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Here is the manifesto followed by spring 2009 looks that I think Marinetti would've appreciated.
Futurist Manifesto of Women's Fashion
Women's fashion has always been more or less Futurist. Fashion: the female equivalent of Futurism. Speed, novelty, courage of creation. Greenish yellow bile of professors against Futurism, old bags against style. For the moment, they can rejoice! Fashion is going through a period of stagnation and boredom. Mediocrity and wretchedness weave gray spider webs upon the colored flower beds of fashion and art.
Current styles (the blouse and chemise) try in vain to hide their basic poverty of conception under the false labels of distinction and sobriety. There is a complete lack of originality, a withering of fantasy. The imagination of the artist is relegated to details and nuances. The sickening litany of "saintly simplicity" "divine symmetry" and so-called good taste. Silly dreams of exhuming the past: "Let's revive the classics." Exhaustion, mollification, feeble-mindedness.
We Futurists intend to react against this state of things with extreme brutality. We don't need to start a revolution. It's enough to multiply a hundredfold the dynamic virtues of fashion, unleashing the bridles that hinder them from surging forth, leaping over the vertiginous jaws of the Absurd.
One must absolutely claim the dictatorship of artistic ingenuity in female fashion against the parliamentary meddling of foolhardy speculation and the routine. A great poet or painter must take over the directorship of all the great women's fashion houses. Fashion is an art, like architecture and music. A dress that is ingeniously conceived and carried well has the same value as a fresco by Michelangelo or a Titian Madonna.
The Futurist woman must have the same courage in donning the new styles of clothing as we did in declaiming our words-in-freedom against the asinine rebelliousness of Italian and foreign audiences. Women's fashion can never be extravagant enough. And here too we will begin by abolishing symmetry. We will fashion zigzag decolletes, sleeves that differ from one another, shoes of varying shapes, colors, and heights. We will create illusionistic, sarcastic, sonorous, loud, deadly, and explosive attire: gowns that trigger surprises and transformations, outfitted with springs, stingers, camera lenses, electric currents, reflectors, perfumed sprays, fireworks, chemical preparations, and thousands of gadgets fit to play the most wicked tricks and disconcerting pranks on maladroit suitors and sentimental fools. In woman we can idealize the most fascinating conquests of modern life. And so we will have the machine-gun woman, the thanks-de-Somme woman [sic], the radio-telegraph antenna woman, the airplane woman, the submarine woman, the motorboat woman. We will transform the elegant lady into a real, living three-dimensional complex. There is no need to fear that in so doing the female silhouette will loose its capricious and provocative grace. The new forms will not hide but accentuate, develop, and exaggerate the gulfs and promontories of the female peninsula. Art exaggeration. Upon the feminine profile we will graft the most aggressive lines and garish colors of our Futurist pictures. We will exalt the female flesh in a frenzy of spirals and triangles. We will succeed in sculpting the astral body of woman with the chisel of an exasperated geometry!
The new fashions will be affordable for all the beautiful women, who are legion in
. The relative cost of precious material makes a garb expensive, not the form or color, which we will offer, free, to all Italians. After three years of war and shortages of raw material, it is ridiculous to continue manufacturing leather shoes and silk gowns. The reign of silk in the history of female fashion must come to an end, just as the reign of marble is now finished in architectural constructions. One hundred new revolutionary materials riot in the piazza, demanding to be admitted into the making of womanly clothes. We fling open wide the doors of the fashion ateliers to paper, cardboard, glass, tinfoil, aluminum, ceramic, rubber, fish skin, burlap, oakum, hemp, gas, growing plants, and living animals. Italy
Every woman will be a walking synthesis of the universe.
You have the high honor of being loved by us, sapper-soldiers at the avant-garde of an army of lightning.
Volt [Vincenzo Fani]
Roma Futurista,
, Rome February 29, 1920.
I am certain if the futurists were around today, they would have a terribly passionate love affair with Hussein Chalayan. He's one of the only designers that have actually transformed "the elegant lady into a real, living three-dimensional complex". Although his spring collection featured very wearable pieces, there is no doubt that the Futurists would've swooned at his molded latex creations and that that feeling would've been enhanced by the car crash prints on the clothes.
Louise Goldin's complex knitted dresses seem to "succeed in sculpting the astral body of woman with the chisel of an exasperated geometry".
Christopher Kane's circle dress is also very much in the Futurist spirit, especially in gunmetal gray.
They would obviously be into Comme des Garcons, no doubt about it. They may have been turned off at the all black palette of the season, but I am sure that after seeing the complex silhouettes that Rei Kawakubo created, they would've let that tiny detail slide.
The bright colors and frantic shapes at Basso and Brooke are definitely Futurist material.
They would certainly be fans of Viktor & Rolf and would've fallen head over heels for the first look that went down their virtual runway for spring. In fact, they would've given the designers bonus points for staging a virtual runway.
The silhouette in this Sinha-Stanic dress is a little tame, but I think they would've enjoyed the cosmic disaster prints that they used throughout the collection.
Yeah, totally lovin' Maison Martin Margiela, no doubt about it.
They probably wouldn't be regular fans of Miu Miu, but I think they would've given props to Miuccia this season for her use of burlap and the graffiti detail (destroy the old and on with the new!).
100% Futurist shoes at Phillip Lim and John Galliano.
Manifesto taken from Futurist Fashion: Three Manifestoes by Emily Braun.


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As part of the recent upgrade to the Online Ordering system, we added the ability to display and support product pricing in multiple currencies.
Anna Lotan Skin Care Partners in the Eurozone who work directly with Anna Lotan are now able to view and order products in Euros. A new combined Euro Price List and Order Form is also available from Product Code - ADM-EuroOrder.
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The information provided on this website is not intended as a substitute for medical advice. If you have a medical question or concern regarding any item or article on this site, please consult your physician

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Cardea Construction Company brings a woman-owned perspective to your remodeling experience. With each client, we individually plan he look and sensation you are after. We take pride in our craftsmanship, in finishing within your budget and in finishing within a predetermined schedule. We offer more than 25 years of award-winning renovating: updating or enlarging homes.
This Year's Home Tours in the Ann Arbor, SE Michigan area
BRAG Ann Arbor remodelers
Fall Tour– Oct 4-5, 2014
is the BRAG Remodelers home tour where Cardea Construction Co. is featured again.
ADMISSION: $10 per adult. Ages 16 and under free. Tickets will be sold at each home and are valid for all homes for both days.
Pick up a Tour Book at any home during the event with maps and full details.
NARI of Southeast Michigan would like to invite you to the 2014 Tour of Remodeled Homes on Saturday and Sunday, April 26-27, 2014.
Saturday, 10am to 6pm
Sunday 12pm to 6pm
NARI Home Tour, Cardea Construction Remodeling kitchen and bath Michigan builderKitchen and Master Bath
10 East Heatheridge, Ann Arbor
We formed a team to rejuvenate this home built in the 1950s, complementing the quality of the home with authentic, stylish designs and products. Our homeowners and Patricia of Cardea Construction Co. gathered together the team, which included Expo Kitchen and Bath for kitchen design and Pinnacle cabinetry, Pascuzzi Marble + Granite for Marble counters, Ferguson Enterprises for all kitchen and bath accessories and plumbing fixtures, and many others.
We welcome you to come see how we opened this kitchen and all the special details!
From Washtenaw take Geddes take Vinewood to East Heatheridge.
Each day we are guided by our mission statement: Improving your lives while improving your home. I would love to work with you! Call us!
734 -665-0234 www.cardeaconstruction.com www.cardeaconstruction.com
We are the contractor that makes your building, remodeling and renovation dreams a reality while making your home a safe, efficient, and healthy place to live in.


