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The Old Courthouse Surgery27 Wood StreetBarnetHerts, EN5 4BBTel: 020 8449 2388
May Bank Holidays
We will be closed on Monday 6th May and Monday 27th May
If you have a medical problem that cannot wait until we re-open, please call 111
At The Old Courthouse Surgery in Barnet the Doctors and Nurses take pride in offering the highest standard of patient-centred healthcare. We run many clinics for chronic disease care and offer a wide variety of other medical services such as antenatal and postnatal care, minor surgery, childhood vaccinations and well-person check-ups.
In addition to everything you need to know about the practice you will also find a wealth of health-related information in the menu on the right hand side. Please have a look around and do send us some feedback if you like.
TeachingWe are committed to teaching and feel we have a responsibility towards the next generation of doctors. We are a training practice and have foundation doctors and GP Registrars working here. GP Registrars are fully qualified doctors who have usually completed a minimum of three years of hospital work after qualifying. As part of their training for General Practice they are required to spend a year working at a practice. Our GP Registrars are attached to the Barnet Vocational Training Scheme. Foundation doctors currently spend 4 months with us as part of their training.We also have medical students from UCLMedical School who will spend several weeks at the practice during their final year at medical school.As an aid to teaching and also to improve our own skills we sometimes video consultations. These videos are only used for teaching and only seen by doctors. Physical examinations are not video taped. If a video session is taking place you will be given a form at reception, which explains what is happening. If you agree to be videoed please sign the consent form - you have the right to change your mind at the end of the consultation and the tape will be erased. If you do not agree to be videoed the video recorder will be turned off before you enter the room. It will help us greatly if you do agree to be videoed but we understand if you do not wish to consent to this.
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by Andy W. ntwdesigns.com on Jan 29 2017
The internet has changed the world and pushed it into more modern times. The internet provides an accurate source of information, instant worldwide connection, and a new market for online sales. The online generation is made up of the new youth generation and the old generation habituating to this new era that we all live in. E-Commerce stores are now more popular and trusted than ever. The internet has reached billions of people around the world and e-commerce sales are rocketing on the web. Read below 10 ways to improve your online e-commerce store.

subset: commoncrawl


text: 6. Collect other resources related to living things, particularly those that relate to the plants and animals children are likely to find: • Books, including field guides for local plants and animals • Posters • Web sites about living things See "Books and Videos" (p. 130) for specific suggestions. Step 4: Preparing the Physical Environment—Classroom Set-Up Once you have collected materials and found an outdoor area for your young naturalists to explore, you need to think about how to create an indoor environment that motivates and supports young nat- uralists as they do the following: • Observe, explore, and care for different types of plants and animals • Grow a variety of plants • Use resource materials and naturalist tools • Represent and reflect on their explorations of living things • Share and analyze their observations and theories Teaching Plan 1. Organize your classroom to provide children with the following: • Opportunities to care for and observe plants and animals You will need small containers, living plants, and shelf or table space on which to set up two terraria—one for open exploration and one for focused exploration. The space cannot be too hot or cold. A shelf at child height can be useful but limits the number of children that can observe at one time. You can place the terrar- iumon a table or on the floor when a group wants to observe it more closely. This allows them to see it from all sides, sit and talk about or draw what they see, or use reference books to identify and learn more about what is in their terrarium. (See pp. 123–125 for further information about setting up terraria.) • Access to tools Hand lenses or tabletop magnifiers for more careful viewing, tongue depressors for probing, plates or Plexiglas on which to place the plants or animals • Access to materials for drawing, writing, modeling, and collage Pencils, markers, paper, clay 2. Organize your classroom display spaces to provide children with the following: 18 Discovering Nature with Young Children Documenting what they've seen and representing their ideas will help chil- dren to reflect on their experiences and deepen their understanding. A rich array of art materials will pro- vide opportunities for two- and three- dimensional representation. Issue:I don't think the field guides I have are appropriate for young children. After all, they're geared for adults. Response:It's certainly true that chil- dren will not be able to read or under- stand the information in adult field guides. But when you look at field guides with children, you are model- ing how to use books to find things out. Children will also enjoy looking and talking about the pictures with you, and you can read or paraphrase certain parts of the text to help them learn more. You might even point out particular words such as treeor leaf. Issue:How will I find space? Response:Finding extra space in classrooms is difficult. Teachers notice that children really get involved in ex- plorations when they find living things in many areas of the classroom, so it's worth clearing whatever surfaces and shelves you can. You might want to make more room for living things by putting away some classroom materi- als during focused exploration. Issue:I have no wall space. Response:Finding places to post and display children's work, documen- tationpanels, or photographs can be a real challenge. Some teachers have found display space on the backs of cupboards and doors or on large pieces of cardboard. They found that these displays allowed children im- portant opportunities to share their explorations and revisit their work.


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Share Us:
Willesden Hawkeye
Bristol Rovers (1997)
Fulham (1998)
Sheffield United (2004)
Millwall (2004)
Plymouth Argyle (2006)
Leicester City (2008)
Cheltenham Town (2009)
Truro City (2010)
St Albans City (2012)
Arlesey Town (2013)
Truro City (2014)
Chesham United (2015)
Windsor (2017)
Apps: 141 (9) - Goals: 76
Debut: Bishop''s Stortford (H, 2-0), 28/02/1994
Regarded as one of the greatest Boro' players - certainly during the 1990s, Barry Hayles joined Stevenage Borough from the fairly humble surroundings of Willesden Hawkeye after being spotted by Paul Fairclough.
His arrival at Broadhall Way started a prolific three-year goalscoring spree that saw the striker net a goal for every two starts he made. A key member of the 1995/6 Conference-winning team, Hayles regularly topped the goalscorer charts in the top tier of non-league football.
It seemed like there could be little doubt he was destined for bigger and better things. Boro's failure to gain promotion in the year after being denied due to ground irregularities effectively forced Hayles' hand and he moved onto Bristol Rovers.
One year later, Fulham called and Hayles moved on. And it wasn't to be long before the striker found himself in the Premier League courtesy of the Cottagers' remarkable rise up the divisions. A six-year spell at Craven Cottage came to an end in 2004 - not that it ended his League career.
A switch to Sheffield United preceded a move to Millwall. Plymouth Argyle was his next port of call, spending two years in the South West and continuing to find the net at Championship level. It was enough to earn the interest of Leicester City, but his career was now past its peak.
The next move was downwards to Cheltenham Town before being released in 2010. Despite reported interest in bringing Hayles back to Boro', the return is still to be realised...
Aside from his club career, Hayles was no stranger to the England C squad. He was first capped in 1994 in a fixture against Scottish counterparts, before going on to appear again shortly before his move to Bristol Rovers in a side that also included Lee Hughes.
No games played this season


