The lobby was clean & nicely decorated. The staff at the desk took care of us right away. Our gear was stored tho it was hours before check-in time. Everyone showed us great courtesy & made us feel secure. The location could not have been better, for dining, dancing & gallery hopping. The day & evening concierges were so helpful, it really made our trip memorable. We will most certainly visit here again.
Comment from Hotel Management
Aug 13, 2014 by Manager, Hotel Management
Dear Ginny, Thank you for your recent stay with us for your anniversary trip to San Francisco! We are so glad to hear you had a pleasant and memorable stay and that you were pleased with the exceptional service provided by the staff. Thank you for mentioning our clean and nicely decorated facilities and our ideal Union Square location. I also appreciated the insight you shared regarding local dining venues. Happy Anniversary and we look forward to seeing you again soon! Sincerely, Bertrand Newson General Manager King George Hotel
for Everyoneby A verified traveler
Location and value are great for Union Square areaPosted Aug 4, 2014
Pros: Location and price.
Location: Everything is walkable, from all transportation to Chinatown to shopping. Lots of restaurant choices around, too.
Historical building in Union Square area. It is within walking distance of almost anything you'll need in downtown. Price is a good value compared to other options in the area, more comfort than a hostel, cheaper than the five-stars. Front desk staff was out-of-their-way helpful. We stayed a whole week so they offered us a mini-fridge for free, nice touch.
Comment from Hotel Management
Aug 13, 2014 by Manager, Hotel Management
Dear Guest, We appreciate your business during your recent stay with us. We are glad you were happy with the great value we offer, our friendly and helpful service and our central location in the heart of Union Square. Thank you for your wonderful feedback and we hope to see you again the next time your travels bring you to the Bay Area! Sincerely, Bertrand H. Newson General Manager King George Hotel


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Friday, April 5, 2013
New 'Looking for Home' and 'Sacred Things' Munny Customs from E. Ipolani for Shadoe Delgado Benefit!
Artist wonder E. Ipolani has just put the finishing touches on the next two stunning micro munnys from her Looking for Home series benefiting Shadoe Delgado's cross-country move back to Arizona. No. 7 and No. 8 will be available this Saturday, April 6th at 2pm PST in Shadoe's online shop for $40 each. A series of 13 micro munnys, the figures are hand sculpted and painted and released as they're made. In addition to the Home series, Ipolani will also release Sacred Things -- a series of three custom micros and one mini munny. These beauties will retail for $80 and $180, respectively. Good luck to everyone still trying to score one of these gems; don't forget to create a login account before trying to purchase to up your chances!
Share it with the world: Tweet
New 'Looking for Home' and 'Sacred Things' Munny Customs from E. Ipolani for Shadoe Delgado Benefit!
Amy G. / Vinylgoddess
Custom Munny|Designer Toy (Art Toy)|E. Ipolani|Micro Munny|mini munny|Shadoe Delgado|Vinyl Toys|Vinylgoddess|
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By Daniel Indiviglio and Robert Cyran
The authors are Reuters Breakingviews columnists. The opinions expressed are their own.
The U.S. Federal Communications Commission will need thick skin to weather its moment in the sun. The usually low-profile telecom watchdog is tackling flashy issues involving mergers, internet neutrality and wireless spectrum. Resolving them won't be easy, given the agency's mandate to spark competition while also promoting efficiency and consumer choice. Current commissioners seem up to the challenge.
Chairman Tom Wheeler, a former lobbyist and telecommunications entrepreneur, leads the panel of three Democrats and two Republicans. Their experience as lawyers and legislative aides and with state regulation should help in navigating a long list of politically and technically difficult tasks.
At the top is deciding whether communications conglomerate Comcast's $45 billion merger with Time Warner Cable serves the public interest. The commissioners must also determine how much wireless spectrum the likes of AT&T and Verizon can buy, strike a compromise on giving content providers equal access to the internet and find ways of freeing television broadcast spectrum for other uses.
The job is complicated by the industry's fundamental economics. Communications companies deliver large and increasing returns to scale. Big firms have the money to build complex and efficient networks quickly but can also get lazy and act as monopolists. The Republican commissioners generally prefer to promote development by allowing companies free rein, while the Democrats tend to encourage competition by, say, limiting spectrum ownership and requiring net neutrality.