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Middle-Earth: Shadow of War is set to usher in a whole slew of new features and improvements that fans have requested from the first game. We got to sit down with Shadow of War's Art Director, Phillip Straub, at GDC 2017 to discuss the sequel to 2014's Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor. Be sure to check out our in-depth preview to see what we thought about Middle-Earth: Shadow of War.
[Hardcore Gamer] Middle-earth: Shadow of War is coming three years after Shadow of Mordor. Set the stage, what have Talion, Celebrimbor and Sauron been up to?
[Phillip Straub] We ended Shadow of Mordor hinting at the promise of forging a new Ring, so the story takes place shortly after Shadow of Mordor. Talion and Celebrimbor have decided to come together once more and forge that Ring so that they can take on Sauron. They're really trying to build their army to take on his forces. In the meantime, Sauron's forces, like the Witch-King, are moving on Minas Ithil.
Shadow of Mordor only had two regions you could explore, Udun and Nurn. How big and open will Shadow of War be?
The game is larger is so many ways. We have more regions, more diverse biomes, and more verticality. When I saw verticality it's much more than just taller towers. The layouts of the regions are just so much more diverse. Some of them have high cliffs, others are on top of snowy mountains, like Seregost. One of the most exciting things for us was to do a city. Shadow of Mordor's regions had more natural geology and flora, but this time we got to build a massive city you get to go and play in. It is under siege when you first encounter it, but it's pretty cool. It really is just a much bigger world.
It's still open-world? You can explore all of the regions?
Absolutely. It's still open-world, but now we have a larger world to explore with more things to do. We've layered the Nemesis fortresses on top of that. Then we have the RPG elements, which are extensive.
Shadow of Mordor featured three bosses, but only one of them was a real boss fight. The other two were more of quick-time-events. How have you approached bosses for War?
I think the first thing I'll say is that we really do take feedback. We read all the reviews and are interested in hearing what our fans think. Obviously, when you're making a game you can't do everything you want. What's interesting about the Shadow franchise is that we don't really have typical boss battles because of the Nemesis system. The different orcs that you grow with are your boss battles, and now that we have the Overlord enemy type, these guys are the real bosses. The cool thing about it is that it's all dynamic. It's all based on your gameplay.
So that Overlord we saw in the gameplay demo might not be the Overlord of Seregost in someone else's game?
Absolutely. We've expanded the Nemesis system into the Fortresses and Overlords. Your interactions with the orcs not only changes the way that you engage with the characters, it also changes the way you have to engage the world. Depending on what Overlord is in the fortress, the entire fortress will appear differently. There's a whole host of different gameplay elements that are associated with that. Overlords bring their own lighting, palette, sky dome, atmosphere, and weather. There are some other cool types of characters you engage with that I can't talk about at the moment, but there's some cool stuff. Let's just say we did show off a Balrog in the reveal trailer.
How has the gameplay been expanded? What new abilities do Talion and Celebrimbor have?
One of the things we've done is really solidify this concept of what we call the Bright Lord. What we're really excited about that makes this franchise unique is that you have this duality. You have Talion who is a ranger of Gondor and Celebrimbor who is an elf with wraith abilities. We always knew that duality was unique to us, and that's come together to offer players a huge variety of different gameplay options. By embracing that duality, there's a number of cool skills players can acquire.
To highlight some things we showed, you'll have noticed that Celebrimbor used his hammer to pull an orc toward Talion for an easy execution. The hammer is a new tool that changes the way you engage in combat. Celebrimbor also uses a glaive, which he can use for a ground pound. We don't want to go too much into it, but those elements are quite extensive. In terms of RPG elements, we have growth across the hammer, the glaive, the sword, the knife, the bow, and the armor.
Let's talk about lore for a second. At this point in time, Sauron does not have the One Ring. Describe just how powerful he is. What kind of threat does he pose to Talion and Celebrimbor?
I mean, he's pretty powerful at this time. He's still a scourge across Mordor and controls a lot of the regions. Also, Minas Ithil is under siege. It's not pretty at the moment. His Nazgul are in the game to give him a hand.
What about the Mouth of Sauron? The Hand, Tower, and Hammer were in the first game, but not the Mouth. Plus, he was unceremoniously cut from The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. Is Shadow of War his time to shine?
No spoilers (laughs)!
Shadow of Mordor was developed knowing that it would have to be ported to the PS3 and Xbox 360. Shadow of War doesn't have those type of restrictions. How has abandoning the last-gen platforms benefited your vision?
Not having to be thinking about that many SKUs has really allowed us to fully utilize the power of the current-gen consoles. The rendering side of our engine was completely rewritten. Now, we're using physically-based rendering, true sub-surface scattering on the characters, and a new facial pipeline for more robust animations. From a systemic perspective, our systems have been refined to accomplish our goals. We can now have more NPCs on the field at once. The AI in the game, because of the amount of interactions you can have, what they say and what they have to say has expanded greatly.
When can fans expect to get their hands on the game?
Middle-Earth: Shadow of War is out August 22 on PS4, Xbox One, and PC.
Will there be enhancements for PS4 Pro and Project Scorpio? If so, can you tell us about them?
There will be, but we can't discuss those yet.


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NYO-USA In Pictures: St. Petersburg
Take a look at Chris Lee's stunning photos of NYO-USA's time in St. Petersburg, including a concert at Mariinsky II.
View the full photo album on the NYO-USA's Facebook page.
The orchestra departed Moscow by train, headed for St. Petersburg.
One NYO-USA bus passes another on the streets of St. Petersburg.
Mariinksy II is one of three venues in the Mariinksy complex, two of which were built under Maestro Gergiev's directorship of the Mariinsky.
In St. Petersburg, NYO-USA performed in Mariinsky II, a brand new venue in the Mariinsky complex.


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At Nahdlatul Ulama Interfaith Conference: "Islam for Peace and Civilization"
At Nahdlatul Ulama Interfaith Conference: "Islam for Peace and Civilization"
In the name of God, the Most Merciful, the Compassionate,
Asalam Alaykum wa Rahmatullah wa Barakatuhu
"Tree makasee". Thank you. It is an honour to support Nahdatul Ulama in its work for dialogue. To all of you, to Indonesia's great Muslim community, to friends of every faith, and to the citizens of Indonesia, I bring you Jordan's greetings and Salam from all its people.
May I express our condolences on the loss, this year, of a son of Indonesia and a well-known figure of the Ummah, the esteemed Muhammad Ahmad Sahal Mahfudz.
And may I also offer Jordan's sincerest sympathy to the victims of Indonesia's recent natural disasters. We pray for a swift and complete recovery.
Distinguished Chairman,
Your Eminences, Your Excellencies,
Brothers and Sisters,
Long before the modern globalised world, there was the Ummah: the global Muslim community. And long before modern technologies brought distant cultures together, Islam was teaching peaceful co-existence, and the equal dignity of all people.
This is the message of traditional, tolerant, plural, and Mathahib-based Islam, dedicated to the love of Allah, following the Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him; seeking to live in virtue and treating others with kindness and justice.
Islam's spiritual and social values are vital to Earth's future. And every Muslim has a role − especially our young men and women − to help guide humanity's road forward. To work with others to solve problems, meet challenges and seize opportunities.
Sadly, today, there are forces that seek to hold this future back, by inciting religious and ethnic conflict. In the Syrian crisis, we are seeing the exploitation of sectarian divisions to justify violence and pursue power. But our region is not alone. The dangers of religious conflict threaten the entire Ummah, and indeed, all humanity. And we must respond.
It begins by giving a stronger voice to traditional, moderate Islam. I know that many of you, and many throughout Asia, are working for this goal. It is also the goal of the Amman Message, which I was proud to inaugurate ten years ago. This initiative articulates Islam's teachings on tolerance, humility before Allah, compassion, and peaceful co-existence.
We followed the Amman Message with global outreach. I am grateful to Indonesians for being our partners in this effort. The result has been an historic consensus of Muslim scholars from around the world − the first in 1400 years − agreeing who is a Muslim, forbidding Takfir, and explicitly recognising the validity of the eight Mathahib of Islam: Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi'I, Hanbali, Jafari, Zaidi, Ibadhi and Thahiri.
The Three Articles of the Amman Message expose the false claims of those who would exploit religion to divide us. As Allah says in the Holy Qur'an:
Bismillah ar-Rahman ar-Rahim
The believers are naught else than brothers. Therefore make peace between your brethren and observe your duty to Allah that haply ye may obtain mercy.
Saddaka Allahu Al Atheem
Brothers and Sisters,
Last summer, Muslim leaders and scholars from around the world met in Amman, and decisively condemned the incitement of sectarian Sunni-Shiite conflict Fitna. The leaders recognised that Islamic principles and democratic ideals complement each other and that the most feasible model of a viable, sustainable Islamic state is a civic state, founded on institutions, Shura and justice. They stressed freedom of opinion and faith, and the sanctity of human blood.
It is up to all of us to get this knowledge into schools, universities, mosques, the media, and more. We must keep working together − as we are doing, here today − to promote the teachings of our beloved Islam; to reach out to others; and to heal divides.
Together, we also have an immediate role in addressing the crisis in Syria. As in the past, Jordan has acted with compassion to help hundreds of thousands of families. Indeed, today our country is hosting more than 600,000 Syrian refugees. This humanitarian burden requires global help.
As members of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, we must work together with the international community to provide humanitarian relief, put an end to the bloodshed and help the parties reach a peaceful political solution, preserving Syria's unity and territorial integrity, and achieving the aspirations of the Syrian people.
And it continues to be essential that we resolve my region's longest-standing crisis, the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Extremism thrives by manipulating suffering and despair. The collective voice of the Muslim world, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, presents an alternative message. Jordan, Indonesia, and the 55 other OIC members have unanimously adopted the Arab Peace Initiative, for a final settlement, resolving all final issues, on the basis of the two-state solution. Together, we must be relentless in seeking negotiations toward a future of peace and justice, with a sovereign, independent, viable Palestinian state, on the 1967 lines, with East Jerusalem as its capital.
My Friends,
The world's people share a common humanity. Indonesia's national motto "Unity in Diversity" applies to us all. And we are called on to be serious about global dialogue and understanding.
Allah says in the Holy Qur'an:
Bismillah ar-Rahman ar-Rahim
O mankind! Lo! We have created you male and female, and have made you nations and tribes that ye may know one another. Lo! the noblest of you, in the sight of Allah, is the best in conduct. Lo! Allah is Knower, Aware.
Saddaka Allahu al atheem
Brothers and Sisters,
Your conference today celebrates the importance of mutual understanding. Jordanians also feel this as a special responsibility. From our home in the Holy Land of three religions, we have reached worldwide.
The "A Common Word" initiative has brought Christians and Muslims together on a continuing basis, reflecting the shared golden commandments of the two religions: to love Allah and love one's neighbour. There are also many other interfaith initiatives that we have been graced to pioneer in Jordan, regionally and for the world, including our Conference last summer on Arab Christianity, the World-Catholic Muslim Forum, the National Park for the Baptism Site of Jesus Christ peace be upon him and more.
Jordan's resolution for a "World Interfaith Harmony Week" was unanimously endorsed by the U.N. General Assembly. This year, in sha' Allah, I will be presenting a new award for the best event for World Interfaith Harmony.
We undertake these and other initiatives, not only as our duty as a direct descendant of the Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him and as Custodian of both the Muslim and Christian Holy Sites in Jerusalem, but as a service to our Ummah, for whom dialogue is fard kifayah, wal-hamdu lillah wahdahu.
My Friends,
As we and others achieve mutual acceptance and respect, we build the future our children deserve.
Where there is conflict, dialogue can bring peace. Where there is peace, dialogue can bring harmony. Where there is harmony, dialogue can bring friendship. And where there is friendship, dialogue can bring joint, beneficial action.
This is your work here today, and it is our work, together, in the days ahead. Jordan stands, with you, for truth, tolerance, and mutual respect. Wallahu wali al tawfiq.
Walsalam Alaykum wa Rahmatullah wa Barakatuhu