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Hi Friends! I am slowly catching up with my recipes on the blog. I try as much as I can to avoid frying and excess oil in my cooking. I now bake my sweet and white potato wedges. My Gobi … Continue reading
Tag Archives: health
Easy Steps to Health in 2013
Hi All, So, this morning I couldn't find my son. He was supposed to be getting his shoes on for school. We live with my mom and she likes to keep special treats for the kids in her closet. I … Continue reading
My Vegan Thanksgiving
Hi Friends! I can't believe that Thanksgiving is next week!!! It feels like it snuck up on me this year, good thing my menu last year was so wonderful. I am going to make exactly the same things this year. … Continue reading
Get what you deserve!
I am currently studying for the NASM personal training test. My studies have amazed me. Our bodies are created to work seamlessly to utilize the food we eat, to move and accomplish our tasks each day. The simple act of creating … Continue reading
Tofu's where it's at yo.
I think tofu gets the short end of the stick when we talk about healthy food. Tofu is to food as rap and country are to music. I often hear people say, "I like all music except rap and country (and I live in Nashville). It's the same with tofu. Rarely do we hear anyone going on about their love of tofu. However, just like rap and country, I think if you give it a try and know what to make, you might really enjoy it.
I think Eminem said it best in the into of his Oscar-winning song "Lose Yourself"
Look, if you had one meal…one recipe,
to seize everyone's taste buds in one dinner,
would you cook it?… or just get take out? … and the hook…
You better lose the fear of the bean curd, the soy bean. Just cook it! It doesn't have GMO's.
You only get one shot, do not miss your chance to prove that tofu's an ingredient that begs to be used!
At least that what I think he said:)
Or that famous country song,"She thinks my tofu's sexy"?
Anyway…on to the tofu recipes. I used one block of tofu to make all three of these recipes. Make sure you buy organic tofu, it is not expensive, so as to avoid those pesky GMO's.
The first recipe is a Double Broccoli Quinoa. This meal was fabulous, creamy, hearty, comforting and full of protein, fiber, antioxidants, good carbs…You name it, it's here.
I am not posting recipes for the next two meals, because they are fairly self explanatory. I had some leftover broccoli pesto and 3/4 of the block of tofu leftover from the above meal. I decided to add to the pesto and make some tofu ricotta (recipe below). I used this tofu ricotta in the next two recipes. The first being a gluten-free white pizza with artichokes, sautéed spinach and the remaining roasted broccoli from the quinoa dish. Just buy a pre-made whole grain pizza crust or make your own (I used Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Pizza Crust mix), these are easy to find at any grocery store. The next meal was really easy. I made some pasta and dumped the remaining ricotta and all of our leftover pizza toppings into the pasta, it was awesome and took maybe 15 minutes.
I am adding a bonus tofu recipe as well that is sure to please everyone! I call it Tofu Pie, but you should not call it that. Maybe, Chocolate Mousse you'd never know it's made of tofu but it is, pie? This recipe is beyond easy and has the added bonus of being full of protein.
Double Broccoli Quinoa
4 Cups Broccoli Florets
3 Cups cooked quinoa
1 quarter block of extra firm tofu
1/2 cup almonds
juice of half a lemon
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
3 Garlic Cloves
1/4 cup nutritional yeast (optional, but easy to find at Kroger or Whole Foods)
Salt to taste
Cook Quinoa according to box instructions
Lightly steam half the broccoli
Roast the remaining broccoli at 400 (spray with a bit of non-stick cooking oil and salt) until crispy
Put steamed broccoli, tofu, red pepper, garlic, almonds, lemon juice, nutritional yeast and salt in a blender or food processor and process until smooth.
Taste and adjust seasoning then stir the sauce into the quinoa.
Top with the roasted broccoli and some of the slivered almonds (avocado would be great as well)
This dish is full of protein, fiber and creamy goodness!
Tofu Ricotta
1 block extra firm tofu (remove, drain and squeeze the as much water as you can from tofu) crumbled
1/4 – 1/2 cup Nutritional Yeast
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp basil
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes (optional)
Salt and Pepper
You could also add chopped spinach or fresh basil to this.
Add all ingredients to a food processor, a blender or a bowl and mix. Lightly process if using a food processor or blender until it is the consistency of ricotta cheese. If mixing by hand just use a fork to mash and blend all ingredients together.
I have several friends who have successfully tricked their husbands with tofu ricotta:)
Tofu Pie (AKA, you will never guess there is tofu in this pie, pie)
1 Block Silken Tofu (this is the tofu that is in a cardboardish box, not the kind in the produce section)
1 Bag dairy free chocolate chips ( I like Trader Joes Brand)
Melt the chocolate chips in a double boiler
Combine the tofu and chocolate chips in a food processor or blender and blend until smooth.f
Transfer to pie crust and chill in the refrigerator until pie sets. You could also just eat this as pudding.
You can put this in any crust you desire, I make the one below;
Easy Oat Pie Crust
1 1/2 cups Oat Flour (you can make your own by processing oats in the food processor) – I buy gluten-free oats and oat flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 Tbsp Coconut oil (melted)
4 Tbsp Water
Optional add ins here could be cocoa powder and agave or honey.
Combine all ingredients in a bowl (adding the water as you combine) mix with a fork
Transfer to a pie plate and press it into the mold with your fingers
Poke several holes in the bottom of the crust with a fork and bake for 18 minutes at 350.
I hope you enjoy these recipes while listening to your favorite rap or country music.
Much Love,
Your Vegan Friend
It's getting Chili!
"If this is your first time reading my blog, I am happy to have you here! If you enjoy what you read, please subscribe, like me on Facebook and/or follow me on Twitter. Let me be Your Vegan Friend!"
Hi Friends!
I am writing this post in my fuzzy robe and fuzzy socks. I love fuzzy sock weather. There is something so comforting about a warm blanket and cozy clothing. Maybe it's because we know that wonderful fall/winter activities are on the horizon. Who can resist the pumpkin patch, warm apple cider, that crisp cool air filling your lungs, running or walking outside without feeling as if you may melt? Fall is magical, beautiful and filled with delicious food!
As soon as the temps started to drop I started craving chili. It's easy, quick, inexpensive and lasts for days. It's the perfect no fuss weekend meal when you want a dinner, lunch and dinner again kind of recipe. I make mine as easy as possible by using canned beans. Soon and very soon I plan to venture into the land of dry beans. This is not as daunting as it may seem, just requires some additional time and planning.
I also wanted to include that other fall staple, pumpkin, in my meal. My goal was to get a bit creative. I came up with pumpkin cornbread. Truth be told, I am not a huge cornbread fan. I always think it to be a rather dry, boring buttery spread vehicle. So my mission was clear. Make a flavorful, sweet, not dry cornbread…that is also gluten-free. Baking is not my forte so feel free to tweak this recipe as you see fit. I was pretty pleased with my first attempt. It tasted good on its own and also dunked in the chili, yum!
Easy Veg Chili
1 package frozen onion and pepper medley (mine had onion, red, yellow, green peppers)
2 cloves fresh garlic diced
1 jalapeno (diced, I seeded half of mine)
1 sweet potato peeled and diced
1 28 oz Can stewed tomatoes plus 1 14 oz can diced or stewed tomatoes
1 can black beans (drained)
1 can red beans (drained)
1 can kidney beans (drained)
1 cup frozen corn kernels
1 cup frozen greens (I used turnip, you could also use collards)
3 Tbsp Chili Powder
3 Tbsp Cumin
1 Tbsp Garlic Powder
A dash or two of Cayenne (more for extra heat)
Salt to taste
Spray the bottom of a large pot with non-stick cooking spray and saute the onion/pepper combo, garlic and jalapeno until the onions are translucent.
Add your spices and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
Add the remainder ingredients and bring to a boil, stir, then reduce to a simmer. Let simmer until the sweet potatoes are tender and salt to taste along the way.
Pumpkin Cornbread
3/4 cup yellow corn meal
1 1/4 cups Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Pancake Mix (if you don't need to be gluten-free, I'm sure you could use busquick)
3 tbsp agave nectar ( you can use maple syrup, or 1/4 cup of sugar as well)
Flax Eggs ( 2 tbsp milled flax-seed mixed with 3 or 4 tbsp water, set aside until a gel forms and add to recipe)
3/4 cup frozen corn kernels
1 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 cup to 1 cup almond milk (or non-dairy milk of choice… I would avoid rice since it has a watery consistency)
Mix all ingredients leave the milk for last and adjust for moisture. The batter will be quite thick. Since we are not using any raw animal ingredients you can taste the batter for sweetness and adjust to your taste.
Pour batter into a cake pan that has been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray and bake at 400 degrees until a knife or toothpick come out clean.
I hope you will enjoy these recipes as much as my family did.
My kids are on fall break this week so finding time to write is more difficult! I will be sharing my 3 tofu recipes as well as homemade veggie burgers (so easy) and Meatless meatloaf in future posts. Stay tuned my friends!
As always, thanks for reading, please pin or share this post with your friends and family.
Much Love,
Your Vegan Friend
May I speak with the chef?
If this is your first time reading my blog I am happy to have you here. I would love to see more of you so if you like what you read, please subscribe. You can also like me on Facebook … Continue reading
Save a Pig, eat some tempeh!
If this is your first time reading, thank you! I would love to see more of you here. If you like what you read, please subscribe, like me on Facebook or follow me on Twitter!
Hello Friends!
When I read the very sad news that we were on the cusp of a national bacon shortage I was shocked, saddened…Oh, the humanity!!! Nope, not really at all what I felt:) However, I had to do something. Give the people what they want, right?
I have been wanting to try and make my own version of tempeh bacon and this was the perfect opportunity. I had already planned to make a new version of Potato Leek soup, with cauliflower instead of the potato and a "B"LT was just the accompaniment my soup needed.
I could eat soup and soup alone all day, I love fall, I love that soup can once again rejoin my weekly rotation of food. You will be seeing many soup recipes in the near future. It amazes me that a bunch of ingredients thrown in a pot with some water and seasoning can be so comforting and delicious. My husband however, needs a sandwich to go with it. Feeding him soup and soup alone makes him very sad and I don't like to make people feel sad about food!
So, on to the tempeh. Tempeh is a fermented soy product that is high in protein and has a much "meatier" and denser consistency than that other soy staple, tofu. Like tofu, tempeh will take on the flavors you marinade it in. It is inexpensive and very easy to prepare. Now, will this tempeh fool anyone into thinking it's bacon? He** to the no!! The point is to have a savory, crisp, flavorful alternative. I have said it before, "Tofu, tastes just like chicken!…except it doesn't".
My husband loved this sandwich, he could have cared less that bacon was not present. My kids after smelling it baking couldn't wait to try it and they loved it too. I am planning to tweak this recipe and try adding some liquid smoke and some other flavor combo's.
As for the soup, I wanted a less starchy way to make a creamy comforting soup. I use cauliflower in place of potatoes quite a bit (Potatoes are a sometimes food) so I thought this could work. You can make a mean mashed cauliflower (this actually has faked my husband and others out on several occasions). This soup is remarkably easy and cheap! Veggies in a pot, seasoned and puree. We also have a good amount leftover for lunch today:)
Here are the recipes:
Tempeh Bacon
I sliced the tempeh in thin strips. Then steam the tempeh for about 10 minutes. You can skip this step but I find that the tempeh tastes a little bitter if you don't steam it first.
I prepared a marinade:
1/4 cup tamari (gluten-free) soy sauce
2 Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar
1 Tbsp Agave Nectar (you could sub maple syrup or brown sugar)
2 crushed garlic cloves
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
You could also add 2tsp of liquid smoke ( I didn't have any on hand, but it would make for that smokey bacon taste)
Add your tempeh strips to the marinade, cover and refrigerate until ready to use (at least 15 minutes), I marinated mine for a few hours.
When ready to bake pre-heat oven to 400 degrees
Spray a baking pan with non-stick cooking spray and add the tempeh to the baking pan. Spray the tempeh with cooking spray.
Bake around 6 minutes on each side but watch closely since oven temps and times vary.
Build your sandwich and enjoy!
Cauliflower Leek Soup
1 head Cauliflower
2 leeks (chopped white and light green portion)
2 small carrots, diced
2 ribs celery diced
2 garlic cloves sliced
4 cups Vegetable Broth or water
Salt to taste
Pepper for garnish
(I added a healthy dash of cayenne because I like some heat)
Saute the leeks, carrots, celery and garlic until the leeks are a bit translucent.
Add veg broth or water and the cauliflower and seasoning.
Bring to a boil then reduce to Medium heat. Cook until cauliflower is tender.
Transfer to a blender or use an immersion blender and blend veggies until smooth and creamy.
I hope you will try, and enjoy these very pig friendly recipes. If there are recipes you would like to see on the blog or dishes you would like me to "veganize" please comment below or shoot me and email at firstname.lastname@example.com.
Once again, thanks so much for reading!
Much Love,
Your Vegan Friend
Where I vegan.
I grew up eating meat. I grew up in a family of hunters. I grew up on a lake. My dad owned (owns) several hunting rifles, fishing poles, filet knives etc… We also owned an ice fishing shanty. EVERY prom, homecoming, special occasion picture of my sister and I growing up are in front of our fire-place and underneath some mounted fish that our dad had caught.
My sister once walked into our dark garage straight into the carcass of a deer. On more occasions than I can count my mom cooked dinner while my dad fileted still flopping fish on the kitchen table. I will refrain from posting any hunting pictures…your welcome.
I have only choked once in my life…on a squirrel bone…yes, a squirrel bone. My dad held me up by my ankles and shook me until it dislodged (I'm sure he learned that technique from the Red Cross:)).
One of my favorite snacks growing up was chicken necks, gizzards and hearts. I remember sitting on our front porch with a bowl of them and a salt shaker…. Keepin' it classy!!!
You can't make this stuff up.
I say all of this to say, I have not always been a vegan. In fact, I was far from it for most of my life. I did not grow up in a family of "tree huggers" that set me on the path of healthy eating. One of my specialties while I was in college was a hot plate meal of ground beef, beef rice 'r' roni, a can of corn and melted cheddar cheese on top. I loved my #2 meal from McDonald's, 2 cheeseburgers, fries and a diet coke (of course) for $2. I loved it, had it my way, nacho supremed it and then some. A healthy salad was iceberg lettuce, cheese and heaps of ranch dressing.
I dabbled while I was in college with a vegetarian diet, mostly for weight loss. Then, just decided that I liked food too much and started eating the way I normally had. Just to set the record straight, I can throw down. I love food, I love to eat. I think about food quite a bit, it is very important to me. I have never been one of those bird eaters who diet.
I have never worried so much about my weight, I have been blessed with some great genes. However, once I started working in an office environment where food seemed to just materialize I gained about 10 pounds and my cholesterol hit 211. I remember my Dr. telling me to lay off the butter… so that was all I did.
Then, when I was pregnant with my second child I developed an aversion to meat. I could barely look at it without wanting to hurl. I have always had a love of animals and just preferred not to think about where my food came from. The more I read about meat production and consumption the more it made sense to me. It started to become difficult to turn a blind eye. You know better, you do better, or so I have heard:)
Finally, I ended up seeing a television show produced by Morgan Spurlock (Super Size Me) called 30 days. This particular episode centered on animal rights. It was my tipping point and I decided right there and then that I was done with animal products. I knew too much to turn my back any longer.
My reasons for going plant-based started there and have grown exponentially since then. The more I learned about the benefits going vegan had on animals, the environment, world hunger and most notably our health and wellness the more passionate I became. This was no longer a lifestyle, this was a crusade. I not only felt better than I ever had health wise, I also ate with a clear conscience. Not only did I not miss meat or cheese for that matter, I loved the new foods I was eating. I realized that I had the tools to help others change their habits as well. If this gizzard eating, squirrel choking girl can do this, anyone can!
I will be sharing in the weeks to come some reasons to check out plant-based living. The impact you can have on our planet. The myriad of ways you can shape the future of humanity. Ways that you can virtually bullet proof yourself against most of the diseases that plaque our great Country.
Keep reading my friends!
Much Love,
Your Vegan Friend