text:
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Posts tagged FML
Posts tagged FML
Well, guys. The time has come. I've made the decision to make a concerted effort to get over Irish bartender. It's been fun. I thank you for the support. Good-night.
I'm tired of being second place.
Cute bartender came downstairs and talked to me. Said he'd be back. Never came back.
Got triggered by guy flirting with me unwantedly. Cried openly. Went home.
I hate my life. Hope the cutie doesn't find out. I'm so clueless about what to do. Fuck my life.
So so so so tired of being me. Being unwanted. Wish I was dead.
Having guy problems. FUCK, I hate admitting this. Someone help me. Talk here.
Literal GPOY of last night. Entire wine bottle and everything.
(Source: bananaramaaaa, via stellargoblin)


text:
I'm a natural redhead. As such, I tend to not make much in the way of skin pigment. I have two skin colors: white and red. There is no tan. For years, especially when I was younger, people tried to convince me that I just needed to build a good base tan a little at a time. Unfortunately, for me and many like me, that's actually biologically impossible: the genes for "tanning" are broken. I've been slathering on sunscreen for as long as I can remember (thanks, Mom!) but the title of this article startled me:
An ultraviolet-radiation-independent pathway to melanoma carcinogenesis in the red hair/fair skin background
Apparently, what I'm doing may not be enough. The title implies I can get melanoma WITHOUT going out into the sun (which I already avoid like the plague). What's a poor redhead to do?
I suppose first you need to understand how skin "tans" or makes pigment: what makes dark skin dark and light skin light? The really short and simple version is basically something like this. There are two types of melanin. Eumelanin is the darker, tan/brown pigment. Pheomelanin is the lighter pinkish/yellowish pigment. Guess which ones redheads make more of? Yep–pheomelanin. Pheomelanin is made by the Tyr gene from tyrosine (an amino acid).
On the surface of your cells is a receptor called MC1R (that stands for melanocortin-1 receptor). When this receptor is stimulated (by certain hormones or UV damage), it triggers your skin to convert pheomelanin (red/yellow) into eumelanin (brown). Most redheads with fair skin who always burn and never tan–that MC1R receptor is broken. It's mutated. It doesn't work. So, our cells don't really get the idea that they're supposed to make pigment in the first place, and if they DO, it tends to be pheomelanin. We can usually make eumelanin in spots (freckles).
Biologically, melanin is supposed to help protect your cells from UV damage by acting sort of like a physical shield and blocking the UV, keeping it from hitting your DNA. Pheomelanin isn't as good at absorbing UV as eumelanin. That's just like any other pigment: the darker the color, the more light it absorbs (and the hotter it gets in the sun!).
So researchers made some redheaded mice by causing a mutation in the MC1R gene. The mice don't exactly look like redheads–maybe strawberry blondes? They also made some albino mice that had broken versions of the Tyr gene–so these mice couldn't even make pheomelanin. Albino = no pigment at all. They also added a gene to give melanoma-on-demand whenever they gave the mice the drug tamoxifen.
They treated young mice with the drug (by rubbing it on their skin for 5 days) and then left the mice alone to live their normal mousie lives. The red mice started dying earlier than the black mice OR the albino mice. In less than a year, over half the redheaded mice developed melanoma. YIKES! The tumors were pretty much the same for all 3 types of mice, except for color-the black mice had some darker layers up near the surface of their tumors, but the redheaded and albino mice didn't. Mostly, it was just that the redheaded mice grew more melanomas.
What was really odd was what happened if they took out BOTH the MC1R gene AND the Tyr gene. These mice were unable to make pheomelanin OR to convert it to eumelanin. Oddly, that was protective: the mice survived pretty much like the regular albino mice did. That means that the albino mutation somehow protected the mice. Does that mean that pheomelanin itself is pro-cancer? This is an interesting idea, because people (and mice) with dark skin actually produce both types of melanin. The authors wondered if the eumelanin was able to overcome the effects of the pheomelanin. It's an interesting idea–but I think that two things are important. (1) Although both pigments are present, dark-skinned people have more eumelanin than pheomelanin: the ratio is very different. That implies that the risk is also probably different; if you have less pheomelanin, wouldn't your risk be lower? That seems to be true for the dark mice (which have less pheomelanin) and the albino mice (which have no pheomelanin). (2) Pheomelanin can be converted into eumelanin. That's part of what changes the ratio: it decreases the amount of phaeomelanin while simultaneously increasing the amount of eumelanin. That's sort of a double-whammy.
More than that, they also found that the normal skin from redheaded mice had more DNA damage and lipid damage than even the albino mice. These are signs of oxidative stress, and it's one of the things that is thought to contribute to skin aging. So these mice probably would have gotten older-looking faster than the other mice. Exposure to UV light in redheaded mice just made the damage worse.
The take-home message for me is that I should get screened MUCH more carefully for melanoma, and that sunscreen is even more important than I thought; my skin not only has no defense, but it seems to be predisposed toward melanoma! Needless to say, none of this applies if your red hair is due to Clairol. It's genetic.


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10:40pm July 13, 2012
Human version of Starscream from Transformers: Prime
I sure do love me some
flamboyantDecepticon ass.
There will be more of these coming, since they are good practice for me in character design, anatomy, and color. Also just a heck of alot of fun to draw!
Hope you enjoy!
~Jelly <3


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