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The block construction of Etherna allows for very easy content creation. Some things just cannot be made easier.
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These St. Patrick's Day Marshmallow pops are a quick and easy party treat to get into the Irish spirit. They'll be a hit at the party. Follow the link for the recipe and instructions.
A Little Campy
Submit your craft! Do you have a great craft tutorial or idea you want to share and reach a wider audience? Visit my Submit page and my new, easy-to-use submission form.


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Your military ID comes in handy for getting you on and off your installation and for everyday things like shopping at your installation commissary and exchange. But did you know your ID is also your ticket to a world of great discounted recreation and entertainment opportunities? Whether you and your family like sporting events, shows, amusement parks, museums or historic sites, you can explore dozens of opportunities for fun and relaxation through your Information, Tickets and Travel office and enjoy them at a discount using your military ID. For specifics on discounts available to you, visit your installation ITT office (It may also be referred to as Morale, Welfare and Recreation; Leisure Travel Services; or Information, Tickets and Travel.). You can find contact information for these programs through MilitaryINSTALLATIONS. In the meantime, learn more about what the ITT office can do for you and about some of the amazing things you can see and do at a discount using your military ID.
Why it makes sense to book and buy through Information, Tickets and Travel
The discounts might be the best reason to buy tickets through your installation ITT office, but they're not the only reason! You can also take advantage of exclusive offers available only to service members and avoid extra fees like tax or facility fees. Fast and personalized service is another great reason to get your tickets through ITT. For your convenience, many installation websites feature price lists that allow you to browse available attractions, events and destinations and compare prices.
Need ideas or information for a local outing or upcoming vacation? You can visit your ITT office in person and pick up a variety of brochures on nearby attractions or destinations that are more far-flung. If you're planning a trip, you can leave the details to ITT if you like. Many ITT or Leisure Travel office personnel act as travel agents who will help you with the logistics of your trip in addition to providing information on special offers and discounted tickets.
Discount eligibility
Generally, you can take advantage of ITT or leisure travel services if you can provide proof of Department of Defense affiliation, typically with an ID card or a leave and earnings statement. Eligible service members and other individuals include active duty, reserve component and retired service members; "Gray Area Retirees," National Guard and reserve members who have retired but are not yet 60 years old; and their family members; DoD Civilians and nonappropriated fund personnel.
Staying close to home
You're probably curious about what you can see and do in your area and what kind of discounts you can get through your installation ITT office. Of course, local events and attractions will vary depending on your installation location, but if you're stationed at Camp Pendleton in southern California, you can go sport fishing or whale watching off Dana Point. Soldiers and their families at Fort Belvoir can take a day trip to New York City. If Joint Base Charleston is your home, you can get discounted tickets for a Charleston Brews Cruise or check out a River Dogs minor-league baseball game. Visit your own ITT office and you might be surprised at all the fun (and discounted!) things there are to enjoy in your own area. In a number of different locations, you might also be able to get reduced-price tickets to nearby professional football, baseball, NASCAR or other sporting events, concerts or other shows at local arenas. Discounted tickets to local movie theaters are another common offering.
The Magic Kingdom — and much, much more
For the service member who's thinking beyond the city limits to a dream family vacation, installation ITT offices are the place to start planning. If you have a Disney destination in mind, you can get discounted passes or tickets to Disney World and many other Orlando, Florida-area attractions through your ITT office. And your options go far beyond Orlando. As another example, the Offutt Air Force Base list of "Military Discounted Attraction Tickets" includes tickets to Disneyland and Legoland (southern California); the International Spy Museum, Mount Vernon and Capitol Segway Tours in Washington, D.C.); and the Dixie Stampede (dinner and show) and Titanic Museum in Branson, Missouri.
Maybe you're considering a good old-fashioned family camping trip. In that case, the ITT office can fill you in on campgrounds and recreation vehicle areas. If you prefer climate control and all the comforts of home, don't forget to ask about hotel and car rental discounts!
For all the sacrifices you make as a military family, you deserve some well-earned rest and relaxation in return. Whether it's an exotic travel destination or just Saturday night at the local movie theater, your installation ITT can help you relax for less. Tickets or reservations may be subject to availability, so make your plans and get your tickets early to make sure you aren't left out of the fun!
For more information, you can find a link to the Service ITT websites through Military OneSource. And, of course, pay a visit to your installation ITT office. When it comes to all the great discounted travel, entertainment and recreational opportunities that await you, you won't know until you go!