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The Titans haven't officially announced any of their cuts yet, but some of the players receiving bad news are sharing the news ahead of the team.
One such player is wide receiver Marc Mariani. Mariani joined the team as a seventh-round pick in 2010 and spent his first two seasons as the team's top kick and punt returner. He returned two punts and a kickoff for a touchdown over that span, but missed the last two years with a broken leg and a shoulder injury.
"All good things must come to an end," Mariani said in a text to Jim Wyatt of the Tennessean. "Hopefully I'll land somewhere else soon."
Defensive lineman Marcus Dixon also tweeted that the "Lord has something else in store for me." Dixon played for the Jets from 2010-2012 and was out of the league last season.
Wyatt reports that the Titans have also released offensive lineman Justin McCray, fullback Colin Mooney, offensive lineman Jeff Adams and defensive lineman Chigbo Anunoby. That leaves them with 16 more moves to make before Saturday's deadline.


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Video of a scientist digging out a German wasp nest in New Zealand has gone viral.
Dr Bob Brown uploaded the terrifying footage two weeks ago, and it shows just how many wasps are actually contained in the deceptively small nests.
Dr Brown uploaded two versions of the footage, and collectively they have been viewed over 800,000 times.
Check it out:
Dr Brown wrote in the video's description:
I have many years of experience and use specialized equipment to do this and still get the odd sting, so please don't try to dig an active nest yourself!"
"As you can see from the copious amount of venom on the camera lens, these wasps meant business.
And Dr Brown wasn't done yet, he had to return to the same nest in order to locate the queen which he says escaped during his first attempt.
Fuck that, it's like a park bin in summer on steroids.
What a line of work to get into.


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Bennett's Kickoff Return and 4 TD's Lift Meeteetse Over Guernsey [VIDEO]
Highlights of the Saturday, October 13th 6-man football game between #4 Meeteetse at #5 Guernsey.
Scroll down to watch the highlights of the game!
A 4th quarter kickoff return made the difference as the Longhorns picked up a road win against the Vikings.
Well my birthday was last month, but I decided to be a nice guy and I shared the cake with everyone.
Number 4 Meeteetse at Number 5 Guernsey…first quarter…Guernsey wearing the black…and trying to make something happen early…Treasure Hollister…he knows that x marks the spot and Gage Cunningham has got the treasure chest…a 24-yard pickup down to the 6 yard line and the Vikings were in good shape.
But on the next play..their ship would spring a leak…Shawn Shepperson was there to knock ball loose on the handoff…John Andren would recover and that ended up saving 6 points for the time being.
Now it's time to see what the opposition can do…and here's the guy to look out for…Seth Bennett…he's a junior…and this guy can run…in the game prior to this one, he rushed for 500 yards plus and 8 rushing touchdowns…but this one will not be added to his total…there was some holding at the beginning of this play, so it's coming back, but it was worth showing.
Now this play is on a different possession…but Bennett does not mind one bit…he missed all of last season with a shoulder injury…and that's why the Longhorns went winless…but everything looks fine now. We never got official numbers from this game, but let's just say Bennett did what he was supposed to do. This play ended up being a 47 yard pickup into enemy territory…you would think someone would've scored by now, but we had a pair of zeros on the scoreboard after the first 10 minutes.
2nd quarter…the visitors would continue the drive and finish the job…Bennett can also throw as well…and he was thinking about it…he almost got the camera on the second pump fake…there was just enough room on the far side for him to slip in from 9 yards away…we finally got some points…Meeteetse is up 6-nothing.
The boys in black would strike back…Brady Esquibel is one of the top 5 rushers in the state in 6-man…and no one laid a hand on him and that was probably the easiest 7 yards that's he's ever run…add in a 2-point kick…and Guernsey would take the lead…8-to-6.
Back come the Longhorns…and more from Bennett…plays like this show why he's the top rusher in the state in 6-man…averaging more than 2-hundred yards per game…he also leads 6-man in rushing touchdowns…this is number 27 on the season…and he had to go 28 yards for it…his team led 14-to-8 going into halftime.
3rd quarter…let's get someone else in on the act…Shepperson is a tall player and he's just a freshman…actually the visitors only have 1 senior on the roster…so look out for them next year…it's now 20-to-8.
Guernsey would recover and get back into it…they were counting on Esquibel and he did his part and then some. Untouched again…and he's going to rumble 24 yards into the promised land…and he's a sophomore so you know he's going to get better…home team trails 20-to-16.
After a turn-over on downs…the Vikings got back to work. Esquibel again from 1 yard and all he had to do was get the ball across the goal line. The boys in black have righted the ship, and they were up 23-20.
Then the Longhorns would go on another cattle drive and guess who again? Actually Bennett would get a little help from one of the officials on this play, and we know…he did not do it intentionally. Bennett will zig zag his way through the defense for a 30 yard score…that's TD number 3 in the game for him, and the lead has changed hands again…28-23 going into the final 10 minutes.
4th quarter…well for the most part you could say this game was Bennett vs. Esquibel…and now it's time for the latter to do his part again…Esquibel is busting loose and taking off for 41 yards and no one is in his way. Guernsey would swing the pendulum the other way for the time being, and take the lead back…up 30-to-28 with a little less than 5 minutes to go.
But on the ensuing kickoff…here's where the tide turned for good and I think you know what's coming. The boys in black had been kicking the ball out of bounds…away from Bennett. This was the one time that they did not and Bennett would make them pay…he'll get good blocking…get around the defense on the far sideline and he's gone…60 yards…that play was the difference maker…as Meeteetse managed to get out of town…with a 36-to-30 win.


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|Ghost Border Die Set, Boo & Faces Stamps
|Ghost Border Die Set, Boo & Faces Stamps
This Ghost Border Die Set just makes me so happy. I could keep going and going with it, but I have other dies to cut!
|Ghost Border Die Set, Boo & Faces Stamps
|Ghost Border Die Set, Boo & Faces Stamps
Wow, you're first ghost card is just stunning! I love the new releases of stamps and dies.
Awesome cards! I'm loving that Ghost Border die set!!! Your cards are delightful!
What a great way
to use the ghost
stamp! Super cute.
Carla from Utah
Wow your cards this release are just amazing <3
BOO-tiful cards Mary Dawn!!!
The more I see the ghost border, the more I LOVE IT, especially when layered like you have done with the glittery eyes!!!
WOW - LOVE the ghost in the AWESOME star-filled sky too!!!
THANK YOU for sharing your SPOOKY INSPIRATION :)
Stunning cards! I really love the ghost border die... it's so fun :)
Oh triple stacked, I love it!
I like all the layered ghosts!
Very cute but also spooky! :)
Very fun cards! Love the ghosts layered on the first card!!
You are on a roll with these amazing ghost cards!!! Love them all!
What a great idea with the star background! It really feels like Halloween night! Nice work!
Those layered ghosts are fabulous!!! And I love the stars in the background on the second card----reminds me that I wanted to get that die...hmmmm....
Super 'trio of ghosts' card!
I LOVE the star background!! What a super idea!! I also LOVE the ghosts layered like that! These cards are both very cool!
The big ghost die is so versatile.
Love the layered ghosts.
the projects are great.
thanks for sharing.
...love, love, love your style.
Another beautiful set of Halloween cards! Love all of the fun die cutting and layers!
Great use of these dies!
Your card are fun and spooky!
These are some of my favorite cards from the whole hop! I love the ombre ghosts and pairing the ghost die with the star die was just brilliant.
cute cards!
Both cards are so cute and clever!
Wow. I didn't think I was going to like the ghost border die but looking at the cards/projects you and the rest of the DT made is definitely changing my mind!!
LOVE LOVE LOVE the layering of the ghost border dies! Love the starry background too, adds to the spookiness!
Oh my gosh! You SO ROCKED that border die. Love Love Love.
Stunning cards!!!! Love them!
love how you used the ghost die!!!
CUTE! Love the ghosts stacked! So fun!
Great layering of your elements. The cards are both spooky and gorgeous.


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Things to consider when buying…
Machine Reviews
De'Longhi Bean To Cup Machine
We reviewed the De'Longhi CAFFE CORSO machine, model ESAM 2800, and loved it!
Buying a coffee machine as a gift
Struggling to buy a gift for a coffee enthusiast? (more…)read more...
Grinder Review. The Goldilocks approach
Similar to Goldilocks' porridge, the Three Grinds can be too coarse, too fine, or just right.
Portable Espresso
Espresso fans can now enjoy good Espresso anywhere – without a power socket.
Back to the Grind – Grinder Review
We test a Blade Grinder Grinder. Can we get a good grind at a low cost?
Mug comes with built-in grinder and filter
The coffee maker, all in one cup, with its own grinder and filter.


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one can end a running DVBDream process by starting another process with the command line option /quit.
However, if the main process doesn't exist anymore, the 'quit'-process stays around until closed manually (or if you run it a second time with that command line option).
/quit on command line not working if main instance gone
Fixed bugs & the feature requests that have been implemented. Section is just to inform users during version changes.
Moderators: X05, Dreamer, FredB
2 posts • Page 1 of 1
Re: /quit on command line not working if main instance gone
fixed in upcoming version
DVB Dream - because I have to dream about having time to code it
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text:
Jessica Angell's Letter to her Teen Self
Jessica Angell is a veteran of Boston's mobile start-up community and currently heads marketing for the PayPal Media Network, a division of PayPal. She is dedicated to promoting women in technology with work for the National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE) and involvement with SCFG. She earned her dual Bachelors degree in Modern European History and Spanish Literature from Wesleyan University.
Jessie, stop!
I know what you're about to do. You're about to walk into Mrs. Fitzpatrick's 8th grade science classroom and ask her to reduce the grade she gave you on your invention for the class project. You've been torturing yourself over the emptiness of the A she gave you, because you don't think you worked hard enough on it, it wasn't polished enough, it wasn't ground-breaking enough. A well-earned B+ would be better than this sham of an A. Besides, if you were a REAL inventor, one that deserved an A, you certainly wouldn't have come up with something so…. lame. And, because your invention was lame, logically, you don't deserve an A.
Mrs. Fitzpatrick will be kind and gentle enough to usher you out of her classroom with reassurances that your invention did, in fact, deserve the A. But, the grown up world isn't always so supportive and reassuring, and if you develop the habit of undermining yourself now, it's going to be mighty tough to break in the future.
You will hoard the criticism and share the accolades; you will only go after projects that are well within your grasp and not reach for projects that will expand your horizons; you will dismiss legions of compliments and dwell on a single negative comment; and, worst of all, you will punish yourself over and over again for no other reason than that you're not living up to your own standards, that you can't adequately explain the reasons for your success, and thus, don't deserve it.
You tell yourself that you're simply accepting compliments gracefully. It's lady-like to be modest. It would be crass to simply accept a compliment without some demurral. But really, it's self-effacing behavior masquerading as good manners. And, it would be better for both of us if you learned these lessons in the 8th grade, instead of mid-career. The starting points are below:
1) In order to accept a compliment gracefully, you have to actually ACCEPT the compliment. No demurrals. No ifs. No ands. No buts. Start now. Smile, nod, say thank you, and move on.
2) Enjoy your victories – they may come easy now in the 8th grade, but they won't always.
3) Stop invalidating your wins. Yes, the competition could have been stiffer, you could have been given less time and fewer resources, you could have been asked to complete that project blind-folded. Is that what you're looking for? Know that the win you're refusing to acknowledge was won in the hardest of circumstances. Just. Stop.
And, for the record, these rules don't just apply to the words coming out of your mouth, but also (and most importantly) to the constant stream running through your head. It won't come easy at first, but practice makes perfect, so let's just start with not asking for your grade to be reduced and go from there. Sound like a plan? Good! We'll learn how to do this thing right together.
You + 20 years


text: Undoubtedly, you probably get a number of questions about parents. But I have to ask. It's my mother, she has caused me to lose a number of friends, as well as girlfriends. She constantly calls (like 15 times a day) and thinks that the whole world is against her. My mother is very manipulative, and it has finally come to the point where I have told her that I want nothing else to do with her until she seeks help. Case in point, last night she calls my house. I have a new answering machine and I haven't figured out how to change the message from the womans voice. She begins yelling at my roomate, demanding why her voice is on the machine. My roomate tells her its not hers, and my mother calls her a liar. She then calls back like 7 times asking for me ( I was out on a date) then begins to call my cell phone. I have tried to discuss this with my father, but it is useless. She has always been this way, and I believe it has even affected my social life. I just don't want to bring an innocent into this mess. About 2 years ago I was seriously in love with a girl, and she ended up leaving because she 'didn't like who I would become around my mother'. She also couldn't handle my mothers constant interuptions. My older brother has been totally destroyed, he is now a crack addict and criminal. She has no life, no friends, and just sits in her room or constantly goes to a number of physicians for a number of various health issues, though I wonder ofter how much is real, and how much is just a way of getting attention. And they, of course just feed her healthcare addiction with multiple diagnoses of different problems. What can I do? I don't know how much longer I can take this.


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The management of the University of Lagos (UNILAG) has set up an investigative panel to look into allegations of sexual harassment against Olusegun Awonusi, a professor of English Studies at the University.
In a statement signed by the University's Director of Students' Affairs, Prof Tunde Babawale, he called on anyone, particularly staff and students of the institution, to volunteer any information they feel could help in the investigation.
Awonusi, who was the former Vice-Chancellor of Tai Solarin University of Education (TASUED), Ijagun, Ogun State, was accused of harassing female students and threatening to fail them if they refused his advances.
The statement reads: "The University of Lagos Management has set up a Fact Finding Panel to investigate the allegation of sexual harassment involving a Lecturer in the University published in various social media platform.
"The panel has commenced investigation into the allegation and is requesting the members of the University of Lagos community (Particularly Staff and Students) who have useful information on this specific allegation and any other one that could aid its assignment to submit memoranda to the panel.
"The memoranda should be addressed to the Secretary, Fact Finding Panel on the Allegation of Sexual Harassment involving a Lecturer in the University, c/o Registrar's Office, 5th Floor Senate Building, University of Lagos.
"The memoranda, in sealed envelopes, should be submitted from Monday 11th to Friday 15th June, 2018 in the Registrar's Office. Confidentiality of response is assured."
DAILY POST reports that Awonusi had previously dismissed the sexual harassment allegation against him as cheap blackmail.


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2nd Best City for Millennials: Arlington, VA
Update: According to 2017 rankings by Niche, Arlington is now the #1 best city for millennials
Students who have recently graduated from college are always on the lookout for prospective jobs. Most of them are trying to weigh the advantages and disadvantages between living near their hometown versus venturing into a new city. The unfamiliarity of living in a new city can become a setback in their professional lives. In order to help students in this confusing process, Niche has created an impressive ranking system about the best cities in the United States for millennials. It specifically focuses on the decision making and behavior patterns of the millenials. The overall findings show that Arlington provides plenty of job opportunities and entertainment options. Thousands of Arlington millenials have already considered the city as their new home.
Niche.com is a website which evaluates a total of 227 cities wherein they collect various data which come largely from the United States Census. There were specific factors considered to come up with the most accurate results. These factors include the percentage of millenials who decided to move to the city and the percentage of residents ranging from ages 25 to 34. Other factors considered were ethnic diversity, crime, unemployment and median rent. There were also quality of life distinctive considerations which were studied to be ranked accordingly. These considerations include proximity to restaurants, coffee shops and bars.
According to the findings, Cambridge Massachusetts won the top spot. It scored very high in the diversity scale and had convenient accessibility to various quality of life considerations. Approximately 75% of Cambridge residents have bachelor's degrees. Cambridge is most popularly known for being the home of Harvard University. Although it remains to have higher costs of living compared to other cities, it still won the top spot in the Niche ranking since it had more than a quarter of local residents who are millenials. According to statistics, 6.5% of those residents were students who moved to the city in the previous year.
In second place according to the Niche.com ranking is Arlington, Virginia. Even though it had similar high costs of living similar to Cambridge, Arlington still won second place. The cost of living didn't become a hindrance in being ranked the 2nd Best City for Millenials by the Niche ranking. Arlington has plenty of positive attributes like having easy access to bars, coffee shops and restaurants. Findings also show that it had a high ethnic diversity ranking. Arlington has an impressively high millenial population. The city's low unemployment rates makes it the perfect city for millenials. It is often referred to as a young job seeker's paradise because of the endless amounts of opportunity it offers.
In third place is Alexandria, Virginia. According to the findings, Alexandria received a high rating in terms of quality of life considerations. It had easy access to various social hubs such in the area such as bars, coffee shops and restaurants. However, it only won third place because it received lower marks in terms of cost of living and safety compared to Cambridge and Arlington. The calculations used by Niche.com came from various findings from the FBI, CDC and the U.S. Census.