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Monday, February 15, 2010
Let's just get on with it shall we!
Then I realised that there was never going to be a really special time to start again and that I should just post. So hi! I'm back. Hopefully some of you are still about.
Here's a couple of pics of some stuff I'm currently working on.
All taken with my brand new baby!
Of course there are many other projects I have on the go but I'll get into those further down the track. And I do know that I owe people things which are coming I promise!
And I guess I should mark this occasion by giving something away. Not sure what that will be yet but I'm sure I can dig up something. So leave me a quick hello so I know you are still out there and I'll get one of the girls to pick a winner this Sunday 21st Feb.
48 comments:
- Belinda said...
Of course we are still here...miss you babe! Man, that's one stylish camera, loving the red
We must talk soon.
- February 15, 2010 at 10:01 PM
- Nikki said...
Hooray!! I was beginning to think we'd lost you forever...
As always - gorgeous projects on the go... and I'm a bit in love with that red camera!
- February 15, 2010 at 10:40 PM
- Kathie said...
of course we are still out here waiting for you to post!
Love that red camera!
the dresden plate is wonderful, can't wait to see more!
- February 15, 2010 at 10:51 PM
- A Spoonful Of Sugar said...
Welcome back!! Love the sweet hexagon project. can't wait to see what you have been up to lately.
- February 15, 2010 at 11:44 PM
- Purple Paisley Patch said...
Hey Louise, Welcome Back!!!
I haven't blogged in awhile either, so I know how hard it is to get back into it. I just have to suck it up and get back into it too.
Love the stuff you've been working on, so much gorgeous colour!
What a great camera, look forward to seeing heaps more photos of your gorgeous creations, both here and on flickr!
Kelly :-)
- February 16, 2010 at 12:00 AM
- Sara said...
welcome back! i always love your blog when you post!!
love the colors in the projects you're working on!
(sara at red owl designs dot com)
- February 16, 2010 at 12:05 AM
- ginger said...
So glad you are back. I have missed your inspiration! I love the dresden plate.
- February 16, 2010 at 12:10 AM
- Rachel said...
Aww. those are some very cute projects. thanks for coming back and sharing! blogging is one of those things that happen in seasons for me. it's hard to motivate myself to blog every single day. i don't know how some people do it.
- February 16, 2010 at 12:11 AM
- Ali said...
Ooh, look at your smart new (red) camera! I love how manufacturers have finally realized that it is possible to make a serious bit of electronic kit without it being black or silver.
Nice to see you back in the blog-pool!
- February 16, 2010 at 12:31 AM
- happy said...
I've been waiting for you to comeback,
I like the colour of your project and your camera.
- February 16, 2010 at 2:53 AM
- RosaMaría said...
is great you are back!! beautiful dresden plate!
- February 16, 2010 at 3:19 AM
- Valerie said...
So glad you're back, as I always enjoy your posts! And look at that pretty red camera -- I don't think I've ever seen one like that in red! :)
- February 16, 2010 at 3:45 AM
- Ashley Ann said...
Hiya lady! :D
Glad to see you back!
- February 16, 2010 at 3:49 AM
- Thimbleanna said...
WooHoo!!! I'm SOOOOO happy to see you back -- you've been missed! Looks like you're working on some VERY beautiful projects -- and nothing else would be expected from the fabulous Ms. LollyLegs!!! ;-)
- February 16, 2010 at 3:54 AM
- Blue Is Bleu said...
I almost fell over when I saw your name pop up in my blog list lol!
Absolutely in love with the hexagons! The hand quilting is perfect for it.
- February 16, 2010 at 4:45 AM
- Chookyblue...... said...
thank goodness you returned.........nice projects......congrats on your 100 posts........see you here again soon..........love the camera........
- February 16, 2010 at 6:43 AM
- Vintage Grrl said...
I've MISSED your posting in my Feed of a morning! Your crafting is so inspirational and colourful!
And I love that you have a red camera. That's awesome :D (It's my favourite colour).
- February 16, 2010 at 7:18 AM
- thornberry said...
Nice to see your here Louise! Lovely projects (mmmm, crocheted squares) and pretty colours!
- February 16, 2010 at 7:35 AM
- Jodie said...
I am saying hi cause I am thrilled that you are back ...with that spunky red camera!
I don't need a prize to visit. Can't wait to see some of your other projects.
- February 16, 2010 at 7:55 AM
- Mandy said...
Welcome back. You have been missed. Love the red camera :-).
- February 16, 2010 at 8:04 AM
- Bronwyn said...
See! We have all kept the faith! So glad you are back - being missing the ol' 'lollylegs!
- February 16, 2010 at 8:13 AM
- fi said...
welcome back lady! missed your colorful world:)that red camera is pretty spesh!
- February 16, 2010 at 8:20 AM
- Lisa said...
Glad you're back, lovely to hear from you.
- February 16, 2010 at 8:56 AM
- sue said...
It is so nice to have you back blogging again! Thanks to Thimbleanna for twisiting your arm too, lol!
- February 16, 2010 at 9:03 AM
- オテモヤン said...
- This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
- February 16, 2010 at 9:40 AM
What a lovely surpise to have a quick check on your blog to find you're back! I'm loving that red camera too!!!
- February 16, 2010 at 10:24 AM
- Kelly said...
Welcome back!! Love the granny squares and hex's, Awesome camera too!
- February 16, 2010 at 11:26 AM
- Jade said...
Yay, you're blogging again! Understand about the hectic manic times. I'm in the middle of one. You've been missed. So welcome back! :-)
- February 16, 2010 at 11:31 AM
- ohjoh said...
Hi Louise, When adding to my fabric stash at Amitie last year, you suggested I check out the world of blogs (I didn't have a clue what you were talking about).
I have, it's amazing - THANKS!!!
Happy to now be following you.
- February 16, 2010 at 12:08 PM
- Kate said...
Hello! Nice to see you here again!
- February 16, 2010 at 12:47 PM
- twirling betty said...
I came to your blog just as you were winding down a bit so I'm delighted to see you're winding up again! The things you make are so lovely and I look forward to what's to come. In the meantime, I may need to marry that red camera. Love it.
- February 16, 2010 at 12:47 PM
- Stacey said...
Well hello there! Nice to see you back. Love that red camera!
- February 16, 2010 at 2:33 PM
- Melody said...
Gotta love a red camera!
So nice to see you back again, you have been missed. Great projects you've undertaken, but that goes without saying. =)
- February 16, 2010 at 2:38 PM
- I Love Pretty Little Things said...
I Love your blog, so I am glad that you are back! A red camera, how fun!
- February 16, 2010 at 2:48 PM
Very nice to see you around these parts again. With a camera as snazzy as that I can only imagine that you'll be photographing and blogging up a storm!
- February 16, 2010 at 4:17 PM
- Andi said...
So much lovely crafting!!!
And I absolutely love your new baby.
Did you do much research? Should I be picking your brains before I start my own research for a baby of my own?
Nice to see you today.
Andi :-)
- February 16, 2010 at 5:42 PM
- Jane said...
I'm not actually 'still here' because I'm new. I'm in love with the quilt you received in your swap and have had a lovely time exploring your posts. Looking forward to more to come!
Thanks for sharing your world with us all!
- February 17, 2010 at 12:40 PM
- Katy said...
please don't show me dresden plates and appliqued hexes, I'm really trying to resist te urge to make another dresden plate quilt with little hexy flowers in the bits where I did spots on the last one. Why'd you do that to me?
A red camera? I want one!!! I don't care if I can use it or not - it's red and red is my favourite colour. Mid you, it does take a lovely pic of your lovely self, so maybe it would do the same for me? Worth a try...
May 2009 was the last time you posted. You slack cow ;P Good to have you back!
- February 17, 2010 at 10:04 PM
- Monique said...
I had a look regularly if you were back again waiting for the lovely things you create to appear on your blog. So I am very glad your back in blogtown!
- February 17, 2010 at 10:40 PM
- LondonMum said...
Ooooh what a nice surprise to see a post! All that red and pink makes me want to squeal; love it! Cheers!
- February 18, 2010 at 2:48 AM
- Marisa said...
Yeah you are back! Love you current projects and what pretty photos your new camera takes! ;)
- February 18, 2010 at 3:37 AM
- a friend to knit with said...
yay!! LOUISE! SO happy to see you!!!!
i look forward to catching up on all things happening over THERE!
and please don't enter me in your little contest... i have won so much.. time for someone else. but, thank YOU!
- February 18, 2010 at 3:09 PM
- Nikki Cardigan said...
Welcome back Louise. Yoru projects all look beautiful... looking forward to seeing what they become...
- February 19, 2010 at 9:25 PM
- Florence said...
You have been missed, Louise...perhaps the number of comments tells you that already though!
I love what you're working on and can't wait to see more lollylegs updates. x
- February 19, 2010 at 10:06 PM
- Monica said...
hey welcome back, you prodigal blogger!
lovely wips... as usual..
- February 20, 2010 at 7:34 PM
- Sarah said...
Hi, I just started following you today, after I found your link on the Melbourne Modern Quilt Guild. Congrats on the birth of your baby!
- February 21, 2010 at 5:54 PM
- susan said...
ooo pretty camera, i dont think i have seen that one! do you love it? my first camera was a pentax k1000 and i loved it to pieces. such pretty projects. i love that pic of your dqs in progress, such gorgeous fabrics. what is the second project, the hexagon one?
- March 15, 2010 at 7:51 AM
- h&b said...
Love that camera - love the red, and also, I have a real soft spot for Pentax ;)
Gorgeous piccies !!
- April 3, 2010 at 1:32 PM


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GLCD 5162 – The Golden Age of Light Music: The Hall Of Fame – Vol. 3
To the CD in our Shop
MusicWeb International Wednesday March 24 2010
This is a real winner, from first track – a very breezy instrumental version of Freed and Brown's famous 1929 song, which gave the title to the 1952 film – to last – a rather studied performance of Richard Addinsell's wonderful Warsaw Concerto, which is perhaps more Melachrino than Addinsell, but who cares? In between comes a wealth of riches.
Lingering Lovers is a nice bit of 1950s mood music, very jaunty and easy-going, a kind of common man version of The Boulevardier! I especially love the interjections from an accordion. However, Ecstasy has nothing to do with sex, it's a tango in strict time and strangely asexual! How odd for this most overt of dances! Love And The World Loves With You is a real hoot for it steals a riff from Rimsky-Korsakov's Capriccio Espagnol, and entwines it with the tune. Whoever made this arrangement is a genius, for his humour and his skill in making it work. And it is far too short!
Morton Gould's arrangement of Duke Ellington's Solitude is part Delius, part Starlight Strings and it's a sumptuous smoochfest for all concerned. I love it! Nelson Riddle's Easter Isle is the perfect work, being gentle and sheerly delightful. More sultry nights under the stars with Hugo Winterhalter's La Muñeca Española, which is full of exotic percussion. The Merry Widow Waltz is given in a salon arrangement, and it lacks the swing which is essential to a waltz – this is one of the few miscalculations of this excellent series for this is the muzak version of Lehár's famous tune and it has no place here for it is banal and lacks subtlety.
Robert Karscher's When Day Is Done is delightful, a beautiful tune, underplayed and without any overt emotion troweled onto it. Sidney Torch's Shooting Star and Wildman's Crazy Violins are perfect examples of a certain kind of light music where the string section is featured. Wildman's piece also contains a great solo for cowboy fiddle. The much missed Angela Morley gives us a swing version of The Kerry Dance and very refreshing it is. Wright and Forrest are best known as the creators of Kismet – indeed, they made so many shows from the music of other composers that I once read a description of them as musical grave-robbers! Bubble, Bubble, Bubble (Pink Champagne) is a lovely piece of pizzicato scherzo, but what it has to do with champagne is beyond me. It does, however, have a tune which really fizzes – perhaps that's the connection. It's followed by David Rose's March Of The Pretzels, which certainly wouldn't go down well with a glass of the vintage stuff but which is so hilarious as to make one laugh out loud.
The three best known pieces here – Charles Williams's Devil's Galop, Robert Farnon's Jumping Bean and Ronald Binge's Elizabethan Serenade – are all given authoritative performances. It is said that a true intellectual is one who can hear the galop from the William Tell Overture without thinking of The Lone Ranger. I wonder if the same could be said of someone who hears The Devil's Galop and doesn't think of Dick Barton, Special Agent? I can't. Eric Coates's Music Everywhere is one of his typical bright and breezy marches which brings the first part of the recital to a close.
The remaining five tracks pay tribute to George Melachrino. William Hill–Bowen is a much restrained soloist in Reginald King's Theme from Runnymede Rhapsody, and it's a very lovely pastorale. The quality of Robert Farnon's My Song Of Spring is without question and this arrangement by Melachrino is perfect. Here is an urban, English, waltz! His own Winter Sunshine is a quick study with a golden central section. Aprite Le Finestre is a flirty piece of work and I wonder if anyone remembers that it was the Italian entry in the 1956 Eurovision Song Contest, where it was performed by Franca Raimondi?
All in all, yet another success for a series which I cannot praise too highly. The transfers are good, if at times a bit hard-pressed, I suppose that this is because the stereo sound on these early LPs wasn't as good, and smooth, as it subsequently became. But this is a small point and if you turn the volume control down a little all is well. The notes, as usual, are helpful, and the presentation is excellent.
Bob Briggs


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Document Type
Publication Date
In Part I of this Essay, Professor Howe shares some personal concerns that the real needs of African American children and families are not met if race is ignored. The findings and recommendations of the May 2008 Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute paper: Finding Families for African American Children: The Role of Race & Law in Adoption From Foster Care are reviewed in Part II. Next in Part III., Professor Howe discusses the current Child Welfare League of America (CWLA) Standards of Excellence for Adoption Services - the lens through which the Adoption Institute assessed the efficacy of current federal laws. Professor Howe concludes this Essay by urging members of the family law bar to endorse the Adoption Institute study recommendations and to work for their expeditious implementations.
Recommended Citation
Ruth-Arlene W. Howe. "Race Matters in Adoption." Family Law Quarterly 42, (2008): 465-480.


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Egyptian police protest at Gaza border
May 20 - Egyptian soldiers and police stage a protest at a Gaza border crossing in solidarity with colleagues kidnapped in Sinai. Sarah Sheffer reports.
Chanting anti-government slogans, Egyptian police and army soldiers hold a sit-in at the Rafah crossing into the Gaza Strip. The men are enraged by the kidnapping of seven of their colleagues by Islamist gunmen in the Sinai Peninsula on Thursday. They've blocked the border crossing since Friday to pressure Cairo to help free the men. Police also blocked a commercial border crossing with Israel on Sunday. Those protesting in Rafah say they will not leave until their colleagues are safely returned. A video that appeared online on Sunday showed seven blindfolded men, who said they were the hostages, begging President Mohamed Mursi to free political detainees in Sinai in exchange for their own release. The government said it was not engaging in talks with the kidnappers. But the army has mobilised several units of troops in North Sinai.


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[Update] It looks like this only really applies to USB flash drives. When I mounted my actual backup drive, it showed up in prtpart. This post was written using the root drive on my old backup server, which is a SanDisk Cruzer flash drive.
Now that I finally got my mini thumper up and online, it's time pull everything from my previous backup drive. The problem is that it's a USB drive with an ext3 partition on it. I did a little googling and found several references to using the belenix FSWpart and FSWfsmisc packages, with this one being the most helpful.
My only problem was that when I ran prtpart, it only showed disk information for my non-USB drives. I could see that the drive was recognized by looking in syslog:
1 2 3 4
So, I dug around a bit, trying to look for various names in /dev/rdsk that were in the above output when I stumbled across the fact that everything in /dev/rdsk is a symlink. So I did a quick grep:
1 2 3 4 5
Aha! Now I know what the device name is, so I can use prtpart to figure out what to mount:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
And mount it:
1 2 3 4


text:
Imprisoning a whole nation
A superb article by John Pilger.
Israel is destroying any notion of a state of Palestine and is being allowed to imprison an entire nation. That is clear from the latest attacks on Gaza, whose suffering has become a metaphor for the tragedy imposed on the peoples of the Middle East and beyond. These attacks, reported on Britain's Channel 4 News, were "targeting key militants of Hamas" and the "Hamas infrastructure". The BBC described a "clash" between the same militants and Israeli F-16 aircraft.
Consider one such clash. The militants' car was blown to pieces by a missile from a fighter-bomber. Who were these militants? In my experience, all the people of Gaza are militant in their resistance to their jailer and tormentor. As for the "Hamas infrastructure", this was the headquarters of the party that won last year's democratic elections in Palestine. To report that would give the wrong impression. It would suggest that the people in the car and all the others over the years, the babies and the elderly who have also "clashed" with fighter-bombers, were victims of a monstrous injustice. It would suggest the truth.


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The BBC reported today, that the World-Wide-Web is celebrating its 15th birthday. This is because the first web technology was released by CERN on 30th April, 1993.
It's not an event that I remember experiencing, although I know that I was in my second year at university and getting ready to go to Germany for my placement year, so I dug out my diary from that year to have a look.
Apparently I didn't have any lectures on that day and stayed at home to do homework and revision, which I guess is not very exciting compared to the birth of the web!
I remember at the time using an information system called Gopher and my first contact with a web browser was with NCSA Mosaic in September 1994 when I arrived back at university for my final year.
It was then that I started to design web pages. My final year project for my computer science course was to design the website for the Department of Languages and European Studies, which included looking at the different technologies and where it was all going.
The site was basic by today's standards, but it used an interesting feature of colour-coded links to show which pages were public and which were only available on the campus, as well as a separate colour for external links.
There were experimental audio files in WAV format and video files in Quicktime, as well as a selection of photographs provided by other students – often displayed with only 256 colours.
Many of the pages stayed online after I had graduated and have only been replaced within the last year years. I still have the source code to those pages, but you are unlikely to find them anywhere online now. To get some idea of how the site looked, there is a page of the main department site on archive.org which shows how the links were colour-coded.
I would have liked to have compared what I wrote back then about the future of the web with what has actually happened since, but although I have the project work backed up and readily available, I have been struggling to open the file containing my summary. It is another example of digital obsolescence as even with the wide variety of software and operating systems available to me I have not managed it yet!
I guess I will have to dig out the printed version of the project or return to the original PC that I wrote it on, providing it still works after all this time (and I was pushing it to the limit back then!)
The web has revolutionised the way that we work with and think about information, and back in 1995 when I was finishing off my project work I am sure that I would have written something about the forthcoming changes in peoples' attitudes to working with the web and the availability of information.
But after all that has changed over the past 15 years, sometimes it is still the printed word that is easiest to retrieve.


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text:
BOGOTA (Reuters) - Latin America's growth outlook is shaky and a delay in pulling back economic stimulus in the United States shows the Federal Reserve is mindful of the impact its actions can have on other countries, an International Monetary Fund official said on Wednesday.
Investors and policymakers in Latin America and other emerging markets were relieved when the U.S. Federal Reserve decided against scaling back its bond-buying program last week, for now at least.
Many fear that less-accommodative policy in the world's biggest economy will draw back capital which has flowed into developing economies in recent years, hurting markets and currencies and even economic performance.
"It's important to analyze the effects on the global economy, on global markets," Alejandro Werner, head of the IMF's Western Hemisphere department, said of the Fed's decision, adding that U.S. domestic conditions were the most important factor in the decision.
Latin America registered a "very significant" slowdown in economic expansion in the first half of the year, he said on the sidelines of a conference in Bogota, suggesting that 2013 growth might come in lower than expected.
He declined to provide specific forecasts for growth ahead of the IMF's annual meeting in October, when it will update economic projections, but said the region needed to boost productivity.
The IMF cut its growth forecasts for Latin America in July to 3 percent from 3.4 percent, blaming weaker global growth and lower commodity prices that have hit exporters like Brazil.
"In the annual meeting we will provide specific numbers but the tendency is that the growth revision is downward," Werner told reporters.
"We have seen a very significant slowdown in the first half of the year."
While Brazil was beginning to show some signs of recovery, Mexico, where the economy contracted in the second quarter, had surprised on the downside, he said. Regional economic output would likely stabilize around 3.9 percent in the coming years.
Werner was more upbeat about Colombia, which grew at an unexpectedly strong 4.2 percent in the second quarter, year-on-year. Although there were bottlenecks in infrastructure as well as human capital, Werner said the economy was "very solid" and that the financial system was "relatively healthy."
(Removes erroneous section of quote and adds summary in fourth paragraph)
Reporting by Helen Murphy, Nelson Bocanegra and Carlos Vargas in Bogota; editing by Krista Hughes and Kenneth Barry


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Stopped by my local golf course to watch the Environmentalist Invitational. Most of the environmentalists were there. Before the tournament, there were several fun competitions.
There were the riding lawn mower races. They had to do a full eighteen hole circuit. Very exciting.
There was the sprinkler shoots. Some of those babies can flat put volumes of water way out there.
There turned out to be a tie, so they had the fertilizer and herbicide runoffs. There was a win by a nose, if you can believe it.
It is always good to see the true believers getting together for fun and games. The plastic water bottles just flowed.


text:
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text:
Crescent Beach Sunrise Mugs for 2018
Friends of Crescent Beach will once again be offering limited edition ceramic mugs. The inspiration for the 2018 mug design is Crescent Beach Sunrise. Each mug offers a unique interpretation of the sunrise you see over Crescent Beach. No two mugs are the same and each is numbered and marked by the artist. Only 75 of these mugs will be offered for a $20.00 donation each. We would like to recognize and thank Lou Jacobucci, of Clay on Steele, for his interpretation and artistry.
Friends of Crescent Beach Committee member, John Pabich, will once again be at Denny's, 510 5th St, Algoma, WI, on Fridays, starting July 20th from 3:00-6:00 PM until they are gone. The end of mug offerings will be announced on the FOCB Facebook Page. Once they are gone, the only way to get one will be through the Soar on the Shore raffle. Two Friends on Crescent Beach mugs along with other prizes will be offered as raffle prizes. Raffle tickets will also be available for sale. Soar on the Shore is August 18th.