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This is just not, and I mean NOT the season in my life for happy times with model trains. Have several, half a dozen actually, which did okay for a few years but now have developed problems. Interestingly they are all made by Bachmann here in the 2000s.
Did NOT have this trouble, ever, and that means ever with "blacksmith engineering" level Athearn locomotives in the 1970s and 80s.
Have 2 diesels with cracked axle gears - all 4 axles on each. One is a Western Maryland GE 44 tonner my parents got me for Christmas a few years ago.
Have 2 diesels with bad motors.
Have 2 steamers with defective side rods, and one of them may have motor issues. one has parts installed backwards at the factory, and one had one eccentric crank lose a chunk around the rivet hole - whaaat? The thing is metal, not plastic.
Had 1 diesel a couple years ago, a Chessie System GP40 my parents had gotten me for Christmas, have its DCC circuit board go bad, instead of returning it I just bought an aftermarket board. Have yet to install it, though.
Of course that all waited to happen AFTER I finally got around to doing some custom painting and detailing to them.
And now ...
Front handrails on a loco got snagged on something and broke. True, the scale dimension plastic railings of these days LOOK better than the metal wire ones of the 1980s, but, dudes, there's a lot to be said for durability and survivability in a club environment.
Anyway, earlier today a took a time out from doing Medicaid paperwork to print pictures and send Bachmann a letter about the defective ones. I just now discovered the broken handrail on the Western Maryland GP40. With my health being such a mess, this kind of stuff gets me down in a hurry. I need things to go right. The first time. Every time.
Yeah, yeah, I know, first world problems.


text:
Ski resorts Switzerland
All lifts/cable cars Disentis
A cable car lift leads from the S. Catrina base station in Disentis/Mustér up to the ski resort to Caischavedra at 1863 m. Chairlifts provide access to the majority of slopes. The highlights are the two high speed Gendusas and Lai Alv detachable quad chairlifts. Tow lifts lead up to the highest points in the ski resort. Two tow lifts and a people mover in Caischavedra are ideal for practicing. There are also people movers and a practice lift at the Sax Skiwiese (practice area with snow production equipment) at the base.
Number of ski lifts
Total capacity
|10990 Passengers/hour
Total lift length
|9.1 km Total
Other types of ascension mechanisms


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Trivandrum: As part of a high-pitched promotional campaign in the Middle East, Kerala Tourism has conducted roadshows in Oman and Bahrain to boost foreign tourist arrivals in the State during the 'Visit Kerala' year.
The roadshow in Oman was held at Muscat on November 23 and in Bahrain, the roadshow took place at Manama on November 25.
"The Middle East is of special significance to us," said Kerala Tourism Minister, Shri A P Anilkumar. "Kerala attaches a lot of importance to visitors from the Middle East. This is a region close to us also because of the large number of our people working in these countries."
Kerala Tourism Director, P I Sheik Pareeth, who led the State delegation to Oman and Bahrain, said the two roadshows evoked a tremendous response in the two countries. "The response from the trade in both the countries during the roadshows was highly encouraging. It is after a gap of five years that Kerala Tourism has conducted roadshows in the Middle East region."
"The tourists from the Middle East are mainly focused on our products such as Ayurveda," said the Tourism Director. "There is also high demand for luxury accommodation and facilities," he added.
In Oman, representatives from over 30 leading tour operating companies participated in the roadshow in Muscat. Representatives from over 40 leading tour operating companies participated in the Manama roadshow.
The plans of Oman and Bahrain governments to expand air connectivity to Kerala are expected to provide a huge boost to tourist arrivals from the Middle East. Visa on Arrival facility is currently available to visitors from Oman at all airports in Kerala.
Mohammed Al Riyami from the Ministry of Tourism of Oman also attended the roadshow in Muscat.
As many as 14 trade partners from Kerala attended the roadshows in both countries. The Kerala Tourism trade partners were Abad Hotels and Resorts, All Season, Carmelia Haven, Chandy's Windy Woods, Discover Kerala Holidays, Intersight Tours & Travels, Kairali–The Ayurvedic Healing Village, Kumarakom Lake Resort, RAXA Collective, Spiceland Holidays, T&U Leisure Hotel, The Silver Tips, Munnar, The Zuri Hotels & Resorts, and Thomas Hotels and Resorts.
Kerala Biz News


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THE 67 PEOPLE gathered in the basement of Union Baptist Church in Memphis have come from all over: Appalachian State University and Asbury College, Louisiana State and Liberty University, Wright State and Wheaton College. The youngest is 21; the oldest, 48. They've come to teach in some of the lowest performing schools in the state of Tennessee.
For the next 12 months, they'll live, learn, and pray together, becoming a family as they also learn to become teachers and colleagues. All were drawn by faith and a dream that God is doing unexpected things in the city schools of Memphis.
Welcome to the Memphis Teacher Residency (MTR), a faith-based nonprofit that's become one of the most effective teacher training programs in Tennessee.
At the front of the room, Rev. Tom Fuerst, an associate pastor at Christ United Methodist Church, gives the morning devotional. His message: The world is broken and so are Memphis schools. But God wants to fix them both. Fuerst describes the idea of "prior grace"—that God is at work in the world long before we are aware of it—and invites the new trainees to become agents of that grace by becoming great teachers.
But Fuerst, like everyone at MTR, is quick to warn the aspiring teachers—known as residents—against proselytizing. The residents, as public school teachers, don't preach faith in the classroom, hold Bible studies, or actively discuss their faith. That would make the classroom unsafe for non-Christian students, warned Fuerst.
That doesn't mean that MTR hides its Christian identity. Organizers believe that every student in Memphis is a child of God and deserves a great education. They believe that providing great public education is part of the gospel. The gospel motivates everything they do. But preaching is not part of their educational strategy.


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SHOCK new evidence shows the effect classroom stress is having on Wigan's teachers.
Latest figures show that 68 teachers employed in local education authority schools have been off work and reported stress as the official reason for their absence over the past year - up from 56 for the previous year. More than 22,883 contractual teaching hours were lost during this period - a rise in 4,162 teaching hours from the year before.
However the Freedom of Information request failed to illicit which school has had the most teacher absences due to stress, as, claim the LEA, this could potentially identify the individuals involved.
Wigan branch secretary of the National Union of Teachers, Max Atkins, said that the number of cases the union have had on behalf of teacher members at home sick with "work-related stress" in the last academic year was literally double that of the previous year. He laid the blame squarely at the feet of the controversial former Education Secretary Michael Gove and the school's inspectorate, Ofsted.
Mr Atkins said: "The relentless pressure on schools constantly to improve performance whilst idiotic new policies, procedures and demands are made on an almost daily basis is ridiculous.
"No other profession has had such ill-informed ideological and political interference forced upon it as teaching, and certainly not to the extent that this government has done.
"Heads are understandably terrified that a dip in results may force them out and their schools to become Academies, and so have increased pressure on teachers to do better, faster.
"This means that pupils in turn are being forced through learning hoops that are getting increasingly higher and increasingly smaller every year.
"Teachers are rightly complaining that pupils are no longer human but pieces of data that must be pushed towards the next target immediately they have met the last one.
"That is not learning, it's a production line.
"Every aspect of a teacher's day is being micro-managed to such a ridiculous level now that some teachers are understandably not able to cope."
He pointed out that the NUT has now produced an Education Manifesto - https://www.teachers.org.uk/manifesto -to stop the situation putting such extreme pressure on the profession.
Mr Atkins said that it had been "extremely well-received and endorsed" by professors, researchers, journalists and authors who all agree that teachers, parents and pupils "know best" about education, not the likes of Mr Gove.
He said: "We are pushing for our ideas to be taken on by the next government so that schools stop being the highly stressful places they have become for teachers and pupils alike."


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Local music teacher and mum Alison Barlow will be belting out Abba songs as she runs the Battle 10k on September 6.
Alison decided to take on the run while singing at the same time to raise funds for Brain Tumour Research and the Teenage Cancer Trust.
Explaining her motivation, Alison said: "Very sadly, Nicola, my daughter's best friend at University, was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumour some five years ago; despite radiotherapy and chemotherapy, she died last Summer aged just 25.
"I was shocked to discover that brain tumours kill more children and young people than any other cancer - survival rates are pitifully low, and funding for research is less than many other cancer charities.
"So I decided to do some kind of sponsored event, in order to raise some money, and also to raise awareness of this horrible killer disease.
"I began to train to run the Battle 10K, which is bad enough, as I am far from being young, and far from being an athlete, and then, rather madly, I decided to sing the whole race, just to be different.
Training is particularly hard, as I have to find secluded places to run and sing, and I have already frightened several elderly dog walkers as I 'race' by, singing a selection of WW2 songs, songs from the shows and Abba favourites, not to mention 39 verses of Kum Ba Ya!
"I have not yet managed to sing for the full distance, but I am determined that, somehow, I will do it on September 6."
Alison will be getting a little help on the last leg of the course.
She said: "I am a class teacher at Beckley School and Northiam school, and as I am a musician, I take singing assemblies.
"One day I told the children what I was doing and why and we all had a go singing for a few minutes while jogging on the spot. It was surprisingly popular, and some of the children wanted to run with me on the day.
"I contacted the organisers, who have kindly agreed to adjust the traffic control system so that a group of pupils are able to join me to run and sing the final 'push' down Battle High Street as we cross the finishing line together.
We have chosen a song called: 'Sing a Song in Unison' which is all about friendship and sharing - it feels very apt - there'll be about 12 to 15 children singing and running, aged between about 6 and 11.
"I have a Charity website which is http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/Sing10 and with online and offline pledges, I am approaching the £400 mark at the moment, although my aim is to raise £1,000 if possible."
Don't miss out on all the latest breaking news where you live.
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Be part of it.


text:
We are committed to helping people affected by incest by passing on resources and references. Our book Healing from Incest: Intimate Conversations With My Therapist, details a few years in the lives of one survivor, Geri, and her therapist, Seanne, as they worked together toward healing. For those who recognize this as their own story, this frank and genuine narrative will be reassuring in its descriptions of one woman's journey toward hope and healing.
Contributors: Geri Henderson, PhD & Seanne Emerton, LIMHP, LMFT, LPC


text:
In November, you may have read the announcement from Mike Hostetler that appendTo was ceasing to take on new projects. Over the past four months, a lot has happened, and its all very exciting news for us!
We're excited to announce that appendTo has been acquired by DevelopIntelligence, the leading provider of custom, role-based software development training solutions for teams and organizations.
"DevelopIntelligence is honored by the opportunity to continue offering world-class, front-end modern web development consulting and training through the appendTo brand. Over the next few months, we will be adding some amazing new courses and technologies to the appendTo catalog, specifically in the areas of emerging front-end technologies," said Kelby Zorgdrager, CEO & Founder, DevelopIntelligence.
"A big thanks to Mike and his team for growing such a great company. We are looking forward to working with all of the appendTo customers and broader community," Zorgdrager continued.
Mike Hostetler had this to say about the news, "I couldn't be happier that such a great company is taking over the reins at appendTo. Kelby and his team not only talk about the same values we upheld at appendTo but they've demonstrated what it looks like to live those out while providing a world-class training experience. I'm excited to see where they take appendTo in the future!"
If you are looking for custom group training options, take a moment and give us a call, (877) 629-5631, or send us a request for a custom training proposal today.


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- Relevant sketchbook #1
- Relevant sketchbook #2
- Relevant sketchbook #3
Requested by Joe - FV5 Greg and Justin working out
I considered many different form of exercises these two could be doing together. Several of the options I thought of had the simple issue of one character obscuring the other. I liked some of those options, but for this sketchbook, I wanted each of them to be visible, and not all obscured by virtue of them being on top of and/or all over one another.
Of course, now that I've written the above paragraph, it's possible I'll have to draw something to that effect later or get lynched.
Note: Requests are paraphrased for clarity and brevity


text: Hi, I like to add some of my own utilities, etc.. to the CentOS 5.0 LiveCD. IOW I am looking for a way to rebuild the livecd for specific purposes. Can someone reach me handle where to start? The only thing I've found so far is the out-of-the-box iso. Thanks, John


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A community for active adults within nature for all to enjoy.
Medford Leas is unlike any other continuing care retirement community in New Jersey. With a unique location within The Barton Arboretum and Nature Preserve, Medford Leas believes there is no better way to assure the continuing strength of the community than through a gift to one of our Funds, or to support through volunteering at Medford Leas.
In addition to the residents, many donors help protect the grounds of the arboretum. Your financial support provides Medford Leas the funding for the upkeep of The Barton Arboretum and Nature Preserve.
Volunteer Opportunities
Medford Leas gives back. Calling all: educators, artists, naturists, entertainers, drivers, and anyone willing to use their lifelong skills to help.
Make a Gift
We ask that you to consider how you can support our efforts and Medford Leas' residents. Gifts and bequests of all sizes allow Medford Leas to continue our many wonderful and meaningful services.
Planned Giving
Generous donors are essential to safeguarding the Medford Leas legacy. Charitable contributions will help strengthen the present and shape the future.
Holly Society
The Holly Society was established to recognize all those who have included Medford Leas in their estate plans or planned giving.


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You've got to love a girl who fends off criminals with donut holes, dons a wig and faux tattoos for the sake of an investigation, and wants to follow God more than the lure of her past life--and love.
I confess to shouting with glee when I received my copy of Double Trouble, while holding off my daughter, who soon realized she'd have to wait in line to read Susan May Warren's second installment in the PJ Sugar series.
My shouting soon gave way to laughing out loud. PJ just can't stay out of trouble, for all her good intentions. What's PJ's life like in Double Trouble?
With one solved case under her belt, PJ Sugar is ready to dive into her career as a private investigator. Or at least a PI's assistant until she can prove herself to Jeremy Kane, her new boss. Suddenly, PJ's seeing crime everywhere. But is it just in her head, or can she trust her instincts? When she takes on her first official case--house sitting for a witness in protective custody--Jeremy assures her there's no danger involved. But it soon becomes clear that there is someone after the witness ... and now they are after PJ too.
I can relate to PJ. She's not perfect, but she's trying to do the right thing. She wants to help others, and she means well. She doesn't feel like others understand her and sometimes she doesn't understand herself, either.
One of the things I appreciate about Warren's writing style is how she so effortlessly weaves spiritual truths into a fun, fast-paced novel. In some Christian fiction, the story grinds to halt with a "We now interrupt your regularly scheduled reading while the author imparts a spiritual lesson" moment. Not so in Warren's books.
Click on the button to find out all you need to know about the Double-Trouble Giveaway! One Grand Prize winner will recieve a $150 Super Sleuth prize package that includes:
- a brand new iPod shuffle (perfect for those all-night stakeouts)
- a $10 iTunes gift card (We recommend the Alias soundtrack.)
- a $10 Amazon gift card (Why, yes, they do sell spy pens.)
- a $10 Starbucks gift card (for fuel, of course)
- a gorgeous scarf from World Market ( can be used as a blindfold and/or for tying up the bad guys)
- signed copies of both Nothing But Trouble and Double Trouble (Romance! Danger! Intrigue! Much better than Surveillance for Dummies!)


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Captain America vs. The Patriot Act?
"Yesterday, Marvel Comics released the first in its miniseries Civil War, which can only be described as a gutsy comic-book series focusing on the whole debate over homeland security and tighter government controls in the name of public safety. The seven-issue series once again puts superheroes right back in the thick of real-world news, just as DC Comics has Batman battling al-Qaeda in a soon-to-appear comic and Marvel's X-Men continue to explore themes of public intolerance and discrimination.
In Civil War, hero is pitted against hero in the choice of whether or not to side with the government, as issues ranging from a Guantanamo-like prison camp for superheroes, embedded reporters and the power of media all play in the mix as Superheroes are ordered to register as human WMDs or be branded fugitives."
The kids are going to eat this storyline up.
I vividly remember a 1970's Superman comic book that dealt with latch-key kids (being one myself). How much more personal and relevant is this?
I'm going comic shopping tomorrow.


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Andrea's experience working in global and domestic public health informs her perspective on the linkages between health systems and those they serve. Her experience tailoring healthcare communications for both consumers and health care workers helps her create programming that reaches new audiences to expand access to care.
At Rabin Martin, Andrea specializes in:
- Analyzing international health trends and their impact in developing countries and emerging markets
- Developing programs and strategies that support access to medicines
- Creating strategic communication frameworks for global health initiatives
Andrea brings to Rabin Martin a background in public health nutrition and behavior change. In her previous work, she created effective diabetes prevention initiatives by centering approaches around community health workers. Most recently, she worked in healthcare communications, with clients ranging from global pharmaceutical brands to hospitals and academic institutions.
MPH, Public Health Nutrition
New York University
BA, Communications
University of New Hampshire


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My last post was about the medal holder I made with my dad over Thanksgiving, and it turns out he spent a little more time in the garage (or should I call it Santa's workshop) after I left!
He made this race bib holder to go along with my medals. How incredibly thoughtful, right?! Though I had to ask how he got so good at painting letters in the short time between Thanksgiving and Christmas. I won't give away his secret though.
So if you love a runner, here's a tip: make them something that enables them to show off their hard earned bibs and medals! 😉