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In my series on SQL Server 2008, one of the features I had missed was the HierarchyId datatype and its usage. I came across this recently and decided to take a peek into what it does. This post covers my thoughts on the HierarchyId datatype.
At the time of this writing, I am still not convinced on the value add the HierarchyId datatype provides over traditional parent/child storage mechanisms. More on that later. For now, we will deal with how the datatype works and how it can be used to store hierarchial data.
The big advantage with HierarchyId is that it is optimised to store data in a tree structure thereby making it simpler for developers to query and update hierarchical information. The important thing to keep in mind is that using the hierarchyid by itself does not mean that data is stored in a tree structure. It is the responsibility of the application to make sure that the data is stored in the desired structure. HierarchyId just acts as an enabler.
To demonstrate this, I will work through an example where we have to store the list of folders and files in the database. I have created a table with the following structure.
Create Table FileExplorer
ItemId HierarchyId Primary Key,
ItemLevel as ItemId.GetLevel(),
ItemName varchar(100)
I will touch upon the ItemLevel column later. Do note that the HierarchyId datatype by itself is not unique. It is application's responsibility again to maintain the uniqueness of the ItemId column and hence I have declared a PrimaryKey on that column.
Coming to ItemLevel column, the primary purpose of that is to enable breadth first ordering. Typically, hierarchy ids can be breadth first or depth first indexed. You can find the details and working of both these types of ordering here.
Now, let us create the breadth first index. Depending on how many levels (called fan-outs) you plan to store, your indexing strategy will vary. It is not necessary to create both the indexes for all the scenarios.
CREATE INDEX FileExplorer_Breadth_First
ON FileExplorer(ItemLevel,ItemId)
Since the FileExplorer table already has a Primary key, the above index will be created as a non-clustered index.
Now that we have created the table, let us start loading data into the table. If you haven't already noted, let me point out that the ItemId is not declared as an Identity (it cannot be, actually) and hence it is the application's responsibility again to make sure that the generated ids are unique. In addition, to ensure the tree structure, we have to make sure the id generated is based on the parent id.
The stored procedure to insert a new file or folder is
CREATE PROCEDURE InsertFile(@folderId hierarchyid, @ItemName nvarchar(100) )
DECLARE @last_child hierarchyid
SELECT @last_child = MAX(ItemId) FROM FileExplorer
WHERE ItemId.GetAncestor(1) = @folderId
INSERT FileExplorer (ItemId, ItemName)
SELECT @folderId.GetDescendant(@last_child, NULL), @ItemName
Let us examine this procedure for a second. The ItemId.GetAncestor(1) gets the immediate parent of the ItemId. So essentially, the select statement gets the last valid file under the given folder id. Now that we have the last inserted item under the parent, our new file has to be created as a peer to that item.
This is done by the second select statement in the procedure. We use the GetDescendant method to create a child similar to another child, in this case, the item retrieved from the previous select. It wouldn't be out of place to mention here that this is where our breadth first ordering helps.
The tree can also be maintained by creating a parentId column that references the itemId but there is also a performance drag associated with that approach. A snapshot of the data after inserting some rows is as below
Note how the item level computes itself. The folders testFolderChild and TestfolderChildPeer are at the same level and have the same parent –TestFolder.
Let us now see how we can retrieve the list of parents for a given node. To do this, I had to write a stored procedure using CTEs. Below is the stored procedure I wrote
create proc dbo.GetAncestors(@ItemId hierarchyId)
With AncestorsList(Itemid, ItemName, ItemLevel, Parent)
Select ItemId, ItemName, ItemLevel, ItemId.GetAncestor(1) as Parent from Fileexplorer where ItemId=@ItemId
Select fe.ItemId, fe.ItemName, fe.ItemLevel, fe.Itemid.GetAncestor(1) from FileExplorer fe Inner Join AncestorsList al
ON fe.ItemId = al.Parent
Select fe.ItemId, fe.ItemName, fe.ItemLevel from FileExplorer fe INNER JOIN
AncestorsList al on fe.ItemId = al.Itemid
If you are familiar with CTEs then most of the code above is self explanatory. My anchor members gets the first ancestor of the given node. This is then executed recursively by my recursive query. The last select executes the CTE to return the resultset.
Having seen most of the uses of HierarchyId, its biggest drawback lies in the fact that it still needs the developers to do a lot. For fan-outs of less that 2 levels, I still feel the self referencing table is faster than using the hierarchyId. I strongly believe that Microsoft still has some work left to do with the HierarchyId datatype to make sure it is a bit more easier to implement.
That though concludes this post. If you are looking to work with HierarchyIds, I hope this post has given you an idea of where to start. Hope to be back soon with something else. Happy Coding!!!!!!


text:
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The Advisory Council was formed to provide on-going advice, support, and counsel to the NPA Board of Directors and the executive director. Making use of the experience and expertise of its members, the council functions by making recommendations on matters relating to the support and implementation of the strategic agenda of the organization.
Chair: John Peck, associate director, Human Resources, and director of the Office of Postdoctoral and Graduate Affairs at the Gladstone Institutes in San Francisco.
Co-Chair: Diane Klotz, Ph.D., director of the Office of Training & Academic Services at Sanford Burnham Prebys in La Jolla, California.


text:
this is what my bathroom shower looks like
um yeah
this past Spring the handle broke in half
so we called the plumber and he put on a handle
the new handle stripped the whatcha macallit
shown here and it ALL has to be replaced
can you say caching?
yeah, NOT a happy camper here
SO MUCH has been replaced in this house
the only good thing is
so hopefully that means no fixing in my older age
good thing I have TWO BATHROOMS
can you imagine? when I called the plumber
and they came out to look at it
he goes well you COULD use pliers to turn the water
on and off
REALLY DUDE???? my husband is diabled
and I am up to my eyeballs in things and
getting a little senile myself and you want me to
use pliers????
oh..........I could really slap some people
but I wont get my dander up
and THEN when hubs was cooking the other night
(he makes a killer meatball sub)
the house got hot so he opened the back door
to let in a little cooler air
forgetting that Miss Phoebe was in the bedroom
right next to the door
well, next thing I heard was a frantic
husband calling to me to get a flashlight
(oh yeah, it was already DARK out and she has NO WHITE
on her at ALL)
and outside I run to see where she could be
we have fisher cats
and feral cats outside
that all would want to know she was there
my neighbor was a sweetie and gathered
up her cat from outside so as to avoid a fight
and helped me look
I finally found her and carried her home
crying and scolding her the whole way
she was almost in the back woods
and I would NEVER have found her
so how to destress?
to sew of course
did I sew on my projects THAT NEED TO GET DONE?????
um nope
I cut out some kite shapes
and sewed up two of these cuties
in all fairness I already was playing in the
Christmas fabric so at least the pieces didnt
go back into the stash right?
(thats my story and I'm stickin to it)
these will mull a little in my room
and we will see where
they go later on
needless to say
LOTS going on around here!


text:
African Petroleum has agreed for an additional extension of a non-binding term sheet until 20 June 2015 with a UK-based exploration and production firm operating LB-08 Licence offshore Liberia
In January this year, an unnamed oil and gas firm had agreed to enter into a mutually agreed contract with African Petroleum to acquire 50 per cent of net participating interest in the LB-08 Licence in return for the payment of 50 per cent of all future costs and expenditures related to the licence and also committed to contribute to past costs and expenditures of the licence.
In an independent review of African Petroleum's acreage conducted by ERC Equipoise in April 2014 and updated in January 2015, the estimated net unrisked mean prospective oil resources of LB-08 licence exceeds 2.6bn barrels.
Completion of the farm-in transaction as contemplated by the term sheet is subject to approval from the Liberian government and must be satisfied by 30 June 2015, African Petroleum said.
Alain Charles Publishing, University House, 11-13 Lower Grosvenor Place, London, SW1W 0EX, UK
T: +44 20 7834 7676, F: +44 20 7973 0076, W: www.alaincharles.com


text:
I could get up and clean the debris in here, but for the moment I really feel a need to just lie back on my bunk and give my muscles a well-earned rest. I worked very hard yesterday, and will have to do so again today, and for several more days, if we are to get out of here on time.
While Ian was here last week we drove to Penticton to buy supplies. On the way we took a five-minute detour. He'd found petroglyphs a short distance off the road last summer, along with a spectacular view looking south down the valley. He wanted to share these with me, so we had a quick break in the otherwise tightly focused busy-ness of the week.
He took these pictures in October when he was here, and to our dismay some hooligan has defaced the petroglyphs since. I fail to understand what drives people to do such stupid things. What are they trying to prove? These pictures are ancient. The rock has cracked and flaked since they were painted, and large patches of lichen grow over some sections.
We puzzled what they meant. A stick figure with nine lines extending from the head, a half circle with 15 rays. The figure has no legs, it appears to be wearing a skirt. Was the picture painted by a woman? Do the lines on the head mean nine people, the half-circle a journey of 15 days? There are also four spots, almost certainly made by pressing the ends of the paint-covered fingers on the rock. Perhaps she stumbled as she reached upward, and touched the rock to steady herself. There is another figure but it is so obliterated by age that it's impossible to decipher.
All looking southwest out over a vast rocky valley, but a highly fertile one. I touched one with a sense of what can only be described as reverence. A recent report says that 95% of all Native Americans carry the mitochondrial DNA of six women who lived between 18,000 and 20,000 years ago in Beringia, the now submerged land underlying the Bering Strait.
A cousin drew these, an Old One, perhaps a woman. In my imagination she could have been one of those original mothers of Native America. I have walked in her footsteps, seen that glorious view down the valley - was it wetter then, drier, lesser or more heavily treed? Even today it is rich in wildlife. Along that corridor I have seen deer, mountain sheep, beaver, coyotes, birds of many kinds including Canada geese, ducks, swans, cranes, bald eagles and dozens of smaller species.
The "paint" used for petroglyphs was often a combination of blood, fat and iron oxides. The group hunted here, perhaps sheltered in the small cave beneath the massive boulder the petroglyphs are painted on. They left their mark. She left her mark, not only on a boulder face but in the flesh of millions. Thanks Mom.


text:
Graphic: Tough talk on trade
President Donald Trump's efforts to change the dynamics of trade with China have so far focused on protecting U.S. heavy industry, technology and intellectual property. He's proposed tariffs on $100 billion worth of imports. China responded with its own measures to tax imports, mainly U.S. agricultural products.
Sources: Bloomberg LP, U.S. Census Bureau


text:
My map of the Jersey Shore supports a counter-narrative about this area. While the Jersey Shore has a widely-known master narrative of fist pumping Guidos decked out with gold chains and greasy hair, most of the shore is actually quaint summer towns and clean sandy beaches which have been serving as a respite to vacationers from the tri-state area and much further since the 1800s. I have mapped out some area beaches, businesses, attractions, and pastimes and included information, photos, and links to other media which contest the master narrative and offer up a much more classic and family-friendly view of a shore steeped in history and fond memories.
Below is a gallery of some of my personal photos of the Jersey Shore, too.


text:
Constant challenge of seas for lifeboat volunteers
The Stornoway RNLI volunteer crew in action as they set off on a shout.
By Eilidh Whiteford
Thursday, December 14th, 2017, saw the volunteer crews at the Outer Hebrides' oldest and newest Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) stations drop everything to head out to rough seas in gale force winds to the aid of those in danger.
Stornoway RNLI, established in the islands in 1887, and Leverburgh RNLI, founded in 2013, launched at 6pm that night in response to a Pan Pan call – one level down from a full distress Mayday – sent from 54m cargo vessel 'MV Fame'.
With five persons on-board, the ship found itself in difficulties having lost propulsion power and was drifting 1.2nm offshore west of Scarp, on the west side of Harris.
For the volunteer crew of Stornoway RNLI, it was a shout that would see them at sea for 21 hours; and for two of the newly established Leverburgh RNLI volunteer crew, it was to be their first ever shout.
Drifting towards a rocky shoreline with no means of power amid Force 8-10 winds and a sea swell of up to 6-8metres, the 'MV Fame', which had five persons on-board, had anchored in a bid to slow the rate of drift and stop the vessel from grounding.
Read more: Constant challenge of seas for lifeboat volunteers
Natural enthusiasm for colour and scent
By Eilidh Whiteford
To walk into the Hebridean Soap Company is to walk into a delicious bubble of colours and scents.
Established by owner Linda Sutherland in 2002, the Hebridean Soap Company shop and workshop are based in a renovated century-old stone barn in Breasclete, Isle of Lewis.
Linda and her team deliver a world of all natural ingredients and fragrances, producing not only soap bars and liquid soaps, but also the company's unique 'Gaia' body and face cream range and, most recently introduced, a selection of beautiful island-scented candles, available to both visitors to the shop and via website www.hebrideansoap.co.uk
"Each year you have people coming into the shop and then you find they come back on the website," said Linda. "I used to do the website orders in the evening after work, but they've become a permanent job now. We've a lot of repeat customers and it is just so great to see."
All-natural, produced where possible with local ingredients, and mixed, poured and moulded by hand, the Hebridean Soap Company products certainly offer something different to their mass-produced contemporaries.
Gaelic to forefront…and top of the world!
By Katie Macleod
When it comes to Gaelic education, Lews Castle College UHI has a unique offering. "We are situated in what is the strongest Gaelic-speaking community in the world," says lecturer Angela Weir. "Nowhere else are there as many Gaelic speakers as there are in the Western Isles."
This location in the heart of the Gaidhealtachd gives Gaelic students at Lews Castle College various advantages, from access to a faculty of fluent Gaelic speakers and a wide range of courses, to the ability to use Gaelic in the community on an everyday basis – not to mention exposure to multiple island-based Gaelic organisations.
For those students with an interest in studying Gaelic, there's something to suit every language level, with options ranging from Masters degrees to summer short courses. The Gaelic department at Lews Castle College offers four Higher Education options: BA Gaelic Language and Culture, BA Gaelic and Development, BA Gaelic Scotland, and MA Gaelic with Education, as well as a plethora of other classes.
Uist Wool…spinning a new Island future
By Elly Welch
On a quiet croft on the island of Grimsay, North Uist, there's a purr of machinery spinning through the spring breeze. But this is no unwanted 21st century intrusion. This is the quiet song of century old pistons, brought out of retirement to hum new hope for a place that the wool industry forgot – but whose people never did.
As you travel the single track circling Grimsay you can't miss the cheerful green roof of Uist Wool, a community-managed spinning mill and brand new visitor facility including a shop, viewing area, and workshop and training space.
And travel to it you must this summer, for this place, now open to the public for the first time, is exciting. It's not just immensely creative, it's practical too - like a good friend, which it looks set to be for the crofting, artistic and visitor communities of the Outer Hebrides.
The idea for a new woolen mill based in Uist emerged in 2008 when it became clear that native wool had little or no value. Fleeces were being burnt, or thrown away – no longer worth the cost of transport to mainland markets. Concerned locals began to investigate ways to bring the industry back and, soon, the idea for a new mill was formed. Among its hard working volunteers was Uist Wool's current director, Dana MacPhee.
Linda's soap salves the skin with natural goodness!
By Eilidh Whiteford
Celebrating 15 years of business this year, the Hebridean Soap Company has sumptuous new products on the shelves for visitors and islanders alike to treat themselves this summer.
Established in 2002 as the first commercial soap producing company in the Western Isles, owner Linda Sutherland delivers a world of all natural ingredients and fragrances when customers step into the company shop and workspace in Breasclete, Lewis.
"I'm amazed already this year how many people have been in so far," Linda said in March. "And we're looking forward to welcoming many more with a busy summer ahead."
A former IBM systems programmer, Linda was working in Germany and travelling to and from the UK every two weeks prior to embarking upon her 'new challenge in life'.
Read more: Linda's soap salves the skin with natural goodness!


text: Several months ago our Lila met her next best friend Jass then only eight weeks of age (as described in "little puppy visits big brown dog"). Well, the size gap has now narrowed. Jass has grown up and we recently visited her home on Phillip Island in Victoria. An island with endless beach.