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Barack Obama's Dream's from my Father
The Story of an Unlikely Hypothesis (and a Fine Book)
On Sunday 26th October 2008, just nine days before what promised to be an historic US Presidential election, I received an urgent call from Bob, a man close to a Republican Congressman in the American West. He wanted to enlist my services in an effort to prove a scandalous allegation against Barack Obama, which – if justified – would surely impact on his prospects in that election. Namely, that his famous 1995 memoir, Dreams from my Father, on which so much of his reputation was built, was in fact authored largely by Bill Ayers, a Vietnam-era domestic terrorist. It became clear that this allegation had been circulating with increasing speed in the US, on websites, blogs and radio talk shows, and was gathering significant numbers of supporters. Several "stylometric" analyses of the texts had been done, claiming to find significant patterns in the writings of Obama and Ayers to back up the hypothesis. A Washington press conference was already planned for the next week, just in time to sow doubt in the minds of undecided voters before the election ... (For a continuation of this strange story, see The Sunday Times, 2nd November 2008 and also the resulting front page Sunday Times news story.)
After submitting this story, in response to the interest it has generated, I have prepared the following analysis, which will I hope make clear how I see things in regard to the Ayers allegation made by Jack Cashill, an American author. In short, I feel very confident that it is false. In view of what I have found, and the intrinsic unlikelihood of the hypothesis, I would be very surprised indeed if anything came to light to reverse this verdict. I hope that interested visitors to this site, whether Democrat or Republican or indeed entirely independent of American politics, will be pleased to discover that the next leader of the free world did not apparently get his impressive first book written by Bill Ayers!
Is There Any Evidence?
It would be very surprising, to say the least, if this story were true. That Bill Ayers would devote his energies to someone else's life story, six years before he even got round to publishing his own, seems unlikely. And even if parallel passages were to be found between Obama's book and Ayers's Fugitive Days of 2001, the charge of plagiarism would most naturally be directed at Ayers rather than Obama unless those passages appear also in earlier material from Ayers.
In fact, the parallels that Cashill has highlighted between Obama's and Ayers' books seem generally pretty weak. Here (slightly reformatted) is how he starts his discussion of the matter:
The stylistic similarities between the best sections of Obama's "Dreams" and Ayers' 2001 memoir, "Fugitive Days," should be apparent to any serious writer or editor. Consider the two following "nature" passages in Obama's and Ayers' respective memoirs, the first from "Fugitive Days", and the second from "Dreams":
- "I picture the street coming alive, awakening from the fury of winter, stirred from the chilly spring night by cold glimmers of sunlight angling through the city."
- "Night now fell in midafternoon, especially when the snowstorms rolled in, boundless prairie storms that set the sky close to the ground, the city lights reflected against the clouds."
These two sentences are alike in more than their poetic sense, their length and their gracefully layered structure. They tabulate nearly identically on the Flesch Reading Ease Score (FRES), something of a standard in the field.
Well, certainly there are some superficial similarities between the sentences Cashill quotes, but I for one don't find them that striking. They have a couple of significant words – "night" and "city" – in common, and both say something about the fall of light in fairly poetic language. Beyond that, their FRES scores are similar (54 and 54.8 respectively, according to Cashill), but this means very little: the score applying to a single sentence depends only on the number of words and the number of syllables, so it's hardly a sophisticated measure. Besides, we have been given only one sentence from each book to compare, and it's hardly surprising that Cashill is able to find two sentences which match this closely together. If large sections of Obama's book had actually been written by Ayers, one might reasonably expect to find far more striking parallels.
Evidence from Parallel Stories?
According to Cashill, such more striking parallels (pointing in the direction of Ayers' influence on Obama rather than the reverse) are to be found in three specific story themes that seem to be in common between earlier works of Ayers (To Teach of 1993, and A Kind and Just Parent of 1997) and Dreams from My Father. Here is the first of them, quoted from Cashill:
In his 1993 book, "To Teach," Ayers lays out the difference between "education" on the one hand and "training" on the other. "Education is for self-activating explorers of life, for those who would challenge fate, for doers and activists, for citizens," Ayers writes.
"Training," on the other hand, "is for slaves, for loyal subjects, for tractable employees, for willing consumers, for obedient soldiers."
In Obama's "Dreams," these thoughts find colloquial expression in the person of "Frank," the real life poet, pornographer and Stalinist Frank Marshall Davis.
"Understand something, boy," Frank tells the college-bound Obama. "You're not going to college to get educated. You're going there to get trained."
Frank shares Ayers' distaste for training. "They'll train you to forget what it is that you already know," Frank tells Obama. "They'll train you so good, you'll start believing what they tell you about equal opportunity and the American way and all that sh--.".
Frank also tells Obama that "leaving your race at the door" is an essential part of the university's training mission. Ayers makes the same case about training in reference to Indian schools, which insist, according to Ayers, that students be "stripped of everything Indian and taught to be like whites."
Again, one is left with the impression that if this is amongst the best evidence to be found, then the case must be extremely weak! Both Ayers and Obama, apparently, draw a distinction between education and mere training. But this distinction is entirely commonplace – huge numbers of people who've had anything to do with an educational establishment will be familiar with it. The link between training and race is no doubt more distinctive, but the coincidence is still not very impressive. Ayers does not actually mention training in the paragraph where he talks about Indian schools, but in the paragraph before that; and his point is how so much of "education" is really a matter of "certification mills" that ride roughshod over people's distinctiveness. Obama's Frank is making a different point, that education for a black man can mean "Leaving your race at the door ... Leaving your people behind." So Ayers is making a point about the lack of humanity of much education, and Obama a point about the impact of going through a training institution on a black person in a white-dominated world. There is indeed some similarity between the two, but the idea that the passages quoted above give significant evidence of direct influence is just ridiculous. Let's now take a look at Cashill's second example:
In the same 1993 book, "To Teach," Ayers tells the story of an adventurous teacher who takes her students out to the streets of New York to learn interesting life lessons about the culture and history of the city.
As Ayers tells it, the students were fascinated by the Hudson River nearby and asked to see it. When they got to the river's edge, one student says, "Look, the river is flowing up." A second student answers, "No, it has to flow south-down."
Upon further research, the teacher discovers "that the Hudson River is a tidal river, that it flows both north and south, and they had visited the exact spot where the tide stops its northward push."
In his 1995 book, "Dreams From My Father," Obama shares a stunningly similar story from his own brief New York sojourn. As Obama tells it, he takes an unlikely detour to the exact spot on the parallel East River where the north-flowing tide meets the south-flowing river.
There, improbably, a young black boy approaches this strange man and asks, "You know why sometimes the river runs that way and then sometimes it goes this way?" Obama tells the boy it "had to do with the tides."
Cashill again seems to be over-stressing the parallel here: nothing I can find in Obama's text justifies the sentence "As Obama tells it, he takes an unlikely detour to the exact spot on the parallel East River where the north-flowing tide meets the south-flowing river". Obama says nothing of the kind, but only that "I took the long way home, along the East River promenade", at which point the boy approached and asked his question, when Obama "said it probably had to do with the tides". As author he then reports that "I realized I had never noticed which way the river ran." There is no deep parallel here with Ayers' story of a teacher taking a class to see the Hudson River (whose Mohican name famously means "river that flows both ways"), with the intention of showing them "the exact spot" where the tide stops.
Cashill's third example is no better:
In his 1997 book, "A Kind and Just Parent," Ayers tells of a useful reading assignment from the 1992 book, "The Kind of Light That Shines on Texas," by black author Reginald McKnight.
The passage in question deals with the travails of Clint, the first black student in a newly integrated school, who tries to distance himself from Marvin, the only other black boy in the school.
"Can you believe that guy?" Clint tells a white student. "He's like a pig or something. Makes me sick." Upon reflection, Clint thinks, "I was ashamed. Ashamed for not defending Marvin and ashamed that Marvin even existed."
In "Dreams," Obama reflects on his own first days as a 10-year-old at his Hawaiian prep school, a transition complicated by the presence of "Coretta," the only other black student in the class.
When the other students accuse Obama of having a girlfriend, Obama shoves Coretta and insists that she leave him alone.
Although "his act of betrayal" buys him a reprieve from the other students, Obama, like Clint, understands that he "had been tested and found wanting."
First, the Clint example is from McKnight's 1992 book, and Ayers' mention of it in 1997 came later than Obama's book (so if Obama took inspiration from it, that directly indicates McKnight's rather than Ayers' influence). But secondly, again the parallel isn't as close as Cashill suggests. In the McKnight story, there are three black children in the school, two boys and a girl. In Obama's, there are two black children in a class, himself and Coretta. Admittedly there is some similarity in the situation and emotions described, but it is very unclear how big a coincidence this is. It might well be that such experiences were very common for black children where they were a small minority. And if so, then the similarity provides at best very weak evidence of any link between the two books.
If the parallels between the stories in Obama's book and those of Ayers were very close, then we might be forced to conclude that there was some connection involved – maybe that Ayers and Obama had read some of the same works (e.g. by McKnight), or that Obama had read some of Ayers' earlier works and picked up some stories from those. Even in this case, however, the claim of common authorship would be far from the most obvious explanation of the coincidence. But as we have seen, the parallels are nothing like close enough to establish even a modest connection with any confidence. In books written just a few years apart, by authors whose interests include education and race, it is not at all surprising to find parallels of this weak kind.
So much for the three common stories that Cashill claims to find in the Obama and Ayers books. Let us now turn to his stylometric analyses.
Cashill's First Stylometric Analysis
Jack Cashill points to four stylometric analyses (done by others) that claim to support his theory that Ayers wrote Dreams from My Father. Two of these employed my own software Signature, but the first of them used only its most primitive feature, counting words of different lengths. The analyst then applied various statistical measures, leading to conclusions that as quoted by Cashill sound quite striking: "The statistical style analysis performed by our research team suggests that the writing style of 'Dreams From My Father' is significantly more similar to the style observed in 'Fugitive Days' than to the style found in other works by Barack Obama such as 'Audacity of Hope.'" Well, suppose we now look at all this using Signature 2.0:
Here the blue line shows the word length statistics for Audacity, green for Dreams, and red for Ayers's Fugitive. And in respect of word length, the claim made is true! But this does nothing to show that Dreams was really written by Ayers, as can be illustrated if we add Bill Clinton's My Life into the mix:
Notice that the turquoise line (My Life) seems to follow the red one (Fugitive Days) very closely indeed: decisive evidence, perhaps, that Ayers ghost-wrote Clinton's memoir? Or could it perhaps be that Clinton ghost-wrote Ayers's book? Of course both suggestions are ridiculous. All this shows is that analysis of word-length frequencies – at least by itself – is hopeless as an indicator of authorship: there's a fairly high chance that different authors will have the same overall pattern, simply because they're writing in the same language and the same genre. By contrast, a single author could easily exhibit different patterns of word-length frequency when writing, say, a memoir (e.g. Dreams from my Father) as opposed to a popular political work (e.g. Audacity of Hope). So this sort of analysis can do virtually nothing to support Cashill's theory, no matter how much it might be developed with complex statistics. If you want such statistics, however, here is the "Multiple Chi-Square Analysis" table produced by Signature 2.0, comparing the four texts:
|Word Length Chi-Square Analysis