text:
2011.02.09 08:46 - Whining, Work-relatedI was informed yesterday the interface to a library introduced in our current release is changing in our next-current0 release, to support a change in our data model: function A is being replaced with function B, which has the same parameters and return type with a different name.
Although function B is named more accurately than function A with respect to current understandings, this could have been avoided by giving A a more generic name in the first place, and the description is not so wrong as to confuse anybody currently working on the project. I suggested that function A could, instead, be rewritten to perform the new behavior, thereby reducing impact on other code. I was told that perhaps I would like to write the library, next time.
Not that it was ever an option, because $other_developer would rather pull an 80 hour week than delegate work he finds interesting. Frustratingly, I like $other_developer, but I'd just as soon not have our next-current release be a bigger screw up than it's already going to be1.
0. This is another point of consternation.
1. So much consternation.
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2011.02.07 10:51 - Entertainment, MoviesI watched The Mechanic Sunday afternoon. Smarter movie than I'd have guessed (though that's not saying a lot, really). Apparently, it's a remake of a Charles Bronson film from the 1970's.
Two things:
First, it really earns that R rating. The violence I expected, but the sex scenes were a bit of a surprise. Maybe I'm just sheltered, though?
Second, there's a training montage in the first half of the film with some nice slow-motion film of cinder blocks being shot, etc, which includes a really nice clip of a spent case being ejected from a gun and tumbling through the air ... which affords a really excellent view showing the case is from a crimped blank.
All told, I thought it was a good film and would give it about 3.5 out of 5. Not very deep, but what's there seemed (mostly) well done.
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2011.01.20 11:32 - Guns, News and PoliticsNot that I have any.
I spend too much time (which is to say, any time) watching the Magpul forum at arfcom. I do this because Magpul makes good stuff, and this has, in the past, been a good way to find out what works and doesn't work and how to use some of less conventional bits. The long-suffering people at Magpul even keep an eye on the forum and answer questions, now and then.
Over the last three years, though, their participation has become more narrow and less transparent: less information about stuff under development, more guarded answers, and less direct involvement, generally. They've cited multiple reasons (including problems with industrial espionage, IIRC: stuff that hadn't been officially announced getting knocked off by competing companies), and I don't blame them: if you've been burned, the natural response is to pull your hand out of the fire.
This week, SHOT Show is going on in Las Vegas. SHOT Show is sort of like E3, or CES: it's a big, industry-specific trade show, and is not open to the general public. New media participation has been pretty large the last couple of years, though, and that has made news from the show much more widely disseminated. As a result, I suspect that SHOT is suffering some of the problems that E3 and CES have and/or do: instead of being a big dog-and-pony show from the traditional press, it's starting to become watered down by public marketing.
Last year's launch of the Bushmaster ACR might even be a big contributor to this problem: the news was public almost immediately, and internet-based kvetching started the same day (and you'll find some of it here: I wasn't thrilled, but I also figure I have a readership that can be counted without removing my shoes).
In the past, Magpul has shown off various new and upcoming goodies at SHOT Show: rubberized grips, new handguards, weapon systems, etc. When the new products did not materialize on whatever schedule was mentioned or assumed, the webweenies complained. When the new products didn't cure cancer, the webweenies complained. (If you can't tell, I think the bulk of these complaints are unjustified.)
I guess the complaining was producing more negative PR than showing stuff off was producing positive PR: this year, Magpul's not showing any new stuff at SHOT Show. And, as above, I don't blame them at all.
But, of course, the webweenies are now complaining that there's nothing new to complain about. I guess Magpul can't win on this.
Related (really): I know Apple has its ridiculous fanboys. Do they get similar shenanigans?
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2011.01.12 13:48 - Toys, PensI was gifted a Levenger L-Tech at Christmas. (After enough nagging, even I can generate a Christmas list, it turns out.)
As writing instruments go ... it's okay. I've got it filled some
I like the way the pen looks, which appears to be a mix of matte chrome and polished stainless steel. With Rotring out of the US market, there's not a lot of choices for industrial-ish fountain pens, so I'm glad this is as nice as it is.
It writes well, but is a hard starter. Most of the time, it takes some finagling to get the pen going, which seems to be a function of a nib geometry not agreeing with me and a cap that may not seal as well as it ought. I'm also not sure the nib and feed hold onto enough ink. The nib is not very flexible (normal for a modern pen, really), so the pen "writes like a nail" (to borrow a phrase picked up from the long-passed Rambling Snail forum), but the tip seems smooth and ink flow is consistent.
The section of the pen is knurled in accordance with the look of the pen, and provides a lot of grip. This is a little more aggressive than I'd like, but I've yet written written with it long enough for it to be uncomfortable. It is next to impossible to clean up after filling from a bottle though: once ink gets down into the crevices in the knurling, it's just not all coming out.
The cap screws on over the nib, but posts on the rear by friction. The threads are smooth, but a little more positive engagement would be welcome to keep the pen closed (as when it's in, say, a jacket pocket). The clip is pretty stiff, and difficult to get over thick fabric (like on a knit polo shirt, let's say).
On the whole, I'd give it a B-.
[Updated 2011-05-03: Mont Blanc, not Waterman ink. I don't own any Waterman ink, actually. Also, I've an update after a couple months of using the same pen with Noodler's black.]
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2011.01.09 13:42 - Guns, Magpul Masada/Bushmaster ACRWent out to Knob Creek Range with my sister the Monday between Christmas and New Year's. A little cool, but a pleasant enough afternoon, otherwise: hardly anybody else on the firing line, no wind and no mud or dust to speak of.
Managed to get the Saiga straightened out by swapping the E-Tac Twister Puck and Gunfixer's Gas Plugs for the factory puck and plug. With the factory parts, it seems like it will cycle the rabbit fart Remington bird shot nearly every time. With the aftermarket parts, it just doesn't have enough gas to feed or eject properly. I may try swapping back just the gas plug and see if that can be made to work, as it's much easier to adjust. All that said, I'm moderately certain the problem is at least partly with the ammunition. I picked up a box each of higher-grade, low brass Winchester and Remington shotshells (Winchester AA "Super Sport" #8, 1 , Remington "Premier Nitro") which cycle just fine.
In the meantime, I have a Remington 870 on order. This is primarily because I wanted a shotgun that would eat whatever I fed it: I have a whole bunch of cheap shotgun shells that I'd like to dispose of.
I think I'm likely to purchase an ACR later this year. Bushmaster's 2011 catalog is out, and prices are down a fair bit. With some additional effort, I think I can probably come up with what I wanted for about what I wanted to pay.
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text:
In biopsych we learn that speech production and speech recognition are highly localised. Neuropsychologist Jack Gallant has peered into the brains of volunteers while they listen to podcasts, and finds that speech comprehension is actually much more interesting than the textbook would lead you to believe.
"when you're listening to someone tell an interesting story, an enormous swath of your brain is being activated."
This is Your Brain on Podcasts.


text:
John Muir's description of the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne River
John Muir, a High Sierra adventurer who needs no introduction, had this to say about the final river of the '7 Rivers Expedition"
"Every one who is anything of a mountaineer should go on through the entire length of the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne, coming out by Hetch Hetchy. There is not a dull step all the way. With wide variations, it is a Yosemite Valley from end to end.
"The Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne . . . is from twelve hundred to about five thousand feet deep, and is comparatively narrow, but there are several roomy, park-like openings in it, and throughout its whole extent Yosemite features are displayed on a grand scale...
-- domes, El Capitan rocks, gables, Sentinels, Royal Arches, Glacier Points, Cathedral Spires. . . . Its . . . cascades or sloping falls on the main river are the crowning glory of the canyon, and these in volume, extent and variety surpass those of any other canyon in the Sierra.
For miles the river is one wild, exulting, on-rushing mass of snowy purple bloom, spreading over glacial waves of granite without any definite channel, gliding in magnificent silver plumes, dashing and foaming through huge boulder-dams, leaping high into the air in wheel-like whirls, displaying glorious enthusiasm, tossing from side to side, doubling, glinting, singing in exuberance of mountain energy."
--"The Yosemite", John Muir
***** NOTE: These are not pictures from the '7 Rivers Expedition' , They were taken by this person, whoever they are.
Here is a link to the page I got the shots from.
To check it out, try
Clicking Here
The text was lifted from an article about Hetch Hetchy. See it by
Clicking Here


text:
Improving a kitchen in a split-level house will call for making the space look contemporary. A house of this type usually has bedrooms built over a raised basement space, with a living room and kitchen on a lower level. A few steps lead up to the bedrooms from the living room or a foyer. Built mainly in the 1960s, this type of home was popular for families who wanted separation between living and sleeping areas without the cost of building a two-story house.
Step 1
Gain space and light for the kitchen. Redo the dark look that's typical of older split-level kitchens. Paint all upper walls light and add lighter cabinets, for example. Install a large window over the sink on an exterior wall as another choice. Add a double set of French doors leading onto a deck from the kitchen or install sliding glass doors. Vault the ceiling, if this seems appropriate.
Step 2
Remodel the cabinets with new colors or touches. Use shorter upper cabinets and leave more back-splash area, if the split-level kitchen is small. Install cabinet doors with a few glass fronts for a lighter look in a small kitchen. Buy new maple cabinets for upper storage and install base cabinets in cherry. Mix two colors of wood finishes by alternating cabinets. Add one or two cherry cabinets on upper walls and one or two maple cabinet sections in the base cabinet areas.
Step 3
Add countertops that blend versus standing out. Install countertop materials that look high-end but make the cabinets the real focus of the kitchen. Design the split-level kitchen, which is often in direct view of the living room, to have walls that seamlessly fit the style of the living space. Make sure the countertops don't stand out, or the room will look choppy.
Step 4
Upgrade appliances that work well with living room colors. Use a black refrigerator and black dishwasher front, if the kitchen is open to the living room. Buy a black leather sofa for the living space and use several black tables in the mix. Install a stainless-steel gas stove, but don't overdo stainless because it will look too utilitarian from the direct view of the living room. Keep in mind that you can use a stainless range with a white refrigerator and white dishwasher that both have some stainless trim.
Step 5
Add some high-quality tile work on kitchen walls or flooring. Install dark brown and gold tiles in a back-splash area, for example. Use larger brown and gold tiles in the home's entrance foyer, if it's near the living room and kitchen, that will match the color of the back-splash tiles. Remodel the foyer, living room and kitchen in a way that doesn't use too many colors. Treat these spaces as one giant space that flows together.


text:
Letter to the House in Support of Three Amendments to the 21st Century Green High-Performing Public School Facilities Act
May 14, 2009
Dear Representative:
On behalf of the National Education Association's (NEA) 3.2 million members, we would like to express our support for three amendments offered to the 21st Century Green High-Performing Public School Facilities Act (H.R. 2187), scheduled for floor vote this morning:
- An amendment by Representatives Giffords, and Cleaver, which would require that green roofs and renewable energy systems projects contain an educational display component to help students learn about the project's benefits to the affected school and to the environment. This would strengthen the underlying bill by adding an important educational link allowing students to understand the impact of the project on their school and community.
- An amendment Representatives Bright and Green to reserve funding for school districts with significant economic distress or recovering from a natural disaster. This would build on funding already in the bill for areas hit by selected hurricanes and would recognize the ongoing economic impact of other natural disasters.
- An amendment by Representatives Griffith and Teague, to allow states to reserve funds for reducing the incidence and effects of asthma and other respiratory illnesses in children. This is an important amendment particularly given the increase in recent years of such illnesses in young children.
We also urge you to vote YES on final passage of this important legislation, which would help states and local school districts stretch their limited resources, continue essential education programs, equip America's students to succeed in the 21st century, encourage schools to become more environmentally friendly and energy efficient, and help create more than 100,000 new jobs in construction-related services.
Thank you for your consideration of our views on these important issues.
Diane Shust
Director of Government Relations
Randall Moody
Manager of Federal Advocacy