This clearly confirms what was obvious by eye: according to this test, the closest two texts of the four are those by Ayers and Clinton! So there's nothing at all here to link Obama to Ayers. (For those who understand such things, the relevant Chi-Square 0.1% value on columns 2 to 8 (as used by the cited analysis) is 22.46, and only the Ayers-Clinton pairing gets even close to falling within this.)
Cashill's Second Stylometric Analysis
Another of Cashill's four cited studies did essentially the same sort of test on word-length data (only), comparing Dreams from my Father against Fugitive Days with a single control, the Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant of 1885. According to this analyst as quoted by Cashill, "The Ayers-Obama matching shows a measurable and substantial effect. It is easily and objectively distinguishable from comparison to a third document. ... the initial data presented is highly suggestive that these two documents share large portions of authorship." Needless to say, this last claim is completely unjustified: the word-length frequency correlations are not remotely close enough to be "highly suggestive" of co-authorship, as can clearly be seen from the graphs and Chi-Square statistics above. Nor does the "easy and objective distinguishability" from Grant's Memoirs count for anything: it isn't the least bit surprising that two memoirs written at the end of the 20th century have more in common than one written over a century before.
Cashill's Third Stylometric Analysis
A third stylometric analysis, which like the first made use of Signature, involved tests of word frequencies, comparing Dreams from my Father, Fugitive Days, and – as a control – "a randomly chosen text" which in fact was Sinclair Lewis's 1919 road novel, Free Air. Tests were done with a large set of words and a small set (of eleven words), but the latter is problematic for the same reason that we saw above with sentence lengths: there is no way that it can possibly be sufficiently discriminating to confirm identity of authorship in any significant way. These analysts found that Dreams was more like Fugitive Days than Free Air in some respects, but that of course isn't surprising at all (given the difference in genre and vintage). If we add more realistic controls, then the apparent similarity – which isn't even impressive to start with – entirely disappears, as shown by the following "Principal Component Analysis" graph using the same eleven words:
Suppose we take a much larger set of words, using Signature 2.0 first to identify the 50 most common words in all of these texts combined, then again doing a Principal Component Analysis:
Again there is nothing to link Obama with Ayers. And all the evidence so far examined if anything points against there being any close link between them.
Cashill's Fourth Stylometric Analysis
Finally, Cashill's fourth analysis (by Chris Yavelow) used far more sophisticated measures, built into FictionFixer, a proprietary software system for helping aspiring writers to develop their style. This analysis is genuinely interesting, but unfortunately it records no "control" measurements at all, so the results produced are impossible to assess. Yavelow describes some of his results as "striking", but to me they seem too weak to draw any really strong conclusions. Besides, without any comparable statistics involving other texts, we have no way of assessing their true significance – the history of stylometry is littered with the remains of defunct hypotheses built on what to the eye looked like "striking" coincidences but which then dissolved away under critical statistical examination. So Yavelow's claim to have made "a strong case for the likelihood that the author of Fugitive Days ghostwrote Dreams from My Father" is so far completely unsubstantiated. However his analysis is the only one of the four that stands any chance of providing any basis for a more substantial case.
Cashill's Literary Observations
For reasons such as those illustrated above – either lack of suitable controls, or unimpressive results – I'm not convinced that there's anything in the analyses cited by Cashill that needs to be considered as at all suspicious. Even if genuine similarities between Obama's and Ayers's books were to be uncovered, they would have to be remarkably strong to overcome the evidence of the many dissimilarities, even to make the ghostwriting hypothesis plausible, let alone to establish it.
Cashill himself came to his theory on the basis of his own literary judgements and observations rather than stylometrics, and so I did a few quick tests on some of these, planning to follow them up were I to undertake a full analysis. For present purposes, just one deeper study will do. Below is a list – produced by Signature's concordance facility – of uses of "memory", a word that Cashill himself singles out as distinctive of both the Obama and Ayers books. In fact the word features proportionately around four times more frequently in Ayers's book than Obama's, so here I include Obama's fifteen uses, and Ayers's first fifteen (all based on texts that I have been given, and whose accuracy I cannot guarantee):
Ayers, Fugitive Days
- 1:83:15 in a flash unhinged and going under. Memory is a motherfucker. I myself remember almost
- 1:115:6 know I'll forget it all. Oblivion trumps memory. I remember the overdrawn story of my
- 1:476:18 of confinement long before I was sixteen. Memory is a house of mirrors, a land
- 1:557:6 idea where we might lake her dictum. Memory is a delicate dance of desire and
- 1:784:3 many white people, Baldwin believes, are without memory, "trapped in a history which they do
- 1:892:2 The past is a foreign country and memory is always in translation—deciphering, paraphrasing, consulting
- 1:892:12 in translation—deciphering, paraphrasing, consulting the thesaurus. Memory rewrites rather than transcribes. Whatever romance might
- 4:34:17 have to reinvent everything, especially the wheels. Memory sails out upon a murky sea-wine-dark
- 4:354:22 arrived to volunteer at our school. The memory I hold still from'Diana's first visit
- 4:590:6 so much about who you would become. Memory is a mortuary, a dead space. I
- 4:592:20 overprivileged—a lie of presidential proportions. Or memory is memorization, habit and routine, the cliches
- 4:593:10 cliches of common sense, ordinary life. Worse, memory can become the black slate monument hiding
- 4:842:17 suspended between worlds, everything possible, nothing guaranteed. Memory is a marvel, quick as a monkey
- 4:844:4 all we've got—we live by distorted memory rather than verifiable truth. Memory is feeling
- 4:844:9 by distorted memory rather than verifiable truth. Memory is feeling, not fact, ghosts and fears
Obama, Dreams from my Father
- 1:103:31 experiences hold for others, selective lapses of memory. Such hazards are only magnified when the
- 1:221:24 months, sometimes years, in my family's memory. Like the few photographs of my father
- 1:429:9 arrived, it had somehow vanished from collective memory, like morning mist that the sun burned
- 1:852:6 undisguised, indiscriminate, naked, always fresh in the memory. Power had taken Lolo and yanked him
- 1:1228:18 yet when I reach back into my memory for the words of my father, the
- 1:1797:31 my heart, blur the edges of my memory. I had discovered that it didn't
- 1:2032:4 later, and I still burned with the memory, the anger and resentment I'd felt
- 1:3683:7 little bit of nostalgia, elements of selective memory; but the whole of what they recalled
- 1:4317:17 stopped whenever we threatened to skirt his memory. It was only that night, after dinner
- 1:5172:2 The next moments are blurry in my memory. As I remember it, Linda leaned over
- 1:5509:8 come home." His face glowed with the memory. "When was the last time you were
- 1:5876:15 the children would no longer retain the memory of that first circle, around a fire
- 1:6432:7 drained away, and I smiled with the memory of the homecoming I had once imagined
- 1:8762:47 rocks roiling the water, the breaks in memory separating the currents, but always the voices
- 1:9686:7 the law is. The law is also memory; the law also records a-long-running conversation
What is really striking here is how fond Ayers is of speaking of memory in the abstract: it is "a motherfucker", is "trumped" by oblivion, is "a house of mirrors", "a delicate dance of desire", something many white people lack, "always in translation", rewriting rather than transcribing, it "sails out upon a murky sea", is "a mortuary", or "habit and routine", it can become a "black slate monument", and is "a marvel", or "feeling". Of all those fifteen Ayers references, that leaves only two that do not clearly take this form:
- 4:354:22 arrived to volunteer at our school. The memory I hold still from Diana's first visit
- 4:844:4 all we've got—we live by distorted memory rather than verifiable truth. Memory is feeling
and of these, only one refers to a definite, concrete, memory event.
The contrast with Obama's book here is massive and obvious. Only his last reference can plausibly fall into the predominant Ayers pattern, but even this does not really do so: it is saying what the law is, not what memory is. So even if Cashill is right to point to "memory" as a distinctive theme within both books (and I am not arguing here with his literary observations, or those of the others he cites), the details of the case here tell clearly against, rather than in favour of his ghostwriting hypothesis. The difference between the two books in what they say about memory is so enormous, that it looks very unlikely that the same person could have written both. Consider in this light what Cashill himself says in responding to this objection:
If not as frequently as Ayers, Obama does write about memory in the abstract. Consider the following passage from Dreams:
"I heard all our voices begin to run together, the sound of three generations tumbling over each other like the currents of a slow-moving stream, my questions like rocks roiling the water, the breaks in memory separating the currents, but always the voices returning to that single course, a single story...."
Now consider the following passage from Fugitive Days:
"The debates swam above and around and through us . . . . The confrontation in the [Student Union] flowed like a swollen river in to the teach-in, carrying me along the cascading waters from room to room, hall to hall, bouncing off boulders."
I would bet my house against Millican's mailbox that the gifted writer Ayers wrote both these passages. Note their rhythm, cadence, and layered structure as well as Ayers' obvious affection for the flow of water and language. I could identify twenty parallel passages just as compelling.
As pointed out earlier, it is not at all surprising that Cashill is able to find some passages in the Obama and Ayers books that have some superficially impressive similarities (he says that he "could identify twenty parallel passages just as compelling": this looks like pure bluster, until he has done so explicitly). But such superficial similarities totally fail to address the point made above about the contrast in the two writers' talk of memory. In 13 passages out of 15, Ayers talks of what memory is (or does) in the abstract. If he was also the author of Obama's book, then one would expect to find some reasonable proportion of similar passages within it, whereas one does not find any at all. The fact that one passage in Dreams which mentions memory is somewhat similar to a passage in Fugitive Days which does not mention memory is entirely irrelevant to answering this point. Cashill, apparently, ignores this simple logic, and so rashly bets his house against my mailbox on the matter. I hereby accept the bet. Let him put up, or shut up. If he is indeed prepared to bet his house on the outcome, then it may well be worth my investing more time on the issue to set out to prove at length that he is mistaken, rather than merely arguing (as I have done so far) that his case as presented is hopelessly unproven.
To sum up, I have found no evidence for Cashill's ghostwriting hypothesis, and rather strong (albeit limited) evidence against. Note, moreover, that the discussion above is all fought on his own chosen ground – analyses and literary patterns that he himself has cited as likely to tell in his favour. It is impossible to know without searching carefully what other evidence against his hypothesis might turn up if one were to look for it. But at least we must judge it as extremely unlikely, and indeed so far unsubstantiated. Moreover given its small initial probability (as a story that was always intrinsically unlikely – it would be very surprising if true), and the evidence already seen, I cannot imagine how the hypothesis could be rendered credible by further examination of the texts. Of course that doesn't mean it's impossible (for example if systematic comparative studies using Yavelow's system were to yield genuinely exceptional results), but I don't currently believe that anything short of documentary proof of Ayers's involvement will take the case further.
Signature used to investigate claims that Obama's book was written by an ex-terrorist


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My love for things rubber and shiny started when I spied this Topshop skirt when I was on Oxford Street the other day. I love it so much and I've seen loads of bloggers wearing it. But I couldn't quite justify the price tag which was just under £40. I'm on the hunt for a more purse friendly alternative and scouring ebay, asos sale etc.
Now I've always been a fan of leather and pvc that's no secret. But I love this whole rubber trend kicked off by Burberry. The classic Burberry trench updated by rubber accents looks incredible and so luxurious. I especially love the oxblood/burgundy colour. This has filtered down to stars like Caroline Flack and Rita Ora who have been seen wearing the see through Burberry rubber skirt with heart print knickers also by Burberry. And of course I always look to Lady Gaga for outfit inspiration when fetish wear is involved. You would achieve a pretty similar look to hers with the Topshop skirt and a leather bralet, (hair in a bow, optional).
I think a shiny patent, pvc or rubber pencil skirt is actually quite versatile. I would wear on a night out with a bralet or a light camisole and some chunky heels. But you could also wear this during the day with a big fluffy jumper tucked in and some small heeled chunky boots. Definitely need to invest in a shiny skirt! Watch this space!
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